Released Sep 04, 2015
Cast In Steel (2015)
When a-ha played the Oslo Spektrum in December 2010 to close the 'Ending on A High Note Farewell Tour', it felt a definitive full-stop on the band's activities.
As Morten Harket says, it has been a genuine and real disbanding. There has been no a-ha in the sense of the word during that time. For Morten, Paul Waaktaar and Magne Furuholmen, the five-year break has allowed them to explore a rich seam of various creative projects, both musical and artistic.
The return came about in a simple, organic way, as Paul explains: "It started off very easy and low-key with Morten dropping by my studio at various occasions, and I would show him songs that I was working on. He would sing on the songs he felt a connection with and leave the ones that didn't and it just went like that until we had done 10 or 12 songs."
The lack of pressure and deadlines was definitely a bonus, and reminded Paul of when the band first started out: "The beauty of it was that we could do this totally under the radar; there were no deals in place, no contracts, tours planned or deadlines looming, just our shadow endeavours. It was back to exactly how we started in my parents cabin way back when in the 80s. Some instruments, a song, a voice."
That sense of enjoyment and belief in the new material is clear from all three members: "The making of our album has so far been such an uplifting experience", says Paul; "It is a really unexpected pleasure to be writing songs for Morten's voice again", says Magne. "I knew sitting down with Paul and Magne," Morten says, "that this would be a real genuine effort. We have never been ones to look back so you can take for granted all three of us are doing this because we know we can create something new. The songs have to be good: the benchmark is always the same."
As Foot on the Mountain showed, a-ha are a different beast to the vast majority of their contemporaries, still at the peak of their songwriting powers, rather than living off past glories. Cast in Steel picks up where their last studio album left off, this is the sound of band relaxed and refreshed, at ease with themselves and ready to take on the world once more.
Liner Notes:
Mastered by John Davis at Metropolis, London
Photography: Just Loomis
Art Direction & Design: Jeri Heiden and Glen Nakasako for SMOG Design, Inc.
Recorded at: Studio Brun, Atlantis Studios, Buret, Alabaster Room, Real World, Electric Lady, Athletic Sound, Albatross Recorders, Systems Two Recording Studios, Little Big Sound
Recorded by: Peter Kvint, Janne Hansson, Erik Ljunggren, Steve Osborne, Eliot Leigh, Chuck Zwicky, Kai Andersen, Dag Erik Johansen, George Tandero, Max Ross, Even Enersen Ormestad, John Brant, Bobby Shin
Track List
Disc 1 Cast In Steel (2015)
- 1: Cast In Steel
- 2: Under The Makeup
- 3: The Wake
- 4: Forest Fire
- 5: Objects In The Mirror
- 6: Door Ajar
- 7: Living At The End Of The World
- 8: Mythomania
- 9: She's Humming A Tune
- 10: Shadow Endeavors
- 11: Giving Up The Ghost
- 12: Goodbye Thompson
Disc 2 Cast In Steel (2015)
- 1: The End Of The Affair
- 2: Mother Nature Goes To Heaven (Original Version)
- 3: Nothing Is Keeping You Here (Original Version)
- 4: Shadowside (Demo Version)
- 5: Start The Simulator (Stereophonic Mix)
- 6: Foot Of The Mountain (Mark Saunders Remix)
Lyrics Cast In Steel
Meet me at the turnaround
Stop your car and look around
There I will be waiting
Forget for once that everything
Fades
It fades away
I'll never get over what we said
It lingers in my head
I'll always remember what we knew
One hundred percent to be true
To be right
To be real
Set in stone
And cast in steel
We made a pact
Eye to eye
Cross your heart
And hope to die
Can you see the end of things?
Can you see it happening?
