Mark Steiner, also known as "Mark Steiner & His Problems," is a well-known figure in Oslo's music underworld, and he's been around in Norway for so long that many assume that he is Norwegian. He is not. This ex-New Yorker is a wandering scoundrel who one might find hanging out in the shadowy corners of a pub at closing time - whether the nearest street sign reads New York, Oslo, Paris, Berlin, Lisbon or Melbourne. A musical vagrant who draws inspiration from the same sources which may have influenced Stuart Staples, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Rowland S. ...show more

Mark Steiner, also known as "Mark Steiner & His Problems," is a well-known figure in Oslo's music underworld, and he's been around in Norway for so long that many assume that he is Norwegian. He is not. This ex-New Yorker is a wandering scoundrel who one might find hanging out in the shadowy corners of a pub at closing time - whether the nearest street sign reads New York, Oslo, Paris, Berlin, Lisbon or Melbourne. A musical vagrant who draws inspiration from the same sources which may have influenced Stuart Staples, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Rowland S.

Howard - yes, that entire circle of hollow-eyed, black-clad night owls with melancholic dispositions and pocket-flasks full of booze to match. Mark Steiner is indeed such a character. The songs, the baritone voice, and the guitar on Mark Steiner's new album can be compared to a run-down bar in a city like Berlin. In the pub "BROKEN," one will find a surprisingly international atmosphere, with Frenchmen, Germans, Americans, Australians and even Norwegians.

Here is a party with good times, along with debauchery, skuffles, tears and heartache. Love herself sits and drinks with sorrow in a dark crook, alone with a bottle of liquor. Men and women sit and chat, bicker, flirt and argue. At the pub , there are many unique musicians who bring their own distinct personalities to the counter, and Mark Steiner is the bartender, serving up his talented patrons with one delicious cocktail after another. ...show less