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Archive for the ‘a-ha’ Category

Article about the G# guitars

Posted by Jakob S on June 20th, 2010
Paul using a G# guitar in Toronto, May 10th (Picture by Corina)

Paul using a G# guitar in Toronto, May 10th
(Picture by Corina)

Today’s paper edition of Dagbladet has an article about a-ha’s newfound interest in the Norwegian G-Sharp guitar.

“It’s fun that a-ha have fallen in love with the guitar and its sound“, Øivin Fjeld – the musician who invented the instrument – tells Dagbladet.

Paul has tested the guitar over time, and has really come to like it.

“I have after all quite a few guitars to choose from, so I have to admit that it was a big surprise, also for me, when I found out that this little Norwegian guitar became our first choice for all the guitar tracks on “Butterfly, Butterfly”, Paul says.

Paul had initially decided to use a selection of various instruments from his large guitar collection on the final single.

“But no, I actually ended up using the G# on all the guitar tracks“, Paul says.

Magne and Morten are also using the Norwegian guitar during a-ha’s ongoing farewell tour.

“The G# guitars have found their natural place within a-ha, and they will be used even more during the next leg of the tour, not least because of the live performance of “Butterfly, Butterfly”, Morten says.

Other musicians using the guitar include Eric Clapton, Guy Fletcher, Mark Knopfler and Scotty Moore.

The full Dagbladet article is also available online here.

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Shining wins first a-ha-million

Posted by Jakob S on June 19th, 2010
Magne presents Shining with a cheque for 1 million kroner in Oslo, June 18th

Magne presents Shining with a cheque for 1 million kroner in Oslo, June 18th

Magne appeared on stage in front of 80.000 people at Rådhusplassen in Oslo last night, to hand out 1 million kroner to the first winner of the a-ha talent grant.

The jazz/metal band Shining and singer-songwriter Hanne Hukkelberg were the two finalists in Oslo at VG and NRK’s annual free summer show (where a-ha headlined in 2009), which also featured performances by Madcon, Scouting For Girls, Jason Castro and Scissor Sisters, among others.

Magne annoucning the winner

Magne annoucning the winner

After Shining and Hukkelberg had performed one song each early in the show, the audience in Oslo (and TV audiences around the country) could vote for their favorite by SMS.

Near the end of the show Magne came on stage to open the envelope revealing the winner.

“We considered quite a lot of artists, together with an international jury, and both these artists have a unique style. We think they have a good chance to have further success within their genres“, Magne said when asked why a-ha had chosen these two finalists.

Afterwards he revealed the winner: “It’s a great honour, on behalf of a-ha, to present the very first of our talent grants to…Shining!”

Shining had been active prior to tonight’s concert, urging their fans to vote for them, as can be seen in this YouTube video.

Learn more about Shining on their official website and on MySpace.

The next a-ha talent grant will be presented in Stavanger on 30 June, where Susanne Sundfør and Pink Robots will compete for another 1 million kroner.

 

Update: VGTV has a video interview with Magne and Shining after the show.

Magne:
“I am pretty sure that Shining has a real chance to leave a mark internationally. So we’re hoping that the money can help them to get heard, to get noticed by people. That’s what it takes, in our opinion.”

“They have something that’s quite unique for them at the moment, and there should be several filmmakers in Hollywood eager to work with these guys now.“

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– An appropriate ending

Posted by Jakob S on June 14th, 2010
Detail from single cover

Detail from single cover

The new (and last) a-ha single “Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)” is now available for listening at Warner Music Norway’s website here.

In connection with the premiere of the song, Magne was interviewed on NRK P3’s “P3 Morgen”, while Morten was interviewed on NRK P1’s “Reiseradioen”.

Here are some quotes:

Morten: “This is a new single from us, but it’s not intended to promote anything. It’s just something we wanted to release, in connection with this final year.”

Magne: “I think this is one of the best songs Paul has written in a long time, and an appropriate ending in my view.”

