a-ha – SIDE-LINE

Zürich’s Fueled By Fear revisit a-ha’s ‘Take On Me’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:31:10 +0000

Zürich metalcore and melodic death metal band Fueled By Fear have released an official video for their version of a-ha’s 1985 hit “Take On Me.” The track appears on the five-song EP “Ordinary Evil”, which was produced and mixed by Oscar Nilsson at Studio Bohus in Kungälv, Sweden.

Guitarist Daniel Zopfi says: “We didn’t want to copy the original we wanted to reinterpret it in a way that feels honest to who we are as a band.” Drummer Mauro Galasso adds: “We embraced the 80s aesthetic, added a bit of parody, and mixed it with our heavier sound.”

You can watch the video for Fueled By Fear’s take on “Take On Me”right below.

The full “Ordinary Evil” tracklist is: “Suffer”, “Edge of Sanity”, “Godmade”, “End of Time”, and “Take on Me (A-ha cover).” Mauro Galasso says the EP title was inspired by Hannah Arendt’s idea of the “banality of evil,” and as a response to conformity, abuse of power, and indifference.

About Fueled By Fear

Fueled By Fear are from Zürich, Switzerland. They have been active since 2011, first under the name Bloodbound, then briefly as Blood Will Bound in 2016, before the band settled on Fueled By Fear. The rename happened after they discovered another act was already using the earlier name.

After roughly six months of songwriting, the group played its first show supporting Requiem. Fueled By Fear then joined Sepultura’s Baltic tour in March 2012 and supported In Flames on a Russian mini-tour in 2013.

The debut album “Two by Eight” was released on October 16, 2016 via Ashburn Productions. The EP “This Forsaken Place” followed in early 2019, also through Ashburn Productions. The second full-length, “Death for You All”, was released on January 28, 2022. A standalone single, “Flawless Victory”, followed on February 3, 2023.

The “Ordinary Evil” release was preceeded by the singles “Suffer”, “Edge of Sanity”, “Godmade”, and “End of Time”, followed by “Take On Me (Cover)” in January 2026 and the full EP at the end of that month.

The current line-up is Marco Böhlen on vocals, Manuel Elber and Daniel Zopfi on guitars, Josh De Souza on bass, and Mauro Galasso on drums.

About a-ha’s ‘Take On Me’

“Take On Me” was written by Pål Waaktaar, Magne Furuholmen, and Morten Harket. The song grew out of the earlier Bridges composition “Lesson One” and first appeared as an a-ha single on October 19, 1984. That first release drew notice in Norway but did not become an international breakthrough. A re-recorded version followed in 1985 for a-ha’s debut album “Hunting High and Low”. Backed by Steve Barron’s rotoscope-based video, the song became the band’s global breakthrough, reached No. 1 in the US on October 19, 1985, peaked at No. 2 in the UK, and the video went on to win six MTV Video Music Awards.

The song has been covered many times since. Among the better-known versions are the versions by Cap’n Jazz in 1995, Captain Jack in 1996, Reel Big Fish in 1996, A1 in 2000, D.A. Wallach in 2017, and Weezer in 2019. A1’s version was the biggest chart hit among the covers, reaching No. 1 in the UK. But there are of course many other additional recordings, which shows how often “Take On Me” has been revisited across pop, punk, ska, soundtrack, and rock.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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a-ha mark 20 years of ‘Analogue’ with 2CD deluxe set and first-time vinyl release

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 20:06:09 +0000

Norwegian band a-ha will mark the 20th anniversary of their eighth studio album “Analogue” with a new 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition in 2026. Originally released on 4 November 2005 via Polydor Records, the album returns in a 2CD configuration with 21 bonus tracks and as a remastered vinyl edition tied to Record Store Day 2026.

Fifteen of these are previously unreleased and draw from b-sides, remixes, demos and alternate versions from the album sessions. The Record Store Day 2026 2LP edition presents the full original tracklist, newly remastered by Bill Inglot and spread across four sides, including “Celice”, “Analogue (All I Want)”, “Cosy Prisons”, “Birthright”, “Holy Ground”, “Over the Treetops”, “Keeper of the Flame”, “White Dwarf” and “The Summers of Our Youth”.

The campaign is handled by Rhino in partnership with Record Store Day and follows earlier deluxe reissues from the band’s catalogue over the last decade.

About a-ha’s ‘Analogue’ album

“Analogue” is a-ha’s eighth studio album and was produced by a-ha and Martin Terefe, with additional production contributions from Max Martin, Michael Ilbert, George Tanderø and Kjetil Bjerkestrand. Flood handled most of the original mixing, while Graham Nash contributed backing vocals to “Cosy Prisons” and “Over the Treetops.”

a-ha recorded the album between February and July 2005 across multiple studios in New York City, Nashville, Oslo, London, and Stockholm.

The core “Analogue” track exists in a revised single form as “Analogue (All I Want).” The album generated four singles: “Celice,” “Birthright,” “Analogue (All I Want),” and “Cosy Prisons.” On the UK charts, “Analogue (All I Want)” peaked at No. 10 on the Official Singles Chart, and the album “Analogue” peaked at No. 24 on the Official Albums Chart.

In Norway, “Analogue” reached No. 1 on the official VG-lista albums chart (listed in the published roll-up of Norway’s number-one albums).

About a-ha

Formed in Oslo, Norway, in 1982, a-ha bring together vocalist Morten Harket, guitarist and songwriter Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and keyboardist Magne Furuholmen. The trio moved to London in the early 1980s, signing to Warner Bros. and releasing their debut album “Hunting High and Low” in 1985, which introduced worldwide hits “Take On Me” and “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.”.

The group followed with “Scoundrel Days” (1986), “Stay on These Roads” (1988), “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” (1990) and “Memorial Beach” (1993), maintaining chart positions across Europe before entering a mid-1990s hiatus. They returned in 2000 with “Minor Earth | Major Sky” and in 2002 with “Lifelines”, both later revisited through remastered 2CD and vinyl deluxe editions featuring extensive bonus material.

“Analogue” (2005) became the band’s eighth studio album and their first for Polydor/Universal after leaving Warner. It yielded four singles.

The band continued with “Foot of the Mountain” (2009), “Cast in Steel” (2015) and “True North” (2022), combining new studio work with retrospective tours such as “Hunting High and Low Live” and a series of deluxe reissues of earlier albums. “True North“, probably the band’s final album, was released in 2022.

As of June 2025, Morten Harket has publicly disclosed a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and has undergone deep brain stimulation treatment. His condition affects his voice and may limit future live performances, while the band’s members and management have indicated that any upcoming activities will take his health into account.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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Morten Harket (a-ha) reveals Parkinson’s diagnosis and treatment journey

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 18:11:32 +0000

Morten Harket, the frontman of Norwegian pop trio a-ha, has revealed that he is living with Parkinson’s disease. The diagnosis, kept private until now, has been confirmed in a personal account written by Jan Omdahl for a-ha.com.

“I’ve got no problem accepting the diagnosis,” Morten Harket stated. “With time I’ve taken to heart my 94-year-old father’s attitude to the way the organism gradually surrenders: ‘I use whatever works’.”

The 64-year-old singer, known for his iconic falsetto on hits such as “Take On Me” and “Stay On These Roads,” has been quietly managing his condition for several years. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a degenerative neurological disease caused by the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells. The disease affects movement, voice, and motor control and currently has no cure.

Omdahl, who authored “The Swing of Things”, a biography of a-ha, visited Harket at his home on Norway’s south coast to discuss the journey. Although the singer has largely hidden the condition from the public, he explained his decision to speak out: “Part of me wanted to reveal it. Like I said, acknowledging the diagnosis wasn’t a problem for me; it’s my need for peace and quiet to work that has been stopping me.”

Despite the challenges, Morten Harket has undergone extensive treatment, including deep brain stimulation (DBS), a procedure involving the implantation of electrodes into the brain. He received the operations at the Mayo Clinic in the United States, facilitated by his Norwegian neurologist Dr. Christina Sundal, formerly of the Mayo team.

The first procedure on the left side of his brain in June 2024 led to dramatic improvement. A second surgery in December 2024 on the right side was also successful. “The procedure had the desired effect,” Omdahl noted. “With the right electrical impulses now reaching Morten’s brain, many of his physical symptoms practically vanished.”

Nevertheless, the impact on his voice remains uncertain says Morten Harket. “The problems with my voice are one of many grounds for uncertainty about my creative future,” Harket said. Asked whether he could still sing, he replied: “I don’t really know. I don’t feel like singing, and for me that’s a sign. […] As things stand now, that’s out of the question.”

Morten Harket explained that dopamine supplements, while necessary, tend to worsen his vocal condition. “The voice problem comes especially when I take dopamine supplements. If I don’t take dopamine, my voice settles down – but then the general underlying symptoms become more pronounced.”

Despite this, Morten Harket remains philosophical. “When I say that my identity isn’t about being a singer, that’s my direct response. It comes straight from the heart.”

Now a grandfather as well as a father of five, Harket emphasized his need to follow medical advice rather than respond to alternative suggestions he expects to receive following the announcement. “I know there are many opinions and alternative theories,” he said. “But I need to listen to the professionals I have available to me […] I won’t be able to process anything else.”

Even with Parkinson’s, Morten Harket has continued working on music. “For a few years now I’ve been working on songs that I’ve got great belief in,” he said, showing Omdahl lyrics and demos stored on his iPad.

As for what comes next, Harket says: “It used to bother me to think about my sickness becoming public knowledge. In the long run it bothers me more to have to protect something that is strictly a private matter by treating it as a secret.”

And Morten Harket adds: “Don’t worry about me. Find out who you want to be – a process that can be new each and every day. Be good servants of nature, the very basis of our existence, and care for the environment while it is still possible to do so. […] Know that I am being taken care of.”

About Morten Harket

Morten Harket, born on September 14, 1959, in Kongsberg, Norway, is a Norwegian vocalist and songwriter best known as the lead singer of the synthpop/rock band a-ha. Raised in the town of Asker, Harket developed an early interest in music, performing with local bands including Soldier Blue before co-founding a-ha in 1982 with Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen.

A-ha relocated to London in the early 1980s, eventually signing with Warner Bros. Records. Their debut album “Hunting High and Low” was released in 1985 and became a global success, selling over 10 million copies. It featured the chart-topping hit “Take On Me” and established Harket’s reputation for his expansive vocal range, particularly his powerful falsetto. The band followed with “Scoundrel Days” (1986), “Stay on These Roads” (1988), “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” (1990), and “Memorial Beach” (1993), progressively evolving their sound.

After a-ha went on hiatus in the mid-1990s, Harket pursued a solo career. His first solo album, “Poetenes Evangelium” (1993), was a Norwegian-language release featuring interpretations of religious poetry. This was followed by “Wild Seed” (1995), which produced the hit single “A Kind of Christmas Card”, and “Vogts Villa” (1996), sung entirely in Norwegian. Later solo works included “Letter from Egypt” (2008), “Out of My Hands” (2012) and “Brother” (2014).

A-ha reformed in 1998 for the Nobel Peace Prize Concert and resumed recording, releasing “Minor Earth Major Sky” (2000), “Lifelines” (2002), “Analogue” (2005), “Foot of the Mountain” (2009), and “Cast in Steel” (2015). In 2022, the band released “True North”, an album and accompanying film project recorded in Bodø, Norway.

Known for his introspective nature and philosophical outlook, Harket has frequently distanced himself from the trappings of celebrity. He has described himself as an artist first and foremost, often emphasizing that he does not define his identity strictly as a singer.

In 2025, Harket publicly disclosed that he is living with Parkinson’s disease. He underwent advanced neurosurgical treatment, including deep brain stimulation procedures at the Mayo Clinic in the United States, which significantly reduced his physical symptoms. Despite improvements in motor function, the disease has impacted his voice, leading to uncertainty about future performances.

In addition to his musical career, Harket has been involved in environmental advocacy and human rights initiatives. He is a father of five and a grandfather, residing in Norway with a lifestyle focused on craftsmanship, reflection, and creative exploration.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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a-ha releases exclusive ‘Hunting High and Low – The 1984 Demos’ vinyl for Record Store Day 2025

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 18:11:56 +0000

Just a few more days to go and it’s Record Store Day 2025. Scheduled for April 12th, it has a real treasure for a-ha fans: “Hunting High and Low – The 1984 Demos”. This exclusive LP, pressed on crystal clear vinyl, features early versions of all ten tracks from their 1985 debut, including “Take On Me,” “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.”, and the title track.

The demos – which have already been released in the past on the 30th Anniversary Deluxe CD Box Set (2015) – provide a raw perspective on the evolution of the album’s songs.

Note that the vinyl, which is limited to 3,000 copies, will hold previously unseen images and a design reminiscent of the original 1985 album art as you can see above. However, one thing you really should know, this release will only be sold in participating physical indie record stores.

Tracklist:

Take On Me (Demo)
Train of Thought (Demo)
Hunting High and Low (Demo)
The Blue Sky (Demo)a-ha-live.com
Living a Boy’s Adventure Tale (Early Version)
The Sun Always Shines on T.V. (Demo)
And You Tell Me (Demo)
Love Is Reason (Demo)
I Dream Myself Alive (Demo)
Here I Stand and Face the Rain (Demo)

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Magne Furuholmen (a-ha) interview: ‘Even imperfect rituals can have value during difficult times’

János Janurik — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 11:56:15 +0000

(Interview by Janos Janurik for Side-Line) Magne Furuholmen, the keyboardist, songwriter and former fun-maker of a-ha, has released his new solo album quietly and without much fanfare. On November 1, his birthday, the first song “Living With Ourselves” was released, which also serves as the title track for the new album. The album’s premiere took place at the end of August when Magne presented several new songs at the renowned art festival Fjord Cadenza. At that time, the album still lacked a title.

After the final a-ha tour in 2022, Magne – a true renaissance man and a phenomenon in the art world, known not only for his compositions but also for his active work as a painter – began working on new songs. He also revisited tracks that had not been included on the “True North” album. These songs were untitled and had no specific purpose. Even Magne wasn’t sure whether they would become material for a-ha, an Apparatjik project, or possibly a film soundtrack. (Apparatjik is a multinational band formed in 2008 by members of Coldplay, a-ha, Mew, and Martin Terefe.)

Ultimately, the songs felt more like a solo endeavor. During the winter of 2022 and the spring of 2023, Magne produced 10 deeply personal tracks. I had the opportunity to ask him about these songs and other aspects of his creative journey.

JJ: Hello Magne, I hope you are well! Thanks for taking the time to talk to me and our readers. It’s true that on your last solo album “White Xmas Lies” you sang about Christmas—or what became of it—in a somewhat disappointing way. However, your current work reminds me of a kind of Advent calendar, where you make a song available on online music platforms every week from the beginning of November. Was that the original idea, to give away a musical experience for Christmas, or is there something else behind it?

Magne Furuholmen: The ‘White Xmas Lies’ album was an ironic take on Xmas as having gone super-commercial, whereas this one was not intended to be a Xmas record. It was just a collection of songs that in the end made up a solo-record. For different reasons the material laid in waiting for almost a year before release, which is very unusual for me. I just wanted to release these songs with low shoulders to those who might be interested and not push for attention from those who are not, and I felt it might be interesting to just drop one song at a time to get away from the usual way of a heavily promoted release date for a new album.

Magne Furuholmen’s ‘White Xmas Lies’ live concert available online

JJ: The title of the first song you have released from your new album is “Living With Ourselves”. I think in today’s world that’s probably one of the hardest things to do—to be in harmony with yourself. How well have you done that? How well have you found your place in the world?

Magne Furuholmen: Well, judging by escalating conflicts and tension in the world it seems even harder to live with/get along with each other actually! But still, harmony and peace – and also celebrating differences among us as making the tapestry of the world richer instead of as a threat to our own worldview must start with honest and critical self-examination. Personally, I am much more at peace with my own shortcomings and strengths today than i was as a young man. I feel like I have been super fortunate in life, even with some bad/wrong choices made, and reconciled with things done to me that have seemed unjust or unfair along the way. Most things that happen in a life – good and bad – can be a source for learning and ultimately acceptance.

JJ: “Look How Far We Haven’t Come” and “World So Strange” are two of the tracks on your new LP. When I read those titles, I couldn’t help but think about the current situation in the world. On the last Magne F album, there was a protest song called “This Is Now America”, which has lost none of its topicality. It’s as if the world around us has turned even more upside down. Are you still protesting in your own way, or are you tired of falling on deaf ears?

Magne Furuholmen: Everything I write is a reflection of my experiences – of people and situations that touch me, irks me, gives me hope or takes it away…etc. I am hardly a protest singer, but with so many people having given me the opportunity to make music I do feel an obligation to raise my voice about these things and write as honest and unfiltered as I can – perhaps now more than ever before.

JJ: “Giving In To Christmas” is a song where the listeners have to pay attention to the message of the song. I think we both agree that this festival is becoming more and more empty, that it has lost its original message. And yet we try to hold on to old Christmas memories. Is this song something like a direct continuation of the idea of the album “White Xmas Lies”?

Magne Furuholmen: I happened to have written a new xmas song ‘Giving In To Christmas’ during, which was a kind of an apology for being such a grinch back with the WXL album… Haha. As well as a recognition that even imperfect rituals can have value during difficult times.

JJ: One of my favorite songs on the album is “God Is In The Details”. It’s melancholic and sobering, but uplifting and hopeful at the same time—like the clouds in the sky that are sung about. I think it could be a big a-ha hit. I know you have “White Horses” planned for the “True North” album, but this song also has the quintessence of the a-ha hits that are so dear to the fans. Can you imagine this song with Morten’s voice as an a-ha song?

Magne Furuholmen: Yes, I also thought it might be a song for a-ha to be honest. The lyrics were even kind of inspired by Morten – things Morten had said in conversations over the years, so I imagined it would be be perfect for him. We did actually record Mortens vocals on the demo, but as it turned out, he wanted some of the key things in the lyrics changed in order to perform it, and I really did not want to change them.

