Tag: a-ha

Weekend Bits & Pieces

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I’ve got a hugely busy weekend coming up: repairing stuff, watching football, walking the beagle… and stuff. So here are some things I found earlier:

Designer looks at Yvette Cooper campaign poster, offers advice:

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What? Even if it’s true?

The Teletubbies sing Die Antwoord’s I Fink U Freeky 
They’re weird, quite scary and more than a little creepy and off-putting. And then there’s this video of one of their songs being performed by the Teletubbies.
This isn’t the first time the four-piece from CBBC have taken on a musical cover here they are doing Joy Division’s Atmosphere.
Yes. I know. It is a bit, isn’t it?

The Allium continues to amuse:

Post-Doc Honestly Thinks He Is Getting Out Of The Lab Early This Evening - The Allium - Google Chrome 2015-08-14 041023 PM.bmp

Just substitute an on-call shift at the John Radcliffe:

“I have planned all my experiments today and I know every detail of what I am doing. The world is a fair and kind and just place and nice people like me will always have nice things happening to them, so I am definitely 100% certain that I am getting out of the lab early this evening. There is no way I am going to be here all night. Nothing could possibly go wrong.”

It’s so very funny because it’s so very true.

a-ha to release album soon after releasing album

Yes. Well, sort of. It’s a 4 (four!) CD re-issue of my second-favourite ever album Hunting High and Low and it’s coming out just a couple of weeks after the new (and allegedly final) offering Cast In Steel. (Not Long Now!!!)
The extras on the newly remastered HHAL look excellent:

…disc two contains 25 demos recorded between 1982-84. These consist of 18 demos of eventually-released songs, including the original demo of Take On Me under its original title Lesson One. The other seven demos are of unreleased songs including Nothing To It, The Love Goodbye and Go To Sleep.

and Warner Bros can expect my pre-order this weekend.

Whatever you’re doing this weekend, have a good weekend.

Cast In Steel

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Told you.
One more brand new album. One more world tour.

It’s out on 4th September this year. *begins trembling with mounting anticipation*

The return came about in a simple, organic way, as Paul explains: “it started off very easy and low-key with Morten dropping by my studio at various occasions, and I would show him songs that I was working on. He would sing on the songs he felt a connection with and leave the ones that didn’t and it just went like that until we had done 10 or 12 songs.”

The lack of pressure and deadlines was definitely a bonus, and reminded Paul of when the band first started out: “The beauty of it was that we could do this totally under the radar; there were no deals in place, no contracts, tours planned or deadlines looming … just our shadow endeavours. It was back to exactly how we started in my parents cabin way back when in the 80s. Some instruments, a song, a voice.”

Morten makes it clear that “we are not getting back to stay together. We’ve agreed to come back for a set period: one album, one tour. It’s a great opportunity and allows us to write another chapter.”

I need to be there for this one. I need to make a plan after last time.

Link to press release to follow Here’s a copy of it – the a-ha.com website appears to be struggling with high demand right now.

We Need To Put The Band Back Together

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OhEmmGee. I’m excited.
This is some amazing news to wake up to on a dreary autumn morning in Cape Town.

It looks like a-ha are getting back together.

AHA_NewsPics_03072015

Says Dagbladet:

A-ha gjenforenes og lager nye låter
Nøyer seg ikke med Rio-konsert, og har forpliktet seg til minst to år sammen.

Their one-off 30th anniversary Rio concert proved not to be enough and they’re now recommitting to at least another 2 years together:

In December 2010, A-ha ceased to exist as a band. They gave up on top. It was not intended that they should be reunited, but now it happens anyway.
Dagbladet journalist and author of A-ha biography “The Swing of Things”, Jan Omdahl, predicted only a year after the dissolution that we could prepare ourselves for a comeback – probably within five years. Now he has met them, and Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktar Savoy has given his first interview as a band since they let up for nearly five years ago. A-ha are making a comeback.

I’m excited. Very, very excited. Look out for the press conference in Berlin on Wednesday…

Did I mention how excited I am? Because I am.

Re-release

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Ooh. Exciting news for the legion of a-ha fans that follow this blog in order to hear exciting a-ha news. This are that day!

Marking the 30th [weeps slightly] anniversary of the release of their first album Hunting High And Low, a-ha are releasing… Hunting High And Low. But this one is “a Super Deluxe Edition of the album… remastered and packed full of bonus content”!

Colour me excited. So excited, in fact, that here’s the title track of that 1985 classic:

Morten featuring as both singer and super-predator there. (Aquila chrysaetos, Carcharodon carcharias and Panthera leo for the Linnean purists.) Although that notched caudal fin at 2:29 looks far more like that of Prionace glauca, I’m sure you’ll agree.

But minor shark identification discrepancies apart, what a song – drama, an orchestral background, harmonies deluxe and when you’ve seen it performed live, several (or more) goosebump moments.