Archive for March, 2011

Morten in Berlin

 

Morten has been in Berlin this week, to promote the live DVD.

On Thursday, March 24th, he was a guest on Radio Berlin. A video clip of the full interview can be seen at radioberlin.de. There is also a picture gallery on the same website.

He was also interviewed on WDR2 radio. A part of the interview can be heard at wdr2.de.

In the evening he appeared at the Echo Awards show, to present the award in the “Best international female artist” category. The winner was Amy Macdonald and a video clip of Morten presenting the award can be seen on YouTube here.

Then on Friday, he made a surprise appearance at an a-ha.com fan party which featured a full screening of the new live DVD.

 

Next Friday, April 1st, Morten will be one of the guests on Skavlan – the most watched television talk show in Northern Europe. Skavlan is broadcast on NRK1 in Norway and on SVT1 in Sweden. Morten has appeared on Fredrik Skavlan’s talk show twice before, in 2002 and 2003.

Preview clips from upcoming DVD/Blu-ray

The first preview video clips from the Ending On A High Note DVD and Blu-ray from Oslo Spektrum are now available at Universal Germany’s website:

DVD trailer (w/ Stay On These Roads)
Scoundrel Days
The Living Daylights

LiveIN magazine interview

 

Magne is interviewed in the spring 2011 edition of the free trend magazine LiveIN Asker, where he talks about moving into his new atelier at Galleri Trafo:

From having my own atelier at home at Nesøya and being able to use it whenever I want, it’s obviously a transition moving into Galleri Trafo. But my hope is that Trafo will be a dynamic and active place to be, with lots of exciting art projects in every corner of the building.

Magne has rented two rooms in the gallery. One will be his private atelier and working space, while the second room will be used for other activities of his choosing.

I’m planning to involve other artists through collaborations or joint projects eventually. It was very inspiring to visit Olafur Eliasson in Berlin recently, and see how he has organized his “Institut Für Raumexperimente”. A school operating as a workshop, where he collaborates with students and artists on different projects, and which is also used as a forum for exchanging ideas from different viewpoints.

Asked how 2011 is shaping up to be, Magne says:

Much more hectic than I had thought, but according to my wife that’s something I’ve been saying every year since we got together in 1980.

A PDF file of the full interview (in Norwegian) is available at livein.no.

(Thanks to Béatrice for the link)

Fan looking for actors

I’ve been contacted by Brad Hansen in Ireland, who is looking for three young actors to play the a-ha members in a low-budget music video:

Ireland 2011: Morten, Magne and Paul lookalikes wanted in look, build, height etc to mirror their 1985 appearance as much as possible. This is a unique event, but with a low budget. If you know anyone in Europe, (closer to Ireland the better, to cut expenses), then please let them know of this. This is something by a fan FOR fans and a-ha themselves.

The full casting call can be found at starnow.com.

The Apparatjik Light Space Modulator opens in Berlin

Magne in Berlin last week, working on the Apparatjik installation together with his son Thomas Vincent.
(Picture from VG)

Apparatjik opened their Light Space Modulator project at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin this past weekend with a performance on Saturday that included a couple of new songs.

To promote this month’s events the band has teamed up with Smart to create a unique discoball electric car, covered by thousands of mirror pieces. In the YouTube video above, Magne can be seen driving around Berlin in the car. He also provides the vocals on the accompanying “Combat Disco” track.

More info about the collaboration with Smart can be found in an article on the New York Times website:
Band’s Electro Aesthetic Is Reflected by Discoball Smart Car

Magne has also done some new interviews in connection with the Berlin installation/performances:
QRO Magazine: Magne Furuholmen of Apparatjik & a-ha (English)
artnet.de: Complicate Your Life! – Interview mit Magne Furuholmen (German)
Monopol Magazin: Apparatjik – Vier gegen Mies (German)

A few YouTube videos from Saturday’s performance can be seen here. And a Danish company that delivered the sound equipment for the cube has posted some pictures of the rigging here.

The Apparatjik Light Space Modulator continues this month, with new performances planned on March 26th and March 27th – the latter in collaboration with the Deutsches Kammerorchester. “I will be conducting the orchestra together with the others in Apparatjik, and that’s something I’ve never done before“, Magne tells VG.

a-ha disappoint their fans with incomplete concert release

Not only are they getting an incomplete concert, German fans will also have their DVD covers ruined by a big freakin’ rating symbol.

The tracklisting for the upcoming Blu-ray, DVD and 2-CD release of Ending On A High Note – The Final Concert has now been officially confirmed by a-ha.com.

Unfortunately, it shows that two of the songs performed at Oslo Spektrum on December 4th will not be included – “Bowling Green” and “The Bandstand”.

