Posts Tagged ‘paul waaktaar-savoy’

Paul interviewed on BBC Radio

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Paul was a guest on Richard Green’s retro show on BBC Radio Devon last Saturday, 15 October, in connection with his Waaktaar & Zoe project.

The full interview can be heard on bbc.co.uk (starts at 23:30 minutes).

Below are a few quotes from the conversation:

On Waaktaar & Zoe:
“This project has been going for maybe 3-4 years. […] It sort of started with a few songs, and from the very first session I really just loved her voice and that super rich mid-range. She was also very good at just zoning into the mood of the song, which I’m super sensitive to. I could see for every take we did, she would get closer and closer to where she needed to be. For me that was such a kick as a songwriter, because a lot of the times you have to make that up in the arrangement.”

On plans for Waaktaar & Zoe in 2017:
“[The album] is ready to go, so now we’re just trying to figure out how to present it. We’re gonna be concentrating a lot on videos and stuff, and I would love to do festivals next summer. Zoe can really deliver on a stage and I would love to do a bunch of shows.”

On plans for Savoy:
“We’re gonna be reissuing all the old stuff over the next few months, and then I’ll actually finish the mix on the new [Savoy] album this week, with Steve Osborne. So I’m super excited about that too. So that will be coming out, maybe summertime next year.”

On a-ha’s future:
“With a-ha, it’s the three of us always going in three different directions. I would love to make a new album, so I’m pushing for that. But, you know, there’s other plans, there’s maybe an unplugged album in the making…we don’t know. We haven’t said goodbye, so I know there’s gonna be more. So we’ll just have to see where it ends up.”

“Beautiful Burnout” now available

Zoe and Paul interviewed by NRK in Paul's Brooklyn studio

Zoe and Paul interviewed by NRK in Paul’s Brooklyn studio

“Beautiful Burnout”, the first single from the upcoming Waaktaar & Zoe album World of Trouble was released yesterday, 30 September.

The song can be purchased/streamed on iTunes, Spotify and other services through this link, while the music video can be seen on YouTube. The video was directed by Evan Savitt, with cinematography by Zach Galler.

Update: The single will also be released physically as a limited edition (1000 copies) 7″ white vinyl on 11 November, with the B-side “They To Me And I To Them”. It’s available for pre-order from Drabant Music (worldwide shipping).

“Beautiful Burnout” gets a 5/6 review in the newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad (print edition); “Great vocals by Zoe and just the right amount of Beatles-references from Waaktaar. This makes me want to hear more”, the review says.

“After, I think, the first session, I got the shivers from the very first thing she sang. I thought ‘I don’t really want to have other people singing. I wish we could do something with this'”, Paul said in an interview with Lørdagsrevyen on NRK1 tonight.

There is also a short video clip from an interview with Audun Vinger on the Waaktaar & Zoe Facebook page.

Although the World of Trouble album isn’t out until 24 February next year, the tracklist and 15 minutes of song samples have already been posted on iTunes.

From Lørdagsrevyen, 1 October

From Lørdagsrevyen, 1 October

The 10-track album will include the songs “They to Me and I to Them” – originally an early a-ha song from 1983/84, “Open Face” – a song from the Cast In Steel recording sessions, and “Winter Wants Me Empty” – a new and more electronic version of the Savoy song “Unsound” from Lackluster Me.

Full tracklist:
1. Beautiful Burnout
2. Tearful Girl
3. World of Trouble
4. Laundromat
5. Mammoth
6. They to Me and I to Them
7. Winter Wants Me Empty
8. Ancient Arches
9. Open Face
10. The Sequoia Has Fallen

Follow Waaktaar & Zoe on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Waaktaar & Zoe signs with Drabant Music

Picture from Drabant Music

Picture from Drabant Music

The Norwegian record label Drabant Music issued the following press release today:

Pål Waaktaar-Savoy (a-ha) and singer Zoë Aphrodite Gnecco (daughter of Jimmy Gnecco) recently signed a worldwide recording deal with the Norwegian record label Drabant Music.

Pål and Zoe are both living in NYC and they have known each other for years. When this exciting collaboration turned into an album project they decided to simply name it Waaktaar & Zoe.

The album “World Of Trouble” is set to be released on the 24th of February 2017, while the first single “Beautiful Burnout” will be released on September 30th this year. Pre order the single here.

Follow Waaktaar & Zoe on Facebook.

