Universal Norway are now streaming the whole album for free on their website.
All you need to do is click on the banner below, fill in your e-mail address where it says “Epost”, and click on the button on the bottom left which says “Gå til forhåndslytting!”:
The Norwegian photographer Stian Andersen has been working with a-ha since 2000. He’s taken the pictures that appear on the covers of the Analogue-album and the “Foot Of The Mountain”-single, for example.
In an interview with Fotopia.no, Andersen mentions that he is currently working on a photo book about a-ha:
“Over the last year I have been working on an a-ha photo book, and I will continue following them around the world for one more year.”
When asked about what inspires him, he says:
“It’s a great inspiration for me to work with such creative and skilled people, like the guys in Röyksopp, a-ha, Turbonegro and Øystein Greni of Bigbang. People who are extremely demanding and quality conscious. They are just as focused on their visual representation as on their music, and therefore put a pressure on me to deliver my best.”
Visit Stian Andersen’s website here.
The new music video premiered on VIVA in Germany last night.
Here it is:
Another event last night was a-ha’s live performance at the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards in London.
They performed five songs, and updates and pictures can be found on Twitter.
Setlist:
1. The Sun Always Shines On TV
2. Riding The Crest
3. Foot Of The Mountain
4. Take On Me
– – – – – – – – – –
5. Analogue
The movie Yohan, in which Morten has a supporting role, is set to premiere in Norway on 11 December.
Producer Odd Hynnekleiv reveals in an interview with Fædrelandsvennen that Morten will probably also contribute a song especially made for the movie, which will be on the soundtrack CD.
More info about Yohan on the movie’s official website.
Picture from Dagbladet
Dagbladet has an interesting interview with Magne and Paul today, where they talk in detail about the new direction they have taken with the new album.
“Foot Of The Mountain is an album which makes its mark in a good way, there is more vitality here than in a long time. The album can almost be heard as a tribute to the original idea of a-ha”, Magne says in the interview.
A full English translation is now available here.
ABC Nyheter reports that a-ha will be holding a press conference at the Norwegian embassy in Berlin next Thursday, 11 June.
This is not the first time a-ha are doing a press conference at the Norwegian embassy. They did the same back in 2002, to promote the release of the Lifelines album.
I mentioned yesterday that the download version of the new album would be available on Platekompaniet.no in Norway three days before the CD release. But someone has changed their mind, and the album won’t be available for download until 15 June, the same day as the CD.
But not to worry, as it seems that the whole album will be streamed for free on Universal Norway’s website this coming Monday, June 8th.
Some chart updates:
“Foot Of The Mountain” enters the Austrian single chart at number 28, while it enters the Swiss single chart at number 33.
a-ha will sign copies of their new album Foot Of The Mountain at Oslo City shopping center on Monday, 15 June at 17.00.
This will take place at the same Platekompaniet record store where Morten did his Letter From Egypt signing session last year.
And Platekompaniet’s online store will have the new album available for download in Norway three days before the CD is released. June 12th at 12.00, to be precise.
Some great news from Germany:
a-ha.com reports that “Foot Of The Mountain” has entered the official German Top 100 single chart at number 3!
This is the highest single entry in Germany for a-ha since “Take On Me” in 1985, and is a result of a big promotional campaign, lots of radio airplay and two high-profile TV-performances.
In Norway the single remains at number 4 on the airplay chart in its fourth week, while it re-enters the single chart at number 17.
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Amazon.de has posted a small video clip of a-ha to promote the new album. It can be seen here.
Foot Of The Mountain is currently number 3 on Amazon.de’s Top 100 bestselling music chart, ten days before the album is released.
Over on YouTube there is a clip of a-ha meeting the German band Reamonn and its lead singer Rea Garvey backstage at “The Dome” in Munich on 22 May. You may remember Reamonn as one of the support bands during the German leg of the “Minor Earth | Major Sky”-tour back in 2000.
And here is a short clip from “Taff”, backstage at “Germany’s Next Top Model” on 21 May.
BTW, the “Foot Of The Mountain” music video is currently set to premiere on German television on 11 June.
Morten and Paul on “The Dome”
a-ha’s performance of “Foot Of The Mountain” on the German TV-show “The Dome” was broadcast on RTL2 last night.
It can be seen on YouTube here.
Morten and Inez’ appearance on the UK TV-show “All Star Mr & Mrs” was also broadcast last night on ITV.
They ended up scoring 3 out of 9 correct answers, and decided to donate their £5000 to the Norwegian Refugee Council.
A video of the show is available here.
Two upcoming a-ha specials on German TV have been announced:
– 19 June: WE LOVE in Concert: a-ha – “Foot of the Mountain” (Pro7)
– 28 June: Music Special: “a-ha Documentary – Foot Of The Mountain” (Sat1)
And the Norwegian release date of the album has also been changed now – it will be out on 15 June.
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a-ha will headline the annual VG-lista Topp 20 summer show in Oslo on 19 June. Other artists performing include Alexander Rybak, Lene Marlin, BigBang and Aqua.
“We are especially proud to get a visit from a-ha, who will do their own mini-concert as part of the VG-chart show. We are also expecting many visitors from abroad when the biggest Norwegian band ever enters the stage”, Thomas Christiansen from VG says.
The show, which is held outdoors at Rådhusplassen (City Hall Square), always draws a big crowd. “Featuring the best package of artists ever, we’re ready to match the audience record of 100.000 people from 2006”, Christiansen says.
It is not known if a-ha will play live or just use playback, as Morten did when he performed on the show in 2008.
The whole show is broadcast live on NRK1 on 19 June, and is repeated on the same channel the following day. The show is also usually broadcast live on NRK’s web-TV and P3 radio.
It has also been announced that the new album will now be released one week earlier than planned in Germany. The new release date is 12 June.
The UK, however, will get the album one week later than what the recent press release stated. The new UK release date is 20 July, while the single is released on 13 July. An updated overview of all release dates can be found on a-ha.com.