Feel the ashes on the wind
Don't you hate how everything
Falls
Just falls away
I'll never get over what we said
It lingers in my head
I'll always remember what we knew
One hundred percent to be true
To be right
To be real
Set in stone
And cast in steel
We made a pact
Eye to eye
Cross your heart
And hope to die
It lingers in my head
I'll always remember what we knew
One hundred percent to be true
Set in stone
And cast in steel
To be right
And to be real
Set in stone
And cast in steel
Words and music by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Produced by Erik Ljunggren and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Orchestra arrangement by Lars Horntveth
Additional vocal production by Peter Kvint and Morten Harket
Mixed by Cenzo Townshend
Additional Musicians:
Drums: Karl Oluf Wennerberg
Bass: Even Enersen Ormestad
Programming: Erik Ljunggren, Chuch Zwicky
Orchestra: Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra
Lyrics Under The Makeup
This is how it ends
each on our own
Unless we pretend
meanwhile our hearts turn to
Stone
shaped by wind
boulders slowly molded over time
here within
I want to see you
under the makeup
let all the worry
vanish away
I want to hold you
like it's the first time
like you were still mine
If you wanted out
didn't I let you go
If you wanted in
didn't I make it so
It could be
tenderness escapes so easily
I want to see you
under the makeup
let all the worry
vanish away
I want to hold you
like it's the first time
like you were still mine
I want to see you
under the makeup
let all the worry
vanish away
I want to touch you
like it's the first time
like you were still mine
Words and Music: Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Produced by Erik Ljunggren and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Mixed by Cenzo Townsend
Orchestral arrangement by Lars Horntvedt (from the band Jaga Jazzist)
Additional Musicians:
Drums: Karl Oluf Wennerberg
Bass: Even Enersen Ormestad
Theremin: Rob Schwimmer
Orchestra performance by Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra
Lyrics The Wake
Can't change the one you are
Can't change the one you love
Lower your guard
I've made a few mistakes
I'll tell you what it takes
Under the stars
Have you seen the other me at times?
Walking on an ever looser line
Baby this is a wake
You and I will not escape
As time goes by
The world's never been older
Your head on my shoulder
So close your eyes
Stung by normality
Wronged by your family
Conventions aside
Cannot change the one you love
From inside - or from above
Just hold him tight
Walking on an ever looser line
But love has let me over every time
Baby we're on a wake
You and I will not escape
Just close your eyes
The world's never been older
Your head on my shoulder
And time goes by
The world's never been older
Your head on my shoulder
As time goes by
Baby this is a wake
None of us will escape
Who we are
The world's never been older
Your head on my shoulder
As time goes by
Music by Morten Harket and Peter Kvint
Words by Morten Harket and Ole Sverre Olsen
Published by Kvintessential admin by Sony ATV Scandinavia
Produced by Peter Kvint and Morten Harket
Mixed by Simon Nordberg and Peter Kvint
Additional Musicians:
Bass: Peter Kvint
Guitar: Peter Kvint
Programming: Peter Kvint
Keyboards: Peter Kvint
Lyrics Forest Fire
Goes around
Comes around
Doesn't really matter
Something wrong
A false alarm
Doesn't ring that true
Watch it flare up
Where do we begin
We are flames in the forest fire
Rising from within
That's where we begin
We take you far and wide
And always leave
A silver lining scar
The stores in town
Are closing down
And everything's in ruin
Borderline
Just turn around
Out of every ditch, a path
Watch it flare up
Time to reign it in
So let's begin
We are flames in the forest fire
Rising from within
That's where we begin
We fuel desire
And always leave
A silver lining scar
Music by Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket, Martin Terefe and Peter Kvint
Words by Magne Furuholmen
Published by Kvintessential admin by Sony ATV Scandinavia, West Eight Music Publishing (BMI) / Universal Music Publishing (BMI)
Produced by Steve Osborne, Magne Furuholmen and Erik Ljunggren
Vocal production by Peter Kvint and Morten Harket
Mixed by Marek Pompetzki
Additional Musicians:
Drums: Karl Oluf Wennerberg
Bass: Steve Osborne
Guitar: Steve Osborne
Programming: Erik Ljunggren, Steve Osborne, Florian Reutter
Keyboards: Steve Osborne
Lyrics Objects In The Mirror
You drive down
Your old street
Familiar smiles
From those you meet
You've been around
Been everywhere
But objects in the rear view mirror
