Foot of the Mountain

Untitled

Template:Future album Foot Of The Mountain is the upcoming ninth studio album by the Norwegian pop band a-ha. The overall sound of the record marks a return to the synthpop the band became famous for in the mid-1980s. Keyboardist Magne Furuholmen describes the album thus: "It's an album that incorporates the key elements that first defined the band: soaring vocals, synth hooks, yearning lyrics and melodic melancholia.". It will be released on June 19, 2009.

Tracklist

1. "The Bandstand" (Waaktaar-Savoy/Furuholmen) - 4:02
2. "Riding The Crest" (Waaktaar-Savoy/Furuholmen) - 4:16
3. "What There Is" (Waaktaar-Savoy/Furuholmen) - 3:42
4. "Foot Of The Mountain" (Waaktaar-Savoy/Furuholmen/M. Terefe) - 3:56
5. "Real Meaning" (Waaktaar-Savoy/Furuholmen) - 3:38
6. "Shadowside" (Waaktaar-Savoy) - 4:55
7. "Nothing Is Keeping You Here" (Waaktaar-Savoy) - 3:16
8. "Mother Nature Goes To Heaven" (Waaktaar-Savoy) - 4:07
9. "Sunny Mystery" (Furuholmen) - 3:30
10. "Start The Simulator" (Waaktaar-Savoy) - 5:17

Personnel

1. Morten Harket: vocals
2. Magne Furuholmen: keyboards, vocals
3. Paul Waaktaar-Savoy: guitars, vocals

Additional musicians

1. Steve Osborne: guitars, bass
2. Roland Spremberg: guitars, keyboards, bass
3. Chris Papendieck: guitars, keyboards
4. Albert Bjerglund: guitars
5. Erik Ljunggren: keyboards
6. Karl Oluf Wennerberg: drums
7. James Frazee: drums
8. Jens Carstens: drums
9. André Orvik: strings
10. Harald Aadland: strings
11. Vegard Johnsen: strings
12. Eileen Siegel: strings
13. Jørn Halbakken: strings
14. Alyson Read: strings
15. Hans Morten Stensland: strings
16. Øyvind Fosshelm: strings
17. Bogumila Dowlasz-Wojcikowska: strings
18. Dorthe Dreier: strings
19. Stig Ove Ose: strings
20. Ida Bryhn: strings
21. Hans Josef Groh: strings
22. Johannes Martens: strings
23. Cecilia Götestam: strings

Singles

On May 5 2009 the title track, "Foot of the Mountain", was released as the first single from the album. It has so far only been released exclusively as a download single in selected territories in mainland Europe. It will see its UK release on July 6.

The German #2 position is the highest charting single a-ha has had in that country since Take On Me in 1985. The video for the single was filmed in Germany, both in Berlin and on the Baltic Coast of Pomerania. It was directed by Olaf Heine. The German market has been the prioritized territory for the early stage of the promotional campaign. May 2009 saw the band performing the single on the Heidi Klum hosted show Germany's Next Top Model and The Dome, dubbed "Europe's biggest music show" together with fellow Norwegian Alexander Rybak. On June 11, precisely at 8.13 CET the music video premiered simultaneously on four major German networks, namely ProSieben, Sat1, kabel eins and N24. It was also made available for streaming on the major German website Myvideo.de, a page with 228 million monthly hits.

The exclusive UK digital bundle of the single will contain the following tracks: Foot Of The Mountain (Radio Edit) , Foot Of The Mountain (Album Edit), Foot Of The Mountain (Bohème7 Remix), Foot Of The Mountain (Erik Ljunggren Remix), Foot Of The Mountain (Video).

Chart (2009)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	TBA
Austrian Singles Chart	28
Belgian Flanders Chart	TBA
Belgian Wallonia Chart	TBA
Danish Singles Chart	TBA
Dutch Singles Chart	TBA
Estonian Airplay Chart	TBA
European Hot 100 Singles	TBA
Finnish Singles Chart
German Singles Chart	2
Greek Billboard Singles Chart<	TBA
Icelandic Singles Chart	TBA
Irish Singles Chart	TBA
Luxembourg Singles Chart	16
Norwegian Singles Chart	11
Russian Airplay Chart	TBA
Spanish Singles Chart	TBA
Slovakian IFPI Singles Chart<	TBA
Swedish Singles Chart<	TBA
Swiss Singles Chart	33
Ukrainian Airplay Chart	TBA
UK Singles Chart	#1 (Bloody Should Be!!!)

