Archive for July, 2012

Stiklestad opening

Magne with three of his "Borderless" prints 
(Picture from Adresseavisen)

Magne’s exhibition at the Leidang gallery at Stiklestad opened last Monday, July 23rd.

Held as part of the Olsokdagene culture festival, the exhibition included a series of new prints based on the word “Borderless” (the theme of this year’s festival is “Across borders”) and a selection of works from “Camera” (2009).

“I always hope that people get inspired and happy when seeing my art. But you never know. Personally I feel that it’s become a nice exhibition and I’m looking forward to seeing the audience reactions”, Magne told NRK.

The exhibition was opened by Knut Olav Åmås, the culture editor at newspaper Aftenposten.

“It’s rare to see an artist who creates so many different things on such a high level. There are some who get provoked by such a multi-talented man, which is understandable when you struggle to achieve even the simplest things yourself”, Åmås said in his speech.

Related links:
Trønder-Avisa   Verdalingen.no   NRK.no

Tech updates

Sennheiser, the company that provides the microphones and IEM systems for Morten’s solo tour, has posted a new press release on their website which goes into detail about the technical setup currently being used.

The press release includes comments from production manager James Maillardet, monitor engineer Kursten Smith and FOH engineer Gerard Albo.

“The key thing for me when working with Morten – and many other artists for that matter – is consistency. Once we have a system in place that works, I am always keen to replicate it as closely as possible everywhere we go. Being able to carry a full Sennheiser microphone kit and IEM system along with our backline means we can easily achieve the consistency that Morten demands”, Maillardet says.

Gerard Albo is Morten’s FOH engineer for the first time on this tour, and follows Sherif El Barbari (a-ha tours 2009-2010) and the legendary Sven Persson (a-ha tours 2000-2008). Kursten Smith has worked with a-ha and Morten since 2009.

The whole press release is available at sennheiser.com.

 

In other news, Magne has bought his third so-called AX24 system from Danish company Digital Audio Denmark.

“We bought our first DAD AX24 systems in summer 2011 for recording and post-production in our Oslo studio. They feed into an Apple Mac workstation running Avid Pro Tools. We were absolutely thrilled by the transparent and natural sound quality of the AX24. My engineer found it hard to believe the recording could so closely match the experience of hearing the live performance.

The third AX24 is being used for recording live stage performances on location. It is configured with eight high-specification mike preamps which make the system ideal for capturing a wide dynamic range. In my book, it is the best solution around today”, Magne says in a press release posted at digitalaudio.dk.

The press release also includes a few comments from Magne’s assistant Tor Einar Krogtoft-Jensen, who seemed to be the drummer for Apparatjik at Roskilde.

Morten on Starnacht am Wörthersee

Morten on Starnacht am Wörthersee

Morten has been in Klagenfurt, Austria this weekend, to do a playback performance on the TV-show Starnacht am Wörthersee.

Last night he did two songs; “Scared Of Heights” and “Stay On These Roads”. The live show, however, was delayed due to heavy rain. Therefore the actual broadcast was from a dress rehearsal on Friday night.

If you want to see Morten miming on the show, there is a clip on YouTube. There are also a few pictures on Facebook.

Videos from Roskilde and Flø

Magne at Roskilde, July 5th

A video clip with a selection of highlights from last week’s Apparatjik concert at Roskilde is now available at the festival’s website. It includes the following songs:

Do It Myself / Supersonic Sound / Deadbeat / DJ set (snippet) / Shake Him Off (feat. Lowell) / Tell The Babes / Cervux Sequential / Snow Crystals (snippet) / Do It Myself (reprise)

If the whole concert will be available at some point, is not known.

To view the mad spectacle, go to roskilde-festival.dk and click on “Orange Stage 2012: Apparatjik”.

 

There is also a new video clip of Magne’s “Go With The Flø” opening fanfare last month now up on vimeo.com, courtesy of Sven Voelker.

Interview about Stiklestad exhibition

The newspaper Trønder-Avisa had a 2-page interview with Magne on Saturday, in connection with the upcoming Olsokdagene festival at Stiklestad. As mentioned back in April, Magne is this year’s artist at the annual festival, which opens on July 23rd.

