Wibutee played their first major concert at Nattjazz in 1997, quickly establishing themselves within what would later be known as trip jazz—a fusion of trip-hop and jazz, where loops, beats, and samples were combined with melodic improvisation. The quintet toured both in Norway and internationally, and were hailed as the spearhead of the so-called “young jazz” movement—musicians who wanted more than simply playing standards in jazz clubs.

The album Newborn Thing was recorded over a few days in December 1998 at Bugge Wesseltoft’s studio by the Akerselva river and released the following year on the newly established label Jazzland Recordings. The record has since come to be regarded as a classic.

In 2026, the original quintet reunites to perform the music from Newborn Thing live—join a revival of a magical musical moment when everything felt new, and influences from club music found their way into Norwegian jazz.