The omission of the Everly Brothers cover “Bowling Green” was to be expected, considering the technical difficulties during that song. But leaving out “The Bandstand” is a very disappointing and puzzling decision.

Considered by many fans as one of the absolute highlights of the 2009 and 2010 tours and performed at nearly every show, there is no doubt that “The Bandstand” should definitely have been included…

This means that there’s still no complete a-ha concert that has been released officially. The previous live DVD Homecoming – Live at Vallhall (2001) left out the live version of “Angel In The Snow” that was performed at Vallhall.

In addition to the CD, DVD, Blu-ray and Deluxe Edition (2CD + DVD), Universal will also release a CD single with two live tracks; “Summer Moved On” and “Scoundrel Days”. The German release date for the CD single is March 25th and it can now be pre-ordered from Amazon.de.

Cover of the CD single, with a picture of Morten on the synth drums taken during…”The Bandstand”.

Apparatjik in Frankfurt

Magne during a discussion on March 4th.
(Picture by Silli)

Prior to appearing at the Spellemann Awards on Saturday, Magne spent some time in Frankfurt, Germany with Apparatjik.

On 25 February they performed at the opening ceremony of the newly renovated Deutsche Bank towers, now “one of the most eco-friendly high-rise buildings in the world”.

3 songs from this performance can be seen on YouTube:
Arrow and Bow   Snow Crystals   Look Kids

There was also an English interview with Magne in the Deutsche Bank ArtMag, with his (written) answers being delivered in typical Apparatjik style.

 

Then last week, from 2 – 4 March, there was an “Apparatjik Mini Summit” at the Deutsche Bank towers, as part of the “Globe” series of artistic events. Featuring film screenings, discussions and so-called “Apparatjik iPad Disco Combats”, these evenings were free and open to everyone interested.

To get an impression of the iPad Combat, check out this video. For additional pictures and video links from Frankfurt, there’s a thread on the WOTM forum with more info.

 

Magne is now in Berlin, where he’s preparing the Apparatjik Light Space Modulator – the art installation and performance project at the Neue Nationalgalerie that opens on Saturday, March 12th.

Signed photobooks

Signed copies of Just Loomis’ a-ha photobook are now available from his official website at justloomis.com.

There are two pricing options; signed book with priority international shipping ($90.00) and signed book plus signed 8×10 print with priority international shipping ($225.00).

Loomis’ exhibition “As We Are” at the Stenersen museum in Oslo is open until April 3rd.

a-ha receive honorary award

Morten and Magne with their trophy, meeting the press after the show

a-ha were given the honorary award at the Spellemann Awards for 2010, which were held at Oslo Spektrum on Saturday. This is actually the third time a-ha have been given the honorary award – they also received it in 1987 and 2001.

Magne and Morten had been specially invited, and was in the audience together with Heidi, Inez and manager Harald Wiik. Paul was in New York, where he is reportedly working on a new Savoy album.

The award was presented by Kaizers Orchestra vocalist Janove Ottesen, Thomas Dybdahl, Ida Maria Sivertsen and Bertine Zetlitz, who opened the show with a cover version of “The Sun Always Shines On TV” as a tribute to a-ha.

 

Here is Magne’s acceptance speech:

Thank you very much. The last time we were standing in almost this exact same spot, was on December 4th. That was a special evening, just as this is turning out to be.

We are a three-headed troll and we are missing one of our heads tonight. But on behalf of all of us I want to thank you all for a fantastic version of a song that’s actually 25 years old. And of course we can’t leave the stage without thanking our families and wives. According to my wife, that’s something we’ve never done before.

We have really been touring a lot. And I wouldn’t necessarily say that he managed to tame the troll, but he kept us organized; Harald Wiik, our manager in recent years. Thank you.

Thanks to everyone in Norway. It’s been a pleasure to entertain you through all these years.

Morten added: “Enough has been said. Thank you very much, everyone.

 

A video clip of the TSASOTV performance and the acceptance speech can be seen at tv2underholdning.no. Further down on the page is a clip of Morten and Magne arriving on the red carpet.

VGTV also has a video interview with Morten, who had just returned from a holiday “far away from Norway”.

And here is a video of Magne and Morten meeting the press after the show.

The Final Concert CD cover

 

The cover of the CD version of Ending On A High Note – The Final Concert has now started to appear online, including on the website of Universal Norway.

And I’d expect the covers of the DVD and Blu-ray to look somewhat similar.

These live releases are still scheduled to be out in Germany on April 1st, but details on tracklists and number of discs have not been officially confirmed yet.

Amazon.de has the CD version listed as being just 1 disc, which means it’s obviously not the complete concert. Hopefully the Deluxe Version (3 discs) will have all the songs. Needless to say we’re at least expecting the DVD and Blu-ray to feature the complete concert (although leaving out “Bowling Green” will be understandable).

An official announcement is expected soon.

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