JJ: There’s also a beautiful duet in the set – next to ‘Look How Far We Haven’t Come’ – which could have been on the last a-ha album. How long have you known the guest vocalist Tini Flaat? Can you tell us something about the making of ‘Time Is On Your Side’?

Magne Furuholmen: I have known Tini since i made my (one-time appearance as a mentor on the 1st season of the tv show ‘The Voice’, and I then co produced her really beautiful debut album titled ‘Undo My Heart’ with my mate Martin Terefe 10 years ago. For ‘Time Is On Your Side’ I first recorded all the vocals myself, then Morten also recorded a version (which, as mentioned, I did not include in my allotted songs for the ‘True North’ album – even though according to Morten, this was one of his favourite of mine at the time. Revisiting it during this project, Tini was in my studio doing some background vocals and I just wanted to try our two contrasting two voices for the song and felt it worked.

JJ: You released a stirring instrumental on 20 December (‘Teo’s Theme’). Perhaps with the intention of bringing the important Christmas message to our souls? To focus not on the lyrics, which are so important, but on the inner voice?

Magne Furuholmen: This piece was written after the birth of my first grandchild. I imagined it to become film-music for something at some point later, but when I was putting the album together I felt it belonged on there – if for nothing else, for the fact it was written during this period.

JJ: It’s impossible to talk about your new album without mentioning the beautifully crafted vinyl release that accompanies it. Once again, you’ve made sure that fans get a record that’s not only pleasing to the ear, but also to the eye. The 200 fans who have this limited edition are really lucky. Which art form inspires the other? When your soul craves self-expression, is it the musician or the painter who bursts out first?

Magne Furuholmen: Thanks. I have done – and enjoyed doing – this crossover-thing with music and art on all my solo albums. Glad to see there are still people out there who appreciate it! Regarding inspiration, it is always a balancing act, and I never quite know which medium is in the driver’s seat. In the end though, all my creative output seems to bleed over into each other – words, music, visuals. For me there are no boundaries between them any more.

JJ: We already know that ‘Living With Ourselves’ will be released on CD in Japan on the 22nd of January, with a bonus track, a demo of ‘I’m In’ (‘True North’), sung by you. Will there be more physical releases of your new material?

Magne Furuholmen: There was originally no plan for any other physical release than the ltd edition vinyl. The CD release in Japan was an in-call from Sony Japan which came totally unexpected, but there are no plans for any further physical releases, no.

Magne Furuholmen (Photo by Nina Djaerff)

JJ: You mentioned earlier that you’re looking forward to important anniversaries. It’s been 40 years since ‘Take On Me’ was released, and your first solo album (‘Past Perfect Future Tense’) turned 20 this year. In the year 2025 year a book about you will be published in Norwegian, based on interviews with you. Written by journalist Ørjan Nilsson, who has already published biographies of Paul (2017) and Morten (2019). This will complete his trilogy. When can fans celebrate with you and your bandmates next? Are you planning live performances, either solo or as part of a-ha?

Magne Furuholmen: In general I seem to have gotten more appreciative of anniversaries with age (I used to sneer at them), and I would personally have loved to celebrate the passing of all this incredible time with a-ha together with our long-standing fans around the world, but this is of course not only up to me. As a solo artist, making the records is by far the most important thing to me, but I have toyed with doing some solo performances. We’ll see. And hey – there is a tiny little live -recording I did for TV just now before Xmas which comes out now in January at some point I think, but I am not sure if it is available outside Norway…

Tracklist:

Look how far we haven’t come
One 4 all and all 4 none
Living with ourselves
God is in the details
Teo’s theme [instrumental]
Time is on your side
White horses
World so strange
You won (and then some)
Giving in to christmas
Hold the line [TOTO cover]

Thanks to Magne Furuholmen for the interview, Harald Wiik for his help and Nina Djareff for the photos!

János Janurik

I began my career in online music journalism in 2001, writing about artists I had followed since the late ’80s and early ’90s, including Depeche Mode, Erasure and The Cure. I later edited the Hungarian Mute microsite for EMI Music Hungary. This led to interviews with Erasure, Nitzer Ebb and Alan Wilder, and some of those collaborations developed into lasting friendships. Since 2014, I have been part of the editorial team of depechemode.de. I also contribute interviews to Reflections of Darkness, Peek-A-Boo Magazine and Kaput Mag. I maintain a close connection to Mute Records artists and have also supported releases on Very Records. I am proud to collaborate with Side-Line Magazine, where I regularly publish interviews and features.

Bel Canto announces brand new album, ‘Radiant Green’, 22 years after previous studio album

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Sat, 10 Feb 2024 08:57:58 +0000

Update: Geir Jenssen has co-written two of the tracks on “Radiant Green”.

(Photo by Knut Åserud) Good news from Norway as the cult band Bel Canto will release an all new album on April 26th, called “Radiant Green“. “Radiant Green” comes after more than two decades of studio silence since their last album “Dorothy’s Victory” already dates from 2002.

“Radiant Green” will be out digitally and on CD and double vinyl. The material was mixed by Matias Tellez and Gilles Martin. For Martin it means his comeback after having produced the first 3 albums of the band, the last being “Shimmering, Warm & Bright” from 1992. Martin’s production helped establish Bel Canto’s distinctive sound in the early days.

Here’s a first teaser which the band released.

The band also released the cover artwork for the new album.

Bel Canto – Radiant Green cover artwork

About Bel Canto

Bel Canto, originally a trio but now a duo, features Anneli Drecker as the lead vocalist and was initially under the Crammed Discs label.

The ensemble originated in Tromsø in 1985, established by Geir Jenssen (handling synthesizers and programming), Nils Johansen (playing synthesizer, violin, bass, and guitar), alongside vocalist Anneli Drecker. Their musical influences span a wide range, including Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), David Bowie, artists from 4AD, Clannad, Kate Bush, Laurie Anderson, David Sylvian, Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), Ryuichi Sakamoto, Depeche Mode, and the Blue Nile.

In 1986, the trio relocated to Brussels, releasing their debut album, “White-Out Conditions,” through Crammed Discs a year later. Following their second album, “Birds of Passage” (1990), Jenssen departed to pursue a successful solo career as Biosphere, leaving Drecker and Johansen to achieve a commercial breakthrough with “Shimmering, Warm and Bright” in 1992. By this time, their music had transitioned from ethereal dream electropop to a synth-based pop sound enriched with world music elements.

Anneli Drecker occasionally paused her involvement with Bel Canto to focus on solo projects and collaborations with other artists and bands, including Röyksopp and a-ha, in addition to her work in film and theater. Nils Johansen, meanwhile, composed music for film and television and continued his involvement with his other band, Vajas.

In 2010, following a reunion concert in Oslo, Side-Line interviewed the original members, who revealed they were working on a new album, although tensions were apparent. Ultimately, Geir Jenssen left the band once more, and the project was left unfinished.

A previously unreleased track from 1988, “Flowerbeds,” surfaced in 2009 on the Norwegian compilation “Maskindans: Norsk synth 1980–1988,” released by Hommage Records. In 2017, Bel Canto graced the stage at Øyafestivalen in Oslo, delivering a performance that spanned their hits in a set lasting nearly an hour. During an interview, Drecker expressed the band’s enthusiasm for more live performances and the potential for new music.

In June 2022, Anneli Drecker and Nils Johansen shared news of their ongoing work on a forthcoming Bel Canto album.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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A-ha continues to lead the way in electric vehicle adoption now

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 09:23:47 +0000

(Photo: Viggo-Bondi) Norway is a global leader in electric vehicle adoption, with more than half a million EVs now driving in its roads. This remarkable journey began in the early 1980s, when a group of environmental activists and the synthpop band A-ha joined forces to demand action on sustainable transport alternatives.

In an unlikely move in 1989, the lead singer of the renowned 1980s band A-ha Morten Harket and Frederic Hauge, the head of the Norwegian environmental group Bellona, embarked on a remarkable road trip. Their vehicle of choice? An electric Fiat Panda, recently imported from Switzerland, symbolizing their commitment to promoting sustainable transportation.

A-ha challenged Oslo’s exorbitant road tolls

Driving through Oslo, they challenged the city’s exorbitant road tolls, opting to park illegally and ignoring the barrage of penalty notices they received. The authorities eventually impounded their car, auctioning it off to cover the accumulated fines. However, the audacious stunt garnered widespread media attention, effectively conveying their message.

In 1989, two members of the group, Morten Harket and Magne Furuholmen were in Switzerland with environmentalist Frederic Hauge, when they came across a hobby-converted Fiat Panda. Stated range: 45 km. They snapped it up and imported it to Norway.

Photo: In Switzerland (Bellona) pic.twitter.com/Fqu0HibJ8s
— Robbie Andrew (@robbie_andrew) January 9, 2021

As a direct result of their activism, electric vehicles were subsequently granted exemptions from road tolls, just one among a plethora of incentives that have contributed to Norway earning the distinction of boasting the world’s highest per capita electric vehicle ownership. Further incentives included privileges like allowing EVs to use bus lanes, free parking, ferry travel, and zero tax.

Today, Norway is leading the way in the global transition to a sustainable transportation system. The country’s success is a testament to the power of sustainability and unexpected partnerships. A-ha’s collaboration with environmental activists showed that pop culture can be a powerful force for good.

Below is a video relating the whole story.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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6LP boxset for a-ha’s 1985 album ‘Hunting High and Low’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 08:24:34 +0000

The Norwegian cult act a-ha have announced that their iconic debut album “Hunting High and Low” will be released for the first time ever in a 6LP boxset. The boxset of the iconic 1985 album will be released on 24th February, featuring an expanded track selection including demos, extended versions, alternate mixes, and b-sides, 60 tracks in total.

The LPs will be issued on black 140g vinyl, and a 64 -page 12”x12” booklet with extensive liner notes and photography will be included.

“Hunting High and Low” was the debut studio album by the Norwegian band and was released on 1 June 1985 in the United States and 28 October 1985 in the United Kingdom by Warner Bros. Records. The album was a huge commercial success, reaching high positions on charts worldwide. Recorded at Eel Pie Studios in Twickenham, London, it was produced by Tony Mansfield, John Ratcliff and Alan Tarney.

In all, five singles from the album were released, though not all were released internationally: “Take On Me”, “Love Is Reason”, “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.”, “Train of Thought” and “Hunting High and Low”.

The track list is identical to the extended CD boxset released a while back in 2015, so no new previously unreleased material will be included in this LP set.

Here’s how the complete set will look like.

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Official full trailer a-ha’s ‘True North’ film now available

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 04 Aug 2022 13:01:11 +0000

Sony Music Entertainment Premium Content and Trafalgar Releasing today launched the Official Full Trailer for a-ha’s forthcoming film “True North”, the accompaniment to their new studio album of the same title. “True North” will be released in select cinemas worldwide on Thursday 15 September, with the album following on Friday 21 October.

This film will also include a special behind-the-scenes featurette, exclusive to cinemas.

In the trailer, we hear a-ha’s Magne Furuholmen explain “‘True North’ is a letter from our home to the world. It was kind of inspirational to look at this as a performance inside a film, that would somehow have a narrative connected to what these songs were about.”

Watch the official full trailer right here.

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Watch video of a-ha’s newest single ‘I’m In’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 14:41:17 +0000

The new single by the Norwegian act a-ha is out now. You can view the video for the track “I’m In” right below. The track is the first taster for their forthcoming album “True North” to be released on 21 October 2022, their first collection of new songs since 2015’s “Cast In Steel” and their 11th studio album so far. “True North” will hold 12 tracks – six written by Magne Furuholmen, six by Pål Waaktaar-Savoy.

Here are a few stills from the below video.

While “True North” is a new album, it is also a film capturing a-ha recording the songs during November 2021 in Bodø, the Norwegian city located 90km above the Arctic Circle. The orchestral arrangement on the album is by Kjetil Bjerkestrand, whose association with a-ha stretches back to 1994’s “Shapes That Go Together” single. He has also worked with Magne, Morten and Pål outside a-ha.

The “True North” film will be released to cinemas in selected territories world-wide by Trafalgar Releasing in late summer 2022. The “True North” album will be out as a jewel-case CD, heavy black vinyl (2 x recycled 12’’ vinyl), limited deluxe edition (with hard-cover book including 40 pages, 2 x LPs with glued sleeves, CD in a cardboard sleeve and an USB card), and digital audio long-play for download and streaming.

Here’s the video for the single.

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a-ha drops new single ‘I’m In’ on 8 July

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 04 Jul 2022 13:43:25 +0000

The first single from a-ha’s new album “True North” is “I’m In”, and will be out this Friday 8 July together with a video. It is the first taster for their forthcoming album to be released on 21 October 2022, their first collection of new songs since 2015’s “Cast In Steel” and their 11th studio album so far. “True North” will hold 12 tracks – six written by Magne Furuholmen, six by Pål Waaktaar-Savoy.

While “True North” is a new album, it is also a film capturing a-ha recording the songs during November 2021 in Bodø, the Norwegian city located 90km above the Arctic Circle. “First, we had the idea to record a studio session live,” says Pål. “Then, to film a studio session. That grew into more of a production with the Norwegian orchestra, the Arctic Philharmonic, who we have collaborated with.”

Magne, who wrote the moving “I’m In”, says this about the song: “It’s a song about total commitment and a show of support for someone who is troubled. Real commitment is a leap of faith. Everyone knows how difficult it can be to offer commitment and support unconditionally, but this is what it takes to make anything worthwhile happen – love, friendship, change, self-improvement, careers, a better world. Easier said than done of course but it begins with an attitude, then uttering the words. After this it is all hard work to realize whatever potential your commitment has in the world. Without this attitude everything just gets bogged down with conflicting thoughts, doubts and fear. Just say it: ‘I’m in’.”

The orchestral arrangement on the album is by Kjetil Bjerkestrand, whose association with a-ha stretches back to 1994’s “Shapes That Go Together” single. He has also worked with Magne, Morten and Pål outside a-ha.

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Corona caused a-ha to cancel concerts

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 08:22:25 +0000

A few weeks ago we reported about a string of canceled concerts of a-ha. Whereas it was first said that Morten suffered from laryngitis, it now was revealed that both Morten Harket and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy were also diagnosed with covid-19 after the Oslo Spektrum concert on 20 May.

It doesn’t come as a surprise as the entire Side-Line team who was present at the show actually also got infected there, luckily with minor consequences.

The news was confirmed by a-ha manager Harald Wiik to VG. Morten began to feel signs of irregularities in his throat on Friday 20 May during the first concert in Oslo Spektrum and his condition worsened during the night. The next day, Harket was diagnosed with laryngitis and the concert later in the evening had to be canceled. The same thing happened with two concerts in Bournemouth and Liverpool. On Monday 23 May, both Morten Harket and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy tested positive for covid-19.

A new medical examination concluded that it was likely that Morten’s laryngitis was caused by covid-19 and thus also the two concerts in London and Birmingham got canceled.

Morten: “When your body denies you access to what is otherwise a matter of course, you are completely parked. It is very frustrating to go in a circle in the waiting room and not be able to say where this is going, from day to day, to everyone else who also has their plans put on hold. It is almost unbelievable that I have escaped with so little dropout through almost 40 years of touring. A cold can be enough to strain a bone on a large appliance. For my part, it is almost impossible to avert all close contact with volatile groups of people during tours, in lobbies, elevators, in and out of hotels or at airports.”

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy: “We have had incredibly few cancellations during 30 years of tournaments, so we are not used to this. I’ve been using N95 masks pretty much constantly from the time I walked out the door at home in Venice, California until recently where it started to get more lax in the backstage area, plus we started getting more together on stage. Big mistake!”

Harket’s voice is not completely recovered, “the healing process has been a bit messy”, but the last few days have been stably better and given hope that he can be on stage this weekend.

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a-ha forced to cancel a string of concerts after singer Morten Harket gets ill

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 26 May 2022 13:33:55 +0000

Last week Friday, May 20th, the Belga-Norwegian editorial Side-Line team was present at the a-ha concert at the Oslo Spectrum venue. During the concert we noticed that frontman Morten Harket struggled with his voice though most of the public probably didn’t notice.

But the day after the band issued a statement that a-ha’s second concert in Oslo was postponed – “(since) Morten has been diagnosed with Laryngitis and needs to rest his voice” – and later canceled since it soon became clear that there was no equipment and personnel available for a show this size on the available dates.

But now the band has also had to cancel their UK shows at London Wembley The SSE Arena on Friday 27th May and Birmingham Utilita Arena on 28th May along with the already postponed shows at Bournemouth International Centre and Liverpool M&S Bank Arena.

In statement the band says: “The band is absolutely gutted that we have had to cancel our shows in UK – our second home – this week due to continued illness. Our deepest apologies to friends and fans with whom we were hoping to celebrate. Thank you for your kind understanding and continued support!”

Scheduled in the next days and still a go are the concerts in Oslo (June 10th and 11th), Bergen (June 15th), Fredrikstad (June 17th) and Arendal (June 18th).

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New deluxe editions for a-ha plus a 2023 tour in the making so a Q&A with the band’s manager Harald Wiik reveals

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 13:13:28 +0000

In an exclusive Q&A for the a-ha mailing list members, a-ha’s manager Harald Wiik responded to questions submitted by fans. Some of the info was interesting, the rest not really. But let’s stick to the interesting info we gathered from it.

A ‘True North’ tour featuring a-ha’s upcoming album is in the works for the summer of 2023 possibly with the Arctic Philharmonic joining the band on some of the shows.

Coming up as well is a vinyl box of the first 5 albums as well as a 6 album super deluxe “Hunting high and low” release. Also planned are deluxe editions of “Analogue” and “Foot of the Mountain”.

The rest of the answer were kinda tongue in cheek. For instance when asked how he coped with the bandmembers’ very different personalities he simply answers: “I don’t cope. I just go straight to the offending.”

