A-ha releases "True North"
True North’ has been teased over the last few months as the band have shared a handful of singles from the record. Their first collection of new songs since 2015’s Cast In Steel is more than a straightforward album, it is also a film capturing the band recording the songs during 2021 in Bodø, the Norwegian city located 90km above the Arctic Circle. “With every album we tweak it, to see if there’s a different way to go about it,” explains Paul. The True North film is available for rental and purchase from 21 October 2022.
The first taste of the album was the elegiac, soaring ‘I’m In’. “Breathe in, Just breathe, There are times, Good times after these” sings Morten at his most emotive. It is followed by ‘Hunter In The Hills’. “Clouds sweep through the treetops, At dawn, Dissolving into nothing, The battle lines are drawn.” About what is coming and where we all are now, these are songs with a sense of place and a deep connection with how we interact with the environment. The beautiful ‘You Have What It Takes’ feels like a-ha at their most vulnerable, with its intricate guitar strings and Morten’s unmistakable vocal. It’s an echo of hope, healing and recovery, uplifting the listener with the line “Don’t be afraid to fail or fall, everyone carries a weight. We learn to walk before we crawl, so do this for all of our sakes. You have what it takes.” The significance of the lyrics resonates globally and feel like strength and comfort against the current backdrop of such unprecedented times. ‘As If’ wouldn’t sound out of place on a Coldplay album, with its sweeping strings, acoustic guitars and the Arctic Philharmonic orchestra in full swing. Morten’s vocal cuts through the shimmering wall of sound to splendid effect. The official vodeo for ‘As If’ will be live across a-ha’s YouTube channel at 2pm BST (October 21st, 2022).
Implicitly and sometimes directly, True North is about Norway – a strip of land bounded on one side by mountains and the ocean on the other. Whether through fish, oil or setting forth to the rest of the world from the coastline, the sea has shaped Norway and its place in the world. A country that might be liminal has instead thrived. Whether in the film or on the album, True North encapsulates a-ha’s views of this Norway.
With what is their 11th studio album and also a very immediate document of its creation, a-ha have entered a new world. “First, we had the idea to record a studio session live,” says Paul. “Then, to film a studio session. That grew into more of a production with the Norwegian orchestra, the Arctic Philharmonic, who we have collaborated with.” It's all there in the film.
In the True North film, a-ha perform and record with the orchestra. Also caught on camera in the landscape around Bodø, Magne, Morten and Paul discuss True North. In recurring vignettes, actors portray life in the north. The multidimensional film describes a narrative arc embodying the spirit of the new songs, showing how all of us are connected to the environment. Long-time a-ha collaborator Stian Andersen is the director. “True North is a letter from a-ha, from the Arctic Circle, a poem from the far north of Norway with new music,” says Magne.
In how it was initially envisaged, True North nods back to 2017 when a-ha were filmed for MTV Unplugged in Norway. Then, there was limited time and a need to directly capture a-ha on camera and audio in what was effectively a live setting. Deciding on a similar framework for True North – with comparable limitations – placed a-ha on a deadline.
Twelve new songs were brought on board: six by Magne, six by Paul. “Paul had songs written, he wanted to make an album,” says Magne. “When I was writing during the period of lockdown, the main thing I was thinking about was the concept of a musical letter from Norway. I’d seen Bruce Springsteen’s Western Stars and wondered what an a-ha version of that might look like, sound like. How would we tell the story of what it means to grow up in Norway, be Norwegian and bring that to the world with all the underlying yearning and melancholy which has been part of our word for the get go?”
“We then had to figure out to incorporate the orchestra,” adds Paul. “I imagined Morten’s vocals and as I also see pictures myself when I work on new songs this complemented what we were doing with the film. It all comes together for us with True North.”
The songs on the record are imbued with a sense of place and a deep connection with how we interact with the environment. For the first time, a-ha show us where they are from, who they are, and how the connection between the two is unbreakable. It’s no wonder that True North is a-ha at their most revealing - never before has the spirit of a-ha been so exposed. Balances are struck – between the fresh approach and the qualities inherent to a-ha, between the songs themselves and the overarching concept of True North.
True North tracklist
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 Blue
9 – Make Me Understand
10 – You Have What It Takes
11 – Summer Rain
12 – Oh My Word
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