Are closer than they appear
Looking back is bittersweet
When the world was at your feet
Love would make your life complete
No one makes it on their own
You've come so far
In your comfortable car
Now objects in the rear view mirror
Seem closer than they are
And looking back is bittersweet
All the world was at your feet
Love would make your life complete
Yeah, love could make your life complete
Teach your heart to skip a beat
Lift your eyes above the street
This is where you once belonged
Come on now, it's not so bad
Thinking back on the fun we had
We can stitch a life together
From the fibres of the past
But you cannot make a fleeting moment
Promise it will last
Been everywhere
And now you're here
And objects in the rear view mirror
Seem to disappear
Words and music by Magne Furuholmen
Produced by Steve Osborne, Magne Furuholmen and Erik Ljunggren
String arrangements by David Davidson
Vocal production by Peter Kvint and Morten Harket
Mixed by Marek Pompetzki
Additional Musicians:
Drums: Karl Oluf Wennerberg
Programming: Erik Ljunggren
Violins: David Davidson, David Angell, Conni Ellisor, Mary Kathryn Vanosdale
Violas: Kris Wilkinson, Monisa Angell
Cellos: Sari Reist, Julie Tanner
Lyrics Door Ajar
I hit my head on the pillow, hard
I heard a noise from the boulevard
And it made me go down
I left the door to my room ajar
Felt the rumble of the street-car
And it spiraled me down
If you could see me
Swallowed by darkness
What would it matter
Would it awaken
Feelings forsaken
Faded and scattered
Would you come running
If you could hear me
Some way or another
That's what I'm thinking
Watching the stars reflect in the gutter
I hit my head on the pillow, hard
I took the words that you said to heart
And it made me feel down
When I awoke it was dark outside
Just a flicker from a traffic light
And it signaled me down
If you could see me
Swallowed in darkness
What would it matter
Would it awaken
Feelings forsaken
Faded and scattered
Would you come running
If you could hear me
Some way or another
That's what I'm thinking
Watching the stars reflect in the gutter
And if you don't want me now
Then I doubt you ever will
There is nothing I can add
To clinch the deal
And if you don't see me now
And you haven't done so far
In case you change your mind
I'll leave the door ajar
Door ajar
Door ajar
Door ajar
Words and music by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Produced by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Alan Tarney
Pre-production and guidance: John O'Mahony
Mixed by Ren Swan
Additional Musicians:
Guitar: Alan Tarney
Programming: Eliot Leigh, Kurt Uenala, Chuck Zwicky
Keyboards: Alan Tarney
Backing Vocals: Alan Tarney
Lyrics Living At The End Of The World
Some times it leaves me with fear
Never saw the horizon this near
Look to the left then to the right
I tuck you in and I kiss you goodnight
See there is something I know
We are not whom we're told
We are more than we'll never know
And we're living at the end of the world
Forget about all that you've heard
Living our dreams on the highway
It's just another day
No matter what they say or you've heard
We're living on top of the world
We're living our dreams on the highway
No matter what they say
It's just another day
I hear your heart beat in the night
You are like an echo of light
But in times when shallow runs deep
Your golden beauty goes cheap
Still there is something I know
Something yet to unfold
And we are more than we'll never know
And we're living at the end of the world
Forget about all that you've heard
Living our dreams on the highway
It's just another day
No matter what they say or you've heard
We've made it to the top of the world
Building up speed on the highway
We've made it to the end
Living at the end of the world
Music by Morten Harket and Peter Kvint
Words by Morten Harket and Ole Sverre Olsen
Published by Kvintessential admin by Sony ATV Scandinavia
Produced by Peter Kvint and Morten Harket
String arrangement by Mattias Bylund
Mixed by Simon Nordberg
Additional Musicians:
Drums: Per Lindvall
Bass: Peter Kvint
Guitar: Peter Kvint
Programming: Peter Kvint
Keyboards: Peter Kvint
String Performance: Bylund Strings
Lyrics Mythomania
You walked a mile
On broken glass
Through glowing coals
You wore a path
The words on your tongue
A mechanical song
Your face is lined
With disappointment
Oh white matter mind
What have you got to say?
Reasons combine
To force you away
You're moving on
You solved the problem
And who can blame ya
You're safe in here
Inside your castle
In Mythomania
Cold crescent moon
On a red cross
It's happening soon
It's coming for us
Oh white matter mind
What is there left to say?