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The 10 best synthpop / electropop albums of all times (and 5 more)

Eldrina Mich — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 14:38:36 +0000

Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. During the late 1970s bands such as the Human League, Kraftwerk, and later on Gary Numan, Soft Cell and John Foxx helped pioneer a new synth-pop style that drew more heavily from electronic music and emphasized primary usage of synthesizers. Developed in the late 1970s it has seen several revival periods up until now.

We picked out the best synthpop albums from the past 4 decades (!!!). Here’s our list.

The Human League – “Dare” (1981)

The Human League are ‘oldies’ when it comes to synthpop. Formed in Sheffield in 1977 and initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group attained widespread commercial success with their third album “Dare” in 1981. The album contained four hit singles, including the UK/US number one hit “Don’t You Want Me”. The band’s third studio album, it was recorded between March and September 1981 following the departure of founding members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, and saw the band shift direction from their prior avant-garde electronic style toward a more pop-friendly, commercial sound led by frontman Philip Oakey. A remix album based on “Dare”, “Love and Dancing”, was released in 1982.

Talk Talk – “It’s My Life” (1984)

Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles “Talk Talk” (1982), “It’s My Life”, and “Such a Shame” (both 1984) before moving towards a more experimental approach in the mid-1980s. Not surprisingly that our next pick is “It’s My Life”, the second studio album by Talk Talk, released in 1984. The album enjoyed an enormous succes thanks to the big international success of its singles (notably “Such a Shame”). We have a soft spot for the tracks “Dum Dum Girl”, “Such a Shame”, “Renée”, “It’s My Life” and “It’s You” although the entire album is just extremely enjoyable.

Alphaville – “Forever Young” (1984)

The German synth-pop band Alphaville, which formed in Münster in 1982, achieved chart success with the singles “Forever Young”, “Big in Japan”, “Sounds Like a Melody”. All these were taken from their 1984 debut album “Forever Young” which was produced by Colin Pearson, Wolfgang Loos and Andreas Budde. Despite the success of the album and its singles, the band did not tour as they felt more like ‘studio rats’. It remains the band’s best output to date.

a-ha – “Scoundrel Days” (1986)

The Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha was formed in Oslo in 1982 by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards and guitars), and Morten Harket (vocals). “Scoundrel Days” is the second studio album by the trio and offered a more mature sound compared to their debut “Hunting High and Low” (1985). “Scoundrel Days”, recorded in England in early 1986 and produced by Alan Tarney, sported such singles as “I’ve Been Losing You”, “Cry Wolf” and “Maybe, Maybe” which was released solely in Bolivia. “Manhattan Skyline” was the forth and final single released from the long-player.

Erasure – “Wonderland” (1986)

“Wonderland” is the debut studio album by the English synth-pop duo Erasure and was released in 1986. Although it was not an immediate success, the three singles released from it did become cult tracks overtime: “Who Needs Love Like That”, “Oh L’amour” and “Heavenly Action”. Although “Wonderland” was considered a failure, especially when comparing it to Clarke’s prior successes with Depeche Mode and Yazoo, the album became an all time favourite that laid the fundament of what was to follow in 1987 with the release of “The Circus”. The album was produced by Flood who would become a long-time collaborator.

Pet Shop Boys – “Actually” (1987)

Pet Shop Boys, the English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981, broke all records when they released “Actually”, their second studio album, in 1987. It was pushed forward by such great tracks as “One More Chance”, “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” (with Dusty Springfield), “Shopping”, “Rent”, “It Couldn’t Happen Here”, “It’s a Sin”, “Heart” and the majestic “King’s Cross”. In short an album filled with hits.

New Order – “Technique” (1989)

New Order was formed in 1980 by vocalist and guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. The band formed after the demise of Joy Division, following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis and were joined by Gillian Gilbert on keyboards later that year. Their experience of the early 1980s New York club scene saw them increasingly incorporate dance rhythms and electronic instrumentation into their work which resulted in their 1983 hit “Blue Monday” becoming and absolute monster hit. However, we picked out “Technique”, their fifth studio album. Released in 1989 by Factory Records, the album incorporates Balearic beat and acid house influences into the group’s dance-rock sound. “Technique” was the first New Order album to reach the number one spot on the UK charts and had such excellent singles as “Fine Time”, “Round and Round” and “Run 2”.

Depeche Mode – “Violator” (1990)

“Violator” is the seventh studio album by England’s Depeche Mode. It was first released on 19 March 1990 through Mute Records internationally, and through Sire and Reprise Records in the United States. Preceded by the singles “Personal Jesus” and “Enjoy the Silence” (a top-10 entry in both the United Kingdom and the United States), the album propelled the band into international stardom, and also yielded the singles “Policy of Truth” and “World in My Eyes”. The album is generally considered as their most accomplisched electropop album before they encorporated more rock elements in the next album, “Songs of Faith and Devotion”. The role of Alan Wilder was crucial in “Violator”, you only have to compare the first and final version of “Enjoy The Silence” to notice the huge difference.

Bel Canto – “Birds of Passage” (1990)

Bel Canto is a Norwegian music duo, originally a trio, fronted by vocalist Anneli Drecker and musically powered by Geir Jenssen and Nils Johansen. Signed originally to Crammed Discs, their second album “Birds of Passage” is considered as an absolute pearl holding an excellent production (aided by Giles Martin) and a long list of guest musicians who added acoustic elements to the cold nordic synths Jenssen and multi-instrumentalist Johansen. It was also the last album featuring Geir Jenssen. It holds the hits “Intravenous”, “Birds of Passage”, “A Shoulder to the Wheel”, “Time Without End”, “Continuum” and “The Suffering”. The band remains an often well-hidden pearl in electropopland.

De/Vision – “Fairyland?” (1996)

De/Vision, a German synthpop act formed in 1988, was at the peak of its electropop stardom around the mid-nineties culiminating in the outstanding “Fairyland?” album which had such great tracks as “I Regret”, “Sweet Life”, “Today’s Life” or “Bleed Me White”. The band was fronting a new wave of electropop bands in Germany but was generally considered to be the most consistent one as far as quality and output. Sadly enough the release, and also the band’s earlier material, are no longer available on Spotify.

Wolfsheim – “Spectators” (1999)

Wolfsheim was a synthpop duo from Hamburg, Germany, that consisted of Markus Reinhardt and Peter Heppner. Their fourth studio album was “Spectators” (1999) preceeded by two ‘pre-release’ singles from the album. “Once in a Lifetime” was released on October 16, 1998 and “It’s Hurting For The First Time” followed on November 30th. The LP was produced by Wolfsheim and José Alvarez-Brill and held 11 new songs. To this day, “Spectators” is the best-selling album by Wolfsheim with over 250,000 copies sold. The third single, “Künstliche Welten”, was released in 1999.

Iris – “Disconnect” (2000)

“Disconnect” is the debut album by the electropop group Iris. Released in 2000 via the US label A Different Drum, the synthpop label by excellence, its success was guaranteed by the now cult synthpop jewels “Annie, Would I Lie to You?”, “Lose In Wanting” and “Danger Is The Shame”. Originally formed by Reagan Jones and Mat Morris in 1993, after the release of their first album “Disconnect”, Matthew Morris was replaced with Andrew Sega, who pushed the band’s sound in a more experimental electronic direction. Sadly enough the release, and also the band’s earlier material, are no longer available on Spotify.

Elegant Machinery – “A Soft Exchange” (2008)

The Swedish synthpop band Elegant Machinery defined the Swedish synthpop movement along with such bands as Page, S.P.O.C.K, Sista Mannen På Jorden and Kiethevez. Heavily influenced by acts like Yazoo, The Human League, Depeche Mode and Rational Youth, the trio Robert Enforsen, Richard Jomshof and Leslie Bayne started the band in 1988 under the name Pole Position. The band was very successful in Sweden, with a number of successful singles and various awards. But it is their 2008 album “A Soft Exchange” that earned them a place in our list. The album was extremely mature yet very melodic and features such pearls a “With Grace”, “Do You Know”, “Feel The Silence”, “Bleeding Words” and “Is This The Way”.

Electro Spectre – “Dangerous Game” (2012)

The Norwegian electronic music duo Electro Spectre fronts the 3rd electropop wave. Isak Rypdal (writer-producer) and Alexander Björneboe (writer-singer) debuted in 2009 with the album “Watch It All Turn” (which was later reproduced and re-released in 2010). The duo has secured us from a steady and consistent output ever since. In our list we picked the band’s 2012 release, which is their second studio album entitled “Dangerous Game”. Included are such pearls as “Love Thief”, “Dancing Girl”, “World Keeps Turning” and “Tokyo Shuffle”.

Mondträume – “Empty” (2014)

Mondträume is the creative outlet of 2 Spanish talented artists Pikotto Vond Mond and Damasius Venys. In only a few years, the duo rapidly caught the attention of concert organizers, released several songs on compilations, and secured a label contract with Belgium’s electronic label Alfa Matrix where they debuted with the album “Empty”. The hits “Life Is Short”, “Parasite” and especially the synth pop pearl “Far From Pain” showcase why this band became one of the strongholders in the 3rd electropop wave together with such bands as Electro Spectre, and more.

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

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a-ha’s Japanese tour canceled as Japan suspends all entries for foreign nationals

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 17:58:24 +0000

Omicron is causing a lot of tour and concert cancelations caused by lockdowns etc.. Today the Norwegian band a-ha is also the victim of the new corona variant as their Japanese tour has been canceled.

Due to the omicron variant’s aggressive spread worldwide, the Japanese government has suspended all entries for foreign nationals as a preventive action against the omicron variant. As a result the band cannot enter the country for the moment, and the local promoters have had no other choice but to cancel the complete tour.

a-ha last performed in Japan in 2010, two of those shows at Summer Sonic. Before that, a-ha played in Japan in 2000, during the “Minor Earth Major Sky” tour.

Since the corona outbreak, the tour has already been postponed and rescheduled.

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a-ha frontman Morten Harket discusses ‘The Sunshine Revolution’ – watch the video

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 12:16:16 +0000

Thirty years ago, architect and Professor Harald N. Røstvik and the lead singer of a-ha, Morten Harket, joined forces to bring attention to the climate and environmental issues. This has led to a range of projects. The most famous is perhaps their import of the first electric vehicle to Norway. In 1989 they started driving it through the toll roads in Oslo without paying fees. This was the start of pushing the Government towards introducing the world’s best electric vehicle incentives.

Another collaboration was the making of the film The Sunshine Revolution, which first came out 30 years ago, in 1991, a year after Røstvik published his book under the same title.

This film was pioneering in the way it described the ways in which modern life often leads to a degradation of the natural environment. But the film went a step further, by exploring how solar energy can solve many of these problems. The Sunshine Revolution points at the role of individuals and politicians in ensuring available renewable energy of the future, clean transportation, a more ecological building industry, and a safe environment free of oil wars.

On Tuesday there was a live screening of the film “The Sunshine Revolution” by Professor Harald N. Røstvik and Morten Harket, followed by a conversation between the two, at the University of Stavanger.

Together they explore what the status of The Sunshine Revolution was 30 years ago, where we are today, and what will happen in the next 30 years.

You can watch the film and the event below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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Space March launches brand new 80s pop video for ‘Algorithm’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 17:37:59 +0000

Out now is the brand new Space March video “Algorithm”, which is also the title track of the 2021 album by Space March, which was released on 24 September 2021.

“Algorithm” is a collection of 10 songs spanning 10 years of songwriting. It is the first in a series of albums drawing on Craig Simmons’s deep and ever-growing archive of material. The album features 6 new and unreleased songs, as well as new mixes of recent Space March singles, and a completely new version of the past single, “Saturn’s Sun”, with “Again” appended to the title.

Craig Simmons released his first Space March album already in 2003, having previously released a dance music album in the mid-90s and two albums through a synthpop duo called ElectroSquad in the late 90s. For those into recording and mixing details, the project’s third album, “Monumental”, got mixed by Mark Saunders (Erasure, A-ha, The Cure, David Byrne).

You can watch the video for “Algorithm” below.

And here is the full album.

Algorithm by Space March

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New a-ha film and album out in Autumn 2022: ‘True North’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 10:12:10 +0000

“True North” is a filmed live-performance with all new music from a-ha. The film is made in collaboration with Bodø 2024 and the The Arctic Symphony Orchestra and is scheduled for release in Autumn 2022 together with the album.

Set in the landscape of Northern Norway and recorded in the town of Bodø up above the Arctic Circle, the music from the film will be made available as a new album from the group for the first time since “Cast in Steel” which was released in 2015.

“We want this film to be a poetic homage to the importance that nature holds in Norwegian culture, and in particular the ocean, which has provided us with a privileged life up here, from the early fishing boom to the troublesome riches extracted from the seabed in the form of oil,” says Magne.

About Bodø

Photo by Jon Anders Dalan on Unsplash

Bodø is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten and is located just north of the Arctic Circle. Bodø was named one of the European Capitals of Culture for 2024.

Most of the town was destroyed during a Luftwaffe attack on 27 May 1940. Six thousand people were living in Bodø, and 3500 people lost their homes in the attack. Due to the acute lack of housing, the Swedish Government helped build 107 apartments in the winter of 1941. These houses were built tightly together just outside the town.

This small area, today in the heart of Bodø, is still called Svenskebyen (“the Swedish Town”). The town was subsequently rebuilt after the war. The rebuilding ended in 1959 with the completion of the new town hall.

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‘a-ha The movie’ opening all across the world – the director tells about the journey

Jan Ronald Stange — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 15:04:25 +0000

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange/Motlys press info) ‘a-ha The Movie’ is scheduled for cinema openings this week in over 130 cinemas across Norway, and has been picked up for screenings in multiple countries. Among these are USA, UK, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Luxemburg, Hungary, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and Germany, where it opens on 80 screens on September 14th. The movie is being met with raving reviews after previews and early screenings at film festivals like Filmfest München and Tribeca Festial (New York), where it also became the runner up to the Audience Award.

The directors Thomas Robsahm and Aslaug Holm wanted to tell the full story of how three young men followed their impossible dream of becoming world famous pop starts outside Norway – a country known for “zero points” in the Eurovision Song Contest.

When ‘Take On Me’ reached nr 1 on Billboard in the US in 1985, the dream came true. Or did it? The band was not prepared for what the success could bring, including tension between the three band members. The film team travelled with a-ha for almost five years, and we had a quick mail chat with Thomas Robsahm to get some details.

Side-Line: How did this movie come about?

Thomas Robsahm: I’ve always wanted to make a film about the making of an album, and the original idea was to make one about a-ha´s 10th album, after the success of ‘Foot of the Mountain’ (2009). But they decided to split in 2010, and then the album ‘Cast in Steel’ from 2015 was made in secrecy before the band did they comeback the same year. When we started filming in 2016, we were hoping for a new album to be made during the years we were planning to film, but one said yes, one said maybe and one said no…

So, instead we followed them on the road, told the whole story of a-ha and continued hoping.

S-L: It took several years to finish – lots of obstacles along the way?

TR: The main obstacle was actually the financing, because in the documentary world everybody wants to see more and more finished work before they want to commit, so the film was made very much piece by piece. The three members of the band were lovely to deal with all the way. It’s only when they have to be all three together as a-ha that things turn dark.

S-L: How much did the corona situation affect the launch?

TR: The premiere sold out in ten minutes and was supposed to happen in November 2020, but we had no choice but to postpone.

S-L: What was the best and the worst parts of doing this movie?

TR: The best part was to be around the band for so long, to study their work even harder, including tons of archive material. The worst part was not getting them to make more music, of course. It was close, but didn’t happen.

a-ha The Movie (Photo: Viggo-Bondi)

a-ha The Movie (Photo: John Ratcliff)

a-ha The Movie (Photo: Henning Kramer Dahl)

a-ha The Movie (Photo: Motlys)

S-L: I saw the movie will be shown on NRK (Norwegian public broadcasting) too, split in four parts. Is it the same as the cinematic version, or some extra content added? Is it scheduled for TV/streaming abroad too?

TR: Yes, that’s right, the NRK-version is a little bit longer, but not that much. Also structured a bit different since it’s in four parts. It will be released in theatres and on television in around 30 countries (so far) and eventually it will end up at some streaming service, but it will not be for a while.

S-L: Collectors of a-ha music and memorabilia will definitely ask this right after the openings: when is it coming on DVD/BluRay? Any extra content there?

TR: DVD and BluRays will be released in several territories. I am not a big fan of adding deleted scenes, cause it actually affects how you remember the film. Like the scenes were actually in the film. But, let’s see.

S-L: Other plans/upcoming projects with a-ha or other bands?

TR: I would love to do more music films and have a couple of ideas, but nothing is confirmed, yet. Oh, yes, I have one in development already; The Punk Pensioners. The title says it all, right? Let’s see if anybody wants to fund it.

S-L: Which band(s) would be your dream project(s) for next music movie(s)?

TR: If I could choose I would make the definitive film about ABBA. Or Everything But The Girl, the most underrated band ever. Or Cocteau Twins. Or Motorpsycho. Yeah, plenty of great bands.

Get yourself to the cinema and enjoy the movie!

PS! Thomas Robsahm is also a musician, involved in several punk, gothic and dark wave bands since the 80’s, and together with Arvid Skancke-Knutsen their band White Lord Jesus is actually busy crowdfunding their 1984 album ‘Amen’ in the series Norwegian Album Classics On CD – get yours there!

We also wrote about the project some months ago – after a summer break they’re at it again, have passed 130 releases, the next 20 lined up!

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

‘Click Interview’ with Transmission: ‘I Think That There Will Be More And More Female Electronic Underground Artists’

Inferno Sound Diaries — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 17:00:00 +0000

By the end of 2020 Transmission unleashed the debut album “Cosmos” on Wave Records. The French solo-project is driven by Sandrine Deville. She’s dealing with a rather Minimal-Electro/Wave style with some violin tunes on top. It’s a fascinating- and accomplished experiment revealing an artist with a very own and creative approach. Here’s what Sandrine has to say about Transmission.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: How did you get contaminated by the music virus and finally come to set up your own music project?

