KappAhl

Thank you, 2015! Welcome 2016!

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2015

Another year, another retrospective!

2015 was once again a year full of releases, concerts, travelling, meetings, happy faces… everything a fan could wish for.

In January we got a sneak peek of the newly built and designed stage that would be premiered a few weeks later. February brought Roxette to New Zealand (finally!) and Australia. Back in February we heard that the new Roxette album would be out in autumn 2015. Well, we already know that the release of the album has been postponed a few times and it seems 2016 will be the year! When? Let’s hope we will get some news in a few weeks. In February, some more dates were announced for summer 2015 too.

In March the big news were that a biography about Marie would be released in autumn. And also that a 25th Anniversary version of “It Must Have Been Love” would be released. The PLECtionary was updated with the latest plecs from the 2015 Australia tour.

In April we got to know who would make our waiting time before a concert shorter and fun: Eskobar! I was personally very happy that Eskobar were chosen as supporting act for Roxette’s European leg of the tour. I have liked this band since early 2000 and it was about time to see them live! It turned out to be a great decision. Roxette fans loved the 3 guys, we hear some have started a fanclub….

The tour in Europe kicked off on May 10th in Milan and took the band to 20 countries (including Faroe Islands!) with a total of 36 concerts between May and August (including a cancelled one in Mainz) plus 2 corporate concerts, one in September in Poland and one in November in Stockholm. The cover of Marie’s book was revealed and we published an interview with Pelle and Eskobar.

Also we found out that Roxette Diaries – a documentary of Roxette done by Jonas Åkerlund with old recordings from late 80ies and early 90ies – would be released soon. The premiere took place in Göteborg in August and later on, it was revealed that the documentary will be released on DVD in March 2016.

In June Roxette visited Dublin, Trondheim, Ostrava, Sofia, Warsaw, and started the “mini-Germany” tour (in total 8 shows, plus one that was cancelled) in Cologne. Also this month the “The Look” remake was announced.

The (digital) new version of the super hit was released on 17th of July, right on time when Roxette was about to bring the tour to Sweden. The remake was recorded as part of Kappahl’s campaign and remixed by Addeboy vs Cliff. A video of the making of the song was also released. A 7″ vinyl was released later in August.

In August the tour ended in Drammen, Norway, with a very special concert with many fans from around the world. But we would not have time to get bored, since the dates for South Africa were announced. The PLECtionary was updated once again. As we mentioned before, Roxette Diaries movie was premiered on August 14th in Göteborg.

In September the promotion of Marie’s biography “Kärleken till livet” started. The co-author Helena von Zweigbergk, visited the Göteborg book fair to talk about the book and give some signing sessions. An interview with Marie and articles about Marie and the book could be found on the major Swedish newspapers/magazines around the time the book was released (October 10th). Roxette played in a corporate concert in Warsaw, which despite the difficulties to get a ticket, some fans managed to attend. Also “Some Other Summer” by Sebastien Drums was released. This song is actually composed by Per, and the single released by Sebastien Drums is even sung by Per (and a few backing vocals by Marie). According to Per, the “original version” of “Some Other Summer” will be included in Roxette’s upcoming album.

More 2016 tour dates were announced in November. To our surprise… for Europe! Everybody was expecting South/North America, and maybe a handfull of shows in Europe. But so far we already counted 11 concerts, and rumours have it that there are more to come! According to the information available so far, the first concert we know of will be on June 3rd in Switzerland. The last one on the list is on September 11th, in Moscow. Tickets for all the shows are already on sale, so hurry up! Roxette gave the last concert of the year at Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, a corporate concert for Tele2 (telecommunications operator) customers and other invited guests.

Marie gave a signing session in Stockholm on December 5th. On the same day, an interview with her and Helena was broadcast on TV4 Nyhetsmorgon. Many fans travelled to Stockholm for the chance to say hi to Marie and get the book  signed personally by her.

As I am finishing writing this article one thing (Aretha Franklin’s performance yesterday at Kennedy Center Honors, if you are interested) brought me to another (Aretha’s influence on Marie, which made me think of I Never Loved a Man) and I ended up listening to Roxette’s MTV Unplugged from 1993. Yes, recorded almost 23 years ago!

If one would ask me what would make the 30th anniversary of Roxette in 2016 very special my answer would be, loud and clear: an (or more) unplugged show.

Of course, looking very much forward to Roxette’s tour in Europe, something that came very much unexpected. And one can only feel thankful. That is the world I would choose for all what is happening. I am thankful it IS happening and I can experience it. With a small break in between in 2013, we have been able to see Roxette live almost every year since 2009.

What will happen in 2016? Here is a schedule of what we know so far:

  • January / February: Roxette to tour in South Africa
  • March: Roxette Diaries released on DVD.
  • June (?) – September (?): Tour in Europe is planned
  • Roxette turns 30!
  • Somewhen in 2016: a new album should be out soon. Per mentioned some days ago on FB that it’s almost done! (and Christoffer is very busy mixing!)

A big thanks once again to all of you reading us, sharing our articles (thanks Per!), joining our discussions on FB, for the hints, sharing your experiences in articles on our website.. thanks for your support! And from me big thanks to the RXB team, it wouldn’t be possible without you! We’ve had some issues this year with the servers (especially because the site doesn’t stop growing) so I’ve been kinda busy trying to solve that and some other tech-stuff in the background, so I feel so lucky to count on such a great team, thank you Patrícia, Kirsten, Tomasz and Sascha for the articles, brainstorming, ideas, laughs, meetings, experiences etc etc.

