Posts Tagged ‘magne furuholmen’

Magne donates artwork to charity auction

 

Aftenposten has an interview with Magne today, in connection with a new campaign by LHL (The Norwegian Heart and Lung Patient Organization). He is among a number of artists who have donated artworks for an online auction to benefit research on heart disease among women.

Magne himself has been suffering from atrial fibrillation for a number of years, and is scheduled to undergo heart surgery this summer.

So it’s natural for me to contribute to a campaign like this“, he says.

Magne has recently been busy moving into his new atelier at Galleri Trafo in Asker, and in the process he’s had a chance to go through a lot of his older paintings, graphic prints and ceramic art.

The monotype that he’s donated to the charity auction is from a series of prints that he made around 2000, where the motif somewhat resembles a heart against a background of electrical charges.

Shortly afterwards I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation“, Magne says.

It was almost a bit eerie. These prints were made right before my own heart problems were discovered. Yes, it does resemble a heart muscle. I had, perhaps, an underlying feeling in my body, which caused this to materialize.

The monotypes were exhibited only once, but were not available to buy. Now Magne has brought them out of storage.

This print does fit very well, considering my personal connection to heart problems“, he says.

The charity auction is now underway at the website of auction house Blomquist. Magne’s monotype is available here, with a starting price of 30 000 kroner. The auction is open until February 28th.

The tale of the stolen tapes

Pål Waaktaar, February 1981

Paul in February 1981.

Exactly 30 years ago today, January 17th 1981, 19-year old Pål Waaktaar appeared in the Oslo newspaper Aftenposten, urging people to help with any info regarding a break-in at the Sound Art Studio.

He and the three other members of the band Poem – Magne Furuholmen, Viggo Bondi and Øystein Jevanord – had been working for several months on a new album, but now all the tapes had been stolen.

Viggo’s rare Gibson Les Paul bass guitar had also vanished.

“Those tapes are worth so much more to us than the thieves. Can’t we please get them back?”, Pål pleaded.

Join me for a look in the archives and read the whole story here.

På jakt etter paradiset DVD release

Thor Heyerdahl DVD cover

DVD cover

The 4-part documentary series På jakt etter paradiset, which was broadcast on NRK 1 in 2008, has now been released on DVD in Norway.

Revealing new details about the fascinating life of adventurer Thor Heyerdahl (1914 – 2002), the series received very good reviews when it first aired on TV.

In addition to classical pieces by composers like Grieg, Tveitt and Sibelius, the four 50-minute episodes feature original music made especially for the series by Nils Petter Molvær and Magne Furuholmen.

The 2-DVD set has all four episodes on disc 1 (without English subtitles), while disc 2 includes a 50-minute summary of the series in English.

The DVD can be ordered from online shops such as Platekompaniet.no (only ships within Norway) and NordicDVD.com (worldwide shipping).

Nils Petter Molvær and Magne previously collaborated on the “Meltdown” concerts at Lillehammer in 2004. Molvær also played trumpet on Magne’s solo album Past Perfect Future Tense later that year, while Magne played piano on Molvær’s album er in 2005.

Initially, our music may seem very different, but when two such musical expressions are forced together, something magic can come out of it“, Molvær has said about working with Magne.

New book details

Magne Furuholmen - In Transit book cover

Book cover

More details, including the cover image, are now available for the upcoming book Magne Furuholmen – In Transit.

The book is published by Press, has 304 pages and will feature contributions from Ute Meta Bauer, Selene Wendt, Richard Dyer, Octavio Zaya, Henning Kramer Dahl and photographs by Lars Gundersen.

The book 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“, publisher Press states on their website.

The book can now be pre-ordered from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, where it’s listed with a May 31st publishing date.

Haugen Bok in Norway also has it up for pre-order, but with a March 28th date.

(Thanks to “Hermetic” and Caterina)

Movie premiere

Heidi Rydjord and Magne Furuholmen, December 15th 2010

Heidi and Magne, December 15th

Magne and Heidi attended the premiere of Marius Holst’s new movie Kongen av Bastøy (King of Devil’s Island) last night, at the Colosseum cinema in Oslo.

The movie, which has Stellan Skarsgård and Kristoffer Joner in the leading roles, is based on true events and tells the story of a group of boys in a youth prison on the island Bastøy in 1915. The trailer can be seen on YouTube here.

We’re looking forward to seeing it“, Magne told Nettavisen as they entered the cinema.

