Apparatjik in Aftenposten K magazine

The cover of Aftenposten K, January 2013

Magazine cover

Magne and a few other Apparatjiks are on the cover of the January 2013 issue of Norwegian culture magazine Aftenposten K. Inside there is an 8-page interview with Magne, Martin Terefe and Jonas Bjerre, which was done in connection with the apparatjik xmess extravaganza performance in Oslo last month.

According to the magazine, Apparatjik were recently asked to do a tour of the U.S., but they declined the offer.

“That’s because we only do the projects that we want to. Agreeing to do a tour means that you also have to be interviewed, you have to sell yourself, promote heavily. But then you’re suddenly doing what you wanted to break away from in the first place”, Magne says.

In the interview he also talks about how they prepared for the festival concert at Roskilde, by imagining that this was the first time anyone had come up with the radical idea of performing on stage in front of an audience.

But as we know, they have later played inside the cube again.

“The cube still exists. It’s a kind of refuge that we sometimes escape into. But it shouldn’t become an institution. It was exciting to see the [audience] reactions in the beginning, but now it’s become just another tool”, Martin Terefe says.

“That’s true. But I think that if we hadn’t performed inside the cube to start with, Roskilde would never have turned out as it did either. (…) Roskilde felt incredibly new and unconventional, because we emerged from the cube. However strange that may seem”, Magne says.

The magazine is now available on Norwegian newsstands and as an iPad edition.

Picture from Aftenposten K, January 2013

Magne, Jonas, Martin, Lowell and Rudolph
(Picture from Aftenposten K)

In Transit book coming soon

Magne Furuholmen - In Transit book cover

The new cover of the book

The long-awaited book In Transit, which provides an overview of Magne’s 20+ year career in visual arts, finally seems to have a confirmed publishing date; February 7th 2013 update: February 13th 2013.

First announced in December 2010, the book project has been delayed a number of times, but the Norwegian publisher Press now says it will be out next month.

A previous announcement described the book as follows:

“In Transit is the first complete presentation of his activities as a visual artist and brings us close to the creative process. This lavish book also includes all the most important artworks, like a Furuholmen “Greatest Hits”. In Transit shows why Magne F has become one of our most prominent international artists.”

In Transit will apparently be available in both an English and a Norwegian edition. The English edition can be pre-ordered from amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and amazon.de, while you can get the Norwegian edition from haugenbok.no and bokkilden.no.

“Desembertoner” concert

Martin, Tini and Magne. Oslo Domkirke, December 21st.

Martin Halla and Tini Flaat Mykland performed the song “Falling Slowly” (by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová) at the “Desembertoner” concert in Oslo Domkirke on Friday, accompanied by Magne on piano.

Martin and Tini also did a couple of songs on their own; “Take It With Me” (Tom Waits) and “Wintersong” (Sarah McLachlan).

The whole “Desembertoner” concert can now be seen on TV2’s web-TV (subscribers only). “Falling Slowly” starts after 30 minutes.

Martin and Tini also performed two songs together on “God Morgen Norge” on TV2 on Thursday morning; “In The City” and “Falling Slowly”. There’s a video clip here.

Magne is producing the upcoming debut albums of both Martin and Tini, together with Martin Terefe.

Martin Halla talks debut album

Martin and Magne at a rehearsal
for The Voice, May 2012

Martin Halla has been interviewed by Aftenposten in connection with the upcoming Desembertoner concert, where he’ll be performing together with Magne.

His debut album is soon to be completed, he says:

“The recording process is almost finished. I’m going back to London in January together with my producers Magne Furuholmen and Martin Terefe, to add the final touches.”

– How will the album sound?

“Well, the music is a kind of… not indie, not pop, not rock, but something in between. With some jazz on top.”

The album is planned for release sometime in the spring of 2013.

Magne seals time capsule

Magne welds the final lid on the time capsule sculpture

Magne was at the National Archives in Oslo yesterday, to seal the final box in the time capsule project Til Ungdommen (see earlier news stories here and here).

Magne’s sculpture consists of 30 layers of aluminum on top of each other, made to resemble archival boxes. They contain letters from students all over Norway, who have shared their thoughts about the events of 22 July and about Norway today and in the future.

The sculpture also features a lot of words that students have punched into the aluminum plates.

“One thing I really liked about this project, was that it wasn’t my own project. It was a project that I could help facilitate, but was basically driven forward and completed by the students themselves”, Magne told Aftenposten.

The time capsule will remain sealed until 2031.

More pictures can be seen on Facebook and Instagram.

Morten: “The next album will sound different”

On stage in Sao Paulo earlier this year

Morten has been interviewed by German magazine Jolie, in connection with his current single “I’m The One”.

