Magne Furuholmen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Magne Furuholmen
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Furuholmen performing in 2018
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| Also known as | Mags, Magne F |
| Born | 1 November 1962 Oslo, Norway |
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Magne Furuholmen, born on November 1, 1962, is a talented musician and artist from Norway. He's also known as Mags. He plays keyboards for the famous synth-pop band A-ha. Magne helped write many of their big hits like "Take On Me", "Stay on These Roads", "Manhattan Skyline", and "Foot of the Mountain".
A-ha has sold over 50 million albums around the world. Magne was even honored by King Harald of Norway. He was made a Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav for his amazing work in Norwegian music and his success worldwide.
Besides music, Furuholmen is also a visual artist. He has shown his art in Norway, the UK, and other parts of Europe. His artwork is found in museums and collections globally. In 2016, Magne created his largest art project. It was a huge ceramic sculpture park called "Imprints" in Norway. In 2017, he received an honorary doctor's degree from the University of Agder for his artistic achievements.
Contents
Music Career
Early Bands
Magne Furuholmen played keyboards and sang in a band called Bridges. He formed it with Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and other friends. In 1980, Bridges released their only album, Fakkeltog. The songs on this album were in English. Later, A-ha performed a song from Fakkeltog called "The Vacant". They renamed it "Sox of the Fox" for their 2017 MTV Unplugged show.
A-ha's Journey
Furuholmen has been the keyboardist for A-ha since the band started in 1982. He also plays guitar. He created the famous synth-riff for "Take On Me" when he was only 15 years old. In 2014, Magne shared that Morten Harket insisted they use this riff. "Take On Me" became their biggest hit song. It was one of the most streamed songs of the 20th century. The synth-riff from "Take On Me" was even used in the 2012 hit song "Feel This Moment".
Magne Furuholmen has performed live with Chris Martin from Coldplay. Chris Martin introduced Magne as "the best keyboard player in the world."
Magne Furuholmen helped write many classic A-ha songs with Paul Waaktaar-Savoy. These include "Stay on These Roads", "Manhattan Skyline", and "Foot of the Mountain". He once said that "Stay on These Roads" might be the best song he ever wrote. He also mentioned that "Manhattan Skyline" was a cool mix of his quiet part and Paul's rock part.
Magne has written or co-written many songs on A-ha albums like Lifelines and Analogue. He also sings lead vocals on some A-ha songs, like "The Summers of Our Youth". When A-ha took a break in 1994, Magne worked on other music projects. The band got back together in 1998.
In 2012, all three members of A-ha were honored. They were made Knights of the 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav. This award is for people who have done great things for their country and the world. The special ceremony happened on November 6, 2012.
Solo Music and Other Projects
Outside of A-ha, Furuholmen has worked on other music. In 1994, he formed Timbersound with Kjetil Bjerkestrand. Their music was used in movie soundtracks.
Magne released his first solo album, "Past Perfect Future Tense", in 2004. Musicians from bands like Coldplay and Travis played on it. In 2005, Magne played on a song called "Indian Ocean" by Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam). This song was about the 2004 tsunami disaster. The money from the song helped orphans.
In 2008, Magne released his second solo album, "A Dot of Black in the Blue of Your Bliss". It included a song called "The Longest Night". This song later became the A-ha hit "Foot of the Mountain".
In 2012, Magne Furuholmen was a mentor on the TV show The Voice – Norges beste stemme. The winner, Martin Halla, had his first album produced by Magne. In 2014, Magne composed songs for the Norwegian film "Beatles".
In 2019, Magne released a new solo song called This is now America. It was the first song from his 2019 album, White Xmas Lies. Magne said this song was a protest against the Trump administration. The album White Xmas Lies was released on October 25, 2019. Magne described it as a "dark, melancholic Christmas record". He wanted it to be different from typical happy Christmas songs.
In June 2020, Furuholmen released a new song, Troubled Times. It was a cover of a song by Fountains of Wayne. He also made a video for it using clips sent by fans.
Apparatjik
In 2008, Furuholmen started a project called Apparatjik. He worked with Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman and Mew vocalist Jonas Bjerre. They created the theme music for a BBC Two TV series called Amazon.
In 2010, Apparatjik released their first album, We Are Here. Apparatjik is known for performing inside a large cube. They have performed in art galleries and museums. They describe themselves as an "artist collective falling between art and mainstream culture".
Visual Arts
Magne Furuholmen is also a well-known visual artist. He works with glass, paint, etching, and woodcut. His art has been shown in many places around the world. His work is part of collections in Norway and other countries.
Some of his public art projects include 'Resonance' in Bergen, Norway. His biggest project is a ceramic sculpture park in Oslo. It opened in June 2016 and used 50 tons of clay!
His art has been displayed at The Henie Onstad Kunstsenter in Oslo and The London Art Fair. In 2001, Magne was asked to design an official Norwegian postage stamp. In 2005, he decorated 11 floors of the cruise ship Adventure of the Seas with his glass artwork.