Marius Holst’s previous movies include Ti Kniver i Hjertet (1994) and Øyenstikker (2001), which both featured music composed by Magne and Kjetil Bjerkestrand. Holst also directed the music video for Magne’s song “Dragonfly”, in connection with Øyenstikker.

New book from Magne

Magne Furuholmen, February 2009

Planning new book

Dagbladet presents a list of some of the upcoming books to be published in Norway in spring 2011. It includes Magne Furuholmen – in transit, which is described as “a presentation of his activities as a visual artist”.

Magne’s previous art books/catalogues include Kutt (1995), Lerkrukker & Glasbilleder (2002), Foci (2004), Payne’s Gray (2004) and Monologues (2007). He has also illustrated Henning Kramer Dahl’s poetry books Blue Note Boulevards (1997) and Stjerneskutt (2004).

More details about the book and publishing date is not yet available.

In other news, Budstikka reports that Magne has signed a three-year contract to rent parts of the second floor at Galleri Trafo in Asker. This is the same gallery where he held his “Monologues” and “Camera”-exhibitions in 2007 and 2009, and Magne is reportedly planning to use the space as a new atelier and for further exhibitions.

“It’s our gift to the audience”

Kristiansand, September 7th

Kristiansand, September 7th

Magne and Morten were in Kristiansand yesterday to promote a-ha’s last ever stadium/outdoor concert.

Fædrelandsvennen has a video interview here, while Radio Sør has an audio interview here.

There was also a TV report on NRK Sørlandet, which can be seen here (starts after 7.45 minutes).

Magne:We’re now ending the most grandiose stadium tour in Norwegian history in Kristiansand on Saturday, so that will be a special concert for us and it will be very special for those who are coming to see it as well.

We have lots of friends and family down here, so it will be really cool to put on a real show at Sør Arena. We have brought along the world’s most amazing stage production and I think people’s jaws will drop. There’s never been anything like it in Norway and I don’t think any other band besides us could have done the same. And I don’t think anyone would have been crazy enough to pay for such a big production for so few shows. You need to tour for a year in order to pay for a production like this. It’s our gift to the audience.

13.500 tickets have been sold for the Kristiansand concert so far. The rigging of the stage is being streamed live here.

 
And here’s a new interview with director Steve Barron about the “Butterfly” video:
promonews.tv

Magne and Morten visit Rockheim

"How on earth could you wear that, Morten?" Magne studies old a-ha photos at the Rockheim museum in Trondheim today. (Picture from NRK Trøndelag)

“How on earth could you wear that, Morten?”
Magne studies old a-ha photos at the Rockheim museum in Trondheim today.
(Picture from NRK Trøndelag)

Magne and Morten were in Trondheim today to promote Saturday’s concert at Lerkendal stadium. Adresseavisen has a video interview with the guys here.

They also made a visit to Rockheim – the new interactive center/museum for Norwegian pop and rock, which opened earlier this month. The a-ha exhibit seems to be prominently featured at Rockheim, and Magne found some early Bridges photos that he had never seen before.

They are both touched by the reception they’ve been getting at the Norwegian concerts.

Morten: “It’s special for us to be at home in Norway and be met like this. I’m proud of the band“.

Magne: “There’s a really good atmosphere, we can feel that we’re being embraced and that this means a lot to people“.

A video report from their visit to Rockheim can be seen here (starts after 13.30 minutes): NRK Midtnytt 31.08.10

 

Here is another of my video clips from the Bergen concert: Cry Wolf

Be also sure to check out Lena’s videos from the soundcheck (there are 7 so far):
a-ha Bergen 28.08.2010 Soundcheck Part 1

And Claudia’s videos from the concert, like “Crying in the Rain”.

 

Several fans have asked me to mention a new petition for a-ha to stream the last concert on December 4th online. So, here it is: petitions24.com/signatures/a-halivestream/

But, as Catherine writes on WOTM, management is already well aware that fans want the final show to be streamed, so there really is no need for another petition.

 

And here is an interview with graphic designer Jeri Heiden about the HHAL album cover: Uncovered: a-ha, “Hunting High and Low”

Additional Oslo concert announced / More interviews

Morten on the front page of Stavanger Aftenblad Pluss.

Morten on the front page of Stavanger Aftenblad Pluss.

The second “Hunting High And Low”-concert that Magne mentioned earlier this week, has now been officially announced on a-ha.com.

