New cover and new title

Today Paul announced that Savoy’s self-titled 2004 album has been reissued digitally, featuring a new cover image and even a new title; Whalebone, named after the album’s lead single.

Savoy’s fifth album was originally released in August 2004 and included the radio singles “Whalebone” and “Empty of Feeling”. It peaked at #7 on the Norwegian album chart.

The new cover image is taken from Jason Brandenberg’s short film for the closing track “Isotope”, and was used inside the fold-out digipak edition (CD+DVD) of the album when it was first released.

This means that all seven Savoy studio albums are now available on streaming. And while some previous Savoy reissues were shortened by several minutes, the new reissues of Reasons To Stay Indoors and Savoy both seem to retain the same length as before.

The new cover

Paul has announced that a remastered version of Savoy’s fourth album Reasons To Stay Indoors (2001) is now available on all streaming platforms.

The reissued album also comes with an alternate cover photo, taken by Sebastian Schmidt, and updated band logo. The same photo was previously used for the promo single of “Half Of The Time”, though it was a mirrored version.

Reasons To Stay Indoors peaked at #8 on the Norwegian album chart back in 2001 and included the singles “If You Won’t Come To The Party”, “Half Of The Time” and “Five Million Years”.

No word yet if a Hi-res version of the album will also be available for purchase, like the reissue of Mary is Coming (96 kHz/24 Bit) last year, or if a vinyl or CD reissue could be possible.

Frode Unneland

Savoy drummer Frode Unneland was the main guest on the Norwegian radio show Stjernepose on NRK P13 this week, to talk about the new Savoy album Under.

Below are some translated quotes from the conversation.

On the album:
“We are very satisfied with it. It was an easy recording process and it’s a very structured and cohesive album. To us there’s a common thread throughout the concept that is ‘Under’. Paul has said that many of the songs were written during Covid lockdowns. His lyrics are personal, but I can relate to the loneliness that he describes. Walking down empty streets and so on.”

Starting the recording process:
“a-ha had finished their [2022] tour and Paul was staying for a week in Oslo, alone in their house. He called me up and asked if I wanted to come over, drink some wine and listen to some new songs he’d made.

When I entered his home studio he had put up a large sheet of paper with 13 songs on it, and we just started at the top of the list. He had already recorded some rough demos that I played along to, and then I was able to add my own drumming style to that. It was really fun to play on this album, because things started to gel really fast. We did all the songs in around three days.”

Old and new:
“On this album there’s one song that we’ve recorded a few times before, but never made the cut because we weren’t quite happy with it. But this time we suddenly figured it out. But Paul is constantly writing new material, and sometimes he’s amassed a lot of songs that he needs to release – or at least record.”

Across the Atlantic:
“So we did the initial recordings very quickly, but then he went home to the US and continued working from there. He’s in California, I’m in Norway, but he’ll send me video clips from the studio of things he’s working on, like a new keyboard part or guitar part. And he’s eager to get my feedback.”

Recording his own vocals:
“All my own vocal tracks were recorded in the bedroom of our house [in Bergen], and that worked really well. It’s the first time that I’ve recorded something without Paul being present. But I don’t know much about using computers to record things, so I enlisted the help of my youngest son Filip. So on the cover it says “engineered by Filip Unneland” and that’s really cool. And Paul really loved how it sounded, so he gifted him a black Ludwig drum kit and lots of compressors and microphones.”

Why Savoy rarely play live:
“The [2018] concert [in Oslo] was incredibly fun. After the show everyone were like “we need to do this again!”. But then another a-ha tour got in the way. That’s what happens. (…) There’s also the challenge of hiring new backing musicians and rehearsing extensively – yet again. Although Paul knows that I’d do it in a heartbeat. But we do get lots of offers to play live, here and there. Paul’s latest suggestion was that perhaps I could put together a Savoy cover band, that would have been much easier! [laughs]”

This is the Transparent Orange version of the vinyl. Transparent Lime and Black are also available.

Savoy’s seventh studio album Under is released on their own label Eleventeen Records today. Available now digitally on streaming, or physically on vinyl. It doesn’t seem like there will be a CD version this time.

The 10-track album has been produced and arranged by Savoy, mixed by Simon Vinestock and mastered by Joe Lambert. It features contributions from familiar names such as Hågen Rørmark, Per Hillestad, Joe Mardin and True August. Frode Unneland’s son Filip is credited as one of the engineers.

The music video for latest single “Coming Down” has also premiered today and can be seen on YouTube. Directed by Jason Brandenberg.