The interviewer says she gets the impression this is something more than a simple love song:

“That’s true, and I like the contrasts in it: a playful melody with more serious lyrics. The song is about finding out who you are and that it’s OK to make mistakes in life. A human is a complex being and has to make compromises when interacting with other people. But only if you are honest with yourself and take conscious decisions”, Morten says.

– The main character in the music video for “I’m The One” is a drag queen – what do you want to tell us?

“She – or he – is an extreme example of this very message. It’s only when you know who you are, that you’re able to say “yes” or “no” to other people or things with a clean conscience.”

Although Morten recently said that he wouldn’t try to distance himself too much from the synth pop sound on his next album, he does say that it will be different:

“I’m already working on a new album, which will sound different from Out Of My Hands, which was a somewhat transitional album between a-ha and my solo stuff. It’s an exciting development, and I can’t wait to present the new songs.”

Morten is also asked what Christmas is like at his home:

“Very traditional. I have a big, old house with lots to do. I decorate, I bake cookies, all the usual stuff.”

– You bake them yourself?

“Of course! It’s important to take part in all the preparations and not just be served.”

The whole interview is available at jolie.de. “I’m The One” was released three weeks ago, but has failed to enter the German top 100 singles chart.

a-ha photo exhibition in London

Royal Albert Hall 2010. Photo by Stian Andersen.

An exhibition of a-ha photos taken by Stian Andersen will be held at the Strand Gallery in London from 28 February – 17 March 2013.

The exhibition, which is sponsored by the Norwegian Embassy, will include a larger collection of photos than what could recently be seen at Stolper + Friends in Oslo.

There will be an opening party on 27 February, with Andersen present.

“Andersen went to the UK and London five times (to different venues such as The Royal Albert Hall, O2 Arena, Heaven and Wembley Arena) to capture six UK a-ha concerts. In this collection – brought to the UK for the first time and based on Andersen’s book a-ha Photographs 1994-2010 – see loyal fans clutching banners, arenas packed with chanting fans and the band performing in the spotlight”, the gallery said in a press release.

The same exhibition will later be shown in Tokyo, Japan, in October 2013.

More info is available on a-ha.com

“apparatjik xmess extravaganza”

Picture from YouTube video. Magne on the left.

Magne was at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Oslo yesterday, as Apparatjik hosted a very different Christmas concert entitled apparatjik xmess extravaganza: santa bells bob.

Based on the Apparatjik installation Everybody is a composer, where the movements of museum visitors were recorded and turned into music, the composition was performed by the boys choir Sølvguttene. You can see a video clip from the performance on YouTube and a gallery on Flickr (by Alyssa Nilsen).

“This is a Sølvguttene Christmas concert, done Apparatjik-style. We’re calling it a “xmess extravaganza” because we prefer big words over smaller words. They are easier to notice”, Magne told Aftenposten.

“For us this is definitely a form of extreme sport, a musical meeting between anarchy and strict order. But the kids just think this is fun. They don’t care as much about following familiar patterns as adults do, and like trying new things”, the choir’s conductor, Fredrik Otterstad, said.

“Desembertoner” concert on TV2

As previously mentioned, two “Desembertoner” Christmas concerts will be held at Oslo Domkirke on December 21st, where Magne is one of the musicians taking part. He will be performing together with Martin Halla and Tini Flaat Mykland from The Voice.

TV2 in Norway has now announced that it will broadcast a 1-hour version of the concert the following day, on December 22nd at 22:10. It will also be repeated on December 29th at 12:45.

Morten on TV Total Turmspringen

Olympiahalle, Munich, November 24th

Morten was in Munich last night, where he did a playback performance of “I’m The One” on Pro 7’s TV Total Turmspringen. This is the same celebrity diving show that a-ha appeared on three years ago.

The performance can be seen at prosieben.de.

In an interview with focus.de before the show, Morten says that he’d rather just focus on the next album:

“I’m in a strange situation. I just released a new single, but my heart and thoughts are with my next album, which I’m currently recording. When you release something, you have an obligation to stay in the consciousness of the audience and the media. Which contradicts my obligation towards my own honesty and creativity. Something tells me that I shouldn’t be doing any promo. At the moment, my heart is not in it. Out Of My Hands is like an old wife. I don’t want to meet her, because I’m in love with what’s happening now. This is my dilemma.”

He is also asked if he’ll try to distance himself a bit more from the synth-heavy a-ha sound on the next album:

“No. Because in the minds of the audience, I’m so strongly connected with the band’s history.”

“I’m The One” is now available in Germany as a download-only 2-track single, which includes an alternative version of the song. It’s also available as a 2-track single + music video.

Powered by WordPress