Reasons combined
To force you away
No telephone
No television
No news that drain ya
You're safer here
More atmosphere
In Mythomania
You caught belief
Like some disease
No words can save ya
Cuz you're all alone
You're on your own
In Mythomania
Words and music by Magne Furuholmen
Produced by Magne Furuholmen and Erik Ljunggren
Vocal production by Peter Kvint and Morten Harket
Mixed by Cenzo Townshend
Additional Musicians:
Drums: Karl Oluf Wennerberg
Programming: Erik Ljunggren
Lyrics She's Humming A Tune
She's humming a tune
To keep herself from thinking
About all that she's facing
But her mind is racing
Over and over again
And I don't suppose she knows
Everything that's bound to happen
How and where the story goes
And I don't suppose I care
She up tight, not right
What could it matter to me
She's humming a tune
To keep herself from straying
When everything's swaying
And decisions are weighing
Ever so hard on her mind
And I don't suppose she knws
Everything that's bound to happen
How and where the story goes
And I don't suppose I care
I'm bummed out, no doubt
But what does it matter to me
Words and music by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Produced by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Erik Ljunggren
Pre-production and guidance: John O'Mahony
Mixed by Cenzo Townshend
Additional Musicians:
Drums: Karl Oluf Wennerberg
Bass: Even Enersen Ormestad
Programming: Erik Ljunggren
Lyrics Shadow Endeavors
Why breathe a word
When no one needs to know
Why say a thing
To another living soul
Let us pay no mind
To a world that seems unkind
For here is something to shelter
Now more than ever
Our shadow endeavors
Shadow endeavors
Shadow endeavors
Why leave us open
And naked to the sun
Why draw their fire
That they'll surely reign upon us
Let us pay no mind
To their words and bitter lines
For here's something to shelter
And now more than ever
These shadow endeavors
Shadow endeavors
Now more than ever
Only ever happened to me once
It doesn't come again
I think somebody left me here
Afraid and lonely
A long time ago
Words and music by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Produced by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Alan Tarney
Pre-production and guidance: John O'Mahony
Mixed by Ren Swan
Additional Musicians:
Guitar: Alan Tarney
Programming: Eliot Leigh, Kurt Uenala, Chuck Zwicky
Keyboards: Alan Tarney
Backing Vocals: Alan Tarney
Lyrics Giving Up The Ghost
Icy road, blinding dark
Rolling hills in the distance
Open wound, a painful scar
Love has left its burning trademark
Off the grid, out of bounds
Further down into shadow
Darkest day and whitest night
In harm's way
We're chasing rainbows
Giving up the ghost
Giving up the ghost
That's what hurts the most
You sever all my heads
You place them on your bed
Some part of your great scheme
To vow me into silence
Giving up the ghost
Giving up the ghost
Frozen lake soon will flow
Frozen ground soon to follow
But hey - everything is in your head
And what you killed was never dead
Giving up the ghost
Giving up the ghost
On what you loved the most
On a coal-black sea, the sky's on fire
Failed attempts at a funeral pyre
Deep as dreams of dark desire
The flames are growing ever higher
You severed all my heads
You placed them on your bed
Some part of your great scheme
To vow me into silence
Giving up the ghost
Giving up the ghost
That's what hurt the most
Words and music by Magne Furuholmen
Produced by Magne Furuholmen and Erik Ljunggren
String arrangement by David Davidson
Vocal production by Peter Kvint and Morten Harket
Mixed by Cenzo Townshend
Additional Musicians:
Drums: Karl Oluf Wennerberg
Violins: David Davidson, David Angell, Conni Ellisor, Mary Kathryn Vanosdale
Violas: Kris Wilkinson, Monisa Angell
Cellos: Sari Reist, Julie Tanner
Lyrics Goodbye Thompson
Goodbye Thompson goodbye
I tape the sign to the door
Here we pinned all our dreams
Now the store is no more
What comes after what was
That was once strangely new
What awaits up ahead
For me and you?
Goodbye Thompson
Goodbye Thompson goodbye
This space is for rent
See my head hanging low
All my energies spent
What comes after what was
That was once strangely new
What awaits up ahead
I wish I knew
Goodbye Thompson
Goodbye Thompson
Words and music by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Produced by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Alan Tarney
Pre-production and guidance: John O'Mahony
Mixed by Ren Swan
Additional Musicians:
Drums: Joe Mardin
Guitar: Alan Tarney
Programming: Eliot Leigh, Kurt Uenala, Chuck Zwicky
Keyboards: Alan Tarney
Backing Vocals: Alan Tarney
Lyrics The End Of The Affair
"Man has places in his heart which do not yet exist, and into them enters suffering in order that they may have existence." Leon Bloy
Even as the snow is falling...
Dark December nights are calling
Memories of early warning signs
Like a whisper in the mind
I put my brave face on
Robbed of the love I owned
It's the end of the affair
We are not who we once were
Hard to be open when all facts are in
Hard to write endings before we begin
It's the end of the affair
And it seems we no longer care
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
Well I was fond, but now I'm harder
So here we are in somber silence
With no one else but us to blame
Hard to be honest when others pretend
Hard to begin when we already know the end
It's the end of the affair
We are not who we once were
It's the end of the affair
And it seems we no longer care
Words and music by Magne Furuholmen
Produced by Erik Ljunggren and Magne Furuholmen
Vocal production by Peter Kvint and Morten Harket
Mixed by Cenzo Townshend
Mastered by Felix Davis
Additional Musicians:
Drums: Karl Oluf Wennerberg
Programming: Erik Ljunggren
