Cast in Steel
Cast in Steel | ||||
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Pål Waaktaar-Savoy | ||||
A-ha chronology | ||||
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Singles from Cast in Steel | ||||
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Cast in Steel is the tenth studio album by Norwegian band
Cast in Steel is the first a-ha album to use the original band logo since Memorial Beach from 1993, and the first album to be produced by Alan Tarney since Stay on These Roads (1988).[2]
Background and recording
Following the release of their ninth studio album, Foot of the Mountain, a-ha announced that they would retire as a band. In 2015, however, the band announced that they would re-unite for a two-year period and release Cast in Steel, followed by a world tour to promote the album. Cast in Steel was released on 4 September 2015, shortly before a-ha performed in Brazil at Rock in Rio on 27 September for the festival's 30th anniversary.
Initially
Furuholmen has said the reunion wasn't his decision: "The other two wanted to do it, and I had to decide: do I block it, let them do it without me, or make a fool of myself, with my statements about this being the end."[5]
Singles
"Under the Makeup" was released as the album's first single internationally on 3 July 2015. The music video was shot in Telemark in Norway and stars Danish actress Sofie Gråbøl and Swedish actress Frida Farrell.[6]
On 19 August 2015, "The Wake" was premiered on BBC Radio 2.[7] The song was released as the album's second single in the United Kingdom on 28 August 2015.[8][9]
A-ha performed the album's third single "Forest Fire" on 3 September 2015 at the 2015 Radiopreis-Gala in Germany.[10] On 15 September 2015 a lyric video was released on YouTube.[11] "Forest Fire" was added to the BBC Radio 2 playlist on 28 October 2015 as the third single from the album in the UK.[12]
The Steve Osborne remix of "Cast in Steel" was released as an international single on 12 February 2016.[13] On the same date, the Osborne remix of "Objects In The Mirror" was released as the fourth single in the UK.[14][15]
Commercial performance
Cast in Steel debuted at number eight on the
Track listing
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Cast in Steel" | Pål Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy | Savoy, Erik Ljunggren, Peter Kvint[a], Morten Harket[a] | 3:50 |
2. | "Under the Makeup" | Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy, Ljunggren, Kvint[a], Harket[a] | 3:25 |
3. | "The Wake" | Harket, Ole Sverre Olsen | Harket, Kvint | Harket, Kvint | 3:45 |
4. | "Forest Fire" | Magne Furuholmen | Furuholmen, Harket, Martin Terefe, Kvint | Steve Osborne, Furuholmen, Ljunggren, Kvint[a], Harket[a] | 3:54 |
5. | "Objects in the Mirror" | Furuholmen | Furuholmen | Osborne, Furuholmen, Ljunggren, Kvint[a], Harket[a] | 4:14 |
6. | "Door Ajar" | Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy, Alan Tarney, John O'Mahony[b] | 3:46 |
7. | "Living at the End of the World" | Harket, Olsen | Harket, Kvint | Harket, Kvint | 4:06 |
8. | "Mythomania" | Furuholmen | Furuholmen | Furuholmen, Ljunggren, Kvint[a], Harket[a] | 3:49 |
9. | "She's Humming a Tune" | Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy, Ljunggren, O'Mahony[b] | 4:02 |
10. | "Shadow Endeavors" | Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy, Tarney, O'Mahony[b] | 4:21 |
11. | "Giving Up the Ghost" | Furuholmen | Furuholmen | Furuholmen, Ljunggren, Kvint[a], Harket[a] | 4:15 |
12. | "Goodbye Thompson" | Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy, Tarney, O'Mahony[b] | 3:34 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "The End of the Affair" | Furuholmen | Furuholmen | Furuholmen, Ljunggren | 3:31 |
2. | "Mother Nature Goes to Heaven" (original version) | Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy | a-ha | 4:33 |
3. | "Nothing Is Keeping You Here" (original version) | Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy | a-ha | 4:41 |
4. | "Shadowside" (demo version) | Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy | a-ha, Ljunggren | 4:16 |
5. | "Start the Simulator" (stereophonic mix) | Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy | Mark Saunders, Roland Spremberg | 5:19 |
6. | "Foot of the Mountain" (Mark Saunders remix) | Waaktaar-Savoy | Waaktaar-Savoy, Furuholmen | Saunders | 4:18 |
Vinyl edition
Side A
- Cast in Steel - 3:50
- Under the Makeup - 3:25
- The Wake - 3:45
- Forest Fire - 3:54
- Objects in the Mirror - 4:14
Side B
- Door Ajar - 3:46
- Living at the End of the World - 4:06
- Mythomania - 3:49
- Shadow Endeavors - 4:21
- Goodbye Thompson - 3:34
- Notes
Personnel
a-ha
- Morten Harket – vocals
- Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, vocals
- Pål Waaktaar-Savoy– guitars, vocals
Additional musicians
