A-ha reunite with new album

LONDON • Norwegian band A-ha, whose Take On Me remains one of the most popular songs from the 1980s, are reuniting temporarily and releasing their first new material in six years.

They split after a worldwide tour in 2010 and vocalist Morten Harket, 55, keyboardist Magne Furuholmen, 52, and guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, 53, went on to pursue solo projects.

They are reuniting for two years to write new material. Their 10th studio album, Cast In Steel, is out tomorrow and a European tour will follow next year.

They will first perform at the Rock in Rio festival this month.

"It's incredible how quickly you fall back into where you left off," Harket said in an interview on Tuesday. "One of the good things about being away is to digest things and maybe learn from things and see if there are better ways to get to where you want to be."

Norwegian band A-ha's 10th studio album, Cast In Steel, is out tomorrow. PHOTO: FACEBOOK

A-ha formed in 1982 and this year marks 30 years since the release of their debut album Hunting High And Low, which has sold more than 10 million copies.

"For us, you have to make peace with that song because it's stronger than you in a way. It's not going away," Harket said when asked about the continued popularity of Take On Me. "We played it to death ... but the public don't get sick of it somehow."

He said the band are getting to grips with the popularity of social media - especially within the music industry - a big change from when they started out.

"I have always been a recluse really and to bring me out in the open like that is not easy," he said. "I think it has a lot of good things to it." REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 03, 2015, with the headline A-ha reunite with new album. Subscribe