The concert will be held at Oslo Konserthus on 4 October, and will benefit Mercy Ships – a Christian organization that operates hospital ships in developing nations. Only a limited amount of tickets will be available.

 

There is a lot of promo for the Norwegian concerts going on at the moment.

Morten is on the front page of Stavanger Aftenblad’s weekend magazine today. Inside there is a 3-page interview.

There is also a 2-page article about Morten in Vårt Land today, while Bergensavisen has an article about a purchase agreement for a guitar amplifier that Morten bought in 1976 (!).

Fædrelandsvennen has a 2-page interview with Karl Oluf, who talks about his experiences touring with a-ha over the last two years.

 

Karl Oluf on the front page of Fædrelandsvennen's culture section.

Karl Oluf on the front page of Fædrelandsvennen’s culture section.

In Bergen, the last preparations are being done before the concert at Brann Stadium tomorrow night. Between 25.000 and 30.000 people are expected to attend the largest concert ever held in the city. Bergens Tidende has documented the process of building the stage with an article and slideshow here. You can also view a 360° panorama picture of the stadium.

And here are some more interviews from Magne and Morten’s promo day in Bergen on Tuesday:
NRK Hordaland: – Har hatt en fantastisk karriere
Bergens Tidende: Gleder seg til å ta farvel med Bergen
Bergensavisen: A-ha lover kjempefest

NRK Hordaland: Ettermiddagssending 24.08 (Radio interview – starts after 50 minutes)

There will be a-ha stuff happening in the future as well“, Magne says in the interview with Bergensavisen. “Not albums and concerts. But certain people are interested in making musicals and fictional movies about a-ha. And that’s something that we have to consider.

 

And the 25 collection has finally entered the official Norwegian album chart (at number 9), as it’s now also available outside the COOP chain – earlier than originally planned.

In Europe as a whole, the album is at number 8 in its second week, as Billboard reports. It’s currently number 3 in Germany, 6 in Switzerland and 14 in Austria.

“Førkveld” interview

Førkveld, August 24th

Førkveld, August 24th

Magne and Morten are already in Bergen to prepare for Saturday’s concert at Brann Stadium, and tonight they were guests on the live talkshow “Førkveld” on NRK1, with host Halvor Folgerø.

They were very pleased with last weekend’s concert at Ullevaal.

Morten:It was great. There was a special atmosphere.

Magne:When we’re meeting our home crowd here in Norway for the last time, all the lines of lyrics that we have been singing through 25 years, like “Wave goodbye”, take on a different meaning.

 

Førkveld, August 24th

Førkveld, August 24th

The interview also addressed an issue Italian fans have been wondering about:

Halvor Folgerø:We have asked our viewers to send in questions via our Facebook page, and most of them, or at least 50 percent come from abroad. Quite a lot of Italians, actually…

Magne:They are mad at us, because we haven’t managed to include Italy on our Farewell Tour. And we’re feeling sorry about that.

Halvor Folgerø:Serena Renzi writes that Italian fans are so sad that you’re not coming to say farewell in her country. Do you have something against Italians or Italy, she asks?

Morten:Except Berlusconi? No.

Magne:Not at all. Italy was, for my part, one of the most fun countries to be touring. In addition to the excitement of playing concerts, it was also a culinary journey. I am incredibly fascinated by Italy in every way. So this is simply about two things; the fact that we haven’t been successfull enough in Italy in recent years that agents want to provide the support we need. We have a production at the moment of arena/stadium size. It costs a lot of money and someone has to take the risk. We have been willing to take our part of the risk, but… I mean, we do have a lot of fans in Italy, but I don’t think the agents are feeling confident enough about it. The other thing is that we have had so many offers from other places that in the end we’ve just decided that we’ll tour where we know that we are wanted.

 

Following a montage of live clips, Morten talked about how touring can become a blur after a while, which made Magne remember an infamous incident from last year. I have posted a translation here.

And Magne revealed that there will be a second HHAL-concert this autumn. But he didn’t say if it will be held at the Royal Albert Hall or somewhere else.

The Førkveld interview can be seen online here.

Magne and Morten were also interviewed on Vestlandsrevyen (local news) tonight. The video clip can be seen here.

 

And here is an update from Just Loomis, who is selling some of his own high-quality a-ha photos at justloomisahaart.com (see August 7th news story):

Due to the many, many requests that I have received from the fans, I am now offering a smaller print size for a limited time, for the fans of Aha. The cost of an 8×10 will be $50 plus shipping.

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