- Erik Ljunggren – programming (1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 13)
- Chuck Zwicky – programming (1, 6, 10, 12)
- Rob Schwimmer – Theremin (2)
- Peter Kvint – programming (3, 7), guitars (3, 7), bass (3, 7)
- Steve Osborne – keyboards (4), programming (4), guitars (4), bass (4)
- Florian Reutter – programming (4)
- Alan Tarney – keyboards (6, 10, 12), guitars (6, 10, 12), additional backing vocals (6, 10, 12)
- Eliot Leigh – programming (6, 10, 12)
- Kurt Uenala – programming (6, 10, 12)
- Even Ormestad – bass (1, 2, 9)
- Karl Oluf Wennerberg – drums (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 13)
- Per Lindvall – drums (7)
- Joe Mardin – drums (12)
- Macedonian Radio Symphony Orchestra – orchestra (1, 2)
- Lars Horntveth – orchestral arrangement (1, 2)
- Bylund Strings – strings (7)
- Mattias Bylund – string arrangements (7)
- Sarighani Reist – cello (5, 11)
- Julie Tanner – cello (5, 11)
- Monisa Angell – viola (5, 11)
- Kristin Wilkinson – viola (5, 11)
- David Angell – violin (5, 11)
- David Davidson – violin (5, 11), string arrangements (5, 11)
- Conni Ellisor – violin (5, 11)
- Mary Kathryn Vanosdale – violin (5, 11)
Technical and Design
- Kai Andersen – recording
- John Brant – recording
- Janne Hansson – recording
- Dag Erik Johansen – recording
- Peter Kvint – recording, mixing (3)
- Eliot Leigh – recording
- Erik Ljunggren – recording
- Even Enersen Omnestad – recording
- Steve Osborne – recording
- Max Ross – recording
- Bobby Shin – recording
- George Tanderø – recording
- Chuck Zwicky – recording
- Cenzo Townshend – mixing (1, 8, 9, 11)
- John O'Mahony – mixing (2)
- Simon Nordberg – mixing (3, 7)
- Maret Pompetzki – mixing (4, 5)
- Ren Swan – mixing (6, 10, 12)
- John Davis – mastering at Metropolis Mastering (London, UK)
- Jeri Heiden – art direction, design
- Glen Nakasako – art direction, design
- Just Loomis – photography
- Lars Gundersen – photography
- Harald Wiik – management
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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References
- ^ Veka, Camilla (21 March 2015). "A-ha gjenforenes og lager nye låter". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ "a-ha / Cast in Steel: Track by track | superdeluxeedition". Superdeluxeedition.com. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
- ^ "a-ha med nytt album og stor turné til høsten". Dagbladet.no. 25 March 2015.
- ^ Veiåker Johansen, Robert (9 September 2015). "a-ha: The rescue operation". Aftenposten. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ Valentish, Jenny (18 March 2016). "The highs and lows of being a-ha". Financial Times. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ "World premiere of 'The Wake' on BBC Radio 2. News. The Official Website of a-ha". Archived from the original on 2015-09-12. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
- ^ "Album the Wake, A-Ha | Qobuz: Download and streaming in high quality".
- ^ "BBC Radio 2 Playlist News: A-A-B-C!". 26 August 2015.
- ^ "A-ha".
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "'Forest Fire' (Lyric Video)". YouTube.
- ^ "A-ha goes straight on to the BBC Radio 2 B List!". 28 October 2015.
- ^ "New single 'Cast in Steel' out now!. News. The Official Website of a-ha". Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
- ^ "'Objects in the Mirror' A-listed on BBC Radio 2. News. The Official Website of a-ha". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
- ^ "A-ha Goes Straight Onto the BBC Radio 2 and BBC London Playlists!". 24 February 2016.
- ^ [2] [dead link]
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – a-ha – Cast in Steel" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – a-ha – Cast in Steel" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – a-ha – Cast in Steel" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ "Top Stranih" [Top Foreign] (in Croatian). Top of the Shops. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 37.Týden 2015 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
- ^ "Danishcharts.dk – a-ha – Cast in Steel". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – a-ha – Cast in Steel" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – a-ha – Cast in Steel". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ "Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Week: 24/2015)". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2015. 37. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – a-ha – Cast in Steel". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- . Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ "Spanishcharts.com – a-ha – Cast in Steel". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – a-ha – Cast in Steel". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
- ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 2015" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 10 January 2016.