Sandrine: I began to learn how to play violin at the Ferney-Voltaire regional conservatorium of music, in France, when I was ten years old, during four years. And, this was the time I listened to bands like A-Ha, Alphaville, U2, Pink Floyd, The Cure at the junior high school of my city, and, maybe one of the most influent band that led me to practice guitar, Dire Straits and the song “Money For Nothing”, for which I recorded a tape with this same only track, that I listened to for hours, showing me the power of music to immerse myself in a very special universe, at a high noise levels of my headphones.

I could define for Dire Straits a word that I will use to define my own music project: ‘soundscape’, when you discover landscapes from beautiful sounds. There also was Depeche Mode with the track “Never Let Me Down Again”, and, of course, Joy Division with the incredible bassline of “She’s Lost Control” were offering beautiful soundscapes to my ears when I was a teenager. Today I feel the same, but with other bands like Massive Attack, Bauhaus, Bowie, Linea Aspera, The Soft Moon, Kraftwerk, PJ Harvey, Nine Inch Nails, Kas Product.

On one hand, I wanted to play guitar in a band when I was teenager, but on the other hand, there were a lot of excellent guitarists and I was not, so, I decided to learn playing bass guitar. First, I was a bass player in a Funk/Folk /Psyche band called Hopupu and later on in between 2011 and 2016 in a Cold-Wave duo called Rive Droite Rive Gauche.

Then, I wanted to create my own music project and, after a few years of involvement with various bands, from Post-Punk to Punk, I decided to create the Electro/Dark-Wave solo-project called Transmission, recording first the track “Cosmos”.

Q: The name of your project is clearly reminding one of Joy Division’s legendary songs. Is it just a coincidence or clearly a link with some of your main sources of inspiration? What kind of sound did you’ve in mind when setting up Transmission?

Sandrine: Joy Division is one of my favorite bands. I adore all their songs and the atmosphere of “Shadowplay” gives me goosebumps each time I listen to this track. As I passed my bachelor in design in Toulouse (France) in 2018, I presented “Transmission”, the all white 3D printed Electro-Acoustic violin I created, inspired by pulsars shape, those mysterious white lines that we can see on the artwork of the LP “Unknown Pleasures” from Joy Division, and designed by Peter Saville. So, in this way, I could say that the name of my project is inspired by Joy Division, but mainly the white lines of the artwork of “Unknown Pleasures”. We can discover more about my violin called ‘Transmission’ on my own artist website here:

https://www.bluefactoriz.com/transmission

And we can discover more about my violin too, from pages 277 to 286 of the book of Pedro Peñas y Robles called “Joy Division, Paroles De Fans”, Editions Camion Blanc, 2018, here:

http://www.camionblanc.com/detail-livre-joy-division-paroles-de-fans-1216.php

Regarding the sound of my project, the effects are allusion to any effects used by the brilliant Martin Hanett for the soundscape of Joy Division, but, the kind of sound, the essence of the sound, come from a lot of references, as Kraftwerk, Nitzer Ebb, Covenant, Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack, Linea Aspera, Boy Harsher, Buzz Kull, Minuit Machine, Years Of Denial, Kas Product.

Q: You last year released your debut album “Cosmos”. Tell us a bit more about the writing- and production process of this opus and what did you try to express lyrical wise?

Sandrine:The process of the composition was the same for all the tracks; I switched on my Korg Minilogue, synchronized with the little Korg Volca Sampler for the drums, and I tried to play live with this set up, recording a bass line using the Minilogue when I thought I could have something interesting. Then, recording this on my PC using Ableton software, I began to look for a structure, and sing the violin line, and the melody, or writing the words for the future track. Many times, I wasn’t able to record the exact bassline I wanted on the synth, and then, I tried to do my best with this new sound. Tracks like “Cosmos” and “Désuétude” both are like soflty spoken words; tracks like “De Stijl” or “Echouées” both are using punchy spoken words. As a reference, I could say that “Désuétude” is inspired by the way Anne Clark is ‘screaming’; “Cloud 9” and “Illusion” are both mixing spoken words, and a melodic chorus. I was very happy, too, in the way I used different languages: French, English, German, and Spanish too. For the lyrics, sometimes, first, I wrote them, and sometimes, they came after the soundscape, it depended of the feeling I had at the moment of the creation phase.

Q: I’m always wondered why there’re no more female artists composing Electronic underground music? Do you’ve an explanation and what have been your experiences as female artist in this scene so far?

Sandrine: I really don’t know why there are no more female artists composing Electronic underground music. Well, one of the most iconic is Anne Clarke, but today, we have the excellent solo-project of Alison Lewis called Zanias who’s also involved with the excellent duo Linea Aspera and Keluar. In France we have the excellent female duo from Paris, called Oktober Lieber. And there is also the excellent female solo-project called Hante from Hélène De Thoury who’s also member of the female duo Minuit Machine. In the USA, even if it is a mixed duo, there is the excellent Boy Harsher. And I recently discovered the solo-undergound artist from New-York called Ani Klang. I also think to the excellent first LP “Push” from the L.A based Iranian producer and DJ Maral. In Germany there is in a dark, clubby style Ellen Allien.

So even if there are less female artists involved, I think that there will be more and more female Electronic underground artists. As I am beginning in this scene, I don’t have yet a lot of experience, the only thing I could write, is that I think that maybe women have to forget their shyness (if they are), and to prove by themselves that they can make Electronic underground music as well as male artists.

Q: Transmission has been introduced as a solo-project although you got some help to achieve “Cosmos”. Tell us a bit more about this collaboration and what has been the impact and bonus on the final result?

Sandrine: At the beginning of the year of 2019, I had a first demo of the track “Cosmos”, and I was wondering how to go on with this project. Thanks to my duo Rive Droite Rive Gauche I met a lot of people of the Gothic scene of Bordeaux who became good friends. In January, I went with two friends to the Nitzer Ebb gig in Bordeaux, and, then, we met a lot of friends of the Gothic scene of the city like Jean-Philippe Torres who has his Drone Studio. He is also one of the musicians of the excellent duo Dark Line Spectrum; Speaking with him, it became to me an evidence that he could be the most appropriate friend to achieve “Cosmos”. I sent him the demo of “Cosmos”, “Désuétude” and “Echouées” in order to know if this project could have an interest for him, and, as he was enthusiastic about this, then, we began a very friendly and productive collaboration.

The process was for each track the same; I sent to Jean-Philippe the ‘pre-mixed tracks’ by wetransfer, and then, he added his additional synths and old-school rhythm box, made the sound design and the arrangements, and the mix and mastering. It was perfect! I am used to comparing him to Martin Hanett. Martin Hanett defined the special soundscape of Joy Division, and Jean-Philippe defined the special soundscape of “Cosmos” and I think that he made my dream come true: having my debut LP realized on a good label.

Q: It’s probably a bit risky and also a true challenge to release a debut album during the ongoing pandemic. How do you –and Wave Records, manage this aspect and how do you expect things evolving considering live performances, further releases and plans?

Sandrine: I really thanks so much Alex from Wave Records. I know that, in this special context of this long pandemic, the action of releasing albums for new artists, is a very risky business for the labels, moreover, for independents labels, as they don’t know how they can sell the albums and if people will buy or not a debut work. Alex is doing his best for the promotion of the album with a large number of contacts, with an effective sharing on the social network, on Youtube too for the videoclips of various tracks I realized myself.

I gave my first gig on the 2^nd of July, thanks to the association Distopia Mutante of San Sebastian in Spain, and it was an unbelievable good moment as there was a good interaction between the public and me. It is since January that Distopia Mutante tried to organize a gig for my project. But finally we did it, at the beginning of July, and we hope that there will be others. I hope I will be able to perform at other places and in other countries, even if we don’t know what the future will be.

Thinking about the second album of Transmission, I will not change the way I am using to create the sounds, and I am thinking about around ten tracks that could explain a lot of feelings that we are facing to in a whole life, using various BPM’s.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Blutengel – Fountain Of Destiny (Album – Out Of Line)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Mon, 10 May 2021 18:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Electro, Electro-Wave.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: While Chris Pohl last year released the debut album of his side-project She Hates Emotions, which was devoted to the 80s, he now strikes back with this new Blutengel album featuring cover versions of legendary 80s songs. The album is available in different formats, but I here review the classical CD version featuring ten covers plus two extra songs.

Content: Blutengel transposed the original Electro-Wave/Pop songs into a very personal interpretation. You always recognize the original songs, but also the typical –and rougher, but melodic Blutengel touch. Chris Pohl remains the lead singer while Ulrike Godmann sings a few songs as well.

The bands that were covered include Duran Duran, Alphaville, Ultravox, Gary Numan, Steinberg & Kelly, Mike & The Mechanics, Yazoo, Propaganda, A-Ha and Erasure. Last, but not least we also get two extra songs written by Blutengel featuring the instrumental “Journey To The Edge Of The Night”.

+ + + : Covering legendary songs such as “Wild Boys”, “Forever Young”, “Nobody’s Diary”, “Dr. Mabuse”, “The Sun Always Shines On TV” or yet “Ship Of Fools” remain a tricky business. It’s an exercise, which is often more efficient when the songs are played live instead than releasing a ‘special’ album. But there’s a reason if Blutengel is recognized as one of the absolute leading formations from this scene and that probably explains why these interpretations have been accomplished with passion and knowledge. It sometimes feels like Blutengel is the original writer of the songs, this way realizing a sonic bridge between the 80s and Blutengel’s sound. The production of the vocals is absolutely great. We probably all have our favorites, but the way Duran Duran’s “Wild Boys” has been reworked is brilliant. I also have to mention Yazoo’s “Nobody’s Diary sung by Ulrike Goldmann. Blutengel takes their fans by surprise by this new opus. And as a little bonus you get a great song entitled “Unsere Zeit”, which is a typical, but efficient Blutengel piece.

– – – : I definitely prefer original albums, but I can live with this one.

Conclusion: I think this album has been a way to bring homage to legendary 80s artists, who probably inspired the work of Chris Pohl.

Best songs: “Nobody’s Diary”, “Wild Boys”, “Dr. Mabuse”, “Alone” + Unsere Zeit”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.blutengel.de / www.facebook.com/BlutengelOfficial

Label: www.outofline.de / www.facebook.com/outoflinelabel

Inferno Sound Diaries

www.side-line.com

Norwegian Album Classics on CD – and soon also LP – a corona initiated crowd funding success

Jan Ronald Stange — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 14:29:00 +0000

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) The crowd funding project ‘Norske albumklassikere på CD’ (‘Norwegian Album Classics on CD’) is a series of CDs whose purpose is reissuing music that either never has been released on CD or is hardly available on CD anymore. The project is enjoying a success beyond all expectations these days. The concept is this: always having 20 albums in the crowd funding pool, and when an album goal is reached it can be purchased at the main website norskealbumklassikere.no. The public Facebook group for the project, which recently passed 11.000 members, have a constant flow of suggestions and discussions among the members.

There’s also a similar project for LPs in the works, and 20 albums are at the present being decided and published daily until the launch May 9^th.

We got more background info from one of the main two founders, Christer Falck, who early on in last year’s mid-March corona lock-down quickly became restless and started the concert streams series ‘Koronerulling‘ the very next week. 83 artists/bands was able to stream their concerts the following year, ended up getting 4.5 mill NOK in well-deserved and much needed donations.

Side-Line: How and when did the idea for ‘Norwegian Album Classics’ surface?

Christer Falck

Christer Falck: I was doing some promotional phone calls to the local press when I was releasing the 20 CD-box set by Jahn Teigen, and one of the most enthusiastic journalists in Norway, Erik Munsterhjelm at Tønsberg Blad, asked me if I could release a box set by one of his childhood heroes, The Kids, as well. Since they had only released two albums, I thought the idea of a box set was a bit too ambitious, but then the idea came to me. Releasing all the good records that had only been available on LP and MC – on CD. Not just one record, but a lot of them. I called my 5-6 most nerdy friends, and asked them to make a list of the 50 albums they miss in their CD-collections. My partner John Richard loved the idea, and the funny thing is that the lists that I received were almost identical. I thought “when 6 people, so different from each other manages to make almost equal lists, it has to be a market out there”.
This, combined with my fetish for crowdfunding, made me do a website with my crowdfunding-partners bidra.no, where 20 records should be on display. Each record should get 30 days to be financed, if 150 people pre-order it, I will produce the record. If we don’t reach goal, they will all get their money back.

One month after the idea came, we started. Now we have made 90 albums in 100 days.

S-L: How successful do you consider this to have been so far?

CF: It depends how you measure success. As a cultural experiment, I’d say it’s a huge success. A lot of records that aren’t available on streaming services are now available, remastered and with much better sound quality than ever. A lot of CD-enthusiasts can join our little group on Facebook and suggest their favourite records, and I think we have managed to create a cool platform, where everyone respects each other’s musical taste. If they don’t, we throw them out, so they don’t have a choice ?
Financially, I think I could have found a lot of different jobs that would pay much better off, but at least I have something to do, these Covid-19-times. The alternative was to not arrange festivals, that’s my real job.

S-L: What has surprised you the most so far? Any weird album suggestions, the involvement of members, the process itself, other things?

CF: I know some much more about Norwegian music now than three months ago. I have a short list with 1700 titles on Norwegian albums. From easy listening to hardcore and punk records I’d never heard of before. And everything in the middle. But what I like with the concept, is that since we just need to find 150 buyers, nothing is too weird and strange. A Christian choir-album from the South of Norway or a heavy metal album from Finnmark – 150 people will probably find their way. The job is to expand the target group, so that the next album in the same will have the same opportunity to be financed. And the good part with our group, some of the members are doing the job for us. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I’ve had a lot questions in our forum, and then some of the members have explained and solved all the problems for us. It would be impossible to do all the things that we do now AND do a great customers service too. So far we haven’t got any too weird suggestions, but a guy started a homophobic thread where he “Loved our series, but hated the “pride”-logo on our CD’s”. This was the most read and commented post so far, and 100% of our members made this person probably never post something like that again. I love the self-justice that the group is creating. Usually, when 11-12.000 people are gathered together, at least 1-2 % is fucking up for many of the others. But here, fucking up is very uncool. That’s probably what I’m most happy with.

S-L: As I write this there’s just weeks or days until the 100^th album is financed. How do you see the future of this project – is there an end, or does it have the potential to continue indefinitely?

CF: Well, I have 1700 records on my list. And there are still a lot of records being added every day. I’m not going to stop, but this concept will die by itself. It’s impossible to keep up the speed that we’ve have had so far. Both for us, but also for the buyers. Just too expensive. So hopefully, we will end up producing 2.3 records a week. Then my wife and kids will be happy too, ‘cause this takes all of my time. But it’s all a huge labour of love, so I hope it will last many more months.

SL: How is the interest outside of Norway for this project – are there many foreigners among the customers?

CF: We see that some of the genres are more popular outside Norway than others. Jazz, prog and Norwegian west coast music, has a huge standing abroad. One of the most selling records so far is Moose Loose – a jazz/fusion/prog band who hardly sold records at their peak. My goal is to sell more of their records in 2021 than they did in the 70’s.

Another major contributor on this project is Arvid Skancke-Knutsen; music journalist, author, musician and quiz master, who have contributed with lot’s of input and suggestions, but also liner notes on the CD releases. I thought it would be interesting to get an historical view on projects like these, and who better than to get from than a Historical Consultant at Rockheim, Norway’s National Museum of Popular Music?

S-L: In all your years in the music industry and press, have you ever seen a project accomplishing so much in such a short time?

Arvid Skancke-Knutsen

Arvid Skancke-Knutsen: No, this is pretty amazing, and I am very proud to be a part of it. We have now realized 90 albums in just 100 days – with very few signs of the project slowing down. What we have achieved is certainly a Norwegian and Scandinavian record. There might have been other projects similar to this, somewhere in the world, but I cannot think of any offhand. A commercial music series like Absolute Music ended up with a total of 64 record releases, but that took them 23 years. We have done this in mere three months – at a point in history where CD sales are plummeting.

The success of our series is basically down to just a few factors, I think. Firstly, the genuine enthusiasm of Christer Falck and John Richard Stenberg, the two founders of the project. Their enthusiasm spilled over to Norwegian record companies and artists. And especially to our 11, 000 members on Facebook, who have been very supportive all the way. The rest is about hard work, and making sure that the quality is as good as it gets.

S-L: How will this and similar projects “born” in the year(s) of corona influence music industry in the future?

ASK: Good question! I think that online concerts might have a future, even beyond the pandemic. It’s all about good logistics and excellent production values. If those elements are present, fans of bands and music genres will be willing to pay for it.

The corona situation has been a terrible worldwide event, but we still might be able to take away some creative solutions from it. I wrote a book, dealing with the pandemic in Norway, and its impact on the Norwegian music scene. And what struck me more than anything else was the amount of creativity going on.

S-L: What your best moments/highlight of this project?

ASK: The sheer amount of records that we have brought into existence in a very short time, while maintaining high production values. And the fact that the series is not just limited to one musical style, or merely the most popular artists. It’s really a history ride through Norwegian music, covering all sort of styles, fashions and creativity over a span of sixty years. Another personal highlight is the fact that I pick a cult classic every month or so, showcasing some of the strangest music ever recorded in Scandinavia.

Check out Arvid’s book ‘Da musikken stilnet’ – loads of pictures from corona restricted concerts (by Per Ole Hagen), and essays from musicians and others in the music business influenced by the lock-downs.

We also reached out to one of the projects most eager members and an oracle of Norwegian synth/electronic music/post punk ++: Per Aksel Lundgreen (Apoptygma Berzerk, Cronos Titan, Angst Pop, Chinese Detectives, Technomancer, Rossetti’s Compass and Shatoo) for tips about what foreigners should look for in this crowd funding project.

S-L: As one of the most active members of the Facebook group for this project, you have both suggested a lot of candidates for the crowd funding, and also shared and posted about your favorites in various groups all over. Which albums do you think Side-Line readers should consider getting their hands on?

