"Mark Steiner (and 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..." - Egon Holstad, NORDLYSSAUDADE (European Portuguese: [sɐwˈðaðɨ], is a Portuguese word with no direct translation in English, or just about any other language, for that matter (except perhaps In Finnish where there is the word"Kaiho"). Saudade describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves. Moreover, it often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of longing may never return. A stronger form of saudade may be felt towards people and things whose whereabouts are unknown, such as a lost lover, or a family member who has gone missing, moved away, or died. Saudade was once described as"the love that remains" after someone is gone. (excerpted from Wikipedia)Nearly three years in the making, the new album SAUDADE features 13 tracks co-produced by Henry Hugo and Mark Steiner, and mixed by Martin Bisi. Recorded at Stagger Home Studios in Oslo, these songs were initially laid down by Mark and Henry with bassist Thomas Borge (Halph), along with alternating drummers Tobias"Tex" Lange and Gunnar Motland (ex-Goo Men). Bassist Graham Mansfield (Liberty Takers) later stepped in to record a few new songs. The various tracks also include contributions by Mick Harvey (The Birthday Party), Sally Norvell (ex-Congo Norvell), Paul Wallfisch (Ministry of Wolves, Botanica, ex-Firewater), Tricia Warden (ex-Liarface), Emil Nikolaisen (Serena Maneesh), Øystein Sandsdalen (Le Corbeau), Rosie Westbrook, Oddrun Valestrand (Tundra Mode), Celile Güzelce (Stillephonema), Graeme Miller (Louise McVey & Cracks in the Concrete), Julitha Ryan (Silver Ray), Ricardo Silva, Odd Johansen (Oddpopp) and more.SAUDADE is a collection of some select cover songs and originals by Mark Steiner, including a tribute to avant-garde filmmaker, mentor and friend Adolfas Mekas. In fact, the various interpretations of works written by the likes of Billie Holiday, Lou Reed, Bruno Adams (of The Fatal Shore and Once Upon a Time), Robert Burås (of Madrugada and My Midnight Creeps), and Rowland S. Howard (of The Birthday Party, Crime & the City Solution and These Immortal Souls) can all be considered tributes to the deceased songwriters themselves. For Mark Steiner, SAUDADE means keeping these songs and the memories of these artists alive. The album SAUDADE makes it's debut in November, 2014, and is available in both digital and physical formats.The release of SAUDADE coincides with five years having passed since Mark Steiner's last album, BROKEN (Stagger Records / Z-Man Records, 2009). An odyssey of decadence, BROKEN was recorded in Melbourne, New York, Dortmund and Oslo, with some of the “crème-de-la- crème” of today’s “Swamp-Rock” and “Lounge-Noir” musicians from around the globe, including Parisian art-rocker Dimi Dero and his German partner-in-crime Tex Napalm, Sofy Perez and Lisa Barel of French cabaret duo Tulla Larsen, Rosie Westbrook (of former Bad Seed Mick Harvey’s band), and Cam Butler of Australia’s Silver Ray. Vocalist Susana Melendez makes an appearance on the song “Divine Whore,” and New York’s Susan Mitchell contributes her incredible string-playing skills on several other tracks. Australian legend Pete Luscombe of Paul Kelly fame is here on a couple of songs, as is Stevie Hesketh of Jet. The Mele brothers (from NYC's Piker Ryan's Folly) too. And yet there are even more…BROKEN was Mark Steiner’s follow-up to his debut solo release, a Mini-LP CD called FALLEN BIRDS. A limited edition 12" 180gram vinyl EP version, aptly entitled LITTLE FALLEN BIRDS, is still available by mail order through Stagger Records, and can also found in vinyl record shops throughout Europe, the United States and Australia, stretching from as far as Iceland to Tasmania.Performing nowadays as “Mark Steiner & His Problems,” whether solo or with one of his many bands, Steiner has played numerous gigs in the USA, all over Europe, and even in Hong Kong. He has also played three well-received tours of Australia, first in September 2008, again in November, 2009, and most recently in March of 2013, where he appeared live at a special tribute concert dedicated to the memory of Rowland S. Howard, legendary member of The Birthday Party, These Immortal Souls and Crime & The City Solution.