The newspaper Dagsavisen gives the album 5/6 in its review (paywall), highlighting the title track:
” “Under” is a guitar-driven song where the chorus sounds like something David Bowie could have made after his late comeback, a melancholic pop song kept in a psychedelic drive and with large contrasts in both the vocals and arrangements. This is Savoy at their most experimental, but also at their most accessible. Some of the same Bowie-esque way of singing can be heard in “Lonesome Alone”, while the production on the album consistently builds intricate layers of atmosphere, sounds and nice details, especially in the guitar playing and some of the string arrangements.”

Dagsavisen’s reviewer also mentions “Camden Palace Chronicles” as another highlight on the album, calling it “a pop-aesthetic jewel of a song, with beautiful vocals from Lauren”. He concludes that “Under is more proof that some of the best and most ambitious music Paul Waaktaar-Savoy has written (with Lauren), he’s kept for himself and for Savoy”.

Another positive review of Under comes from Dagens Næringsliv (paywall):
“Their seventh studio album Under sounds quite inspired. This is their best album in a long time, featuring ten well-written quality songs. (…) It’s a consistent record, but check out songs like “Digital River” and “Pure as Driven Snow” as examples of excellent, mature pop.”

Two-page interview with Lauren and Paul in Klassekampen, 2 February.

Meanwhile, Klassekampen has interviewed Paul and Lauren across two pages in today’s paper issue (paywall).

“The move [to LA] has given us new impulses and influenced the finished result quite a lot”, Paul says of the new album.

“We have also found inspiration from musicians who have worked here, like the Laurel Canyon-scene in the 1960s and 70s”, Lauren adds.
“A song like “Station” is somewhat inspired by The Mamas & the Papas, with its layered vocals”.

They both mention Frode as being a very important part of the band:
“Frode spreads a lot of good energy around. His vocal parts are also an integral part of our sound, as on the new song “Pure as Driven Snow””, Paul says.

They refer to each song on Under as its own journey and what Paul calls pieces of the big puzzle:
“At the same time we’re chasing that feeling of goosebumps. Most of the songs have been through many versions, and in the end you just have to trust your gut feeling”.

“With this trio of ours we don’t have to think about ticket sales, endless touring and all that. In Savoy we’re doing this out of love for the music and because we want to create something we’re proud of”, Paul says.

Single cover (photo by Paul)

“Coming Down” is the fourth single off Savoy’s upcoming album Under, and is released today.
The song is available on Spotify, Apple Music etc, and has also been posted on YouTube. A music video is on the way, according to Paul.

VG has reviewed “Coming Down”, giving it 4/6:
“Even 28 years into their career, it’s fair to describe the collaboration between the married couple Waaktaar-Savoy and Bergen drum genius Frode Unneland as a “con amore” project. As with any labour of love, [Savoy] just keep getting better and better as the years go by. “Coming Down” is a soft reflection about places you’ve been and places where others are. A simple tune, really. But then Paul Waaktaar-Savoy sings so softly and beautifully that you just have to adore it.”

Song credits:

Producer, Arranger: Savoy
Mixer: Simon Vinestock
Mastering Engineer: Joe Lambert
Recording Engineer: Filip Unneland
Recording Engineer, Lyricist: Pål Waaktaar Savoy
Lyricist: Lauren Savoy

Album cover

Savoy have announced their upcoming seventh studio album Under will be released on 2 February 2024.

Here is the tracklist:

1. Lonely Surfer
2. Station
3. Digital River
4. Pure as Driven Snow
5. Life and Times of a Wannabe
6. Under
7. Coming Down
8. Camden Palace Chronicles
9. X Marks the Spot
10. Lonesome Alone

The album will be available in three different vinyl versions: Black, Ltd Transparent Lime and Ltd Transparent Orange. They can be pre-ordered from edda.tigernet.no

Or pre-save the album digitally here.

The latest Savoy single “Life and Times of a Wannabe” is now available.
It’s the third single from the upcoming seventh Savoy studio album. According to Musikknyheter the new album is called Under and will be released in early 2024.

Paul writes that “Life and Times of a Wannabe” has been mixed by Simon Vinestock and mastered by Joe Lambert, with cover art designed by Tom Korsvold.

The song is accompanied by an official music video directed by Jason Brandenberg, shot in New York in mid-September, which portrays the “world of elite paper-boat folding and racing”.

Paper folding was also among the themes in a previous Savoy video directed by Brandenberg; “Isotope” (2004). His other music videos include “Whalebone” (2004), “Night Watch” (2017) and “January Thaw” (2018) for Savoy, plus “Tearful Girl” (2017) and “Laundromat” (2017) for Waaktaar & Zoe.