a-ha / True North

a-ha will release a new studio album, True North, in October.

The band every now and again scratch their heads and search for a way to create new music, but it’s not easy. Back in 2017 (when discussing his Waaktaar & Zoe album) Paul Waaktaar-Savoy told SDE that “a-ha has been going for a very long time and there is a lot of conflicting ambitions”.

The original idea for True North was for Morten Harket, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen to record the studio session live, then to film it but eventually the project expanded into more of a production with the Norwegian Orchestra, the Arctic Philharmonic.

As well as the album, recorded with the orchestra, there is also a film directed by Stian Andersen which captures the band recording the songs during 2021 in Bodø, the Norwegian city located 90km above the Arctic Circle. Magne describes the album and film as “a letter from a-ha, from the Arctic Circle, a poem from the far north of Norway with new music,” says Magne.

The songs on the album are said to be imbued with “a sense of place and a deep connection with how we interact with the environment. a-ha at their most revealing” You can preview the first single, ‘I’m In’ (above).

There are 12 tracks on the record with six of them written by Paul and six written by Magne. True North will be available on CD, 2LP black vinyl, a special recycled 2LP vinyl edition that presents a unique mix of coloured vinyl (order this from Rough Trade in the UK or JPC in Germany)

True North will be released on 21 October 2022 via Sony.

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a-ha

True North CD edition

Shop Price gbp Stock Amazon uk   11.89 Order Amazon de   9.85 Order Amazon usa   12.34 Order Amazon fr   14.56 Order Amazon it   15.06 Order Amazon es   12.41 Order Amazon ca   18.24 Order JPC de   7.99 Order FNAC fr   15.99 Pre-Order Rough Trade uk   12.99 pre-order

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Compare prices and pre-order

a-ha

True North 2LP black vinyl

Shop Price gbp Stock Amazon uk   19.78 Order Amazon de   28.05 Order Amazon usa   34.04 Order Amazon fr   24.49 Order Amazon it   32.92 Order Amazon es   31.99 Order Amazon ca   38.59 Order JPC de   34.99 Order FNAC fr   27.99 Pre-Order Rough Trade uk   36.99 pre-order

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Tracklisting

True North a-ha /

• • 1. I’m In
    2. Hunter In The Hills
    3. As If
    4. Between The Halo And The Horn
    5. True North
    6. Bumblebee
    7. Forest For The Trees
    8. Bluest Of Blue
    9. Make Me Understand
    10. You Have What It Takes
    11. Summer Rain
    12. Oh My Word