The music video for “Beautiful Burnout” premiered at the international a-ha fan convention in Oslo in April this year. The song features lyrics that Paul has re-used from the early version of “Foot Of The Mountain” that was included on the deluxe version of Cast In Steel.

Waaktaar & Zoe also have a new Twitter account.

Paul to release “World of Trouble” album

Aftenposten has published an extensive interview with Paul today (subscribers only), which was done in Munich earlier this month.

Oberhausen, 20 April (From a YouTube video by Patricia Seders)

Oberhausen, 20 April
(From a YouTube video by Patricia Seders)

A few translated quotes:

“We’re not stopping now. This isn’t a farewell tour.”

– Yeah, as you already did the farewell tour last time?

“Yes, this tour is to promote the [Cast in Steel] album. We’ll probably be back for more craziness at some point.”

– How important is a-ha for you today?

“When in the middle of it, nothing is more important. There’s nothing in my life that hasn’t happened because of a-ha.”

– Will it be sad to walk off stage after the last concert?

“Not at all – it will be great. I can’t wait for people to hear the music I’ve made over the last few years. First up is ‘World of Trouble’, an album I’ve made with Zoë Gnecco from New Jersey. Her voice gives me goose bumps.”

– What about a-ha makes you the most proud?

“The fact that we’re still rockin’! That’s perhaps because we’ve never been super satisfied with things we’ve done. We don’t sit and pat each other on the back, thinking we’ve done something fantastic. I feel like an underachiever in everything I do.”

VG interview: a-ha are open for more

Munich, April 6th (Picture by Nicole Mikolai)

Munich, April 6th
(Picture by Nicole Mikolai)

VG has published a new interview with a-ha today, which was done after the concert in Berlin on Wednesday.

Asked about last week’s much debated Blick-interview, Morten says the comment about a-ha being a finished chapter was taken completely out of context:

“I don’t mean what’s written in there at all. I’m on tour with the band, having a great time and thinking that we should really be grateful that we get to experience this. Why would I have kept going together with the other two if it wasn’t meaningful to me? It’s been 30 years since we started and the fact that we still get to do it is not something you can take for granted”, Morten tells VG backstage in Berlin.

Magne describes the controversy surrounding the Blick-interview as a “storm in a teacup”, but he also feels it was necessary to set things straight with an official statement:

“That was mostly directed at the fans, as we don’t want them to believe that we don’t appreciate them. Because we do. It’s an incredible privilege to be able to embark on a tour and get such a fantastic reception, after 30 years. We may have taken this for granted in the past, but when you’ve been away from it for a while you’re more humbled by it”, Magne says.

Munich, April 6th (Picture by Nicole Mikolai)

Munich, April 6th
(Picture by Nicole Mikolai)

After the tour ends in Bergen on May 7th, Magne will be busy finishing his sculpture park at Fornebuporten, which should be ready by June 9th, Paul will release the new Savoy album, while Morten will take a long holiday.

Manager Harald Wiik says Morten may release new music and do solo concerts in 2017, although there are no specific plans at the moment. There are also some non-music related projects in the works.

Munich, April 6th (Picture by Nicole Mikolai)

Munich, April 6th
(Picture by Nicole Mikolai)

All three of them are open to the idea of more a-ha at some point down the line:

Morten: “That’s open for speculation, of course. When you’ve been working with music almost non-stop since the late 70s, the likelihood of it continuing is greater than the opposite.”

Magne: “I said I wasn’t open for anything five years ago, and I have been proven wrong. I haven’t thought of this as a farewell tour, as we’ve already done that. After this tour ends we don’t have any plans. So that leaves an open book. But we’re constantly getting lots of new requests and offers. Sometimes it’s easy to say no, while other times it’s very difficult.”

Paul: “One thing you can be sure of; if we get excited about a new song, we’re back in business. Regardless of what may have been said before.”

Apollon Records to reissue Savoy albums

Savoy

Savoy

Savoy have signed a contract with Bergen-based Apollon Records to reissue all their five studio albums on CD, vinyl and digitally; Mary is Coming (1996), Lackluster Me (1997), Mountains of Time (1999), Reasons to Stay Indoors (2001) and Savoy (2004).

“We have signed a contract with Apollon to reissue all the first five Savoy albums. This will be the first time they are released on vinyl and on digital platforms”, Paul told Bergensavisen earlier this week.

