Posts Tagged ‘scoundrel days’

Apparatjik and a-ha comics in the making

A page from the Apparatjik comic book

Award-winning British comic book artist Mike Perkins has created a new comic about Apparatjik, which will be used in connection with upcoming Apparatjik concerts.

“It’s in black and white and fairly short, but I’ve shown it to Magne Furuholmen, who liked it. It will be published in concert folders in connection with upcoming Apparatjik concerts. Later on, it will be available in other media as well”, Perkins says.

Perkins, known for his work on Captain America and Stephen King’s The Stand, was in Bergen at the Raptus Comics Festival last weekend. In an interview with Aftenposten he says that he’s also planning a comic about a-ha’s Scoundrel Days album:

“For a long time I’ve wanted to turn Scoundrel Days into a comic book. It’s the darkest and most melancholic of a-ha’s albums, and I was a big fan of it when it was released in the fall of 1986.

The title track immediately caught my imagination, and gives me hints to manipulative politicians and things like that. There’s a certain film noir feeling to it, which can also be seen in the music videos, for example in “I’ve Been Losing You” which includes the line “The gun on the bedside table”.

I’m hoping to do Scoundrel Days in noir-style with limited use of colours. I would also want to use several of the music videos as inspiration, plus songs from other a-ha albums like Hunting High and Low and more recent songs like “Butterfly, Butterfly”. In the “Hunting High and Low” music video, Morten Harket transforms into a whale, a dolphin and finally a wolf [sic]. This is also something I’d want to incorporate into the comic book.

The main characters will be humans with the ability to transform into animals and jump to parallel worlds.”

Magne Furuholmen says that he’s all positive to a-ha songs being turned into a comic book:

“I think this is really exciting, and I can’t imagine the others in the band being negative to it. I have never been a comic book nerd myself, but I did read comics as a kid, like everyone else, and I have seen some of his previous work. He is very skilled and it will be interesting to see what he can come up with.”

– What do you think about an album living on in other art forms?

“This will be like a reinterpretation of something we’ve done. Having one expression living on in a different form is exciting. There’s something good about having created something that triggers someone else’s imagination in ways we couldn’t have originally envisioned”, Magne tells Aftenposten.

Pre-order remastered Deluxe Editions

The remastered 2-disc Deluxe Editions of Hunting High And Low and Scoundrel Days will be released in the UK on July 12th 2010.

Both albums can now be pre-ordered from Amazon.co.uk using the links below:

Hunting High and Low:
Deluxe Edition

Tracklist:

Disc 1:
1. Take On Me
2. Train Of Thought
3. Hunting High And Low
4. The Blue Sky
5. Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale
6. The Sun Always Shines On T.V.
7. And You Tell Me
8. Love Is Reason
9. I Dream Myself Alive
10. Here I Stand And Face The Rain
Bonus Tracks:
11. Take On Me (Original 7″ Version 1984)
12. The Sun Always Shines On T.V. (Extended Mix)
13. Train Of Thought (U.S. Mix)
14. Hunting High And Low (Extended Remix)

Disc 2:
1. Take On Me (Demo)
2. Train Of Thought (Demo)*
3. Hunting High And Low (Demo)*
4. The Blue Sky (Demo)
5. Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale (Early Version)*
6. The Sun Always Shines on T.V. (Demo)*
7. And You Tell Me (Demo)
8. Love Is Reason (Demo)*
9. I Dream Myself Alive (Demo)*
10. Here I Stand And Face The Rain (Demo)*
11. Stop And Make Your Mind Up
12. Driftwood
13. Dot The I*
14. The Love Goodbye
15. Nothing To It*
16. Go To Sleep
17. Monday Mourning
18. All The Planes That Come In On The Quiet*
19. Never Never
20. What’s That You’re Doing To Yourself*
21. You Have Grown Thoughtful Again*
22. Lesson One (Autumn 1982 Demo)*
23. Presenting Lily Mars

* previously unreleased

Scoundrel Days:
Deluxe Edition

Tracklist:

Disc 1:
1. Scoundrel Days
2. The Swing Of Things
3. I’ve Been Losing You
4. October
5. Manhattan Skyline
6. Cry Wolf
7. We’re Looking For The Whales
8. The Weight Of The Wind
9. Maybe, Maybe
10. Soft Rains Of April
Bonus Tracks:
11. I’ve Been Losing You (Extended Version)
12. Cry Wolf (Extended Version)
13. Manhattan Skyline (Extended Version)

Disc 2:
1. Scoundrel Days (Demo)*
2. The Swing Of Things (Demo #3)*
3. I’ve Been Losing You (Octocon Studio Demo)*
4. October (Demo)*
5. Manhattan Skyline (Demo)*
6. Cry Wolf (Demo)*
7. We’re Looking For The Whales (Demo)*
8. The Weight Of The Wind (Demo)*
9. Maybe, Maybe (Demo)*
10. Soft Rains Of April (Guitar Version)*
11. Scoundrel Days (Octocon Studio Demo)*
12. This Alone Is Love (Original Version)
13. Days On End (Demo)
14. Train of Thought (Live In Croydon)*
15. I’ve Been Losing You (Live In Croydon)*
16. The Blue Sky (Live In Croydon)*
17. Looking for The Whales (Live In Croydon)
18. Cry Wolf (Live In Croydon)*

* previously unreleased
 
 
 
 
 
 

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