Morten Harket, frontman of Norwegian synth-pop legends a-ha, has revealed that he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Harket, 65, disclosed his illness in an interview with a-ha’s biographer Jan Omdahl that was published to the band’s website on Wednesday. As Omdahl reports, Harket underwent advanced brain surgery in 2024, during which electrodes were implanted deep within his brain. These are connected to a pacemaker-like device placed under the skin of his upper chest, which sends electrical impulses to help regulate brain activity. Combined with medication, the device has helped reduce the symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease.
However, even with such treatment, the condition still reguarly impacts Harket’s sleep and energy levels, as well as his voice. “I don’t feel like singing, and for me that’s a sign,” Harket told Omdahl. “I’m broadminded in terms of what I think works; I don’t expect to be able to achieve full technical control. The question is whether I can express myself with my voice. As things stand now, that’s out of the question. But I don’t know whether I’ll be able to manage it at some point in the future.”
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“When we tune the frequencies and direction of the electrodes, it is also able to affect the region of the voice, but we’re not yet able to capture and control it,” he added. “The voice problem comes especially when I take dopamine supplements. If I don’t take dopamine, my voice settles down – but then the general underlying symptoms become more pronounced.”
Despite his diagnosis, Harket is keeping a positive attitude. “I’ve got no problem accepting the diagnosis,” he told Omdahl. “With time I’ve taken to heart my 94-year-old father’s attitude to the way the organism gradually surrenders: ‘I use whatever works.’” And he’s also not ruling out music completely.
“For a few years now I’ve been working on songs that I’ve got great belief in, and I feel the lyrics, especially, have something of a different aspect of me in them. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to finish them for release. Time will tell if they make it. I really like the idea of just going for it, as a Parkinson’s patient and an artist, with something completely outside the box. It’s all up to me, I just have to get this out of the way first.”
Content shared from consequence.net.