No release date has been set so far, but it appears Lackluster Me will be released first, as Warner in the US has yet to greenlight the reissue of Mary is Coming.

“Apollon has shown great enthusiasm for Savoy for a long time and that means a lot to us. It means everything, really”, Paul says on the decision to sign with Apollon Records.

The deal with Apollon does not include the new Savoy album, which will hopefully be released sometime later this year.

“The new Savoy album will be mixed now before the summer and has not been signed to any label yet”, Paul says.

Paul is also preparing to release the album he’s recorded with Zoe Gnecco. A music video of a song from the album will premiere at the a-ha fan convention in Oslo later this month. More info on a-ha.com.

Savoy recording new album in New York

Savoy

Savoy

Frode Unneland has been in New York this week, to work on the next Savoy album together with Paul and Lauren.

Paul posted a few pictures on Facebook and Instagram today, confirming that the band is currently recording at a studio in Rhinecliff, New York.

They were originally planning to finalize the Savoy album in the summer of 2014, but that was apparently postponed until now.

In an interview with the newspaper Åsane Tidende last week, Frode said they are planning to release both a new album and to reissue the old Savoy albums on vinyl.

Frode is also drumming for another band at the moment, Evig Din For Alltid, which released their third album last month, entitled Tilbake Til Byen. It includes two songs written by him. He says the two bands are quite different entities:

“It’s really fun and exciting to be a part of Savoy, but it’s a totally different world compared to Evig Din For Alltid, which is more like a bunch of buddies hanging out. But it’s really exciting to be working together with Paul; we’re having a great time together”, Frode says in the interview.

Savoy’s last studio album was released in 2004, while a double “best of” album of old songs, re-recorded versions and some new songs followed in 2007. The band last performed together in 2008.

Paul interviewed by Aftenposten

A selection of pages from Paul's notebooks are included in the Aftenposten article

A selection of pages from Paul’s notebooks are included in the Aftenposten article

Today’s edition of Aftenposten includes an extensive 7-page article that tells the story of how two of a-ha’s biggest fans, P.A. Stenersen and Christopher Hopkins, managed to rescue a number of early a-ha recordings and notebooks, ending a decade-long legal stalemate between a-ha and their controversial first manager John Ratcliff.

Many of these early recordings are now included on the new 5-disc 30th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition of Hunting High and Low, to be released on September 18th.

Getting his old notebooks back also inspired Paul to record one of the early songs, “She’s Humming a Tune”, which has ended up being one of the tracks on Cast In Steel.

“When I got the books back, I saw the lyrics and remembered ‘oh yeah, that one was cool’. Then I thought it would be cool to record this one in particular now”, Paul says.

Paul also talks candidly about what he thinks of the new album:

“It is very hard to think of this as a-ha, because it seems to me that there are three different things – which one calls a-ha. It often ends up like this, and many bands do it this way. But I do miss the feeling of us being in the same studio, working on the same song in real time.”

An English translation of the entire Aftenposten article has been posted online at Aftenposten.no.

“Under The Makeup” music video shoot

It has now been confirmed that this week’s a-ha music video shoot was for “Under The Makeup”. The shoot took place somewhere in Telemark, Norway from Monday 10th to Wednesday 12th August.

There has been some confusion surrounding whether the German release of “Under The Makeup” on 21st August had been cancelled, but that info turned out to be wrong and the single release is going ahead as planned.

The music video will feature Danish actress Sofie Gråbøl, known from the acclaimed Danish TV-series Forbrydelsen, its American remake The Killing and most recently the British series Fortitude.

Also appearing in the video is Swedish actress Frida Farrell, who has posted a selection of pictures from the video shoot on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter:

Picture 1    Picture 2    Picture 3

a-ha doing promo in Germany

It looks like a-ha have been in Berlin, Germany this week, doing promotion for their upcoming album Cast In Steel.

Universal Music Germany posted an Instagram picture of the guys waiting for the last interview to begin, after “having talked extensively with the press about their new album over the last few days”. None of the interviews have surfaced yet, but they will probably start appearing soon.

Five new press photos taken yesterday appeared at epa.eu:
Photo 1   Photo 2   Photo 3   Photo 4   Photo 5

a-ha.com also posted a similar Instagram picture from the same interview session as UMG, while Magne posted a selfie of the three of them together on Thursday:

the brothers grimm enjoying a rare moment as a threesome

A photo posted by Magne Furuholmen (@magne_furuholmen) on

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