Per Aksel Lundgreen (photo by Jesper Lundgreen)

Per Aksel Lundgreen: Yes, I’m a CD-man myself, having collected CD’s since I got my first CD-player from my aunt at my birthday in 1986, so when Christer Falck mentioned starting this project, I immediately contacted him and said that I would do my best to help out with promotion and pushing this project. Since this project also was started in the middle of the corona pandemic, it meant that I, and everybody else, had a lot of extra time on their hands, and so the ‘Norske Albumklassikere På CD’ has become a very welcome “distraction” and something that’s brought a lot of joy in a time that has been difficult for a lot of people, especially in the music business.

Anyhow, here’s some suggestions from my side, all depending on what your musical preferences are, but there’s some really great post-punk/new-wave/experimental/electronic/alternative stuff that has made it through here and that is already financed. (links in the titles)

Munch – ‘Excessive Mobility’: An amazing Norwegian classic that really deserved a CD release. They’re kinda the “Norwegian Einstürzende Neubauten” if you will, and if you like stuff like Shock Therapy, Polyphonic Size and Ledernacken, this album is definitively something for you. Most albums in this series are printed in 500 copies, but Munch insisted on only doing 300 copies, so this will be a collectors item very quickly too! 🙂

Garden Of Delight – ‘Big Wheels In Emotion’: Norway’s first real goth album, self-released in 1987 on vinyl only. They also did two great 7″ singles back in 1984 that never made it to the album, but the album itself is well worth checking out. Goth with female vocals and a touch of tuba, you’ve never heard that before, but you’ll love it!

Babij Jar – ‘Stalingrad’ and ‘The Night Before’: Two of Norway’s best hidden gems in the new-wave/post-punk genre. Went completely under the radar for people outside Norway, but had they had decent promotion and distribution back then, they could’ve made it really big.

Helge Gaarder – ‘Eine Keine Angst Musik’: Something as rare as a Norwegian art-rock/experimental/electronic album. Impossible to describe, must be experienced. The original LP will set you back at least EUR 120 and you find none of the music on YouTube or digital distribution. Very happy that this finally gets a CD release and the credit it deserves. Too bad Helge Gaarder died 17 years ago, so he never got to see this album being included in this classics series.

Plann – ‘Elektra Elektra’: One of very few minimal-wave albums from Norway, and a great one too! Quirky songs, haunting vocals, amazing synth sounds. Several songs can be found on YouTube if you want to check it out. Listen to “Cadillac”, “Sug”, “Ato Signal” and “Cherokee” which also was the single from the album. The original LP will set you back some EUR 140, so unless you’re a rich vinyl freak, I suggest you get the CD to enjoy this rarity.

Boastein – ‘Urgata Hurgata’: A Norwegian new-wave/kraut-rock inspired album, with repetitive drumming, charming synth sounds and a very nice all over feel to it. Check out the songs “Helium”, “Seismisk Kollaps”, and “Khomeini’s Visjon” on YouTube.

Ole I’Dole – ‘Blond Og Billig’: This album has become kind of an underground hit outside of Norway in the minimal-wave community because of the track “Space, Action, Sex & Blod”, which is pure synth heaven. The rest of the album is a bit more pop oriented, but the tracks “Framtidsskrekk” and “S.O.S.” are also really great tracks. Recommended listening indeed!

Creation – ‘The Real Thing’: two of the guys from Drama, making very soft synthpop in the style of Shatoo and a-ha, but with a couple of really nice tracks on there, and especially the track “Don’t Do It”. If you’re into Norwegian/Scandinavian (synth)pop this will hit home with you for sure.

Blind Date – ‘Don’t Talk’: Probably the closest you get to a Norwegian version of Psychedelic Furs, and this is a beautiful new-wave album with some really strong material on it! Check out the title track, “Don’t Talk” on YouTube, and if that is to your taste, then don’t hesitate to invest in this album!

There’s more goodies here of course, but the 10 albums above are my priority suggestions right now.
Also, currently there’s some other really great stuff still being crowdfunded:

Famlende Forsøk – ‘En Overraskende Måte Hvorpå Man Kan Kaste En Person Over Ende’: Norway’s equivalent to Throbbing Gristle, and their quirky synths, great programming and musical skills, mixed with dada elements and dadaistic lyrics/vocals, makes this super interesting. The full album can be enjoyed on streaming services, but really deserves a CD release. One of Norways most original and groundbreaking bands through all times!

PVC – ‘Emile Berliner’: A superb post-punk band that released two albums in the early 80’s. Bitten Forsudd later went on to join/fund Garden Of Delight mentioned above, and Eivind Rølles went on to form one of Norways most known pop duos, The Monroes. If you’re into Joy Division and The Residents, then this is music for you!

Chrissy – ‘Chrissy’: Her single “Mark My Words” sold over 500.000 copies in Scandinavia and Germany combined, and is one of the best selling singles in Norway in all times, way up there with a-ha and Röyksopp. The music is a fantastic new-wave/power-pop combo with snappy synth lines on there too! Find the track ‘Mark My Words’ on YouTube to get an idea. This is the album that I’m currently most excited about getting fully funded!

S-L: I guess you have a long wish list of albums not yet funded or suggested – wanna share? 😉

PAL: Yes, absolutely, and one of the first posts I made in the Facebook group, was an invitation to have everybody post their Top 5 Want List of albums they wanted on CD, and so far, I’ve gotten one of these 5 realized, and that was Munch – “Excessive Mobility”.

The rest of my Top 5 looks like this:
– Holy Toy – ‘Pakt Of Fact’ (Their best album in my opinion!)
– E-Man – ‘E-Man’ (Pre-Biosphere project from Geir Jenssen – great minimal-wave)
– Susanne Sundfør – ‘A Night At Salle Pleyel’ (Beautiful electronica!)
– Ultra Sheriff – ‘Galactic Frame’ (Norway’s first ever synthwave album, only released digitally!)

Other Norwegian albums that I feel definitively belong in this series and that I know is on the list is:
– Thorbjørn Grønning – ‘Galskapens Teater’ (Amazing minimal-wave self-released album)
– Göbbels A-Go-Go – ‘Våre Problemer Er Rent Musikalske’ (Superb electronic/new-wave)
– Ultra Sheriff – ‘Deception, Oil And Laser Beams’ (Another amazing synthwave album from them!)
– Det Elektriske Kjøkken – ‘Elefantene Er Kommet’ (Superb electronic/new-wave album)
– Bearburger – ‘The Bearburger’ (Great electronic/experimental album!)
– A Place To Pray – ‘Disciplina Arcana’ (Amazing goth/electronic album!)
– PLX 15 – ‘Kort Prosess’ and ‘PLX 15’ (Two great experimental electronic albums!)
– Axis – ‘Axis’ (Superb Norwegian new-wave mini album!)

… and finally, maybe one of the most important ones, because of the extremely high quality of the album, and this should absolutely be more known outside of Norway:
– Lily & The Gigolos – ‘Secrets’: An album that sounds like a Norwegian Siouxsie & The Banshees, with super strong song material, great production and great artwork. Check out the track “Listen To The Radio”, “Russia” or “I’m Just A Child” on YouTube, and you’ll know what I mean.

The project in itself has now released 88 albums in 99 days through crowdfunding, and is the most successful and longest spanning series in Norwegian record industry history, which in itself is a great feat! ALL countries should have a project like this! Just think about Sweden, a country which haven’t even released the albums like NASA – ‘Power Of The Century’, or most albums by Secret Service and Freestyle on CD at all! I really hope that this Norwegian project will inspire others to do the same in their countries, because there’s so much music history out there, and if we want to keep it for later generations, it has to be done NOW, or it will never be done. The younger generation consumes music digitally, so it is up to us to get these master tapes digitized and onto a physical medium like a CD, so that they also can be used as masters for digital distribution later on. That’s not the first priority, but what label wouldn’t jump at the chance of getting paid for a physical license and also get a remaster they can use for digital distribution/streaming? This also means that a lot of these artists WON’T be forgotten, and that their music will live on to be discovered by others.

Also, a lot of people in the Facebook group for ‘Norske Albumklassikere På CD’ constantly discover new “old” acts/releases, and this is half the fun of being part of this. I mean, I started working in a record shop in the summer of 1985, and I’ve worked in the music business in one way or the other since then, as a DJ, on radio stations, playing in bands, fixing record fairs, selling stuff via mail-order, working at record companies, writing for music magazines etc etc. so I try to contribute the best I can, but even I discover new and exciting things through this project.

Nobody knows everything, and that’s one of the great charms of music, that you can discover a band from the 80’s you’ve never heard of that you totally love!

Search and order already financed albums here: https://norskealbumklassikere.no/
See and order albums being crowfunded now: https://www.bidra.no/norskealbumklassikere

Join the Facebook group for CDs: https://www.facebook.com/groups/norskealbumklassikere and/or LPs: https://www.facebook.com/groups/norskealbumklassikerelp

Jan Ronald Stange

www.facebook.com/jrstange

a-ha reschedule EU tour to Spring 2022

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 10:13:34 +0000

Due to the ongoing global Covid-19 outbreak a-ha have decided to reschedule their European shows once again, this time to Spring 2022. The new dates are below.

The original tickets remain valid, but you are advised to contact your point of purchase for further details. For the Norwegian shows, if you want a refund you have a two month period to request this, ending on April 19.

These are the rescheduled shows.

28 April 2022 – Gothenburg, Partille Arena
29 April 2022 – Copenhagen, Royal Arena
01 May 2022 – Prague, O2 Arena Prague
04 May 2022 – Amsterdam, AFAS Live
05 May 2022 – Brussels, Forest National
07 May 2022 – Paris, Le Zénith
09 May 2022 – Frankfurt, Festhalle
11 May 2022 – Berlin, Mercedes-Benz Arena
12 May 2022 – Hamburg, Barclaycard Arena
14 May 2022 – Leipzig, Arena Leipzig
15 May 2022 – Cologne, Lanxes Arena
18 May 2022 – Stavanger, DNB Arena
20 May 2022 – Oslo, Spektrum
21 May 2022 – Oslo, Spektrum
24 May 2022 – Bournemouth, BIC
25 May 2022 – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
27 May 2022 – London, Wembley Arena
28 May 2022 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena

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Blutengel covers 80s hits on ‘Fountain of Destiny’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 19:06:32 +0000

Out on March 12 is a brand new Blutengel album: “Fountain of Destiny”. The album holds ten iconic songs from the 80s. The CD version also includes two brand new Blutengel tracks: the instrumental “Journey to the Edge of the World” and “Unsere Zeit”.

The cover songs were of course handpicked by Chris Pohl and Ulrike Goldmann. Check out the tracklist below, including of course Duran Duran, a-ha, Gary Numan, Propaganda, Alphaville, Yazoo, Erasure and so on.

The Wild Boys
Forever Young
Hymn
Down in the Park
Alone
Silent Running
Nobody’s Diary
Dr. Mabuse
The Sun Always Shines on TV (Blutengel Version)
Ship of Fools
Unsere Zeit
Journey to the Edge of the Night (Instrumental)

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Viking on Masked Singer UK appears to be a-ha’s Morten Harket (as if you didn’t yet know) – watch all the videos

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 16:01:48 +0000

Behind the Viking mask in season 2 of the Masked Singer UK TV show is none other than a-ha’s Morten Harket, which was clear from the first song he sang actually. Harket decided to join the show after the COVID-19 pandemic had wiped a major tour off the foreseeable calendar, which suddenly opened the door to other types of requests.

The Masked Singer is a British reality singing competition television series (ITV) based on the Masked Singer franchise which originated from the South Korean version of the show King of Mask Singer.

For those who haven’t seen Morten Harket’s performances as Viking, you can catch up on YouTube, including of course a rendition of “Take on me”.

And here’s the Viking is Unmasked! video and extra.

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Magne Furuholmen’s ‘White Xmas Lies’ live concert available online

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 18:14:58 +0000

The live Facebook premiere of Magne’s “White Xmas Lies” concert (recorded at Kulturkirken Jakob in Oslo on December 4, 2019) is now available online. The concert recording lasts about an hour, and the setlist includes 11 songs:

Snow is Falling
The Light We Lost
A Wintry Silence
The Season to be Melancholy
Caprice Des Dieux
This is Now America
You Can’t Have it Both Ways (featuring Tini Flaat Mykland)
So Cold It’s Hard to Think
White Xmas Lies
Revelation Song
There Goes Another Year

All of the songs are from Magne’s album “White Xmas Lies”, except “You Can’t Have It Both Ways”, which was written by Magne, and can be found on Tini’s 2014 album “Undo My Heart”. Performing with Magne were Karl Oluf Wennerberg, Even Ormestad, Morten Qvenild, Madeleine Ossum, Emilie Heldal Lidsheim, Dan Sunhordvik and Tini Flaat Mykland.

You can watch the full concert over on Facebook here.

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Magne Furuholmen (a-ha) launches live concert recording of ‘White Xmas Lies’ on Saturday 26th December

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 16:17:57 +0000

On Saturday 26th December at 5pm CET you’ll be able to view the “White Xmas Lies” live concert premiere by Magne Furuholmen and chat with him as well online. The “White Xmas Lies” live concert footage was shot in Oslo (Norway) on December 4th 2019 at Kulturekirken Jakob in Oslo. The free concert was organized in partnership with the Salvation Army, and the attendees included both Salvation Army guests and fans.

The show lasted for about an hour, with Magne either at the piano or playing acoustic or electric guitar. He was joined by seven musicians – Karl Oluf Wennerberg, Even Ormestad, Morten Qvenild, Madeleine Ossum, Emilie Heldal Lidsheim, Dan Sunhordvik and Tini Flaat Mykland. To get an idea of what to expect, here’s a short video which was posted.

“White Xmas Lies” is the third solo album by Magne Furuholmen as Magne F. and was released on October 25, 2019.

You can RSVP on Facebook to receive reminders before the premiere begins.

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Before a-ha there was Bridges – 2nd album ‘Våkenatt’ finally released to larger public 40 years after being recorded

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 14:19:59 +0000

Bridges were a Norwegian rock band formed in Oslo, Norway in 1978. It is notable for being the predecessor to synth pop band a-ha. The band released their debut album “Fakkeltog” in 1980, but their second album “Våkenatt” which was recorded within the following year, will only get released in full later next month (November 20th) and this after almost 40 years. Good to know, the album holds the early version of the later well known a-ha tracks “Scoundrel Days” and “Soft Rains Of April” as you can hear below.

Bridges included future a-ha members, Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, alongside Viggo Bondi (Bass) and Erik Hagelien (Drums), who was later replaced by Oystein Jevanord on drums. The band was formed during their schooldays in Oslo, Norway and they played gigs across 1978 and 1979. One audience member was the future a-ha lead singer, Morten Harket.

The second Bridges album didn’t get released earlier because band members Waaktaar and Furuholmen planned to continue their musical careers in London after 1981, but Bondi and Jevanord declined, and so bridges split up and Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy would go on to form the synth-pop act a-ha.

As you will notice, the Norwegian psych-rock sound of Bridges is very different to that of a-ha’s electro pop.

“It’s not only an essential part of Norwegian music history, as the missing link between Bridges and a-ha; as I listened to the record, I discovered that it’s a masterpiece which still feels fresh and relevant today,” said rock historian Terje Nilsen at Rockheim in 2018.

“Våkenatt” is available to pre-order now and the first single from the album “Asleep” can be downloaded and streamed below.

Note that “Våkenett” had been pressed up in a small run of vinyl copies in 2018, by Norway’s national museum for pop music, Rockheim Museum, in Trondheim, Norway. 900 copies of the album were produced on green vinyl 180gram vinyl presented in a box.

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A-ha shows in the USA, Europe and Latin America rescheduled (UPDATE 2)

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 17:09:57 +0000

It’s raining press releases of rescheduled tours these days, after Front 242, now also A-ha has its USA, European and Latin American shows rescheduled due to the global Covid-19 outbreak. All shows have been rescheduled to Spring and Summer of 2021. Below are the new dates, the original tickets of course remain valid. Please contact your point of purchase for further details.

The European shows:

16 April – Gothenburg, Partille Arena – Rescheduled from November 20
17 April – Copenhagen, Royal Arena – Rescheduled from November 21
19 April – Prague, O2 Arena Prague – Rescheduled from October 28
21 April – Brussels, Forest National – Rescheduled from November 17
23 April – Oslo, Spektrum – Rescheduled from November 27
24 April – Oslo, Spektrum – Rescheduled from November 28
26 April – Stavanger, DNB Arena – Rescheduled from November 24
29 April – Leipzig, Arena Leipzig – Rescheduled from November 5
30 April – Frankfurt, Festhalle – Rescheduled from November 2
02 May – Berlin, Mercedes-Benz Arena – Rescheduled from November 6
03 May – Hamburg, Barclaycard Arena – Rescheduled from November 3
05 May – Amsterdam, AFAS Live – Rescheduled from November 18
06 May – Cologne, Lanxes Arena – Rescheduled from October 31
09 May – Paris, Le Zénith – Rescheduled from October 30
11 May – Bournemouth, BIC – Rescheduled from November 10
12 May – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena – Rescheduled from November 11
14 May – London, Wembley Arena – Rescheduled from November 14
15 May – Birmingham, Utilita Arena – Rescheduled from November 13

The USA dates

23 May 2021 – Rescheduled from 25 September 2020
24 May 2021 – Rescheduled from 26 September 2020
25 May 2021 – Rescheduled from 27 September 2020

The showdates in Latin America are as follows:

11 August – Mexico City, Auditorio Nacional – Rescheduled from September 22
14 August – Salvador, Arena Fonte Nova – Rescheduled from September 19
18 August – Belo Horizonte, Expominas Arena – Rescheduled from September 26
19 August – Rio de Janeiro, Jeunesse Arena – Rescheduled from September 13
21 August – São Paulo, Espaço das Americas – Rescheduled from September 11
24 August – Curitiba, Teatro Positivo – Rescheduled from September 8
7 August – Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Arena – Rescheduled from September 5
29 August – Santiago, Movistar Arena – Rescheduled from September 1
31 August – Lima,Parque de la Exposición – Rescheduled from September 3

Keep in mind that these shows will only take place if the disease’s spreading is getting contained properly. Bands and venues will have some stressful months coming up.

