Angst Pop - the band that never existed - launches 'Ødipus Rex 2012' CD

Out on May 25 is "Ødipus Rex 2012" by Per Aksel Lundgren's pre-Apoptygma Berzerk / pre-Cronos Titan / pre-Chinese Detectives project Angst Pop. Released on blue vinyl (limited to 300 numbered copies) and on CD in papersleeve (strictly limited to 500 copies), the CD version features 2 previously unreleased songs and 2 demos by Angst Pop, the new 2012 vesion of "Ødipus Rex" and all new remixes by Apoptygma Berzerk, Kant Kino, SKL of the Norwegian electro-act Anstalt, Hard Corps (another legendary act, once support act of Depeche Mode in 1988) and more. 12 tracks in total.

Tracks CD:

1. Ødipus Rex (original Version) 3:25
   
2. Panic (at T.C.F.) 3:50
   
3. Live Your Life (Demo 1990) 6:23
   
4. Maschinensturm (Demo 1990) 3:56
   
5. Ødipus Rex 2012 5:02
   
6. Ødipus Rex 2012 (APOPTYGMA BERZERK Dark Club Mix) 5:51
   
7. Ødipus Rex 2012 (Despair Mix by Clive Pierce of HARD CORPS) 4:17
   
8. Ødipus Rex 2012 (KANT KINO Remix) 5:24
   
9. Ødipus Rex 2012 (SKL Club Mix) 4:10
   
10. Ødipus Rex 2012 (Spiritual Warfare RMX by TECHNOMANCER) 4:57
    
11. Ødipus Rex 2012 (ANSTALT Electro Club Remix) 4:17
    
12. Ødipus Rex 2012 (6 AM Dance Remix by ELEC-THIS) 4:50

Tracks vinyl:

Side A:
1. Ødipus Rex 2012 5:02
   
2. Ødipus Rex 2012 (APOPTYGMA BERZERK Dark Club Mix) 5:51
   
3. Ødipus Rex (Video Version) 4:18
   
4. Viva Ta Vie feat Isabelle G. (SABOTAGE Q.C.Q.C./NUDE) 5:19
   
   Side B:
5. Wear a Hat (Demo 1989) 5:40
   
6. Ødipus Rex 2012 (Remix by SPEKTRALIZED) 4:15
   
7. Ødipus Rex 2012 (Romantic Mix by EDDIE B.) 4:15
   
8. Ødipus Rex 2012 (Remix by SUDETEN CRECHE feat. Matthias Schuster) 4:47
   
9. Ødipus Rex 2012 (Supercraft Remix) 3:45

Here's the complete story of Angst Pop as spread with the press release of this new CD:

In 1987, Stephan Groth walked into a record-shop in Sarpsborg, Norway. Behind the counter was Per Aksel Lundgreen. Stephan asked for the new Depeche Mode record, "Music for the Masses", but that album had not arrived in the shop yet, so the record that changed hands that day was "Current News" by The Invincible Spirit. They didn't know it then, but this encounter and this record, was gonna change both their lives forever.

Per Aksel and Stephan became friends, and both of them had a huge interest in electronic music, and both of them wanted to start bands, and since "The Invincible Spirt" was a one-man-project, they both wanted their own "project". Stephan started Apoptygma Berzerk and was joined by Jon Erik Martinsen, and Per Aksel started Angst Pop, who's band name was taken from a bootleg LP by the infamous industrial act SPK.

When Apoptygma Berzerk released their first demo-tape in 1990, "Victims of Mutilation", it was on Per Aksel's label, Sluzk Records, which also was the name of the record-shop that hel owned and ran at the time. Per Aksel was promoting Apoptygma Berzerk, working almost as a manager for the band, and at the same time he was recording 4-track demos with Angst Pop as early as 1989. It was clear however that Apoptygma Berzerk was the project that was going to take off, and all the energy was put into this. Then Jon Erik left Apoptygma Berzerk in 1990, and at the same time, Per Aksel stepped in to fill that place. Suddenly the two friends had this project going together, and they worked hard to make it big and to make it happen!

In between all the work with Apoptygma, Per Aksel managed to record two songs, "Ødipus Rex" and "Panic (At T.C.F.)" for the Norwegian compilation CD, "Se*, Drugs & EBM" on Tatra back in 1992, both produced by Alon Cohen who later went on to produce the entire "Harmonizer" album for Apoptygma. "Ødipus Rex" got a lot of attention, and became kind of a cult-classic in many places both locally and internationally.

In 1994, Cyberware Productions from Finland wanted to release a CD compilation of only Scaninavian artists, called "Melt", and they asked Angst Pop for a remix of "Ødipus Rex". A remix was done with the help of Alon Cohen once again, and this time, even a video was made for this new version. This was actually the very first Norwegian EBM video ever to be shown on Norwegian television! It's up- loaded on YouTube so you can check it out there!

Later that same year, Music Research asked for a contribution for their "Electronic Youth Vol.3" compilation, and the song "Viva Ta Vie" was made, produced and mixed in Apoptygma's home studio and co-written by Stephan Groth and Isabelle Gernand. Isabelle of Sabotage-Q.C.Q.C.?/Nude fame was also doing the vocals on this track. After this, Angst Pop released no more songs, no more releases, no nothing, and the project went down into oblivion.

18 years later, it was time again, when Per Aksel mentioned to Roy-Julian Digre of Technomancer, that it would be cool to make a 2012 version of "Ødipus Rex" for the 20th Anniversary of Angst Pop. No sooner he mentioned it, Roy picked up on it, and in just a couple of days, a freshly produced 2012 demo was ready! Per Aksel had to go into the studio of Jonas Groth (brother of Stephan) to record the vocals again, as the original vocal-tracks had been gone for years, and Roy-Julian recorded some brilliant backing vocals. They also managed to find the original samples from the 1994 version - The result is a very up-to-date 2012 version of "Ødipus Rex" that still has that original feel to it, and Angst Pop are very happy with the result!

Per Aksel had the idea of asking "a couple of friends" to do a remix of the 2012 version, and as you can see on both the 12" and the CD-EP of "Ødipus Rex 2012", there was A LOT OF friends that wanted to do remixes!

Also on this release are 3 different demos from the very old days of Angst Pop, added for novelty only, made digital from the original 4 track tapes in Apoptygma Berzerk Studios. These are just early experiments and should be seen as such. One of them, "Live Your Life" features Torro on vocals, the very same Torro that does the vocals on the Apoptygma Berzerk track "Wrack'em to Pieces". "Wrack'em to Pieces" was actually originally an Angst Pop track, and when Apoptygma Berzerk went into the studio to record their first 12", "Ashes To Ashes", Stephan had almost "forgotten" that he needed a B-Side track, so very late in this process, he asked if the Angst Pop track could be used, that Per Aksel was working on, and so they did.

Posted by B. Van Isacker