The band was put together by Sveinung Sundli (violin, keyboards) in 2000 and originally consisted of his younger sister Gunnhild Sundli (vocals), Gjermund Landrø (bass, backing vocals), Martin Langlie (drums) and Magnus Børmark (guitar, keyboards).

Their first album, Jygri, released the same year, proved to be their commercial breakthrough both in Norway and abroad, particularly in Scandinavia and Germany.

They also gained a lot of media attention, particularly the distinctive voice of Gunnhild Sundli caught the interest of music journalists, who immediately started to speculate on her departure in order to establish a solo career.

After the release of another EP, Statt opp (Maggeduliadei) in 2003, and their second album, Iselilja in 2004, the band announced that they were taking a break.

In their press release, issued September 6, one of the reasons cited was that Gunnhild wanted to devote time to other pursuits.

The fifth concert was held at the roof of the Oslo Opera House, and the band stated that this would be their final farewell.

[6] In August 2023, Gåte announced that Sveinung was temporarily leaving the band and would not participate in the upcoming tour.

Another main source of Gåte songs are poems by the Norwegian poet Astrid Krog Halse with added music by Sveinung Sundli, such as "Følgje" ("Company") and "Stengd Dør" ("Closed Door").

He is the band drummer and collaborates with Norwegian artists as a lyricist to promote folk music.