Stiklestad is an historical place in mid-Norway, which represents the introduction of Christianity in Norway, after a major battle in 1030. Magne’s exhibition will include a unique graphic print inspired by the events at Stiklestad.

He is also preparing a series of prints based on the word “Borderless”.

“I like to explore the letters that make up a word, use the letters as architectonic elements, turning words into images. It becomes a new mental landscape, within a given format. It is limited by borders, but still provides a multitude of opportunities.”

In the interview, Magne talks about his fascination with Ulysses and Finnegans Wake by James Joyce, which have been among the inspirations behind his use of fragmented words and sentences that are put together to form new meanings.

“Reading Finnegans Wake is like a swim exercise. You can dive down anywhere and come up with something”, Magne says.

“Joyce was one of the first to express that life is fragmented, instead of linear and continuous. But you will seldom find a place like Stiklestad, which so clearly tells a linear, continuous and influential story as the introduction of Christianity. So how do you go about exploring the subject?”

“The history at Stiklestad is based on one specific perspective, written down in a linear axis of time. But it can also be written more anecdotally. There are conflicting stories in there. Besides, all stories can be written differently, from another philosophic viewpoint, and it’s that other story I’m trying to find, by breaking up the linear narrative, creating contrasts and fractures.”

He finds it interesting that the most beautiful, contemplative, religious room in the world was made by an atheist: the Matisse Chapel in Vence.

“Picasso was angry because Matisse took on the task. Matisse answered that this is what we’re doing, building cathedrals”, Magne says.

The exhibition will be held at Leidangsgalleriet at Stiklestad, and opens on July 23rd.

Mixed reviews for Roskilde concert

Magne Furuholmen and Martin Terefe at Roskilde, July 5th

Apparatjik entered the Orange Stage at Roskilde like this last night, wearing bodybuilder suits, with silver capes and Martin Terefe masks.

“Considering our experience with fame, this is interesting to explore. Martin is the least famous of us. Therefore we’ll all go on stage looking like him tonight”, Magne and Jonas told Dagsavisen in an interview before the concert.

Starting out in silhouette behind four large screens, before moving onto the stage, the band performed songs like “Time Police” and “Do It Myself” for the first half hour. Then DJ Aretïve appeared on top of a cube out amongst the audience, doing a 20-minute set accompanied by the alien fashion show that Magne mentioned in Wednesday’s interview. This was followed by a guest appearance by Lowell, a young Canadian singer who has been working in the studio with Apparatjik lately (more info on that collaboration here). By now, the guys had changed into their combat disco uniforms, and the concert ended with songs like “Tell The Babes” and “Blastlocket”.

Other songs played during the show apparently included “Combat Disco Music” and “That’s The Thing About Us”.

Magne on stage at Roskilde 
(Picture from gaffa.dk)

Apparatjik are getting mixed reviews in social media and in the press after last night’s unique performance.

Reactions on Twitter ranged from “who can review this bizarre concert without getting nightmares?” to “the most amazing thing the world has ever seen” to “mega fail”.

Here are some quotes from the various press reviews that have been posted so far:

“One of the most ambitious “concerts” you can imagine. Visually an amazing experience, musically more uneven, but when it worked it was actually really great.”rockfoto.nu

“Something was constantly happening on and around the stage. Furuholmen doesn’t spare any expenses when he invites the audience to party – and it was fun while it lasted. It was generous and playful, but unfortunately also easily forgotten.”adressa.no

“More circus and show than real content.”gaffa.com (3/6)

“Giving a summary of the events that took place Thursday night on the Orange Stage would take at least a few pages, but describing it as a concert would definitely be an understatement. It was more similar to performance theater or an art installation.”soundvenue.com (3/6)

“Apparatjik’s show was quite spectacular, but too often seemed like a Nintendo game out of control.”gaffa.dk (3/6)

“The spaced-out effects often appeared too messy and incoherent, and rarely contributed to creating the artistic total experience that had been prepared.”undertoner.dk (3/6)

