Apparatjik performance at Flø

The cube in action at Flø (Picture from Sunnmørsposten)

The cube in action at Flø
(Picture from Sunnmørsposten)

The four members of Apparatjik held their second ever concert/art-performance as part of Hugo Opdal’s “Go with the Flø” art festival on Friday, June 5th.

We are four musicians who perform and create things together within a short period of time. It may sound like a concert, but we view it more as a discussion forum“, Magne told TV2’s evening news.

The concert had been criticized in the local press beforehand, because of the steep ticket prices; 2000 Kroner ($309) per ticket. And according to Sunnmørsposten, not a single ticket was sold in advance (although Hugo Opdal claimed he had sold 20 tickets on Facebook). But the sales picked up when the price was lowered to 1000 Kroner shortly before the concert. Many local people at Flø and random people visiting were also allowed to enter for free, to fill up the venue.

Magne and Jonas emerging from the cube (Picture from Sunnmørsposten)

Magne and Jonas emerging from the cube
(Picture from Sunnmørsposten)

Apparatjik also launched their “Bolshevik Box” at Flø – a limited edition box set containing a CD, DVD, 12″ vinyl record and one of eight art prints. The Apparatjik prints were also exhibited on the walls of Hugo Opdal’s gallery.

An NRK news report about the art festival can be seen at NRK.no. There are some screenshots on the WOTM forum.

Moods of Norway has some pictures of the guys on Facebook.

 

And the latest clip in a series of Apparatjik video podcasts, this time featuring a heavily-distorted Magne, is now available here.

Kiel concert

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.

Talent grant finalists

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.

Harald Wiik talks about cancellation

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.

Stadtallendorf concert cancelled

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

Trier concert

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

“Butterfly” – new a-ha song

a-ha’s upcoming final song is called “Butterfly”.

The info comes from New York-based mixer Michael Brauer, who has posted the following info on his website at mbrauer.com:

May 5, 2010 – I just mixed the final recorded song to be released by A-ha called Butterfly.

Brauer has previously mixed Lifelines and How Can I Sleep With Your Voice In My Head. He also mixed Magne’s solo album Past Perfect Future Tense and the songs “Whalebone” and “Rain On Your Parade” for Savoy.

It is not yet known if “Butterfly” will be released as a single or included on a new “best of” album – or both.

VG article and slideshow

Picture from VG

Picture from VG

There is a 9-page article about a-ha in today’s paper edition of VG. The article was done in New York earlier this month and features several pictures taken by Janne Møller-Hansen.

A great slideshow with more of Møller-Hansen’s pictures from New York, set to the tones of “Real Meaning”, is also available online at VG Nett.

Here are some quotes from the article:

Magne: We could easily have continued with a-ha, it’s difficult to say stop when things are going as well as they do. But the question is: Would we continue to inspire each other? I think the answer is no.

Morten: Magne is put together differently than me. Magne doesn’t live in a contemplative room. He just grabs the afterthought as he goes along, while he is saddling two horses that he rides at the same time. His work is his meditation. I’m completely different, I spend a lot of time reflecting on things.

Paul: I’m spoilt in the way that I hear Morten’s voice when I’m writing songs. I would be interested in writing more songs for him, even if we’re not together as a-ha anymore.

Paul interviewed by Südkurier

There is a German interview with Paul on the Südkurier website today.

Here are a few quotes from the interview, which was done over the phone in Toronto a few weeks back:

Mönchengladbach, 28 May (Picture by Sandra)

Mönchengladbach, 28 May
(Picture by Sandra)

You are currently on your Farewell Tour. But why are you ending the band?
– Well, 25 years is a long time for any band. Although we could have continued for another two – three years, of course. But at this point it felt right to try out new things.

For example?
– In my case I really want to write songs for other bands, other singers. So I’ll start doing that, and then see what direction it takes. And I also still have my own band Savoy.

Your last three concerts ever will be held in Oslo in December. They have been sold out for a long time. Is that a symbolic place to end it all?
– Sort of – even though we originally had completely different plans. But it’s fitting. It all started in Norway.

Mönchengladbach, 28 May (Picture by Sandra)

Mönchengladbach, 28 May
(Picture by Sandra)

Which songs are you playing on your Farewell Tour? All of them?
– When you add up all the albums there are around a hundred songs – so it’s quite difficult to choose. The setlist in America will be a bit different than in Europe, where other songs were more popular. We’re trying to see what works, what’s fitting, what we like ourselves. It keeps changing…

You are going to re-release your first album “Hunting High And Low”, among other things?
– Yes, and with added material. We have tried to track down the original masters and the very first versions of our early songs. I like many of those better than the versions that ended up on the albums. And there are still a lot of songs that we have never recorded, because we didn’t have the time. Many of them are really good – they could have turned into great albums.

Read the full interview with Paul in German here.

Mönchengladbach concert

Mönchengladbach, 28 May (Picture by Sandra)

Mönchengladbach, 28 May (Picture by Sandra)

a-ha played the first of four German concerts in front of 8000 people outdoors at the Warsteiner HockeyPark in Mönchengladbach last night.

They opened with “The Bandstand” and the rest of the setlist was similar to the recent concerts in USA and Canada. The new song that Paul mentioned in the RTL radio interview was nowhere to be heard, but there’s another chance tonight, as the band moves on to Trier to play indoors at the city’s sports arena.

More pictures taken by Sandra can be seen here. There are also many pictures from the concert on the German forum here.

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