Posts Tagged ‘brazil’

Brazil dates postponed to July

Next month’s a-ha tour dates in Brazil (10 – 22 March) have had to be postponed to July 2022 instead, “due to the still uncertain scenario caused by the ongoing pandemic”.

Here are the new dates:
13 July: Classic Hall, Recife, Brazil
15 July: Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil
18 July: Espaço das Americas, São Paulo, Brazil
19 July: Espaço das Americas, São Paulo, Brazil
21 July: QualiStage, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
22 July: Expominas Arena, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
25 July: Athletico Paranaense, Curitiba, Brazil

Tickets remain valid for the new dates.

No word yet if the rest of the March/April tour, which includes dates in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Mexico and USA, will go ahead as planned.

South American tour dates announced

The rescheduled 2022 tour dates for South America and Mexico have been announced today. The tour was originally scheduled for September 2020, then postponed to August 2021 and finally now March/April 2022. Let’s hope it’s possible to go ahead this time.

Unfortunately, the previously scheduled concert in Lima, Peru has been cancelled due to Covid restrictions. A concert in Asunción, Paraguay has been added instead, which will be a-ha’s first time in that country. A new concert has also been added in Recife, Brazil. There also seems to be some venue changes in Rio and Curitiba.

Here are all ten dates:

10 March 2022: Classic Hall, Recife, Brazil
12 March 2022: Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil
16 March 2022: Expominas Arena, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
17 March 2022: QualiStage, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
19 March 2022: Espaço das Americas, São Paulo, Brazil
22 March 2022: Athletico Paranaense, Curitiba, Brazil
25 March 2022: Movistar Arena, Buenos Aires, Argentina
27 March 2022: SND Arena, Asunción, Paraguay
30 March 2022: Movistar Arena, Santiago, Chile
02 April 2022: Auditorio Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico

For ticket details, visit the official site.

Update 7/12: The concert in São Paulo on 19 March has sold out, and an extra date has been added on 20 March.

Morten in Brazil to shoot TV commercial

Morten has been in Brazil over the last few days, to shoot a TV commercial for Hydro.

According to P4, the commercial is directed by Norwegian director and photographer Reinert K. Olsen aka Ray Kay, who has previously done music videos for artists like Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears and Beyonce, as well as commercials for brands such as Pepsi and AT&T.

A promo reel of his previous work can be seen on Vimeo.

Ray Kay also did two commercials for Hydro last year, which can be seen here and here. Earlier today he posted some photos from the current shoot in Brazil on his Facebook page.

A number of fans have had their photos taken with Morten in Sao Paulo and Belém since Friday. Here are some of them:
Picture 1   Picture 2   Picture 3   Picture 4   Picture 5   Picture 6

Barcarena and Paragominas concerts

Paragominas, 3 October (Picture from ORM News)

Paragominas, 3 October
(Picture from ORM News)

a-ha played two outdoor concerts in the Pará area in Brazil last week, in cooperation with Hydro. According to Hydro, 14,000 people were in the audience at the Cabana Club in Barcarena on 1 October, while 18,000 people saw them at Estádio Arena Verde in Paragominas on 3 October.

The setlist in Barcarena was identical to the twenty-song set they did in Buenos Aires, opening with “The Wake”. The setlist in Paragominas hasn’t been posted anywhere yet, but appears to have been a bit different, as they opened with “I’ve Been Losing You” instead.

Before the first show, on 1 October, they did a press conference in Belém, after a chaotic arrival at the airport the day before. In between shows Morten has contributed to a reforestation project, while Magne has held art workshops. Check out more pictures and video clips on Hydro Brazil’s Instagram page.

Barcarena links:
Photo gallery (ORM News)
YouTube: Full concert
YouTube: Concert highlights

Paragominas links:
Photo gallery (ORM News)
YouTube: Hunting High and Low
YouTube: Morten climbing the stage scaffolding (!)

Photographer Just Loomis has been following the band on the road, like he did in 1991, and some of the photos he has taken so far can be seen in this official “Forest Fire” slideshow video – which also features an alternate mix of the song.

a-ha make successfull return to Rock in Rio

Getting a big applause from the Rio audience at the end of the concert

Getting a big applause from the Rio audience at the end of the concert

a-ha made a successfull return to the Rock in Rio festival on Sunday night, playing in front of 90,000 people at the Palco Mundo (World Stage). Although the conditions were difficult, with heavy rain coming down as a-ha entered the stage, they put on a solid performance that thrilled the Rio audience.

Paul rocking out on his Fano ML6 guitar

Paul rocking out on his Fano ML6 guitar

The concert was streamed live online by AOL. If you missed it, the whole show has been uploaded by a fan on Vimeo.