In 2015, Magne showed his art in Edinburgh. His collaboration with Dovecot Studios for his "Peeling a Glass Onion" exhibition was even made into a short film for the BBC. In 2025, the National Arts Club will show an exhibition of 49 prints by Furuholmen. These prints were inspired by Henri Matisse's designs.
Art Exhibitions
Magne Furuholmen has had many solo art exhibitions. Here are some of them:
- 1989 Maleri
- 1995 Kutt / Cuts
- 1997 In Concert
- 1998 Credit
- 1999 New Works
- 2001 Pincette
- 2003 Foci
- 2004 Payne's Gray
- 2004 Stjerneskutt
- 2006 Building Ruins
- 2007 Monologues
- 2007 Scrabble
- 2007 Anticlimax
- 2007 Climax
- 2009 Camera
- 2009 Alpha Beta
- 2011 Echo
- 2011 Futura Plus
- 2012 Bouquet
- 2013 Norwegian Wood
- 2014 Norwegian Wood Remix
- 2014 Self-Portraits
- 2015 Peeling a Glass Onion
- 2016 Marginalia, Texture (with Queen Sonja)
- 2019 IGNIS
- 2025 DTR presents Magne Furuholmen (National Arts Club)
Art Commissions
Magne has also created art for special commissions:
- 2007 Climax for The Nobel Peace Center, Oslo, Norway
- 2009 Climax Sculpture for Hydro, Norway
- 2009 Confusion, Bølgen & Moi (with Snøhetta), Oslo, Norway
- 2010 Umsteiger, commission, Berlin, Germany
- 2012 Bouquet Wall Painting, Asker, Norway
- 2012 Code One, commission, Aglaia
- 2012–2013 Aker Solutions, Fornebu, Norway
Permanent Art Displays
Some of Magne's artworks are on permanent display:
- 2003 Resonance, Bergen, Norway
- 2012 Rudolph the chrome-nosed reindeer, Tjuvholmen, Oslo, Norway (with Apparatjik)
- 2013 The Sound of Silence, Tjuvholmen, Oslo, Norway (with Apparatjik)
- 2016 Imprints, Fornebu, Oslo, Norway: sculpture park
Personal Life
Magne Furuholmen was born in Oslo. His father, Kåre Furuholmen, was a jazz trumpeter who passed away in a plane crash in 1969. Magne was only six years old then. Interestingly, A-ha bandmate Morten Harket saw this very accident when he was nine. Magne grew up in Manglerud, Oslo, with Paul Waaktaar-Savoy.
Magne married his high school sweetheart, Heidi Rydjord, on August 8, 1992. They have two sons, Thomas Vincent (born 1990) and Filip Clements (born 1993). Magne had heart surgery in 2012 and has shared that it gave him a new life.
Discography
- 1980 Fakkeltog (Bridges)
- 1985 Hunting High and Low (A-ha)
- 1986 Scoundrel Days (A-ha)
- 1987 The Living Daylights – 007 James Bond Soundtrack (A-ha)
- 1988 Stay on These Roads (A-ha)
- 1990 East of the Sun, West of the Moon (A-ha)
- 1991 Headlines & Deadlines (A-ha)
- 1993 Memorial Beach (A-ha)
- 1994 Hope To Die / Ti Kniver I Hjertet (soundtrack, Timbersound)
- 1996 Hotel Oslo (Timbersound)
- 1996 Archivalia Vol. 1 (producer)
- 1998 Hermetic (Timbersound)
- 2000 Minor Earth Major Sky (A-ha)
- 2001 Dragonfly, EP
- 2002 Lifelines (A-ha)
- 2004 Past Perfect Future Tense (Magne F)
- 2005 Analogue (A-ha)
- 2005 Indian Ocean, Yusuf Islam, single (performer)
- 2007 The longest night in Shanghai – (Umi No Shanghai) soundtrack (writer/performer on Bass Theme, writer of Guy Romance Theme)
- 2008 A Dot of Black in the Blue of Your Bliss (Magne F)
- 2008 Thor Heyerdahl – På jakt etter paradiset soundtrack (writer)
- 2008 Ferreting, song (Apparatjik)
- 2009 Foot of the Mountain (A-ha)
- 2010 We Are Here (Apparatjik)
- 2010 The Bolshevik Box (Apparatjik, special edition of the album We Are Here)
- 2010 Word Symphony (Limited Edition) (Magne F)
- 2010 a-ha 25 (A-ha)
- 2012 Square Peg in a Round Hole (Apparatjik)
- 2012 If You Can, Solve This Jumble, Lowell, album (writer and producer)
- 2013 Winter Days, Martin Halla, album (writer and producer)
- 2013 Breathe, Backstreet Boys, single (writer)
- 2013 Majors & Minors, Marius Beck (producer)
- 2014 Beatles movie Soundtrack, (writer, performer)
- 2014 Undo My Heart, Tini (writer, producer)
- 2015 Cast in Steel (A-ha)
- 2018 Våkenatt (Bridges)
- 2019 White Xmas Lies (Magne F)
- 2022 True North (A-ha)
- 2025 living with ourselves
See also
In Spanish: Magne Furuholmen para niños