“The three concerts in December are sold out, but we’re doing some really big concerts in Norway this summer where it’s still possible to get tickets, as far as I know. [The August concerts] will probably be the last celebration for people in general, we hope, because during a few hours fans from all over the world managed to buy…I suspect some of them to have bought tickets for all three shows [in December]. So maybe we’ll have the same audience each night. (laughs)”

“We have had quite a loyal fanbase for a lot of years, where a-ha has become part of their lives, you know. They travel from all sorts of strange countries to see our concerts. And for them, those last shows will be special – and they will be for us as well.”

“It’s turned into something cultish, and in many ways I feel we’re doing them a favor by providing them with a proper ending, so they can get into something new instead. (laughs)”

 

The single is getting decent reviews in the Norwegian press. VG‘s Stein Østbø gives it a 5 out of 6 and calls it “a swan song that keeps growing with each new listen“. The reviewers from Aftenposten and Dagbladet both give the single 4 out of 6.

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New a-ha single to premiere on Monday

Posted by Jakob S on June 11th, 2010
The single cover

The single cover

The last a-ha single “Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)” will premiere on Monday, 14 June,
a-ha.com announced today.

The song was written by Paul and has been produced by Martin Terefe.

It will premiere on several Norwegian radio stations, among them NRK P3, at 09:50 am Norwegian time. It will also be streamed online at VG.no at the same time.

“Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)” is released as a digital download in Norway on 5 July. The song will also be included on a new a-ha “best of” album, entitled 25, which is set for release in Norway on 19 July.

Info about international release dates is not yet available.

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a-ha concert in Stadtallendorf

Posted by Jakob S on June 7th, 2010
Stadtallendorf, June 6th

Stadtallendorf, June 6th

The rescheduled concert in Stadtallendorf, as part of the Hessentag festival, ended up being a wet experience for 8000 people yesterday, despite promises of good weather earlier in the week.

Heavy wind, rain and thunder a few hours before the concert had the organizers pondering a possible cancellation. Apparently there were concerns about the safety of the audience as things came flying through the air, and people had to leave the area in front of the stage.

But the weather improved and a-ha eventually went on stage, slightly delayed. Some of the stage equipment and Magne’s synths had to be covered in plastic to avoid the rain. Morten’s voice was considerably better this time, and “Early Morning” was back in the setlist.

Press:
8000 a-ha-Fans durchnässt aber glücklich   a-ha spielt auf dem Hessentag
a-ha live auf dem Hessentag

YouTube:
Soundcheck 1   Soundcheck 2   Soundcheck 3   Soundcheck 4
The Bandstand   Summer Moved On   Minor Earth Major Sky   Move To Memphis
And You Tell Me   Early Morning   Stay On These Roads   The Sun Always Shines On TV

Posted in a-ha, Ending on a High Note Tour Tags: , , , Comments Off on a-ha concert in Stadtallendorf
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Kiel concert

Posted by Jakob S on June 2nd, 2010
Morten letting the audience sing in Kiel, June 1st

Morten letting the audience sing in Kiel, June 1st

Yesterday’s concert at the Sparkassen Arena in Kiel went ahead as planned, with around 5500 people in the audience.

Fan reports say that Morten’s voice was in better shape last night, although he did say that he went on stage against his doctors’ advice.

Like in Trier “Early Morning” was left out of the setlist, and the audience helped sing along when Morten needed to rest his voice.

The Hessentag concert in Stadtallendorf has now been officially rescheduled for Sunday, June 6th, according to NH24.de, among others. Tickets from last Sunday remain valid and there are also tickets left. Luckily, the weather is expected to be much better this time – warm and sunny.

Magne in Kiel, June 1st

Magne in Kiel, June 1st

Magne will now travel back to Norway to play with Apparatjik at Flø on Saturday, June 5th – and hopefully he’ll be able to get back to Germany in time.

Press:
a-ha-Effekt in Kiel (NDR2)    Picture set 1 (NDR2)    Picture set 2 (NDR2)

 
BTW, here’s a small update on the new song; according to Irene’s a-ha fan café blog, “Butterfly” will be included on a new and updated “Best of” 2CD album with 36 tracks. The Norwegian release date is said to be September 20th.