VG’s Stein Østbø, who gave the Buenos Aires concert a 3/6 review, also attended Rock in Rio and was impressed by what he heard this time – giving the concert a 5/6 review:

“Tonight’s concert turned out to be completely different than the rusty viking ship that performed at the tour opening in Buenos Aires on Thursday night. This time they appeared as a revitalized band. (…) Suddenly Morten Harket was more focused and quicker in his movements, instead of the slightly lazy frontman and vocalist we saw in Buenos Aires just a few days earlier. It seems like he’s struggling harder to reach the highest notes, but by all means – he gets there!

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy was a monster on the guitar – hard rocking, brilliantly setting the mood and providing crystal clear riffs. And when Magne Furuholmen finally hits all the right keys on his synth – and we even hear the sound – it couldn’t go much wrong. Add to that an excellent arena sound with lots of oomph! in the basslines, you get an a-ha that fits perfectly on a giant stage like this.”

The setlist:
01. I’ve Been Losing You
02. Cry Wolf
03. Stay On These Roads
04. Move To Memphis
05. Scoundrel Days
06. Crying In The Rain
07. Sycamore Leaves
08. You Are The One
09. Forest Fire
10. Hunting High And Low
11. Foot Of The Mountain
12. The Sun Always Shines On TV
13. Under The Makeup
14. The Living Daylights
15. Take On Me

"A fantastic audience", Magne said after the show

“A fantastic audience”, Magne said after the show

The heavy rain made Magne a bit concerned, he told VG backstage after the show:

“My keyboard was swimming in water, and I was the only one [of us three] who was plugged directly into the electric system. The whole thing could have exploded, there was a lot of water in there. But it was a fantastic audience!”

The tour continues at the Cabana Club in Barcarena on 1 October and at Estádio Arena Verde in Paragominas on 3 October. These two shows, held in connection with Hydro’s anniversary, were originally only open for Hydro employees and contest winners. But due to high demand, both shows are now open for everyone. Tickets are free, but requires a donation of school equipment to local children.

Brazilian articles:
Rolling Stone: Rock in Rio: mesmo com chuva, a-ha prioriza…
oglobo.globo.com: A-ha leva o rádio FM para o palco em show saudoso

Globo TV interview with Paul and Morten in Rio:
Entrevista exclusiva com integrantes do A-Ha

Two private shows added in Brazil

Eight concerts are now scheduled in Brazil

Eight concerts are now scheduled in Brazil

As part of a-ha’s ongoing partnership with Norwegian industrial company Hydro, the band will play two exclusive concerts for Hydro employees in the Brazilian cities of Barcarena and Paragominas on October 1st and October 3rd.

The info is available in a press release posted on Hydro’s Brazilian website.

Although the two concerts are closed to the public, fans in the area have a chance of winning tickets to the Barcarena concert, by taking part in a Hydro competition on Instagram called “Renew your passion for the future”. A jury will choose the 30 best pictures.

In addition to the two concerts, Magne and Morten will take part in local environmental projects supported by Hydro.

In Barcarena, Magne will do a workshop with young students, using recyclable materials. In Paragominas, Morten will take part in a seed planting project in a reforestation area.

Magne will also be exhibiting some of his art in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rio de Janeiro, opening on September 28th.

Songwriting session in Brazil

An update from the website of Swedish writer/producer Peter Kvint (Feb. 10th):

Morten in Brazil, 3 February

Morten in Brazil, February 3rd

“Just got back from two weeks of writing with Morten Harket on the beautiful island of Ilha Grande in Brazil. The monsoon rains and extreme humidity made all my technical equipment break down but even so it was a really creative stay with lots of new songs coming together! Here’s a snapshot of a vocal session featuring mr Harket singing straight into my laptop mic.”

Morten is currently working on the follow-up to Out Of My Hands, which may be released sometime later this year.

a-ha return to South America

a-ha have announced that they will be performing three concerts in Brazil and Chile in March. These are the first concerts in Brazil since 2002, while they last visited Chile in 2006. Here are the confirmed dates and venues:

25 March: Credicard Hall, Sao Paulo, Brazil
26 March: Citibank Hall, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
28 March: Pepsi Music Festival, Movistar Arena, Santiago, Chile

a-ha in Porto Alegre, Brazil (August 2002)

a-ha in Porto Alegre, Brazil (August 2002)

“South America and a-ha have had a long-lasting love affair, but it hasn’t always been the right time to go there. This is the right time”, a-ha manager Harald Wiik says about the upcoming concerts in a VG interview.

He also says that this will be an early start of the next a-ha period, which also includes tours in other parts of the world and not least a new album.

“The album is now scheduled for release on 19 June, but that may be subject to change”, Wiik reveals. He also confirms that several producers are involved on the new a-ha album, but it’s too early to mention any names.

“There is lots of material in different versions, but the final selections have not yet been made”, he says of the song material.

Update: In another interview with Dagbladet, Wiik offers a few hints about the sound on the new album: “It will be more synth-based than the last few albums. They are going back to their roots – to the 80s.”

Powered by WordPress