The humble beginnings of Van Maanen can be traced all the way back to a production of Jesus Christ Superstar in Grieghallen, Bergen in 2005. Isak Høie (playing the title role) and Jarle Pettersen (drummer in the orchestra) discovered they shared a love for progressive rock, and quickly became friends. After the production, it felt natural for them to work together, and they decided to form a band.
Eirik Digranes was a friend of Isak, and a logical choice for a bass player. Finding the rest of the band would prove to be slightly more diffcult, but through an ad, the threesome came in contact with a promising flute- and guitar player. In a strange twist of fate this young man turned out to be Daniel Øvrebø, who had played alongside Jarle and Isak in the JKS orchestra. The arrival of keyboard player David Edvardsen completed the lineup.Through a long process, the bands name was changed from Kasavubu Virituosa to Sirkus Oktober, stripped down to just Oktober, and finally Van Maanen. And somewhere along the way, they discovered a sound they could call their own. After some ill-fated attempts at fishbowl- and handcuff flavoured metal, Eirik delivered the basic idea that was to become Van Maanen's first real song: "Let Me In". This stripped away all doubts as to which genre the band was most comfortable with. Well over 10 minutes in length, "Let Me In" seemed to be the very definition of a progressive rock song. Eirik Digranes left Bergen and the band in 2007, and after auditioning several replacements, Van Maanen found their new bass player in Åsmund Nesse. Åsmund joined the band just in time to the demo "Shine -demo '08", that was recorded in the tail end of 2007. Van Maanen is currently working on new material -taylor made for live use. Coming soon to a concert stage near you!!!