Magne talks about Norwegian music and a-ha

Magne comments on the lack of creative ideas in today's Norwegian pop music scene. Magne believes none of these artists (Unni Wilhelmsen, Espen Lind "Sway", and Mette Hartman) can get any recognition on the international market. "In my opinion, these artists are not interesting enough. The same goes for all Norwegian pop I hear. One exception is Seigmen. They some good things in their band" Everything can be controlled. Magne explains: "Promotion people think everything can be controlled by good marketing. This of course is not true. The problem is that the artists on whom the focus is, usually have the least amount of originality. They are like everybody/everything else" Furuholmen also pronounces his mis-belief in the record company's ability to pick the right artists. "Both managers and record companies make too many mistakes and pick the wrong people." "Most Norwegian artists think the world is waiting for a Norwegian artist. That's not the way it is. The thing is that nobody out there cares about what's happening in norway. After the A-ha success a lot of people actually looked in norway's direction, but they found nothing." Timing About A-ha's breakthru he says the following: "The whole thing, for sure, had something to do with timing. And with the video to Take on Me, and its cartoon effects. But I think we also had something special, and that we did the right thing when we went for synth-based music, which was really "in" at the time." Now, in addition to previous people who have been asked about this matter, Magne Furuholmen doesn't promise an A-ha comeback, but is ready for another a-ha experience. "I could well make another record with A-ha now, but there are no concrete plans." Magne explains. "Talk often" "We talk often about it on each other's answering machines." "I think that there are several aspects of A-ha that we still haven't discovered. We aren't done yet. That's why we should do something together again." says Furuholmen. Morten Harket and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy have spoken to VG [Norwegian newspaper] about a reunion, and they've thought of it as an option. Furuholmen himself has focused on arts over the last couple of years. For the last few weeks, he's been in Shanghai, China, where he has sold 30-40 items of his work, consisting of wooden scultptures and graphical designs.