“Apparatjik are known for their unique visual style and well-made music videos. But their music is less fascinating.”politiken.dk (2/6)

möllan.nu (3/5)

stpaulslifestyle.com (audio review)

metroxpress.dk (gallery)

philipbo.tumblr.com (gallery)

Apparatjik ready for Roskilde, planning “spectacular” Oslo performance

Rehearsing for Roskilde last week; Magne, Jonas and Martin (plus Tor Einar Jensen on the drums?) 
(Picture posted by Aretiive on Twitter)

Apparatjik are set to perform at Roskilde’s main stage tomorrow night. This will be the first time Magne performs at the festival, previously he’s only been there as a guest.

In an interview with Aftenposten today, Magne says that this will be an opportunity to present Apparatjik’s music to a broader audience than before:

“The Orange Stage at Roskilde is an iconic arena for everyone who’s into music. We see this as an opportunity to further expand on our format. The music has always been a natural part of Apparatjik, but has until now been integrated in an audiovisual language and hasn’t been allowed to play the leading role. This time it will get a more natural main focus.”

“It will be quite a multifaceted performance, in which we want to use the cube in new ways. I think I can say that we have a fair amount of madness planned.”

 

This will include guest-appearances by fans and new artists who are collaborating with the band.

“We have also entered into a collaboration with the renowned Danish visual artist Tal R, who will create a sort of absurd fashion show/costume parade for tomorrow night. It will be a lovely chaos.”

Magne feels that Apparatjik now are ready to reach a larger audience:

“The music we make isn’t particularly demanding. It has a typical pop-melodic structure and can even be quite catchy at times. The experimental part lies perhaps in the fact that we don’t adapt the material to any existing formats.”

But he admits that he doesn’t like all the music that Apparatjik have created:

“I don’t feel that I necessarily have to like all the music we’re performing. Why do I have to like everything we do? We all have to perform tasks that we are more or less comfortable with here in life.”

Still, they are in the process of opening up a bit more:

“It’s not like we’re going on a strike if someone decides to play our music on the radio, it’s just that we don’t promote our material through normal releases, so the chances of that happening are considerably smaller.”

There will be more Apparatjik concerts later this year, including a big event in Oslo:

“We have been invited to make an installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art [in Oslo] in the autumn, which will be accompanied by a slightly absurd choral work. We are also planning quite a spectacular outdoor performance in the middle of Oslo city at the end of September, which I can’t go into detail about yet”, Magne says.

Apparatjik are scheduled to go on stage at Roskilde late tomorrow night, at 1:00 am. Guy Berryman is on tour with Coldplay in the US at the moment, and won’t able to join the others this time.

Update: In an interview with VG, Magne provides more details about the Oslo concert – which will be free and take place by the Astrup Fearnley Museum at Tjuvholmen on September 29th.

Martin Halla EP now available

CD cover

Release Me – the EP that Martin Halla and Magne recorded at the end of May – was released by Universal Norway on Monday, July 2nd.

It includes new versions of four of the songs from The Voice, plus a cover version of “Dragonfly”.

Tracklist:

1. Release Me (2:36)
2. Hurt (4:07)
3. Take It With Me (3:44)
4. We Found Love (2:39)
5. Dragonfly (2:38)

One would perhaps expect Magne to be credited as producer or musician in the cover, but there is no such info listed, except for songwriting credits.

It does sound like Magne is doing the backing vocals on “Dragonfly”, though.

The CD is now available from platekompaniet.no, and digitally on iTunes, Spotify, Wimp etc.

30-second audio samples can be heard at amazon.de.

Morten on Volle Kanne

Morten was a guest on the ZDF talkshow Volle Kanne this morning, with host Ingo Nommsen.

The 10-minute interview can be seen at zdf.de.

This was followed by an appearance on RTL’s Ultimative Chart Show, to be broadcast at a later date. “Burn Money Burn” was apparently performed on the show.

You can see some pictures taken outside the RTL studio here (courtesy of memorial-beach.de).

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