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Talent grant finalists

Posted by Jakob S on June 2nd, 2010

a-ha and their jury members have now decided on the final eight bands and artists that will be competing for the four talent grants of 1 million kroner each in Norway this summer.

They are: Shining, Hanne Hukkelberg, Moddi, Adjagas, Casiokids, Lars Vaular, Susanne Sundfør og Pink Robots.

The eight finalists were chosen from a list of 50 candidates, which can be seen at the bottom of this article.

“There were suprisingly similar reactions and enthusiasm toward some of the acts – and then there were split opinions on some of the others“, Magne tells VG today.

– Did it turn into loud discussions?

“Yes, we always have loud discussion“, Magne laughs.

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Harald Wiik talks about cancellation

Posted by Jakob S on May 31st, 2010
An empty Hessentag stage in the rain yesterday (Picture by Valerie)

An empty Hessentag stage in the rain yesterday
(Picture by Valerie)

a-ha manager Harald Wiik has been interviewed by VG today, in connection with yesterday’s cancelled Hessentag concert in Stadtallendorf, Germany. Here’s what he had to say:

– We’re hoping to replace yesterday’s concert with a new show on Sunday [June 6th]. That’s our focus at the moment.

– We think [tomorrow’s concert in Kiel] is going ahead as planned, and that we won’t have to cancel any more concerts. But obviously we’ll have to monitor his condition.

– We had some problems in South America, but a-ha haven’t cancelled a single concert since 1986. But like everyone else, Morten can get a virus infection. It’s impossible to have any guarantees against that.

– The voice problems are probably due to the drafty conditions [in Mönchengladbach]. Morten’s vocal performances are so demanding that he becomes particularly vulnerable.

– We’d prefer to go ahead as planned, but Morten is better now, so we’re hoping to reschedule the concert for Sunday and that we won’t have to cancel further shows.

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Stadtallendorf concert cancelled

Posted by Jakob S on May 30th, 2010

Tonight’s concert at the Hessentag event in Stadtallendorf has unfortunately been cancelled due to Morten’s voice problems.

Morten went to see a doctor after last night’s concert in Trier, and again this morning, but at 11am today it was announced that it’s not possible for him to perform tonight.

Hessentag is a kind of festival that is held between 28 May – 6 June, but it remains to be seen if it’s possible to re-schedule the concert to a later date.

“Morten is well but can’t sing – we are confident that he will be back in shape for Kiel!“, a-ha.com has posted on Twitter tonight.

Article in German from mittelhessen.de: “a-ha”-Konzert fällt aus

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Trier concert

Posted by Jakob S on May 30th, 2010
Trier, 29 May (Picture by Sandra - more pictures here)

Trier, 29 May
(Picture by Sandra – more pictures here)

Morten had problems with his voice during last night’s indoor concert at Arena Trier. Apparently it was not a problem with his vocal chords, but rather an inflammation at the back of his throat that prevented him from singing at full power.

By the end of the concert, his voice was almost completely gone, according to fans who were in the audience. However, “Early Morning” was the only song that was left out. And it was still a really good show despite Morten’s voice issues, fans said afterwards.

Trier, 29 May (Picture by Sandra)

Trier, 29 May
(Picture by Sandra)

Setlist (with YouTube-links):

1. The Bandstand
2. Foot Of The Mountain
3. Analogue
4. Forever Not Yours
5. Minor Earth, Major Sky
6. Summer Moved On
7. Move To Memphis
8. The Blood That Moves The Body
9. Stay On These Roads
10. The Living Daylights
11. And You Tell Me
12. Scoundrel Days
13. The Swing Of Things
14. We’re Looking For The Whales
15. Manhattan Skyline
16. I’ve Been Losing You
17. Cry Wolf
18. The Sun Always Shines On TV
19. Hunting High and Low
20. Take On Me

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