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Exclusive – Alan Wilder talks about the PPG: It Was A Sensitive, Delicate And Bloody Difficult Beast!

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 15:08:40 +0000

Palm Products GmbH, a highly regarded manufacturer of audio synthesizers which was founded and owned by Wolfgang Palm, has been acquired by the software company Plugin Alliance. PPG is located in Hamburg, Germany and, for 12 years from around 1975 to 1987, manufactured a range of electronic musical instruments, all designed by Palm. We asked Alan Wilder (ex-Depeche Mode, Recoil) for some feedback on the PPG as you can see further in this article.

It is Plugin Alliance’s founding member Brainworx which acquired the assets of Wolfgang Palm’s PPG brand. PPG’s synth products will join Plugin Alliance, updated by Brainworx in close cooperation with founder Wolfgang Palm.

From keyboardist to keyplayer in audio synthesizer market

Wolfgang Palm was active as a keyboardist in bands in the Hamburg area before starting his company in 1975 which focussed on the developing synthesizer market. His first commercially available synthesizer was a modular synthesizer, the 300 Series, which failed to sell in large quantities. Inspired by the design of the Minimoog, Palm introduced the 1002 and 1020 synthesizers which were portable, analog, monophonic, and relatively compact. In 1979, PPG introduced the 340/380 System, a complex digital synthesizer which consisted of the 340 Processor Unit, the 340 Generator Unit, and the 380 Event Generator (a 16-track sequencer). Itt was used by Tangerine Dream and Thomas Dolby during the early 1980s.

But the big breakthrough only happened in 1980, when Palm introduced the “wavetable synthesis”. These digital synthesizers expanded upon the capabilities of Palm’s earlier synthesizers by expanding the sound creation tools with limited samples, which were compiled together in lists called wavetables. The first PPG synthesizer to implement this algorithm was the Wavecomputer 360, released in 1980 in two versions. But it was with the release of the Wave 2, which debuted in 1981, that the ball started rolling. In total, around 1,000 Waves were manufactured between 1981 and 1987, making it the most successful product PPG manufactured.

From a-ha to Depeche Mode’s Alan Wilder

The PPG Wave was used by artists such as A-ha, Alphaville, David Bowie, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Depeche Mode, Propaganda, Jean Michel Jarre, Level 42, Gary Numan, Robert Palmer, The Stranglers, Talk Talk, Tangerine Dream, Tears For Fears, Ultravox, and many others.

We asked Alan Wilder (ex-Depeche Mode, Recoil) for some feedback on the PPG.

Exclusive: Alan Wilder Talks The PPG: It Was A Sensitive, Delicate And Bloody Difficult Beast!

Alan Wilder: “Depeche used a PPG Wave 2 (+ subsequent 2.2) mainly in the studio for the second album (‘A Broken Frame’, 1982) and onwards for a couple of years. Its unique and distinctive sounds are unmistakable on that record. The single ‘See You’ features the very recognisable choir sound, plus the bell riff and other parts, while that release’s B-side ‘Now This Is Fun’ also has PPG’s hallmark stamped all over it. The gratifying array of rich preset sounds it produced were not so easy to improve upon, although Dan Miller would have a go. Complex synthesis produced bell-like overtones that, until that time, had never really been heard to such an extent electronically – later to be resurrected, via equally confusing algorithms, in Yamaha’s DX7 but not nearly with comparable depth or character in my view.

The PPG was a sensitive, delicate & bloody difficult beast however – trying to use it in a live environment proved to be disastrous and the band soon jettisoned that idea following endless embarrassing breakdowns. When it failed, just to let you know how unhappy it was, a massive ‘clunk’ would be accompanied by a loud piercing siren-type noise. Only a re-boot would sort it out – sadly an all too short-lived fix. No, it needed caressing & cajoling and I guess when sampling came along, coupled with Dan Miller’s beast of a Synclavier featuring heavily on DM’s next album ‘Construction Time Again’, the forlorn-looking PPG got relegated and ignored somewhat. A real gem of its time.”

PPG officially ceased business operations and closed its doors in 1987 after shelving the Realizer project. The Realizer was an all-in-one studio machine which combined production, recording, sequencing, and mixing tools into one machine in addition to a sophisticated sampling and synthesis system.

Wolfgang Palm after PPG

After the decline of PPG, Wolfgang Palm continued to be an active innovator in the area of synthesizer technology. For Waldorf Music for example he designed the digital ASIC for the first Waldorf product Microwave (1989) which basically contained the complete sound engine of the PPG wave 2.2. In 2002, Steinberg from its side released PLEX, a software synthesizer designed by Palm.

Today, nearly every digital synthesizer implements wavetable synthesis in some form, and the Wave’s unique integration of analogue and digital circuitry influenced synthesizers such as the Monowave and the E-mu Emulator.

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a-ha takes ‘Hunting High and Low Live’ tour to Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 15:08:16 +0000

The Norwegian act a-ha have announced 9 more shows for autumn 2020 – in Peru, Chile, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil. Note that this means that a-ha will be performing for the first time ever in Mexico City and Lima.

The list of concert dates is below.

New Tour Dates

1 September – Lima, Peru – Parque de la Exposición
3 September – Santiago, Chile – Movistar Arena
5 September – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Buenos Aires Arena
8 September – Curitiba, Brazil – Teatro Positivo
11 September – São Paulo, Brazil – Espaço das Americas
13 September – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Jeunesse Arena
16 September – Belo Horizonte – MG, Brazil – Expominas Arena
19 September – Salvador, Brazil – Arena Fonte Nova
22 September – Mexico City, Mexico – Auditorio Nacional

During the ‘Hunting High and Low Live’ tour, Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket and Pål Waaktaar-Savoy will be performing new and old, familiar and less-familiar songs for the half of the concert. Then, after returning to the stage, they will play the ten songs of their 1985 debut album “Hunting High And Low” in the running order of the original release. The tour is timed to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the release of the “Hunting High And Low” album, with its top selling single “Take On Me”.

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a-ha’s Magne Furuholmen releases brand new video for ‘This is now America’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Sun, 23 Feb 2020 16:22:19 +0000

a-ha’s Magne Furuholmen has released a music video for his solo-single “This is now America”. For the occasion Furuholmen has teamed up with experimental German theatre / performance duo Vinge/Müller, to create a video that according to him is “in many ways the dark, dystopic cousin of the famous ‘Take on me’ video”. Furuholmen explained that this song was a protest song in direct protest to the Trump administration in an interview with Rolling Stone. Not sure Trump really bothers that much though…

The narrative in the video follows an adolescent character on the verge of self-destruction, hiding from a troubled world outside. Magne says this about the video: “As a 15 year old kid, I had a feeling the world was full of infinite possibilities, and an exciting place to follow one’s dream. Young kids today grow up in a very different, and much more troubling world. To me, the video for ‘This is now America’ is about loss of innocence and alienation…as is the song, come to think of it!”

You can watch the video below.

Busy bee Furuholmen

Furuholmen, better known to music fans by his stage name Mags, is the keyboardist of the synthpop/rock band A-ha, and co-wrote hits such as “Take On Me”, “Stay on These Roads”, “Manhattan Skyline”, “Cry Wolf”, “Forever Not Yours”, “Analogue (All I Want)”, “Minor Earth Major Sky”, “Touchy!”, “You Are the One”, “Move To Memphis” and “Foot of the Mountain”.

Furuholmen is also a visual artist with solo exhibitions held in Norway, the UK, and elsewhere in Europe. His work is represented in private and public institutions and museums worldwide, among them The Norwegian State Archives, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, and others.

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a-ha’s iconic video for ‘Take On Me’ gets the 4K resolution treatment – watch it now

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 30 Dec 2019 18:57:32 +0000

“Take On Me”, a-ha’s iconic debut video, has been remastered in 4K for 2020 and beyond. You can watch it below and actually help get this iconic video to 1 billion views. You can even take a guess at when “Take On Me” will reach 1 billion views to win tickets, flights and accommodation for two to meet a-ha. You can enter that contest right here.

At the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, the video for “Take On Me” won six awards — Best New Artist in a Video, Best Concept Video, Most Experimental Video, Best Direction, Best Special Effects, and Viewer’s Choice — and was nominated for two others, Best Group Video and Video of the Year. “Take On Me” was also nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Video at the 13th American Music Awards in 1986.

Here’s the video in its full glory!

2 video’s, only one became a hit with currently… almost 500,000 views a day!

There was actually a video released before the version most people know. “Take On Me” was first released in 1984. The original version was produced by Tony Mansfield, and remixed by John Ratcliff. The first release of “Take On Me” in 1984 includes a completely different recording, and was featured in the first video, which shows the band singing with a blue background.

A new version was produced by Alan Tarney for the group’s debut studio album “Hunting High and Low” (1985). The second video, directed by Irish-born British film director Steve Barron, is the more widely recognized video for the song. It was filmed in 1985 at Kim’s Café (now called Savoy Café) (on Wandsworth Road, London SW8), and on a sound stage in London. The video used a pencil-sketch animation / live-action combination called rotoscoping, in which the live-action footage is traced over frame by frame to give the characters realistic movements. Approximately 3,000 frames were rotoscoped, which took 16 weeks to complete. The idea of the video was suggested by Warner Bros executive Jeff Ayeroff, who was pivotal in making “Take on Me” a globally recognized music hit.

The video was produced by Limelight Productions. The crew of the video were director Steve Barron, producer Simon Fields, cinematographer Oliver Stapleton, editor Richard Simpson from Rushes Film Editing, and animators Michael Patterson and Candace Reckinger. The music video remains enormously popular: as of September 2019, the music video has almost one billion views on YouTube and receives almost 500,000 a day (!!).

In the United States in October 1985, the song became the only A-ha song to top the Billboard Hot 100, assisted by the wide exposure on MTV of its innovative music video, directed by Steve Barron. The video features the band in a live-action pencil-sketch sequence.

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a-ha’s ‘Take On Me’ hits n1 in the UK charts after 34 years (!) + first show in Singapore + first two parts ‘Take On Me’ rockumentary available

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 13:17:25 +0000

First some good news for our Asian readers, a-ha will be doing their very first show in Southeast Asia on 21 March in Singapore. You can get your tickets here.

“Take On Me” documentary

And that’s not the only news from the Norwegian trio. Also up are the first 2 parts in the story behind a-ha’s multi-platinum hit “Take On Me”. The three-part documentary will be completed tomorrow. ‘The Making Of… Take On Me’ includes an array of talking heads including Nile Rodgers, Ed Sheeran, the song’s producer, Alan Tarney, Bunty Bailey, and the video’s designers / animators, Candace Reckinger and Michael Patterson.

Below are part 1 and 2

“Take On Me” hits n1 in the UK

In further news, “Take On Me” has hit the number 1 spot in the UK Physical Singles Chart via the re-release as an exclusive, limited edition coloured 7” vinyl.

Although “Take On Me” went to number 1 in many countries back in 1985, it did not reach the top of the chart in the UK – until now. The blue 7” vinyl includes “Take On Me” as produced by Alan Tarney and “Take On Me” in the 1984 version in an alternate mix, produced by Tony Mansfield.

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‘a-ha The Movie’ premiere and new Norwegian concerts announced

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 13:30:17 +0000

(Photo by a-ha.com) Premiering on Thursday November 26th, 2020 at 6 pm at the Colosseum movie theatre in Oslo is “a-ha The Movie”.

The movie – directed by Thomas Robsahm and Aslaug Holm – follows the band over a period of four years, telling the full story of how three young men followed their impossible dream of becoming Norwegian pop stars. You will get both a close look behind the scenes today and and a new visit to this 35-year-and-counting long adventure tale.

When Take On Me reached number one on Billboard in the US in 1985 the dream came true. Or did it? The band was not prepared for what the success would bring, including tension between the three members Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar. How do they see their legacy and future today?

2 extra concerts following the premiering

Coïnciding with this event are 2 shows at the Oslo Spektrum on the 27th and 28th of November, 2020. A limited amount of tickets for the movie premiere can be bought with a purchase of a Spektrum ticket. The movie ticket also gives you access to a fan convention on Saturday November 28th, featuring Thomas Robsham and a few other prominent guests.

This long weekend will mark the end of the ‘Hunting High & Low’ tour.

About Thomas Robsahm

Thomas Robsahm (born 1964) has extensive experience in the Norwegian film industry. Starting out as a young actor in Svend Wam’s “Five days” in August in 1973, he has since built himself a career as one of Norways most prolific writer-directors and producers, working in both short and feature films, as well as documentaries and television series’.

He made his directorial debut with the short “The Gun Club” in 1987. His debut as a feature film director came with the action-filled crime-drama “Rebels with a Cause” in 1992, and was the first of many successful films, both fiction features and documentaries, directed by Robsahm – such as the feature lenght documentary “The Mosquito” (1996), the award-winning “S.O.S.” (1999) and “Modern Slavery” (2009), as well as his contribution to the portmanteau film “Utopia – Nobody is Perfect in the Perfect Country” (2002). Robsahm also worked for the youth division of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK from 1993 to 1994, and has also directed several music videos for popular Norwegian bands.

He established his own production company Speranza Film AS in 1995 (now co-owned by director Margreth Olin), and has since also produced numerous feature and documentary films for other directors, in addition to his own films – including critically acclaimed, award-winning and audience favorites such as “Thrane’s Method” (Unni Straume, 1998), “My Body” (Margreth Olin, 2002), “It´s Hard To Be A Rock´n Roller” (Gunhild Asting, 2006) and “The Angel” (Margreth Olin, 2009)

Robsahm has also served as commissioning consultant for feature films at the Norwegian Film Institute. He is currently running Oslo Pictures with Dyveke Bjørkly Graver.

About Aslaug Holm

Aslaug Holm (born 1965), is a director and cinematographer recognized for her distinctive, personal style and was the cinematographer and editor of one of the most successful and acclaimed documentaries ever to be theatrically released in Norway, “Cool & Crazy” (2001).

She also directed “The Rich Country” (2006), following Jens Stoltenberg in the time leading up to him being elected Prime Minister in September of 2005. The film was awarded the FIPRESCI-award at the Tromsø International Film Festival (TIFF), where it also had its premiere.

Her most notable film is “Brothers” (2015). The film premiered at CPH:DOX, and received the Best International Feature Documentary Award at Hot Docs in 2016. The same year she also received the National Film Award Amanda for Best Director.

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Magne Furuholmen (a-ha) releases limited art edition vynil of newest album ‘White Xmas lies’ – Price €150

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 07:26:31 +0000

To be released on October 25th is an exclusive art edition of only 200 copies of Magne Furuholmen (a-ha)’s new solo album “White Xmas Lies”.

Each numbered item includes the following:

A white vinyl double-album
An original artwork (25 x 25 cm) signed and numbered by Magne Furuholmen
A poster with all 200 art-pieces combined

The artworks are monotypes made on 5 large sheets of 410 g somerset paper which were cut into squares of 25 x 25 cm to accompany the special edition of 200 vinyls. Together the 200 pieces make up a larger whole, and from the poster included you will be able to find the position of your particular piece.

The edition is sold right here in random order and it is not possible to request numbers. The price for this gem is €150 – plus shipping & handling, quite cheap to have an original Magne Furuholmen hanging in your house. His artworks regularly fetch much higher prices at auctions, so if you look at it as an investment on top, it might be worth a shot.

The video below was filmed by Thomas Vincent Furuholmen in Magne’s painting studio in August 2019 and it captures the process of making the original artworks for the limited art-edition.

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a-ha to play the USA for the first time in 10 years

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 14:02:38 +0000

a-ha’s ‘Hunting High And Low Live’ tour will be extended into the fall of 2020. First a-ha will return to Europe for more dates, as well as paying visits to some classic a-ha cities in other parts of the world, and exploring a few more new ones.

But the most surprising leg of this 2020 tour will be that a-ha will also return to the USA for the first time in 10 years. The band will play 2 US shows.

More news soon.

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a-ha’s Magne Furuholmen releases surprise single/video ‘This is now America’ – watch it here

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:31:49 +0000

a-ha’s Magne Furuholmen has shared a surprise single called “This is now America” on Instagram. You can listen to the song and watch the video below – click on the instagram link in case it does not display. The video was directed and edited by Thomas Vincent Furuholmen with artwork by Magne Furuholmen.

Instagram post by Magne Furuholmen * Aug 22, 2019 at 2:42pm UTC
2,006 Likes, 448 Comments – Magne Furuholmen (@magne_furuholmen) on Instagram

In further a-ha news, Ørjan Nilsson’s book, “Hjemkomst” (The Homecoming), will be launched September 26th. The book covers the years 1993–1998 when a-ha’s frontman Morten Harket enters the stage as a solo artist and political activist, releasing new material (“Wild Seed”), while revealing a fiery political involvement in issues ranging from climate crisis to the liberation of East-Timor.

It’s not yet sure if an English version will be released, but you can expect it to happen as a-ha has quite a strong following outside Norway as well. Below is the frontcover for said book.

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a-ha announces new vinyl/2CD deluxe editions for ‘Minor Earth | Major Sky’ (2000) and ‘Lifelines’ (2002) – more details here

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 08:05:32 +0000

Out on September 27 are the deluxe- 2CD Sets (remastered with unreleased bonus tracks, some live-takes and demos) of the a-ha albums “Minor Earth | Major Sky” (2000) and “Lifelines” (2002). There will also be vinyl editions for the first time ever for these albums.

When a-ha took a seven-year break after their fifth album “Memorial Beach” was released in 1993, each of the members, Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Pål Waaktaar-Savoy, pursued their own interests and arts until they were invited to perform on the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo. a-ha performed two songs at the event and started work on “Minor Earth | Major Sky” which would be released in 2000. In 2002 the album was followed up by “Lifelines”.

