An A-HA experience!

Like more than a hundred thousand others - some sources say 150 thousand - I headed for Frognerparken in Oslo on Saturday, August 27. Not to celebrate the Centennial for Norsk Hydro but to watch the Norwegian supergroup A-HA perform one of their rare concerts on home soil. It did help that the concert was free (sponsored by the aforementioned Norsk Hydro).

Several artists performed in the living daylight hours, including the popular act Ravi & DJ Løv. But the masses were waiting patiently for Pål, Magne and Morten. As the darkness descended upon us, the stage and the large screens around the park lit up and we were treated to videos about A-HA, such as an interview with Coldplay's Chris Martin where he said that A-HA was the first band he really loved.

At 9.30 the famous trio entered the stage, with a great light show and a crystal clear sound (at least where I was standing). And for close to two hours we got treated to a mixture of new songs (such as their brand new single "Celice" from the upcoming album "Analogues") and their classic hits; from "Take on me" and "Living a boy's adventure tale" to "Scoundrel days", "Move to Memphis" and "The Living Daylights".

The band was in a good mood and cracked jokes ("And you thought we were professionals!", Magne erupted as he had to turn off a synthesizer that ran amok during an acoustic song) as well as making people sing along to their best known songs, in particular on "Hunting high and low" the audience joined in strongly and Morten just stood there listening. What an experience, both for band and audience, as we switched roles for a few minutes!

A-HA returned for encores twice, which indicates how well the audience liked their performance. The extras kicked off with a wonderful version of their best song, in my opinion, "The Sun Always Shines on TV". Even in the dark it felt like the sun was shining!

The concert was given top reviews in the national newspapers the next day. By all means, it was a historical event!

The Knife cuts deep

Another great swedish pop rock group has entered the scene, in the form of a sister-brother outfit named The Knife (Karin and Olof Dreijer). Their newest album, Deep Cuts, was released in Sweden a good two years ago but has slowly gained in international fame and was finally released outside Sweden on V2 International in the autumn of 2004.

It certainly took me a while to learn about this album, but triggered by the great voice of Karin on the new Röyksopp album I decided to order a copy from CDON. And wow, what a revelation! This is by far the most playful, non-conformative and exciting music I've heard in a long time. And Karins's voice is so fresh, at times sounding like Kate Bush at other times like Björk. I've been playing the CD for a week now and I keep discovering new sounds on every listen, and the melodies are just great.

Yummy, this would have been a contender for Album of the Year if it wasn't too old!

Precious mp3-release

The news is out that Depeche Mode has made their upcoming single, Precious, available for digital download via iTunes and similar services around the globe. It was 'released' yesterday, August 22, a full six weeks before the regular single hits the record shops!

I guess this had to be done since a free mp3-version has been circling the net since July!

Röyksopp and Depeche Mode

For the last few weeks my favorite CD has been "The understanding" by Röyksopp, it's their sophomore album released on Virgin June 27. It differs markedly from their "Melody AM" debut, it sounds more mature with a much richer and pompous sound. Though it can't sport a single hit like "Poor Leno" the overall quality is so high and the guest singers so good that this is bound to be one of the best electronic/dance albums of the year. My personal favorite on the album is the 8 minutes long instrumental track, "Alpha Male", which starts a bit like Jean-Michel Jarre's "Equinoxe" before kicking off with a heavy bass synth. Another excellent track is "What else is there?" with a lovely guest appearance by Karin Dreijer from The Knife, and then the Prince-like "49 Percent" with singer Chelonis R Jones. At times the album sounds like Air and at other times (in particular on "Alpha Male") like M83. It's not innovative but still great stuff!

This week I finally got to hear the coming Depeche Mode single "Precious", and it's great! It's a little bit like their late 80s style, darker and less rock oriented. I love it! The single should be out on October 3 and the album, "Playing the angel", on October 17. I can hardly wait.

Angels with silver wings
should have known suffering
I wish I could take the pain for you.

If God has a masterplan
that only he understands
I hope its your eyes he's seeing through.

-- Precious, Depeche Mode