Magne Furuholmen

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Magne Furuholmen

Background information
Also known as Mags, Magne F
Born November 1, 1962 (1962-11-01) (age 45)
Origin Oslo, Norway
Genre(s) Synthpop
New Wave
Alternative rock
Occupation(s) Musician
Artist
Singer
Songwriter
Instrument(s) Guitar
Keyboard & Harmonica
Associated acts a-ha, Timbersound

Magne Furuholmen (Mags) (born November 1, 1962, Oslo), is best known as the guitarist/keyboardist in a-ha. He was born to father Kåre and mother Annelise and grew up in Manglerud, Oslo, along with a-ha colleague and co-writer Paul Waaktaar-Savoy.

Contents

[edit] Music career

[edit] a-ha

Magne has been known saying "What's nice about Morten is that he's so together. He believes strongly in everything he does. This goes for the band too, and it rubs off on us. He has the courage of his own convictions and cannot be shaken. He's an expert at always getting the last word, whether he's right or not. Morten is very loyal and he's fair when it comes to giving people a chance, letting them show who they are and what they're worth before judging them."[1]

Magne's Career as a-ha's keyboard player and guitarist has spanned 20 years and he has co-written many of the band's hits with Guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy. Songs include "Stay On These Roads", "Manhattan Skyline" and "Take on Me" which was famously accompanied by Michael Patterson's ground-breaking animated video. He is one of the bands main songwriters. When a-ha went hiatus in 1994 Magne began working on his soloproject.

[edit] Solo

Magne is widely acknowledged to be the a-ha's 'joker' but this belies his creative powers, as Magne has had considerable success with his solo projects, such as Timbersound, formed in 1994 with Magne's friend Kjetil Bjerkestrand, and later, Swedish singer, Freddie Wadling. Their work has been used on film soundtracks such as "Hotel Oslo", which also featured the vocal talents of Anneli Drecker.

Magne also recorded "'Past Perfect Future Tense" in 2004, with appearances from Guy Berryman and Will Champion of Coldplay, and from Andy Dunlop of Scottish band Travis.

Magne is also a talented artist, working with glass, paint, etching and woodcuts. His art has been displayed at The Henie Onstad Kunstsenter in Oslo, and he has also shown his work at The London Art Fair. In 2001, Magne was commissioned to design an official Norwegian postage stamp. The stamp is today a sought-after collectors' item among Furuholmen and a-ha fans.

[edit] Personal Life

Magne has one sister, Line, and two half brothers, Thorstein and Trygve Christian. Magne's father, a jazz musician who played trumpet with Bent Sølves Orkester, was killed in an aeroplane crash over Drammen, south of Oslo in 1967, when Magne was just five.

Magne married Heidi Rydjord, his high school sweetheart, on the 8th August 1992, in the garden of their Nesøya home. They have two sons, Thomas Vincent (born 20 April 1990) and Filip Clemens (born 2 October 1993).

[edit] Discography

[edit] With a-ha

Year Title Label
1985 Hunting High and Low Warner Bros. Records
1986 Scoundrel Days
1988 Stay on These Roads
1990 East of the Sun, West of the Moon
1993 Memorial Beach
2000 Minor Earth Major Sky
2002 Lifelines
2005 Analogue Universal Music Group

[edit] Solo

Year Title Label
2004 Past Perfect Future Tense Passionfruit
2008 A Dot of Black In The Blue Of Your Bliss Generpool

[edit] External links