The “Minor Earth | Major Sky” 2CD set features the remastered original album with bonus tracks and a second CD with 16 more demos, outtakes and live tracks. The “Lifelines” 2CD set contains the remastered original album with bonus tracks and a second 19-track CD of early versions, demos and songs that did not make it to the final album.

You can order the “Minor Earth | Major Sky” album right here as a 2CD set or on vinyl. The “Lifelines” 2CD set and vinyl are available here.

Two unreleased demos are available now digitally: an early version of “The Sun Never Shone That Day” (from Minor Earth | Major Sky Deluxe Edition) and a raw demo of “Forever Not Yours” (from Lifelines Deluxe Edition).

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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a-ha and Rick Astley (yes, THE Rick Astley) announce 2020 tour in Australia and New Zealand

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 07:44:43 +0000

80’s pop icon – and every mum’s ideal son-in-law – Rick Astley will be a special guest at the upcoming Australian and New Zealand shows of A-ha. It will be a-ha’s first time back in Australia since 1986 and they will be touring New Zealand for the first time ever.

British popstar Rick Astley became worldfamous with his 1987 song “Never Gonna Give You Up” and although he retired in 1993 (at the age of 27), he made a comeback in 2007, becoming an Internet phenomenon when the music video for “Never Gonna Give You Up” became integral to the meme known as “rickrolling”.

Here’s the official video announcing the tour.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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Ideomotor – In And Out Of Time (CD Album – Ideomotor)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Mon, 13 May 2019 18:30:42 +0000

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: Ideomotor is a Finnish duo releasing their debut album, “In And Out Of Time”.

Content: “In And Out Of Time” is clearly inspired by good old electro/wave pop music. The opening track brings us back to the 80s and might appeal to A-Ha fans. Most of the songs are moving into a kind of electro-space dimension, which also comes back in some of the vocals’ effects. I also noticed a power-pop driven song (cf. “Do It Again”) and a few more emotional pieces (cf. “Drift, Pt.2”, “Makebeliever”) supported with atmospheric layers.

+ + + : Ideomotor doesn’t innovate, but the album’s diversity makes it easy to listen. There are a few pretty cool passages and especially the astral dimension injected in a few songs is worthy of examination. I have a preference for “Seven Days” and “Interference”. The ‘harder’ approach revealed on “Do It Again” is quite exciting as well.

– – – : The few emotional cuts aren’t exactly the best exposure from this album. I experienced these songs as monotonous.

Conclusion: If you like electro-pop eclecticism you might keep an eye (or an ear) to Ideomotor. It however sounds like this band can do much better!

Best songs: “Do It Again”, “Seven Days”, “Interference”.

Rate: (6).

Artist: http ://ideomotor .band / www .facebook .com /ideomotormusic

Inferno Sound Diaries

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Interview with Erasure ‘s Vince Clarke, Mark Saunders and Gareth Jones on re-release ‘Wild!’ LP

János Janurik — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 09:02:29 +0000

(Interview © Janos Janurik) 2019 is a year full of anniversaries and anniversary releases and tours, just think of bands and records or special concerts such as Alphaville (“Forever Young” (Super-Deluxe-Box)), the anniversary tour to A-ha`s debut album “Hunting High And Low”, special live performances of The Cure to their legendary “Disintegration” album – just to name a few…

This series is complemented by the re-release of Erasure’s “Wild!” LP. The album was originally released in October 1989 and put the duo of Vince Clarke and Andy Bell on the top of the charts. According to Erasure’s fan base this record is still one of their best and contains timeless classics like “Drama!”, “You Surround Me”, or “Blue Savannah”, which are still part of their concerts.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Wild!”, our contributor, Janos Janurik, invited three people involved in that project for an interview: the unique and unrepeatable Vince Clarke and his right hands, who also have a good reputation among Depeche Mode fans: the two producers, Gareth Jones and Mark Saunders.

They were all ready for a discussion and answered the questions of our colleague as follows.

(Erasure press photo by David Scheinmann (1989))

Vince Clarke

SL: In the series of the Mute album re-releases the last Erasure LP of the eighties, “Wild! ” will be published on the occasion of its thirtieth anniversary. Which (not only musical) memories of the autumn of 1989 are still awake in you?

VC: – I remember the music was recorded in my very first home studio in London. Mark Saunders worked with me whilst Andy recorded with Gareth Jones at the ‘Church’ studio.

SL: The producer of this album was Gareth Jones, a long-time studio employee of Mute Records artists like Depeche Mode, Wire, and Nick Cave. His partner in the production team was the legendary mix master Mark Saunders. You worked together with Gareth on other Erasure albums. Which cooperation do you remember best? Do you have a favourite remix of Mark’s Erasure catalogue?

VC: – Mark did a fantastic remix of ‘You Surround Me’. He was/is very easy going and we got on well. At that point I didn’t really know Gareth.

SL: The single releases “Drama!” and “Blue Savannah” are still fix parts of your live setlists. On the Violet Flame Tour you performed remixes of the rarely played “Wild! ” singles “Star” and “You Surround Me”. Except “2000 Miles” you actually played all album songs at your previous concerts. Are you still satisfied with this material? How do you rate this album after 30 years of time?

VC: – Not bad. 🙂

SL: The “Wild! Tour” has perhaps been the biggest of your tours so far. You toured the world with a gigantic stage set. For the first time you had dancers on stage besides the background singers and there were also several costume changes and two different setlists. During this tour you also played live behind the iron curtain in Prague and then in exotic places like South America, Japan and Australia for the first time. Not to mention the legendary finale at the Milton Keynes Bowl. Do you have any special souvenirs from this tour that will bring back good memories?

VC: – I don’t have any souvenirs, but I remember that the tour was very exciting, especially play to such big crowds.

SL: The second disc of the forthcoming re-release will feature 14 bonus B-sides, remixes, rarities and live recordings, five of which are previously unreleased, including a brand-new remix of “Drama!” by Richard Norris and a recently discovered unreleased mix of “How Many Times?”. This song is my favourite song from the album and which one is yours?

VC: – “Blue Savannah”.

SL: But Erasure is not a nostalgia band of the 80s, because in the meantime you have released more than a dozen albums that have all been received positively – by fans as well as critics. What does the band-future of Erasure look like? Are there any plans for new material yet?

VC: – We hope to be writing for a new album in 2019.

SL: What would your message be for your fan base?

VC: – THANK YOU!

(Gareth Jones photo by GJ)

Gareth Jones

SL: Gareth, you’re supposed to be the in-house producer for Mute Records. Before working with Erasure, you’ve worked with renowned Mute artists such as Depeche Mode, Wire and Nick Cave. How do you remember the first meeting with label boss Daniel Miller and the studio work in Berlin with Depeche Mode on their „Construction Time Again” album?

GJ: – I have told this story many times, so I will keep it brief.

I was introduced to Daniel Miller and Depeche Mode by my friend and mentor John Foxx. He owned a studio called “The Garden” in Shoreditch in East London, and Daniel and Depeche Mode were interested in recording there. I was working for John at the time and he sent me over to the MUTE Records office, which at that time was in Kensington Gardens Square in West London, to meet the whole team. I was a bit nervous, but they were all super nice and normal people, and agreeably weird. Luckily for me they felt good about me too, and offered me the job.

SL: How did the request to produce Erasure’s „Wild!” album come about? Have you had contact with Vince Clarke and Andy Bell before?

GJ: – Before we started working on the “Wild” album I didn’t know Vince or Andy very well at all. For this record they had decided to make sure that there was plenty of time for Andy to work on his vocals. They were looking for someone to engineer and produce the vocals. I had already been working in Berlin with the incredibly talented Diamanda Galas. She had met Andy a couple of times I believe (I don’t know where) and she was kind enough to recommend my vocal production skills to him. So that is how I join the team.

SL: How was it working with them compared to Depeche Mode?

GJ: – This was a very different process from working with Depeche Mode. Initially I was hired to record and produce Andy’s vocals. Vince was in another studio with the other co-producer of the record, Mark Saunders. We were in the church studio and I think Mark and Vince were in Swing Studios.

The studios were both in North London so we were able to have meetings often, and we were continually exchanging musical and vocal ideas.

When it came to mixing it was decided that Mark and I would both mix the album. I was mixing in the Church and Mark was mixing in Konk. We were all determined to get the best out of the songs, so we all pushed each other to do our best like a Sound System contest.

I remember the first single “Drama!” went back and forth between our two studios a few times! Eventually we were all happy.

SL: Are there any favourites from this album that you are still proud of today?

GJ: – The whole record was an amazing experience. Vince and Andy are such strong song writers, talented musicians and all around wonderful people that it was a real pleasure and privilege to be a part of this great record.

I loved the whole process and I have a special affection for “Drama!” and” Blue Savannah”.

SL: You were not only involved in the „Wild!” project as a producer, but also as a remixer, for example the „Syrinx Mix” from „You Surround Me”, which is one of my favourites. Do you have a favourite remix from Erasure`s discography that you particularly enjoyed working on?

GJ: – I did 2 remixes of “Blue Savannah” (“Der Deutsche Mix 1 & 2”) in Berlin with my friends Sun Electric – Stephan Fisher, Max Loderbauer and Tom Thiel. I really enjoyed this – they are all so musical, creative and professional. It was truly a fantastic experience.

SL: After the „Wild!” album you had numerous co-productions with Erasure – among them you worked on one of my favourite albums from them, on the self-titled „Erasure”. And how about you? Do you have a favourite album from Erasure?

GJ: – The first album, “Wild!”, is dear to my heart. I also love the “Erasure” album. It was such a pleasure to work with my friend Thomas Fehlmann as a co-producer on the album and he bought so much to the table. I was so happy that Diamanda agreed to do a guest vocal on the record. We also had the pleasure of an amazing LP mix by Francois Kevorkian.

– The „Wild!” album also included an extensive world tour. Did you see Erasure live back then? If so, where? What did you think of them as a live act?

GJ: – I saw the Wild tour in Hamburg I think. I invited my parents to come along. The show was incredible. I am always impressed by Erasure live shows. The love between the band and the audience is so tangible and touching. Andy is an outrageously talented frontperson, and Vince is always Mr Cool. What a great combination!

SL: What are you currently working on and what are your plans for the future?

GJ: – I am currently writing and recording a solo electronic music project and a new collaboration that I am very excited about.

This year I will also be writing and releasing a new LP for the “Spiritual Friendship” project – an ongoing collaboration with the amazing Nick Hook.

I am also producing an exciting and enjoyably weird electronic pop album with American and European musicians for a new project called “Of Love And Lust”.

I will be back in Yann Tiersen’s fantastic new studio on the island of Ushant (Ouessant) later in the year, helping out with a new recording.

(Mark Saunders photo by MS)

Mark Saunders

SL: Among your early outstanding works is the engineering of some of David Bowie’s songs from 1985 and 1986, who was the idol of several generations of musicians, including Erasure’s Vince Clarke. How do you remember this studio work?

MS: – I feel incredibly lucky to have been in a studio to witness the true legend, David Bowie at work. It was just under a year from starting at West Side Studios in London when Bowie first came in to work on songs for the movie that he was also acting in – „Absolute Beginners”. Before that, I’d been making demos on a Tascam 8-Track tape machine in a dilapidated cow shed on my dad’s farm. Working with Bowie was an unfathomable step up! When the Bowie sessions started, I was transitioning from assistant engineer to house engineer. My bosses, producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (Madness, China Crisis, Elvis Costello, Bush, Bowie & Jagger), were constantly throwing me in the deep end on sessions. There were quite a lot of jazz songs that we recorded for the Absolute Beginners soundtrack were and there would often be drums, bass, piano, guitar, and sometimes up to 9 brass players all playing together in the studio. It was intense as a newbie engineer to get thrown in on those sessions. I remember one session feeling somewhat overwhelmed and turning around to my boss Alan to get some confirmation that I was doing ok and he was asleep on the sofa behind me! For Bowie’s songs for the soundtrack, when the band were laying down the backing track for Bowie to sing on, Bowie would always sing along a ‘rough’ vocal to keep the band inspired. His vocals were always brilliant and as far as I was concerned, nearly every one could have been the master vocal take. But surprisingly, when Bowie was happy with the backing track, he would approach singing lead vocals in quite a clinical way. He would often sing one line, stop, and listen back to it before moving on to the next line. He would also quite regularly check his vocal on the demo version of the song to during this process. His vocals always sounded fantastic though. The pinnacle of those Bowie sessions was when on one day, we recorded the epic title track „Absolute Beginners” and then late in the afternoon, Mick Jagger came in to record „Dancing In The Street” for Live Aid! This was incredible for me – this was a year and one day from starting in a professional studio – and I was working with Bowie & Jagger! This being before cellphones and frustratingly, I had no way to text friends and say – „You’ll never guess who I’m working with today!”. „Dancing In The Street” was one of the first records I ever got an engineering credit on.

SL:Erasure are part of the success story of Mute Records. Your first commissions with the record company included remixes of Depeche Mode`s „Strangelove” and „Everything Counts”. These tracks are – after 30 years – still firm parts of the Depeche Mode club evenings. Did you like making them (with Tim Simenon)?

MS: – I think that these remixes occurred just after or around the time that I worked with Tim on Neneh Cherry’s brilliant debut album „Raw Like Sushi”. Tim was great to work with, he was young and came from the DJ-ing aspect of music rather than being a studio musician or an engineer and he had a naive (in a good way) approach to making records that kept things moving along and fresh sounding – particularly noticeable on „Buffalo Stance” by Neneh Cherry – her first hit. The „Everything Counts” Depeche remix was a pretty simple affair. I seemed to remember hiring in a Roland SH-01 for that session which was definitely used for the bass. Personally I would have preferred to have made the remix more musical – but Tim was happy to keep it more of a hardcore club track. Our Strangelove remix was much more complicated and fraught with technical difficulties.

In those days I was syncing my Atari 1040st computer, running Cubase, to a timecode track (SMPTE) which was recorded on one track of the multitrack tape that contained the song.

This quite often lead to difficulties because after hours or playing and rewinding the tape, the tape would start to wear out. Usually the code track was on the edge of the tape and the edges wore out faster.

So as it go late into the night, we had real problems syncing the computer to the tape machine. And the computer was running all the new parts and samples that Tim and I were adding for the remix. I think this one turned out pretty well though!

SL: Before the release of “Wild!” you also made remixes for Erasure songs like „A Little Respect”, „Stop!” and „Knocking On Your Door”. Did you follow the band`s history from the very beginning?

MS: – I’d been a fan of Vince since the early Depeche days and the Yazoo era but I missed the early Erasure days. My first Erasure work was a remix of „A Little Respect”. I’m sure this came about because of my work for Tim Simenon who was signed to Rhythm King records which was based out of Mute’s offices. I didn’t meet the band though until I mixed the „Crackers International EP” which included the songs „Stop!”, „Knocking On Your Door”, „God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman” and – my favourite – „The Hardest Part”. I mixed „The Hardest Part” first and that was the first time I met Vince – when he came in to check the mix. I was nervous and nobody had warned me about his very dry, deadpan sense of humour. For one thing, when he listened to the mix, he barely moved. He barely even seemed to blink! He didn’t tap his feet, smile or turn around to me to give me an assuring look – nothing! He sat like a robot with his head between the speakers. I took this as a sign that he must absolutely hate the mix – I was literally pacing back and forth behind him wondering how I’d got the mix so horribly wrong! Eventually the song finished, Vince stopped the tape and then paused for what felt like an eternity before turning around and saying „I love it!” And then with a dead straight face he said – „Just one thing… Did you not like like the kick drum?” My heart nearly stopped! Had I really missed out the entire kick drum track on an Erasure record! But before I had a chance to respond, he said „Just kidding… there’s no kick drum on this song!”

SL: In 1989, Erasure`s „Wild!” album was released that still belongs to the fans’ favourites and includes such classics as „Drama!” and „Blue Savannah”. What memories can you recall of these studio works with Erasure?

MS: – As Erasure had time constraints for the making of „Wild!”, I was hired to co-produce the tracks with Vince Clark and Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Wire, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Interpol) was hired to work on vocals with Andy. When Vince and I finished a track in his basement studio in his house in Notting Hill, London, the multitrack would be whisked off to The Church studios in Crouch End in the north end of London for Andy to sing on. On the first day of the recording, Vince sat me down and said – in his deadpan way, „Do you want to know how much money you’re going to make from this album?” Before I could utter much more than „Oh… well… err”, he’d tapped away on a calculator for a few seconds and was holding up the resulting calculation to show me and said „How’s that?” To which I gulped and said „Err… that looks just fine… thanks.” Vince’s basement studio contained nearly every great synth known to man and it was beautifully laid out, with a mixing board against one wall facing the window, and the other three walls had floor to ceiling racks laden with all the synths. One thing completely stunned me on day one though. We decided on what song to start with and Vince then proceeded to expertly get a kick drum sound from one of his synths – an ARP 2500 I think. When he was happy with it, he said, „OK let’s print that to tape (an Otari 24 track 2in Tape machine)”. I said „Are you sure you want to record it now?” He frowned and said „Why not?”.

I said, „Well, wouldn’t you prefer to hear the kick drum in context with a bass and maybe a couple of synths before you commit it to tape?” He still looked completely baffled – like I was asking him to pilot a space craft to the moon or something else outside of his comfort zone.

