Posts Tagged ‘zoe gnecco’

Savoy at Parkteatret

Savoy and Zoe Gnecco performing “Velvet”
(Picture by Jakob)

Savoy played their first concert in nearly ten years at Parkteatret in Oslo tonight, to celebrate tomorrow’s release of See The Beauty In Your Drab Hometown.

Paul

The 18-song setlist featured songs from all of their albums, including four songs from the new album.

Paul, Lauren and Frode were joined by Linn Frøkedal on keyboards and Chris Holm on bass.

Lauren

Special guest Zoe Gnecco had flown in from New York for the show, and joined them on stage for a few songs from the World of Trouble album, plus a Waaktaar & Zoe version of “Under The Makeup” with slightly different lyrics. She also did the female vocals on “Velvet”.

Frode

Here’s the full setlist:

1. Tears From a Stone
2. I Still Cry
3. Manmade Lake
4. January Thaw
5. Girl One
6. End of the Line
7. Whalebone
8. Night Watch
9. Rain
10. Fearlist
11. Sycamore Leaves
12. Beautiful Burnout (w/ Zoe Gnecco)
13. World of Trouble (w/ Zoe Gnecco)
14. Under The Makeup (w/ Zoe Gnecco)
15. Daylight’s Wasting
16. Star
17. Velvet (w/ Zoe Gnecco)
18. Falls Park

The fansite a-ha France has posted a 45-minute video clip from the concert on Facebook, which can be seen here.

Some selected live pictures from Instagram:
Picture 1    Picture 2     Picture 3    Picture 4    Picture 5    Picture 6

‘World of Trouble’ now available

Album cover

Waaktaar & Zoe’s long-awaited World of Trouble album is released today by Drabant Music, and is now available digitally on Spotify, iTunes, Tidal etc. through this link.

If you prefer physical formats, the album is also available on CD, black vinyl, purple vinyl and blue vinyl. All formats can be ordered from Drabant Music (worldwide shipping).

In a review in Vårt Land’s paper edition, music critic Olav Solvang writes that Paul “delivers several rock solid applications for new pop classics” and that Zoe’s vocals “fit perfectly with Waaktaar’s quirky, and at times demanding, songs”. He feels that “Beautiful Burnout” is “a powerful pop song that should become an international hit” and that she sings it “with an impressive maturity and presence”.

Other Norwegian album reviews so far include Aftenposten (3/6), Dagsavisen (3/6), Gaffa (3/6) and VG (3/6).

Zoe was a guest on NRK P1’s Kveldsåpent last night. The radio interview can be heard at radio.nrk.no. There is also an interview with Paul in Dagsavisen today.

Paul interviewed on BBC Radio

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Paul was a guest on Richard Green’s retro show on BBC Radio Devon last Saturday, 15 October, in connection with his Waaktaar & Zoe project.

The full interview can be heard on bbc.co.uk (starts at 23:30 minutes).

Below are a few quotes from the conversation:

On Waaktaar & Zoe:
“This project has been going for maybe 3-4 years. […] It sort of started with a few songs, and from the very first session I really just loved her voice and that super rich mid-range. She was also very good at just zoning into the mood of the song, which I’m super sensitive to. I could see for every take we did, she would get closer and closer to where she needed to be. For me that was such a kick as a songwriter, because a lot of the times you have to make that up in the arrangement.”

On plans for Waaktaar & Zoe in 2017:
“[The album] is ready to go, so now we’re just trying to figure out how to present it. We’re gonna be concentrating a lot on videos and stuff, and I would love to do festivals next summer. Zoe can really deliver on a stage and I would love to do a bunch of shows.”

On plans for Savoy:
“We’re gonna be reissuing all the old stuff over the next few months, and then I’ll actually finish the mix on the new [Savoy] album this week, with Steve Osborne. So I’m super excited about that too. So that will be coming out, maybe summertime next year.”

On a-ha’s future:
“With a-ha, it’s the three of us always going in three different directions. I would love to make a new album, so I’m pushing for that. But, you know, there’s other plans, there’s maybe an unplugged album in the making…we don’t know. We haven’t said goodbye, so I know there’s gonna be more. So we’ll just have to see where it ends up.”

“Beautiful Burnout” now available

Zoe and Paul interviewed by NRK in Paul's Brooklyn studio

Zoe and Paul interviewed by NRK in Paul’s Brooklyn studio

“Beautiful Burnout”, the first single from the upcoming Waaktaar & Zoe album World of Trouble was released yesterday, 30 September.

The song can be purchased/streamed on iTunes, Spotify and other services through this link, while the music video can be seen on YouTube. The video was directed by Evan Savitt, with cinematography by Zach Galler.

Update: The single will also be released physically as a limited edition (1000 copies) 7″ white vinyl on 11 November, with the B-side “They To Me And I To Them”. It’s available for pre-order from Drabant Music (worldwide shipping).

