Mr. E and Me alias Martin Hagfors and Erik Johannessen are a duo consisting of two experienced musicians with long careers as performers, songwriters and producers in jazz and popular music bands such as Homegroan and Jaga Jazzist. For the past ten years, they have also played all over Norway in schools, in kindergartens and cultural centres with their distinctive pop music with silly and warm lyrics about everything and nothing and delighted children of all ages. Naxos Norway has previously released New Orchestral Hits 4 Kids globally, a collaboration between the duo and KORK, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, where the songs are reworked into orchestral versions and the lyrics written in English, Martin’s native language. The first record was nominated for Spellemann (The Norwegian Grammy) in children’s music. This sequel, New Orchestral Hits 4 Kids Vol.2, is also a co-production with KORK.

Martin Hagfors (Me) is an artist, composer and lyricist in his own right and a popular collaborator for the likes of Ellen Andrea Wang, Bobby Bare, Big Bang, Motorpsycho, and many others. Erik Johannessen (Mr. E) is a Norwegian composer, arranger and trombone playing member of Jaga Jazzist, he is also known for his studio work with Susanne Sundfør and The Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. Mr. E and Me is the English spin off of Martin and Erik’s highly popular Norwegian project called Meg og kammeraten min. Their previous album, Snydelig also recorded with The Norwegian Radio Orchestra, received rave reviews and was compared to The Beach Boys masterpiece, Pet Sounds.

The Norwegian Radio Orchestra has a remarkably diverse repertoire, and is doubtless the orchestra heard most often within Norway, across all medias, and at its many and diverse venues around the country. It is a flexible ensemble, playing everything from symphonic and contemporary classical music to pop, rock, folk and jazz, and collaborates with outstanding musicians in all genres. For several years, the orchestra has performed together with internationally acclaimed artists at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, which has aired to millions of viewers worldwide.

The Norwegian Girls Choir, directed by Anne Karin Sundal-Ask, is a choir with proud traditions and high artistic standards. The choir is composed of singers from the Oslo area who are admitted through auditions. The Norwegian Girls Choir is an independent continuation of the public Norwegian Broadcasting Company’s Girls Choir, which was established in 1947. The choir has long been a strong institution in the Norwegian cultural life, and it has fostered a number of great singers, musicians and artists.

Track list:
1. Tracy Toad the Dancer
2. Soaking Wet
3. Poor Carpenter Ant
4. Bubbles
5. Teeth Are Tricky
6. Water Strider
7. We Sing a Sing-Along Song
8. Lying Lion
9. Red Belly Lizard Island
10. Waves
11. Grandpa’s Lover
12. Repeating Rita
13. Shake My Pants
14. Planets

All songs written, arranged, performed and produced by Martin Hagfors & Erik Johannessen