Recording process

In a 2007 interview with the Norwegian TV channel TV Tromsø, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy expressed frustration over the time it took to produce new material with the band: "The trouble with us is that we're never in sync. Right now, I'm eager to get going on the new album. I'm telling everybody that the new album is coming out next year and that it's going to be great. But the other two are of course just starting to get into their solo projects again and want to prioritize those for the time being." Getting around to recording the follow-up to Analogue took four years due to the individual projects of the band members. Paul's band Savoy released Savoy Songbook Vol. 1, Magne released his second solo album A Dot of Black In The Blue Of Your Bliss and Morten released his 2nd English-language solo album Letter from Egypt. Despite touring quite extensively between 2005-2008, the focus of the group was not directed towards recording. The album ended up being recorded in a relatively short period of time (between January and May 2009) with Steve Osborne and Roland Spremberg producing . The recording session took place in several studios around the world. In the US sessions were held at Water Music, Beat 360 and The Alabaster Room in New York City. In Norway recordings were made at Yoga Studio, Alabaster Cottage, Malabar Studio and Rainbow Studio. In the UK the band recorded at Real World Studios, whilst in Germany they used Gaga Studios and Boogie Park Studios.

Inspirations

The track "Riding The Crest", named by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy as "an electro-blues", is heavily inspired by Arcade Fire and their album Neon Bible. Being the principal songwriter on the album, Waaktaar-Savoy also got inspired by his changing surroundings, dividing his time between New York City and Oslo. " 'Shadowside' feels quite Norwegian in the melody, the chords and the mood. 'The Bandstand' reminds me of my first trip to New York City in the early '80s, before a-ha were famous. Songs are like a photo-album – they can really send you back. And this one reminds me of arriving at Port Authority with $35 in my pocket, sporting really high, yellow, almost see-through synthesizer-hair, wearing a tiger-shirt and a brown suit, looking like an alien!" The title track, 'Foot Of The Mountain' – examines one of the fundamental conflicts of modern life, the pull between nature and big-city civilization: for Paul, the buzz of New York City versus the beauty and isolation of Norway. "It's the dilemma of loving a city life, yet secretly wondering if we'd be happier being surrounded by open fields and sweeping mountains." "Real Meaning" is inspired by Waaktaar-Savoy calling home only to be greeted by his answering machine. The idea behind "Start the Simulator" was to make a heartfelt song using technical language: "The basic idea was to make a song using only technical terms and phrases, and still make it very emotional and personal. There is such poetry in the old Apollo manuals: "switch to Omni Bravo" and "the bright ejector blanket."

Artwork

The album's artwork is designed by Martin Kvamme, who has worked with a-ha on previous occasions, both as a band and on solo projects. Stian Andersen, Guy Berryman, Istockphoto and Helge Kvamme supplied photographs for the inner sleeve. Martin Kvamme said the following about the inspiration behind the cover art: "In this case the title helped quite a lot. I know that this is a somehow poetic quote and that they are not necessarily talking about a mountain, but we wanted something majestic and simple. That's also why we made it quite abstract. It's a picture of the mountain Kyrkja (the church) in Jotunheimen, Norway. Inside we have more images of Norwegian nature (in a collage style). But in general I guess the inspiration comes from the overall idea (production and songwriting/lyrics), rather than the the album title."

Critical reception

The Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang gave the album 4 out of 6 stars, calling the band "Coldplay's half-potent uncles". Dagbladet also gave it 4 out of 6, stating "this is one of a-ha's best records, but it could have been a classic." Aftenposten was also very positive, giving it 4 0ut of 6, whilst Dagsavisen had slight reservations giving it 3 out of 6. Nettavisen also gave it 3 out of 6. Swedish newspaper Norran gave the album a glowing review and the mark 4 out of 5 stating that the album contained "melodic synthpop in the vein of The Killers.". Gøteborgs-Posten gave the album 4 out of 6, calling the album " a late peak in the bands career, perfectly placed between the soundscapes of Kent, Coldplay and Depeche Mode." Corren gave a favorable review stating "it is clear to see where Coldplay get their inspiration from." Kristianstadsbladet were less favorable, stating that the album was a "sleeping pill.".

Release history

Region	Date
Germany	June 12, 2009
Poland
Netherlands	June 19, 2009
Austria
Switzerland
Norway	June 22, 2009
UK	July 13, 2009

External links

• Official a-ha site
• Official album site (German)