Morten Harket with international plans:
- The world has been my playground

Morten Harket's upcoming solo album has been on hold for the last few months. Now it's been decided that it will be released in Norway and Germany in May - but the Norwegian pop star doesn't want to stop there.

- The album has been almost ready for a while now, but I have wanted to do some small adjustments, Morten Harket says.

The solo album Letter From Egypt was originally supposed to be released in March, but has since been postponed. Morten Harket now confirms that the release date has finally been set. The album, which is released in co-operation with Universal in Norway and Germany, is released here in Norway on 19 May, and in Germany a few days later.

Sometime next week, a new single from the album is released to radio stations. The song is called "Darkspace", and is described as a rough, upbeat rock song.

Letter From Egypt is Harket's first solo album since the Norwegian-language release Vogts Villa from 1996.

Harket explains why it's released in Norway and Germany first.

- We have set it up like this, because I don't want to start out with a global launch right away - then you'll lose the overview. You just have to start somewhere. And this album is coming from down below, it's not the continuation of anything, says Harket, who has realized that it will be difficult to start from scratch again - meaning that he doesn't have much of an international solo career to build on.

But the goal is set.

- It's completely natural for me to think internationally. Ever since we had our breakthrough, the world has been my playground. That's just how it is.

There are also plans for a full release in the UK later, but the details haven't been worked out yet. Harket's business partner, Sigurjon Einarsson, also confirms that there may be a release in Asia and South America at a later stage.

The same month that Letter From Egypt is released in Norway and Germany, Morten Harket is doing a solo concert together with the two other members of a-ha. First at Rockefeller in Oslo on 20 May, and then at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London on 24 May.

- That's a project on its own, independently from the album release. A lot of people were positive towards the project, so then we just went for it.

Harket is currently in the studio, doing the final touches on the album. During the recording of the record, he's used several different studios in Europe, here in Norway and on Iceland.

- There's a lot that can happen to an album in connection with the last finalizations. When you have finished the basic material and put it aside for a while, you get to see it from a distance - that way you can see what's missing, Harket says.
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Written by Geir Ramnefjell.
Translation by Jakob S.