Magne biography 'Livslinjer' is out now

A new book about Magne written by journalist and writer Ørjan Nilsson is out today. 'Livslinjer' - or 'Lifelines' - is based on conversations Magne and Ørjan have had the last couple of years. About art, songs, defiance, side jumps, humor, politics, success, guns, fans, fame, books, film, and life on stage. You can order the book in Norwegian here. We understand there may be an English edition in the works, and we will share information as it becomes available. 

Ørjan shared about the project, "The contact with Magne over the last two years has been really, really great. What a nice, wise and funny guy to dive into all parts of life with! We have talked about art, music, religion, creativity, birds, guns, songs, childhood, family, and his life now. We have sat there by his desk, often dark outside, and Magne drawing on a piece of paper while we talk. Circles, lines, letters. Often we ended up with sessions that lasted around three hours!"

We asked what Magne thought about his approach and the idea of a book like this about himself. According to Ørjan, Magne was a little bit skeptical about the book. "I can understand that. But I obviously managed to convince him about what kind of book I wanted to write. A book about a guy that has been more present in (Norwegian) people's lives than they are aware of. Whether you walk by an artwork - a jar, maybe - on your way to work in the morning (as I actually do here I Bergen), listen to the radio or watch a Hollywood-film in the cinema. There are traces of Magne in so many places!"

Were there topics Magne wanted to avoid during their conversations? "He wasn’t too keen on talking about the frictions in the band over the years, and that was not my intention to do so either - I guess that’s a topic that doesn’t need more digging into. The focus is on creativity, about what Magne fills those songs and artworks with - what he reads, what he watches, how he thinks."

Ørjan continued, "Of course, as I do in my day job as journalist in Bergens Tidende, I want to dig into things and try to understand. Also the things that are less known in Magne's catalogue of work. Why did he use a gun and a rifle to shoot a piece  back in the 90´s? How was life living in Shanghai? What actually happened with his relationship with Henie Onstad Kunstsenter outside Oslo? But also; how has “Take on me” changed his life?"

The idea for the podcast came up when work on the book was nearly complete. "I will say that the book was 90% finished when Magne called me one day last fall and asked if I wanted to do that podcast. And there I got the last 10%. The conversations had other twists and turns in English, we have obviously talked Norwegian in the book-sessions, but maybe that was a good exercise if someone wants to book us for a conversation world tour some day? : )"

We asked Ørjan if he achieved what he set out to achieve with the project, and if he - and Magne - are happy with the result? 

"I'm really happy and I got what I wanted for this book. I have always wanted to try to find out why the music of a-ha hit me so hard when I was four years old and still fascinates me so much. All the layers! And I just thought about it here the other day: I have used ten years and three books to find it out - and I guess there is no answer. It is the sum of it all. Maybe it was an impossible mission - but these years of talking to Pål, Morten and Magne have enriched my listening and hopefully a couple of other readers too."

Ørjan has also written "Tårer fra en stein" (2017) about Pål Waaktaar Savoy's songwriting and life. In 2019, he released "Hjemkomst" (2019), the book that digs into Morten Harket as an activist, climate defender, and solo artist in the 90s. Both books are translated to German. 

How did this collaboration with Magne compare with the work he did on the other guys' biographies? 

"The three processes and collaborations have been quite different, but I feel that I have scratched at the core with all three - what they put into the songs that I love so much. I started e-mailing with Pål about ten years ago, he read my debut book - about Kings of Convenience - and I went to New York for our first session. The book about Pål - called “Tårer fra en stein” in Norwegian - came out in 2017 and I got to travel with him on tour with a-ha in Germany and could describe the big machinery from the inside and Pål's place in it in the book. We also had talks in Oslo. A really interesting period and a book that I’m really proud of." 

"Then I contacted Morten with an idea that I had in my head for some years: his “all over the place”-90´s. The book “Hjemkomst “ is strictly focused on the five years from 1993 to 1998. An extremely interesting period in Morten's career -  without a-ha. We spent a lot of hours together to dig deep into his involvement in the conflict in East-Timor, his solo records, his role as environmental activist, Eurovision, and I also went to London to hear the solo record that he recorded with Alan Tarney before “Wild Seed” - the secret record that never will see the light of day. Tarney and I had tea and biscuits and heard the whole album on a grey day in Richmond where he lives. It was proud moment when Morten and I released the book in the fall of 2019 in Oslo, my hometown Bergen, and some weeks after in Haugesund - where my father was born. Really nice memories!"