Pop / Synth-pop & New Romantic · 1985
Hunting High and Low
a-ha
Why listen
Precise electronic patterns make room for a voice that seems to travel on a different scale.
Listen and read
Tracks · previews
English editorial edition
Album story
The keyboard figure in Take On Me moves in quick, recognisable shapes. Morten Harket’s voice takes a longer route above it. Hear those two kinds of movement separately and the song becomes more than a remembered high note or an image from a video. That relationship between a firm pattern and an expansive line provides an entrance to the whole album.
Hunting High and Low was the Norwegian trio’s 1985 debut. Its official credits distinguish Tony Mansfield’s production from Alan Tarney’s work on Take On Me and The Sun Always Shines on T.V., and John Ratcliff’s production with a-ha on Love Is Reason. A coherent surface therefore need not imply a single production process. This account follows the ten original album tracks in their 2015 remastered digital form, excluding the demos and early mixes collected elsewhere.
Brightness does not decide the mood
After the immediate invitation of the opener, Train of Thought and the title song complicate the emotional temperature. Follow the length of a vocal phrase against the shorter activity underneath it. A clear, bright instrumental sound can coexist with hesitation or longing; you do not have to choose one as the correct description. Listening to that difference keeps electronic pop from becoming merely a label for its equipment.
The small song after the large one
Living a Boy’s Adventure Tale and The Sun Always Shines on T.V. give the middle of the album substantial room. Then And You Tell Me lasts less than two minutes. Try hearing that reduction in scale as an active part of the programme, not filler between more imposing performances. How close does a short phrase feel after the music has encouraged you to listen across a much wider space?
Return by a different route
Love Is Reason and I Dream Myself Alive lead towards Here I Stand and Face the Rain, giving the debut a destination beyond its best-known opening. When you return to Take On Me, keep the album context in mind. Its early single and subsequent versions have distinct histories. The point is not to replace the familiar song with trivia, but to hear how its particular balance of repeated motion and extended breath belongs inside these ten tracks.
The album through its tracks
Follow the quick keyboard pattern beneath the longer vocal, then compare tracks6 and7.
Take On Me
If the keyboard hook is already familiar, start beneath it with the low rhythmic movement. Keep that foundation in mind while the voice climbs. The National Library of Norway distinguishes the first 1984 single from the subsequent version involving Alan Tarney; this selection is the opening album track in its 2015 remaster, not an early demo or later acoustic performance. Listen beyond the highest note to the route back into the next phrase. A remembered climax can hide the preparation and recovery that make it effective. Following the short repeating pattern through that longer vocal arc reveals the song’s propulsion without requiring the video to supply any of its movement.
Reference · National Library of Norway: Take On Me version historyThe Sun Always Shines On T.V.
Notice the change from the opening space into the more fully defined pulse. The sense of size depends on that relationship, rather than on an isolated display of vocal height. Official album credits identify Alan Tarney as producer; the track sits sixth in the ten-song programme. This is the 2015 remaster of the album version, separate from extended remixes and concert performances. Follow the regular movement while the voice advances, then listen to what remains in the gaps between phrases. Continue directly into the brief And You Tell Me. Its reduced scale helps reveal how this large performance works within the album, rather than treating grandeur as a constant property of every song.
Reference · a-ha official album page and liner credits
Listen next
Tears for Fears’ Songs from the Big Chair offers another 1985 approach to large choruses and extended spaces within electronic pop.
Songs from the Big Chair ↗References & editorial note
Written for English readers. Album facts are referenced below; listening suggestions are editorial interpretations. AI-assisted editorial review; not independently human-reviewed.