| AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW FOR THE MEXICAN SITE OF A-HA AND THE NEWS PAPER "LA PRENSA" WITH PAL WAAKTAAR, GUITAR PLAYER OF THE NORWEGIAN BAND A-HA; FROM OSLO, NORWAY. |
| Yes a-ha is back, and in comparison with other bands from "The 80īs", they are coming in grand style. They were very famouse in the middle of the 80ī with the single called "Take On Me". And what about the video? they won 8 MTV awards in 1986, an spectacular one that combines color images with black & wthite comic version, definitely one of the best videos in the history of music videos. Now a-ha is more mature than ever, they are back with a new album called "LIFELINES", a beaufiful recording full of great tunes, some of them quite similar to Beatles music (maybe these are the only mistake, because a-ha doesnīt need to sound like The Beatles). Thereīs music to move your feet included as well. We were in the Ullevaal Stadium for my interview with Pal, it was 14:00 PM and my appointment was at 14:30 PM, so I was early, but this is better when you are not in your own country. Pal was there five minutes early, he said hello and we started. |
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| Pal: Hi, when did you arrive in Norway ? Tania: Last Saturday, but I think that Norway is hotter than México. Pal: Nope. I donīt beleive that. Tania: Yes, just look at me. Pal: HA HA HA. Tania: Well letīs beguin our interview. Pal: OK. Tania: Do we have any chance to see an a-haīs concert in México ? Pal: Yes, why not (he laughs.), there is always a possibility but everything depends upon a good offer and the promotion, because in the past we have done a lot of tours extensibly in Latin America and Brazil; and we made great shows there, and sometimes the question comes up to go there, again but nothing was ever set in concrete. Tania: Do we have any chance now ? (cīommon Pal tell me something different). Pal: (he smiles) I donīt Know, as I told you everything depends upon an offer and the promotion there, so I donīt Know if a-ha is going there. Tania: Well, let me tell you that actually you can listen a-ha all the time on the radio, and not only to "Take On Me", you can also listen to "Cry Wolf", "Iīve Been Loosing You", "Crying In The Rain", "The Sun Always Shines On TV"; And the video "Forever Not Yours", is played on a rotational basis on our latinoamerican video channel, so are these the kinds of promotion.? Pal: (He acted very surprised), Really ! Tania: Yes, of course. Pal: Well, this is great beginning isnīt it ? It could be a start in some ways, but promotion of the album is also very important. Tania: And why doesnīt a-ha have the right promotion, is because of the record company, or which is the reason ? Pal: Humm. We have been away from the public light for many years now, so we have to star over again now to correct that. Itīs also struggle make a company create the right kind of promotion. You have to be very experienced to choose the right single, but I think weīve been doing very well considering all the circumstances; Also, the audiences have been very loyal to us, and that thing that you said about the latinoamerican channel is really a great rebirth after all this time. Tania: Well now let me ask you something, I am writing a book about 80īs music and I want to talk about that era ? Pal: Are we in it ? Tania: Yes, absolutely. Pal: (he smiles very proudly), yes of course. Tania: How was the first time, that moment that you listened to "Take On Me", for the first time ? Pal: I think the first time, I really remember, they said that it was going to be played at midnight, so it was 1:05 AM, and we were still sitting and waiting there in the middle of the night, and it didnīt come up (he was laughhing very strongly). But I remember when it really hit us; We were on the beach in Los Angeles, sitting up and eating ice cream on Santa Monica beach and we had a radio on and it played "Take On Me" on three different stations with different parts of the song, that was when we said, "Guaauuu! this is really happening. Tania: But it was really hard in the beginning wasnīt it ? Pal: Yes, of course! 80īs music had a very hard time in the beginning. I mean it took quite awhile, and we were a band from Norway, and England was very closed at that time to foreign bands; Now Itīs really different because everything comes very quickly. Tania: Was it a kind of racism against foreign bands ? Pal: Yes, sort of, the fact was that, before us, no great band from Norway ever tried to expand their music, to make something different; Our dream never was to be only a local band, our expectations have always been high. It didnīt matter how this transformation could take place in such a mess. |
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