Happy new 2016 to you all!

The Look 2015 Remake is out!

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x4h3ea2zw3eduupi8njhSince the news about the collaboration between Roxette and KappAhl was shared, we’ve been looking forward to the 2015 remake of one of Roxette’s most iconic songs, The Look. Many fans are rather hungry for some new Roxette songs instead of hearing a ”hundredth” version of The Look, but the time will come also for the new single and album soon.

 

When the track list of Travelling had been revealed before the album’s release date and we saw It Must Have Been Love as the closing song, I remember many of us were quite skeptical and couldn’t decide if we wanted to hear another version of IMHBL. We had to wait until the album was out and oh the emotions many of us had when first hearing the song (besides all other tracks on the record) I still remember clearly. It sounded like a different song, but still Roxette, still there was the essence of one of the Billboard No. 1 songs and the music and vocals were just perfect.

tl_01The first very short snippet of The Look 2015 remake KappAhl shared some weeks ago already sounded extremely promising and hoped for similar feelings as with Travelling when the complete song sees the light of day. Now the remake is out digitally in 2 versions. (A physical 7-inch vinyl single will be released on 28th August.) LISTEN TO IT ON SPOTIFY HERE! Different emotions than with IMHBL for sure, but again there is this aaaahmazement. Very much 21st-century-like! Even if the original The Look would still be a hit if it was released today as Per also says it in interviews, now the remake has this sound of nowadays. I think Addeboy vs. Cliff added a bit too much of their touch here and there and the instrumental version might not going to be our fave version of The Look, but the vocals in the non-instrumental version are incredibly powerful! If you watch the making of video, you can see how much fun it must have been both for Marie and Per, as well as for Clarence, Pelle and Christoffer to record this remake. THIS VIDEO is an absolute highlight of the project!

Is this remake a kind of prediction how (at least some songs) will sound on the new Roxette album? We’ll see. Hopefully, still this year.

P.S.: Bassflow is hard to beat when it comes to remakes, but The Look remake 2015 comes close after. At least I think so.

tl_03  tl_02

tl_04  tl_05

Stills are from the making of video. Directed and edited by Henrik Hanson.

ATTENTION! Do check out KappAhl’s website for much more information. Even the interview with Per has been shared now in its complete! Great site!

2 versions of the 2015 The Look remake

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x4h3ea2zw3eduupi8njhAs you already know, Roxette was in the historical X-Level Studios to record a remake of The Look for a collaboration with KappAhl. Now it’s known that the worldwide digital release is on 17th July and Per says there might be a vinyl single as well. Bring it on!

Amazon has already listed the album in mp3 format. It will contain not only 1, but 2 versions of the remake:

1. The Look (2015 Remake) 3:58

2. The Look (2015 Remake – Instrumental) 3:55

The record label is Cosmos.

 

roxette_the_look_b&wAs Expressen informed, there will be more material focusing on “The making of The Look” from the X-Level Studios recordings. They claim it will be available on 14th July. However, now that there is an exact date for the digital release, it could be that the making-of stuff will also be broadcast / shared the same day, 17th July. We’ll see.

 

In case you missed the hi res files (Roxette pictures and videos related to the KappAhl campaign), check them at this link: press.bindefeldab.se (username: kappahl; password: press). Beautiful things!

 

Update on 27th June: According to a recent Billboard magazine interview with Per, a physical 7-inch vinyl single will be released on 26th August.

 

Thanx Marc Albrecht for keeping an eye on Amazon!

Roxette records a new version of “The Look”

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goo8pdmfyvov5tp2c2e4 According to a press release published today, KappAhl’s fashion campaign in autumn this year will be accompanied by an entirely new version of Roxette’s hit “The Look”. The song – recorded exclusively by Roxette for KappAhl – has also given its name to the campaign. The campaign is all about style and personality – The Look.

“To record a brand new version of ‘The Look’ felt tempting but was also a great challenge. It is particularly gratifying to have achieved a unique collaboration with KappAhl, a Swedish company that we both respect and love. Pop music and fashion go hand in hand. It’s about expression and emotions, to dare and to care,” says Per Gessle.

“The Look” consists of a total of five campaigns that will be introduced through autumn 2015. The campaigns have different sub-themes and go by the names “The Chic Denim Look”, “The Always Black Look”, “The Must-have Look”, “The Wellbeing Look “and” The Hot Look “. The first collection campaign, “The Chic Denim Look”, will hit the stores on August 24.

The campaign’s official hashtag is #thelookkappahl. You can see a sample of The Look – 2015 on KappAhl’s The Look website and on YouTube. On the website you can also participate to win tickets and a meet & greet with Per.

x4h3ea2zw3eduupi8njhWith this a further Rox–mystery has been solved. You may remember that some days ago a picture of Roxette in the studio found its way to the net, Per also posted on FB that day that Roxette was in a “secret mission”… now we know what it was about! The waiting was worth it!

The song was recorded at the X-Level Studios – previously known as EMI studios, where the song was initially recorded.

It is still unclear if the single will be released physically/digitally at all, at least there is a cover for it on the press release site…

 Update 24/6: According to Expressen, more material from the recording session and campaign will be available on July 14 and the song will be released on Spotify “soon” (don’t we love this word!). My guess is that it will be right on time for the Swedish shows starting mid July.