Fra Lippo Lippi’s Per Sorensen

MANILA -- Right before New Year’s Eve in December 2019, Fra Lippo Lippi’s vocalist and songwriter Per Sorensen’s girlfriend joined him to celebrate the holidays in the Netherlands. She was to leave for her home in early January.

Still not wanting to let her go, Sorensen asked her if she can stay awhile. She did and she stayed for two years.

“Now I know how my friends -- Filipinos and others -- feel when you are far from home and you miss your loved ones,” related Sorensen. “You want them to stay awhile.”

As always that lightbulb inside a songwriter’s head lit up.

“Hang on, there’s a song in there,” he mused.

And that song “Stay This Time” is Fra Lippo Lippi’s newest single (“a Christmas single,” he describes), one he will perform during the New Wave Tribe Festival this coming December 8 at the Mall of Asia Arena along with Icicle Works’ Ian McNabb, and Gene Loves Jezebel’s Michael Aston.

The New Wave Tribe Festival will be Sorensen’s 11th trip to the Philippines – his home away from Norway as he fondly calls this Pearl of the Orient. And he remembers all those trips from the inaugural and triumphant show in 1988, 1989, 2000, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2023, and now 2024.

“Just like the people you care for, you remember the places you love,” he said.

Sorensen and Fra Lippo Lippi got a taste of that love on November 5, 1988 (the first of two back-to-back sold-out shows). The crowd cheered, applauded, and showered the band with adulation throughout their almost two-hour set prompting Sorensen to remark during the show, “You really love our music, don’t you?”

Fra Lippo Lippi is a unique cultural phenomenon as one that has found much greater success abroad than in its home country. To wit, English pop-jazz band Swing Out Sister who is insanely popular in Japan to this day, Danish band Michael Learns to Rock who are superstars in Southeast Asia, and British electronic act Asian Dub Foundation who are big names in France to name but a few acts.

Fra Lippo Lippi are huge stars in the Philippines, the Netherlands, France (where they were frequent television show guests), the United Kingdom (hence Virgin Records signing them), Italy, and Belgium. But for the band, the Philippines is their home away from home.

However, Sorensen will go it alone in Manila as he has since 2002 when longtime bandmate Rune Kristoffersen opted to just stay home in Norway, record in the studio, and run his record label, Rune Grammofon.

“In the last few times I performed in the Philippines, I have seen the younger audience attend, as well as sing along to the songs like it was the 1980s all over again. That is like my younger days when my grandparents brought me to the Rolling Stones,” Sorensen noted.

In 2025, it will be the 40th anniversary of their insanely popular album "Songs" (released under Virgin Records). That album was akin to Michael Jackson’s "Thriller" where all 10 songs were hits in the Philippines.

“I think Rune is planning the 40th anniversary release of that album,” divulged Sorensen. “As I understand, it will be the original release and not the re-recorded album we did under Virgin Records.”

With the December 8 New Wave Tribe Festival homecoming looming, it has afforded Sorensen time to reminisce about their success in the Philippines and elsewhere.

Their remake of Todd Rundgren’s “Fade Away” is one such, and at the suggestion of this writer, Sorensen will consider including it in his Manila playlist.

"It was Rune who chose the song and at that point, I didn’t know Todd Rundgren just yet. I listened to the song, liked it, and put it away. When you do a remake, you do not want to cover the song as it sounded; you want to make it your own,” he said.

The result was a powerful and soulful edition; a version that endeared the band to their fans.

And there is the follow-up to "Songs" in "Light and Shade" that was released in 1987.

“When Virgin said it was time to record a new album, they asked us who we wanted to produce the album,” recalled Sorensen. “We gave three names – Thomas Dolby who made a name for himself by producing Prefab Sprout’s amazing albums 'Steve McQueen,' 'From Langley Park to Memphis,' and 'Jordan: The Comeback' that are masterpieces of pop perfection; George Martin as we were massive fans of the Beatles; and Steely Dan’s Walter Becker who changed the way (British New Wave band) China Crisis sounded forever with his jazz inflections. 

“While we wanted George Martin because of what he has done, Walter was pretty cool,” he said.

While Becker was less than democratic in the studio, the trade-off was he was also very funny. “There was a time we were on break, and we went out to buy some magazines,” shared Sorensen. “I took the opportunity to recommend something to Walter asking if we could use an accordion for ‘Indifference.’”

His response to Sorensen? 

“You know, in California, you could go to jail for using an accordion,” Sorensen quoted Becker as saying. They all had a laugh, but it was the end of any plans of using an accordion.

And there was being in the studio during the recording with Toto’s Jeff Porcaro on drums, famous Brazilian percussionist Paulinho da Costa, Yellowjackets bassist Jimmy Haslip, and saxophonist Tom Scott who made a name for himself performing with the Blues Brothers and jazz fusion group, LA Express among others. 

Sorensen is no longer the 25-year old who struck gold with Fra Lippo Lippi in the 1980s. If he was wild-eyed at the noted musicians and record producers his band worked with back in the day, he is now working with young and upcoming musicians who are thrilled to have him in the studio. Since 2007, he has worked as a school teacher to music students from the age of 12-15. They are aware of his background, but as to how big? 

“Not really,” he laughed. “Occasionally, they will ask me to sing a song.” 

Other than that, he follows his son Oskar’s career playing keyboards for English progressive rock band Big Big Train who just finished a European tour.

With Manila calling, Sorensen will be “Home” to sing “Songs.”

“I am no longer my Mick Jagger self on stage,” Sorensen said to close out the interview. “In the last few years, I have preferred to sit down and play the keyboard. In a few years, I will throw in the towel from teaching, but I will continue to write songs and performing… especially in Manila.”

Tickets to the New Wave Tribe Festival on December 8 are available at SM Tickets, and is brought to music fans everywhere by DMC Philippines.