He replied „But this is the way I’ve always done it.” – which is a fair response from someone whose already produced a shed load of mega hits! „OK”, I said, „but surely, you have more than enough excellent gear here to have all the parts running live from your sequencer and refine all the sounds in context with each other before we need to commit to tape – right?” Long pause and more deep frowning – followed by „I’ve never thought about doing it like that”. This blew me away! This was Vince Clarke, the guy that I watched on Tomorrow’s World many years before I got into the music biz explaining how the Fairlight could sample sounds and play them musically on a keyboard and then sequence them to create a song – all inside a massive computer. Ground breaking stuff! And yet here was the same guy who hadn’t thought of running multiple parts on his sequencer before! Anyway, luckily, rather than kick me out of his studio, Vince gave my suggestion a go and after a couple of hours he said „I like this way of doing it…” and so that’s how we worked from then on. Vince is a musical genius and I loved working with him. He was all about keeping stuff dead simple and keeping songs short… He would quite often say „That’ll do”, like a builder who’s just skimped on the bolts holding some majorly important steel beams together. An example of the Vince Clark genius was the rising and descending piano riffs in „Blue Savannah”. Vince, during the programming/recording said „This needs a piano riff”. Then he just seemed to sit there and stare into space. After a while, I said „Why don’t you just try and play something?” He said… „Sshh… I’m thinking!” After what seemed like an eternity, he started furiously typing numbers into his ancient BBC UMi computer. Minutes later, he sat back and said „Right, let’s have a listen then.”… and my jaw dropped when the brilliant piano riffs popped out of the speakers. He had worked it all out in his head and then had typed in – numerically – each note, the position of the note, the note length and the velocity. Bloody brilliant! At the beginning of the record, Daniel Miller, the Mute Records boss, said to me „I want you to try and get Vince to try some new sounds on this record – experiment a bit more. He’s been using the same sounds for years.” So I tried, but I didn’t push the idea with Vince because I loved all his tried and trust analog synth sounds. We did use some samples from my Akai S1000 sampler a few times, like the acoustic guitar sample on „Star” – although Vince had no interest in using a sampler, as far as I remember. When the recording was finished, both Gareth and I started mixing the songs. I can’t remember if we both mixed all of the songs or not – and I can’t remember exactly who’s mixes ended up on the record – but I think it was a fairly even split between Gareth’s and mine. I mixed in Konk Studios, just up the road from The Church where Gareth was mixing. Konk, owned by The Kinks, had a great big room with a full size snooker table in it which was fab. Vince drove up from Notting Hill one day during the mixing and said „Come on, take a break… Let’s have a game of snooker!” So that’s what we did – we played at least two games and then I said, „OK, let me play you some mixes then”, to which he replied ‘nah, I only came up here for a game of snooker’. I assumed he was joking because, for one thing, the drive from his house to Konk was a fairly arduous journey across a big chunk of London. He told me he was deadly serious though and it took a great deal of effort to persuade him to stay and listen to a mix. I decided to play him „Blue Savannah”. Now, if you’ve ever heard the acoustic slide guitar samples in my 12” remix of this song… well, I had originally put them in the album version. I found the samples in my library while I was working on the song and when I loaded them into the Akai S1000, I loved them! They fit the key of the song perfectly. But somehow I had a feeling that I might be on shaky ground when Vince heard them. My instinct was right. When I played him my album mix, he assumed his normal position… stone faced, and dead still in front of the speakers. But when the first slide guitar riff came in, he positively flinched… like someone had slapped him around the face! But amazingly he kept listening without moving again until the end of the song.

Then he turned to me and said „Yeah, it’s good… but… I would never, ever, have a slide guitar in any of my songs… ever!” So that was the end to the slide guitar in the album mix. And now I think about it… how did I ever get away with putting them in the 12” version?!

Vince had an unerring confidence in what he was doing. If Daniel Miller, the Mute Records boss, had any doubts about anything to do with the record, Vince would say „Don’t worry Daniel, it’s going to go to number 1” – which of course it did, in it’s first week of release!

SL: A remix of „You Surround Me” also bears your name. You made a danceable club hit out of that original ballad. Erasure even played this version live on their Violet Flame Tour 2014. Please tell us a little about it! Which song, by the way, is your favourite from the „Wild!” album?

MS: – I was in Mayfair studios in London for this remix. I remember getting depressed because for quite a long time I couldn’t get anything going that I liked – mainly because of the tempo of the track I think. Then I tried playing double tempo drums along with the song and all of a sudden I was up and running and excited about the mix! I’m pretty sure I was thinking Billy Idol when I did this version. I was pretty happy with the result and was very flattered to learn that the band played my version live. My favourite song from „Wild!” is definitely „Blue Savannah”. My next favourite song that I worked on with Erasure was „All This Time Still Falling Out Of Love” from the album „Nightbird”.

SL: Not only for Erasure, but also for Yazoo you made a remix for their hit „Situation”. Did you see the duo live during their reunion 10 years ago?

MS: – Working on the remix of „Situation” with Daniel Miller was a great honour. What an absolutely perfect pop song… and less than 2 minutes and 30 seconds long! On my website is an extended edit of the song that never got released… actually, I don’t think I ever played it to the band or Mute. I was lucky enough to see them in New York during their reunion tour. They sounded great. Alison Moyet is awesome… I got to work with her too a couple of times and she, like Vince, has a very dry sense of humour and is very down to earth.

SL: What future plans and current works in progress do you have?

MS: – I moved back from the States in 2017 which was a big deal after 21 years of living there. I feel much more inspired musically in the UK. I’m in love with the BBC 6 Music radio station… best radio station I’ve ever heard. They play the most eclectic range of music that you could possibly imagine but they somehow nearly always play stuff that appeals to me! I have two young boys and for a few years now life has been more about family life than pursuing my career but I feel that as they are getting older there is going to be room for both – hopefully soon!

P.S.: A short info for all those who have missed a conversation on the topic with Andy Bell, he is currently very busy with his new solo project “Torsten in Queereteria” (release date: 12 April 2019) and therefore unfortunately could not be at our disposal.

“Erasure – Wild! – 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition”, is out Friday, 29th March 2019 via BMG / Mute Records.

CD1 Track Listing:

Piano Song – Instrumental
Blue Savannah
Drama!
How Many Times?
Star
La Gloria
You Surround Me
Brother and Sister
2000 Miles
Crown Of Thorns
Piano Song

CD2 Track Listing:

Sweet, Sweet Baby – The Moo Moo Mix
Drama! – Richard Norris Mix (unreleased)
Blue Savannah – Mark Saunders 12″ Mix
Piano Song – Live at the London Arena (unreleased)
Runaround On The Underground – Remix
How Many Times? – Alternative Mix (unreleased)
Supernature – Daniel Miller & Phil Legg Remix
Star – Soul Mix
No GDM. – Unfinished Mix
Drama! – Act 2
Brother and Sister – Live at the London Arena (unreleased)
Dreamlike State – 7″ A Cappella Mix (unreleased)
You Surround Me – Gareth Jones Mix
91 Steps – 6 Pianos Mix

János Janurik

a-ha extending its ‘Hunting High and Low Live’ tour into 2020

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 14:26:23 +0000

The demand for a-ha’s ‘Hunting High and Low Live’ tour is exceeding the initial forecast and as a result the band is extending it into 2020.

During the tour Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket and Pål Waaktaar-Savoy will be performing in An Evening With format, with an interval. For the first half of the concert, they will play new and old, familiar and less-familiar songs. Then, after returning to the stage, they will play the ten songs of their 1985 debut album “Hunting High And Low” in the running order of the original release.

The first show for 2020 has just been announced and it will take place in Trondheim, Norway. The show will be on 7 February 2020 at the brand new indoor stadium, Trondheim Spektrum, opening in October 2019. a-ha is the first band to be announced to play at the arena. Here’s the pre-sale link, and here’s the general sale link.

More dates in 2020 will be announced soon, including areas the band hasn’t visited since their 1986 world tour.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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a-ha’s Magne Furuholmen has a solo album coming up – here’s a first teaser

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 08:23:45 +0000

a-ha’s Magne Furuholmen has a new solo album coming up. The news was revealed in a few tweets, here’s a resume of the texts posted: “Hey everybody – belated best wishes for the coming year, and a small tease from the recording-session in the mountains last week to let you know that i’m hard at work and have been for a while now in order to make sure xmas 2019 is ruined for y’all with a new, dark magne f xmas record! no cheesycozy covers but instead 15+ original songs so far with appropriate seasonal topic-ery. after all ‘tis the season to be melancholy’… so, something to look backwards to for a whole year – talk about gift that keeps on giving! lotsa love, the grinch.”

You can already view/listen to a first preview below.

Dit bericht bekijken op Instagram

Een bericht gedeeld door Magne Furuholmen (@magne_furuholmen) op 21 Jan 2019 om 9:00 (PST)

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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a-ha to perform debut album ‘Hunting High And Low’ in full during 2019 tour

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 18:32:05 +0000

a-ha will embark on an October and November 2019 tour where the trio (Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket and Pål Waaktaar-Savoy) will be performing in ‘An Evening With’ format, with an interval. For the first half of the concert, they will play new and old, familiar and less-familiar songs. Then, after returning to the stage, they will play the ten songs of their 1985 debut album “Hunting High And Low” in the running order of the original release.

Back in October 2010, a-ha had played the whole of “Hunting High And Low” just twice (quite an unforgettable event we must say), first at Oslo’s Konserthus and then at London’s Royal Albert Hall (from where we reported live back then).

The tour is timed to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the release of the original version of “Take On Me” – issued in the UK on 19 October 1984 to reputed sales of just 300 copies. The re-recorded “Take On Me” was released in Britain during April 1985 to little fanfare, and in America that May where it hit big after its striking promotional video was seen on TV. It was reissued in the UK that September and, finally, the British hit came. The Hunting High And Low album was on sale in America in June 1985, and in the UK in October 1985.

Here are the dates scheduled:

29 OCT – Dublin – 3Arena
30 OCT – Belfast – SSE Arena
01 NOV – Glasgow – The Armadillo
02 NOV – Leeds – First Direct Arena
05 NOV – London – Royal Albert Hall
06 NOV – Brighton – Brighton Centre
08 NOV – Amsterdam – AFAS Live
09 NOV – Paris – Seine Musicale
12 NOV – Mannheim – SAP Arena
13 NOV – Leipzig – Leipzig Arena
15 NOV – Oberhausen – Koenig Pilsner Arena
16 NOV – Bremen – OVB Arena
18 NOV – Warsaw – Towar Arena
20 NOV – St. Petersburg – Ice Palace
22 NOV – Moscow – Krokus City Hall

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

side-line.com

Ljungblut: “Villa Carlotta 5959” premiere – stream it here two days before release

Jan Ronald Stange — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 14:00:47 +0000

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange / Ljungblut & Karisma Records press release)
The sixth album from Ljungblut are set for release November 2nd 2018, and will the first album with distribution outside Norway. The album will be available in two vinyl versions, CD and digital versions, and Side-Line kicks off with a streaming premiere right here two days before the official release.

Ljungblut originally started out as a solo project from Seigmen / Zeromancer bass player and main songwriter Kim Ljung in 2005.
He needed an outlet for songs which didn’t fit in with his main bands. After three solo albums in English, the project evolved into a full
quintet, and they have released two independent albums in Norwegian.

“Villa Carlotta 5959” is the sixth Ljungblut album, and the last in a trilogy of albums with Norwegian lyrics. Here, several songs have historical references, as already heard on the secong single “Hasselblad” about the 12 Hasselblad cameras left behind on the surface of the Moon.
“Superga” referring to the Superga height outside Torino, most known for the cathedral and the plane crash that killed the Torino football team in 1949. Then there are songs referring to Ljung’s chronic migraine – “Min Krig” (My war) and “Aldri helt stille” (Never completely quiet).

The album has a wide range of tempos and dynamics, but at the same time a cohesive sound and melancholy mood, resulting in an organic sound with Kim Ljung’s characteristic voice surrounded by a plethora of vintage synths and instruments. The basis of the album was recorded live in studio and mixed by Alex Møklebust (Seigmen / Zeromancer) and Terje Johannesen.

Line-up: Kim Ljung, Dan Heide (Zeromancer, Red7), Sindre Pedersen, Joakim Brendsrød & Ted Skogmann (Apoptygma Berzerk)
Guest artists: Erik Ljunggren (a-ha, Bel Canto, Zeromancer), Ginge Anvik (SubGud, soundtrack composer) and Terje Johannesen.

Ljungblut will also perform live at three occations in November; two shows in Tønsberg the 9th and 10th, one show in Oslo on the 12th. See you there?

Enjoy the premiere!

Villa Carlotta 5959 by Ljungblut

Jan Ronald Stange

www.facebook.com/jrstange

Wasserkraft Manifest – Voyagers Of Peace And Understanding (CD Album – Kompuphonik Musik)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 24 Nov 2017 20:30:48 +0000

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, wave-pop.

Background/Info: “Voyagers Of Peace And Understanding” is the debut album of the Swedish electro-pop band Wasserkraft Manifest. The band is a trio featuring 2 female members and one single male member.

Content: Wasserkraft Manifest sounds in the Swedish electro-pop tradition, which is based upon 80s electro-pop and new-elements mixed with an own and more contemporary touch. It’s a melodic composition, which will definitely appeal for all vintage electro-pop lovers.

All members seem to have contributed to the vocals, which sometimes have been produced with robotic vocals. Most of the songs have been sung in English, but you also will notice lyrics in French and German.

+ + + : I like the ‘vintage’ approach of the composition. It sounds in the purest tradition of synth-pop music and might evoke legendary formations such as A-Ha, but even Sandra. The least I can say is that Wasserkraft Manifest are truly melody-makers. Most of the choruses are catchy and melodic. I also enjoyed numerous sweeps running through this work. Last, but not least there’re some great vocal parts on this album revealing grave male vocals at one side and angelic female vocals at the other side.

– – – : A few cuts are maybe a little less too ‘happy’ sounding making me think to synth-pop music for teenagers. The song “Lightyears” is one of these cuts, which speaking for myself couldn’t convince me for any moment for sounding a bit cheap and uninspired-like.

Conclusion: This album stands for happy electro-pop music. It’s a pleasant and easy listening production, which will make you feel happy.

Best songs: “She’s My General”, “Der Mensch”, “Robot Heart”, “Analogsignal”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www .wasserkraftmanifest .com / www .facebook .com /wasserkraftmanifest

Label: www .kompuphonik .de

Inferno Sound Diaries

www.side-line.com

a-ha releases acoustic version of ‘Take On Me’ – Live From MTV Unplugged, Giske / 2017

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 18:35:34 +0000

Out soon is the forthcoming album/DVD “a-Ha: MTV Unplugged Summer Solstice” which includes 17 tracks by the band in acoustic versions plus 2 cover versions and 2 brand new songs. Today the band released a video for the acoustic version of their first hit “Take On Me”.

You can pre-order a super deluxe fanbox here: MTV Unplugged – Summer Solstice (Ltd. Fanbox)

The acoustic set was recorded live on June 22 and 23, 2017 at the Giske Harbour Hall in Norway with an enlarged line-up. The line-up for the shows included a-ha frontman Morten Harket and the 2 other co-founders Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, next to Lars Horntveth (acoustic guitars, resonator lap steel guitar, vibraphone, bass clarinet and soprano saxophone), Morten Qvenild (upright piano, harpsichord, harmonium, dulcitone, mandolinette, autoharp and kokle), Even Enersen Ormestad (bass), Karl Oluf Wenneberg (drums, percussion, bells and bass xylophone), Madeleine Ossum (violin and backing vocals), Emilie Heldal Lidsheim (viola and backing vocals) and Tove Margrethe Erikstad (cello and backing vocals).

Below is the live video for “Take On Me”.

The band also released 2 other videos.

“The Sun Always Shines On TV” featuring Ingrid Helene Håvik.

“The Living Daylights”

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

side-line.com

Bel Canto live review and Anneli Drecker interview

Jan Ronald Stange — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 16:35:54 +0000

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) After walking through the pouring rain towards Tøyenparken and the opening day of the 2017 edition of the Øyafestivalen in Oslo, Norway, my friends and I quickly took shelter in the big tent stage called Sirkus, waiting for our first act of the evening, Bel Canto from Tromsø. As were 5000 others too, all unusually early in place for a festival concert, a point also made by singer Anneli Drecker: “Lucky for us it’s raining this much – we brought the weather from Northern Norway!”. It was indeed THE rainiest day in Oslo so far this year!

The set was about 50 minutes long with a good mix of songs from all their albums, and many songs in new or updated arrangements too, even totally acoustic like ‘Spiderdust’ (which some may have heard live before). Most surprising was probably ‘Rush’ with Anneli’s throat singing as a new element!
Ending the set with ‘Unicorn’ was the perfect closer, sending the audience away to the rest of the evening on a musical high.

Songs played at Øyafestivalen:
White-Out Conditions / Dewy Fields / Birds of Passage / Shimmering, Warm & Bright / Paradise / Rush / Spiderdust / Bombay / Agassis / Rumour / Unicorn

We also managed to get some comments from Anneli afterwards via Facebook chat.

Side-Line: What was the occasion for playing this festival just now?

Anneli: We had long discussed with the festival to do a Bel Canto concert and found that the 2017 spot in the Circus tent would be perfect since it is now 30 years since our first album “White-Out Conditions” was released on Crammed discs. Also this year it is 25 years since our album “Shimmering, warm & bright” came out, which was a big hit in Norway in ’92. SW&B was the first Bel Canto release as a duo and not with Geir Jenssen in the band.

SL: We noticed some new members on stage…

A: Yes, we have a new member, and it is the magnificent and legendary Erik Ljunggren (Seigmen, a-ha, Vampire State Building, Zeromancer…). Erik is an old acquaintance of ours. We are very proud to have him in the band, alongside with Andreas Eriksen (percussion, since 1990) and Jane Kelly (backing vocals, since 2000).

SL: Anything else you’d like to add about the concert or other upcoming news?

A: We worked long and hard on this live set for Øya. The gig was immensely important to us, since it was a special gift to our long-time fans. We also hired a new light guy from the north of Norway (Tord Eliassen) who turns out to live in Brussels! So it was all meant to be. All in all we feel that we have never had a better live set than what we have now and after all the great response after the Øya concert we got inspired and are absolutely keen on doing more jobs, also abroad! ?
And possibly also recording some new songs! But first we need to see how the response abroad is…

Some snippets from the concert:

Jan Ronald Stange