“Beautiful Burnout” gets a 5/6 review in the newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad (print edition); “Great vocals by Zoe and just the right amount of Beatles-references from Waaktaar. This makes me want to hear more”, the review says.

“After, I think, the first session, I got the shivers from the very first thing she sang. I thought ‘I don’t really want to have other people singing. I wish we could do something with this'”, Paul said in an interview with Lørdagsrevyen on NRK1 tonight.

There is also a short video clip from an interview with Audun Vinger on the Waaktaar & Zoe Facebook page.

Although the World of Trouble album isn’t out until 24 February next year, the tracklist and 15 minutes of song samples have already been posted on iTunes.

From Lørdagsrevyen, 1 October

From Lørdagsrevyen, 1 October

The 10-track album will include the songs “They to Me and I to Them” – originally an early a-ha song from 1983/84, “Open Face” – a song from the Cast In Steel recording sessions, and “Winter Wants Me Empty” – a new and more electronic version of the Savoy song “Unsound” from Lackluster Me.

Full tracklist:
1. Beautiful Burnout
2. Tearful Girl
3. World of Trouble
4. Laundromat
5. Mammoth
6. They to Me and I to Them
7. Winter Wants Me Empty
8. Ancient Arches
9. Open Face
10. The Sequoia Has Fallen

Follow Waaktaar & Zoe on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Waaktaar & Zoe signs with Drabant Music

Picture from Drabant Music

Picture from Drabant Music

The Norwegian record label Drabant Music issued the following press release today:

Pål Waaktaar-Savoy (a-ha) and singer Zoë Aphrodite Gnecco (daughter of Jimmy Gnecco) recently signed a worldwide recording deal with the Norwegian record label Drabant Music.

Pål and Zoe are both living in NYC and they have known each other for years. When this exciting collaboration turned into an album project they decided to simply name it Waaktaar & Zoe.

The album “World Of Trouble” is set to be released on the 24th of February 2017, while the first single “Beautiful Burnout” will be released on September 30th this year. Pre order the single here.

Follow Waaktaar & Zoe on Facebook.

The music video for “Beautiful Burnout” premiered at the international a-ha fan convention in Oslo in April this year. The song features lyrics that Paul has re-used from the early version of “Foot Of The Mountain” that was included on the deluxe version of Cast In Steel.

Waaktaar & Zoe also have a new Twitter account.

Paul to release “World of Trouble” album

Aftenposten has published an extensive interview with Paul today (subscribers only), which was done in Munich earlier this month.

Oberhausen, 20 April (From a YouTube video by Patricia Seders)

Oberhausen, 20 April
(From a YouTube video by Patricia Seders)

A few translated quotes:

“We’re not stopping now. This isn’t a farewell tour.”

– Yeah, as you already did the farewell tour last time?

“Yes, this tour is to promote the [Cast in Steel] album. We’ll probably be back for more craziness at some point.”

– How important is a-ha for you today?

“When in the middle of it, nothing is more important. There’s nothing in my life that hasn’t happened because of a-ha.”

– Will it be sad to walk off stage after the last concert?

“Not at all – it will be great. I can’t wait for people to hear the music I’ve made over the last few years. First up is ‘World of Trouble’, an album I’ve made with Zoë Gnecco from New Jersey. Her voice gives me goose bumps.”

– What about a-ha makes you the most proud?

“The fact that we’re still rockin’! That’s perhaps because we’ve never been super satisfied with things we’ve done. We don’t sit and pat each other on the back, thinking we’ve done something fantastic. I feel like an underachiever in everything I do.”

It’s official: a-ha are reuniting!

They are back again - and not just in Rio! (Photo by Jakob)

They are back again – and not just in Rio!
(Photo by Jakob)

Although the Berlin press conference isn’t until Wednesday, the big news is already out: the members of a-ha have signed a new deal which commits them to at least two years of new a-ha activities.

Jan Omdahl has done an extensive 10-page comeback interview with the band, which is printed in Dagbladet‘s weekend magazine today.

“I believed and wanted a-ha to be a finished chapter. But it’s possible to change your mind. I said it was over, but I was wrong”, Magne says in the interview.

It all started with Paul testing out a few of his songs together with Morten, just to see if some of it could be used in various settings. But it turned into something more.

“When Morten and Paul started talking about working together again, I had three options: refusing it altogether, let them do it without me, or join them. Refusing to join them didn’t feel right”, Magne says.

The three of them are currently working on new a-ha material. One of the new songs is called “Mythomania” and was written by Magne.

“I feel I have a few killer songs ready, that could potentially turn into a really good album. But there are always a few adjustments made when we get together. (…) All of us like to be a bit bossy, so we must try to end up in a position where we don’t ruin things for ourselves”, Paul says.

In addition to recording a lot of new material with Morten recently, Paul has also written and recorded at least 50-60 songs in the last few years.

“Me and Lauren have a new Savoy album almost ready, while my own solo album is all finished. I have also written and produced an album with Jimmy Gnecco’s daughter, Zoe, which I’m hoping will be relased later this year.”

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