Photographer Just Loomis recently got in touch to share the following info:
“I am moving and clearing out my space and so will be offering my book, “Aha, the photographs” at a special price. I will be selling signed versions with a signed 8×10 print for $200. Including shipping. The old price was $300.”
The book can be ordered from his official website at justloomis.com.
Magne got one new talent for his team in Friday’s episode of The Voice; Kjell Ove Knudsen, who performed Coldplay’s “Fix You”.
Commenting on the performance, Magne said:
“That was a very fun little journey. The thing about Coldplay… [At Yosef:] I assume you’ll come up with a joke about how I’m friends with Coldplay. But that has nothing to do with it. I’m actually very sceptical when people attempt cover versions of songs like that, but you managed to add a certain desperation to it that touched me. There is a potential in you, and I would really like to come along on your journey, if you’ll let me.”
Magne now has nine talents on his team.
In other news, Magne is on the cover of gossip magazine Se og Hør’s weekend edition. Inside there is a 4-page article about his “dramatic life”.
The tracklist for Out Of My Hands has now been posted on Morten’s official site:
1. Scared of Heights
2. Keep the Sun Away
3. Lightning
4. I’m the One
5. Quiet
6. Burn Money Burn
7. When I Reached the Moon
8. Listening
9. Just Believe it
10. Out of my Hands
“When I Reached The Moon” (aka. “When I Reach The Moon”) is a previously unreleased song from the Wild Seed-era that Morten has performed live on occasion.
Album cover, with photo by Just Loomis
(From a-ha.com)
The Out Of My Hands album cover was revealed on a-ha.com today, along with the single cover of “Scared of Heights” and a press release. The photos have been taken by Just Loomis.
“Scared of Heights”, the cover version of Espen Lind’s 2008 hit song, will apparently be the first single in countries outside of Norway (instead of “Lightning”), and is released on March 23rd. There will also be a music video for it.
The album’s title track, “Out Of My Hands”, has been written by Morten together with Norwegian producer Lars Hustoft – who posted a picture from the recording sessions on Facebook today. “I can promise you a VERY good pop album from the best vocalist we have in this country”, he says.
Meanwhile, an audio sample of “Lightning” has been posted on YouTube by Universal Norway.
The single has been getting mixed reviews, and Aftenposten‘s reviewer Svein Andersen isn’t particularly impressed by it, giving it a 2 out of 6 rating:
“With a title like this, one might expect some rumble and noise, but there is a surprising lack of energy here. “You would hit me like lightning”, he chants, and one can sense some kind of desperation in the lyrics, but musically you’re instead lulled to sleep. The melody is wrapped in an atmospheric production that rolls ahead in a monotonous drive without much drama or power.
It’s as if you don’t want to disturb. Even though Harket sings that he would have done anything to get his love back – we remain untouched. He sings with his characteristic voice, albeit in a restrained tone, but the vocals alone can’t make the song fly. Quite simply because the song is neither catchy nor interesting and doesn’t manage to take hold of you.
The feelings are sparkling and the blood is racing, he sings, but there’s no trace of Kent’s well-known darkness or a singer that does anything out of the ordinary here.
a-ha is history. Morten Harket continues his solo career, but this offering is too tame. After having heard “Lightning”, Coldplay (who consider a-ha a great influence) now seems almost like pure Metallica in comparison.”
Single cover, with photo by Just Loomis
(From universalmusic.no)
The first single from Morten’s upcoming solo album is called “Lightning” and premiered on several Norwegian radio stations today. If you haven’t heard it yet, it’s the same song as the first preview clip that was played in Rio.
“Lightning” was written by Morten together with Joakim Berg and Martin Sköld from Swedish band Kent, and produced by Steve Osborne and Erik Ljunggren. I have posted the lyrics here.
The collaboration with Kent was Morten’s own idea, Joakim Berg wrote in a post on the official Kent forum last week.
As previously mentioned, the album will also include an English version of the Kent hit song “Kärleken Väntar” from 2002. In addition, Morten wanted to do an English version of another Kent hit from 2002, “Dom Andra”, but that was eventually dropped because of a tight schedule and difficulties in writing English lyrics that matched the original.
