WAW: SOKO - Are You a Magician?

The Los Angeles based SOKO returns this month with a brand new album, her third, entitled 'Feel Feelings'. Two singles have already been released as singles including "Are You A Magician" for which the video was directed by Gia Coppola. 

March Singles Roundup

We are going through a difficult piece of history at the moment that affects us all. In this tough times music remains our best companion. Beside the already featured releases in single posts, here are some interesting tune that will hopefully make stay at home easier. This month we see the return of The Killers, Bright Eyes and Lebanon Hanover.

The Killers - Caution


Chromatics - Famous Monsters


Vundabar - Out of It


Black Lips - Get it on Time


Bright Eyes - Persona Non Grata


Lebanon Hanover - The Last Thing


The Orb - Daze (Missing & Messed Up Mix)


Oh Wonder - How it Goes
 

The Radio Dept. - You Fear the Wrong Thing Baby

Next Wave: MOTHERMARY

Mothermary were already around for three years now and it is in this catastrophic times that the duo caught our attention. They are twins, Elyse and Larena and as they say on their website, they left religion (Mormon upbringing) and decided to do music together. Their base in the last few years seems to have been NYC and this is also where they create their specific art form of electropop. So far they have released the debut EP 'Not a Virgin' and their brand new single/video for the song "Catch Fire" is out now on Italians Do It Better.

Retrovision: Inspiral Carpets - This is how it Feels

Thirty years ago Inspiral Carpets released one of their biggest hits and signature songs "This is how it feels" that was also their first Top 40 hit in their native UK. The song was featured on band's second album 'Life' released during the same year.

WAW: The Irrepressibles - Let Go

Jamie McDermott is back with his outfit The Irrepressibles for the third album 'Superheros' which is announced for May this year. The first single "Let Go" was premiered this week on YouTube and the video was directed by Savvas Stavrou.

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7_Songs: A-ha

As part of our new label '7_Songs', each week, we will have a new artist featured on our blog. The idea is to have seven songs that are crucial and represent musicians’ career milestones, but at the same time songs that are our favorites and have a special meaning to us. For each artist we will also set up a playlist on YouTube that encompasses their complete body of work as documented with music videos and live performances.

A-ha

A-ha is a Norwegian band formed in 1982 consisting of Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars), and Morten Harket (vocals). The band released 10 studio albums and around 40 singles. A-ha achieved their biggest success with their debut album 'Hunting High and Low' in 1985 as well as their debut single "Take one me". A-ha's songs have been covered or sampled by several artists and also been covered in various languages.

Take on Me

This year in February 2020, A-ha's video for "Take on Me" single, reached one billion views on YouTube joining the community with Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Queens' "Bohemian Rhapsody". Back then the single went platinum in Denmark and Italy and also Gold and Silver in several countries around the world and it is considered as the band's biggest hit by far. When it comes to singing along, the song still remains a challenge.

The Sun Always Shine on TV

The second single “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.” followed soon after and it was in a different manner  than the debut, less commercial and more complex work. The video showed a short sequel to the story from the debut video, but also took us to a different scenery in a Gothic church in England, crowded with mannequins while the band was performing. This one eventually won two trophies at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1986.

Hunting High and Low 
“Hunting High & Low” was the last single to be released from the debut album of the same name which also rounds up A-ha’s classic era. This video, again, was directed by Steve Baron and new forms of expression were adopted where nature took a lead. Beside others, we saw the lead singer Morten changing forms from an eagle, a white shark to a lion. The single went Gold in France.

The Living Daylights

A-ha landed the Soundtrack for ‘The Living Daylights’ James Bond movie in 1987. Their video featured various scenes from the film projected on to the band as they perform in the empty 007 Stage, but also footage from the film traced out and inserted to the video footage, which was a great innovation at that time. One once said, one of the best JB tunes and the worst JB movies.

Scoundrel Days

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, A-ha were very popular in South America, especially in Brazil, where the band sold out some of the largest stadiums in the world. At the Rock in Rio II festival in January 1991, A-ha shocked the entertainment press by drawing an audience of 198,000 at Maracanã stadium —a Guinness World Record for biggest rock concert attendance. This song was however never released as a single but still remains one of A-ha's finest works.

Summer Moved On

After six years of break, A-ha emerged again in the early 00’s with their first new material since 1994. The song became a number-one radio hit in much of Europe and the band continued with international success throughout the decade. For this song Morten Harket achieved the European record for the longest note held in a Top 40 pop song where he sustains a chest voice note for 20.2 seconds.

Foot of the Mountain
A-ha returned once more what was to be the final time as the album release was followed by a farewell tour. "Foot of the Mountain" was a great track that was mixing the band's classic elements with decade's best pop sounds. The single was a big hit in Germany and also the official anthem of the 2009 World Championships in Athletics held in Berlin where also some parts of the video were recorded.

For the complete A-ha discography documented in music videos and live performances, please check the following the playlist below.

Next Wave: Borusiade

Born and raised in Bucharest, Romania, Borusiade aka Miruna Boruzescu started DJ-ing in 2002 as one of the very few female DJs in the city’s emerging alternative clubbing scene. Influenced by a classical musical education, a bachelor in film direction and fascinated by raw electronic sounds, Borusiade first combined these universes in the construction of her DJ sets and starting 2005 also in her music production. A sound of her own has slowly crystallized, often dark with poignant bass lines, obsessive themes and by all means melodic. She released several EPs on different labels and her debut album ‘A Body’ in 2018.

‘Fortunate Isolation’ is perhaps Borusiade’s most personal release to date. Eight songs that capture a bystander witnessing the world as it undergoes drastic changes. The album’s sound is gloomy and powerful mixing sonic film sequences, rhythmic excursions and soothing yet obsessive vocals that touch one’s deepest senses. Lyrically the songs tackle themes of forgotten memories, spirituality, mortality, and destruction. All songs have been mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley.

Soap&Skin Cover "What's Going on?"

The Austrian singer Anja Plaschg also know as Soap&Skin has released a brand new single "What's Going on?" which is actually the cover version of 4 Non Blondes hit from the 90's. It takes a different course than the original by being more apocalyptic and introspective especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.