“He loved those songs and wanted to test out English versions”, Berg says.
An additional song that Joakim Berg has written together with Jonas Quant may also end up on the album.
“Lightning” gets a 4 out of 6 rating from VG’s reviewer Stein Østbø:
“The song is missing a stronger grip, even when the drums kick in after the first 70 seconds. Harket is only barely present in between all the electronic effects and doesn’t dominate in the way Morten Harket’s voice normally does – and should do. But what could easily have turned into a song rejected by New Order years ago, eventually evolves into an attention-grabbing earworm after all”, Østbø writes.
“Lightning” will be available for download on March 9th, while the album Out Of My Hands is released on April 13th (at least in Norway).
Three new talents joined Team Magne in the third episode of The Voice on Friday.
Their blind auditions can be seen here:
Heidi Ruben Tini
Magne has proven to be popular among the contestants and has ended up with 8 talents on his team so far. Hanne has 6, while Sondre and Yosef both have 5 talents on their teams.
Morten and Håvard at Rockefeller last night
(Picture from Schibsted Forlag's Facebook page)
Håvard Rem, known for his collaborations with Morten in the 1990s, presented his new book 30-40-50 yesterday – his first collection of poems in 13 years.
To celebrate the event, various Norwegian musicians that Rem has worked with over the years took part in a release concert at Rockefeller in Oslo last night, including Kari Bremnes, Magnus Grønneberg and Silje Nergaard.
Morten also appeared on stage, as a surprise guest.
Håvard Rem has written some of the lyrics on Morten’s new album, which is now scheduled for release sometime in April.
Update: There is another picture of Morten and Håvard Rem at Rockefeller on the Facebook page of Sønn Av En Sønn – a new music project Rem has started together with his son Simen.
Magne ended up with four contestants for his team in last night’s episode of The Voice. One of them, Monika Blomeid, almost moved him to tears with her version of Adele’s “Someone Like You”.
“I am stunned, this is not what I had expected. We hear a lot of good vocalists on this show, but you are in a class of your own”, Magne told her after the performance.
The blind auditions of Magne’s four new team members can be seen here:
Knut Anders Marius Yvonne Monika
I’m not sure if the whole episode will be online for free this time – it might have been just for the premiere.
“I’m not very fond of the way talents are being developed these days, where they can sing opera one night and soul the next. I’m looking for a voice that sounds unique and has a powerful expression that I can believe in.
(…) If a voice gives me goosebumps, I’m not interested to know what else it can do. Then I just want for that person to continue doing the same thing that gives me that feeling. And that’s what I think is a problem with most talent shows today, they don’t focus enough on supporting that uniqueness. I always judge music by what I hear and not what I see”, Magne told magazine Her og Nå this week.
Seven new tour dates in Russia, Belarus, Brazil, Argentina and Chile have now been announced through Morten’s Facebook page:
19 April: Venue TBC, Tomsk, Russia
25 April: Palace of Sport, Minsk, Belarus
22 September: Citibank Hall, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
23 September: Chevrolet Hall, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
26 September: Credicard Hall, Sao Paulo, Brazil
28 September: Gran Rex, Buenos Aires, Argentina
30 September: Caupolican, Santiago, Chile
Please note that the dates in Belo Horizonte and Sao Paulo are now switched around, compared to the earlier announcement from Rio.
And unfortunately, the two previously announced Russian dates in Omsk and Tyumen on April 20th and 21st have been cancelled.
To keep track of all the dates, click here.
Update: Over on Morten’s official website, it’s been revealed that the winning song of the recent setlist contest is “Out Of Blue Comes Green” – which will be performed live on his upcoming solo tour.
In the clip above you can hear the six song previews from Morten’s new album, reportedly called Out Of My Hands, that were played for fans in Rio yesterday.
The most observant among you may notice that two of the songs are cover versions – which doesn’t seem particularly imaginative…
The third one is originally a Kent song called “Kärleken Väntar” and was a massive hit for the Swedish band in Scandinavia in 2002.
The fifth song, “Scared Of Heights”, was originally written and performed by Norwegian singer Espen Lind, and was a big hit in Norway in 2008.
Here are links to more YouTube clips from the fan meeting in Rio:
