(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange / Bérèche You press release) The new Bérèche You album ‘The Price of Love’ is a summary of the work with Cassiel Agrippa, with new definitive versions of the previously released songs. The album also includes new tracks, such as the new single ‘Adore Me’.

The Bérèche You music project released its singles and subsequent first album on Spotify in early summer last year. However, the concept was conceived half a year earlier. After many years working with the Electro Spectre project, releasing multiple albums and compilations, Isak was turning a page to start something new. As he has previously stated, he wanted to start a new project, something new.

S-L: What ignited this project?

Isak: I wanted to do something a little different, yet still electronica, obviously, but a new approach. The idea was to invite different artists to collaborate. That was the concept and idea. At a party, Thomas responded to this by suggesting that he would like to try and contribute. Well, time would tell, so I sent him a couple of instrumentals to work on the next day.

At a later party, Thomas had proven his creativity and presented several demos that impressed the guests. That’s how the collaboration came about, and two of the songs on the debut album feature Cassiel Agrippa, which is his artist moniker.

S-L: After the album release, the project followed up with several single releases and an EP. Now, a year later, with multiple releases under your belt, how would you sum up the project and the interest in it so far?

Isak: This project has been, and is, a lot of fun. It was the new perspective I needed, a slightly different direction and sound. We are steadily building a fan base, with a few old ES fans carried over. Several great DJs here in Oslo have featured our songs and continue to do so, I hope. We have also been on the chart of a well-known German electronica/indie net radio (https://klangwald-charts.de/) and generally been well received. Now that we are releasing a new album, ‘The Price Of Love’, featuring Cassiel Agrippa exclusively. Paired with our live performance in Oslo, we are certainly hoping to keep expanding our fan base.

S-L: Thomas, this has been your first major music project, where you’ve both written lyrics and sung—how do you see your development so far? What challenges have you faced?

Thomas Brevik/Cassiel Agrippa: Well, there are always certain challenges when writing music. Fun challenges. Initially it’s coming up with a melody – a catchy chorus and verse. A little behind-the-scenes fact is that the very first lyrics are just placeholder text to work out the melody. Then I replace that nonsense with actual lyrics. The other challenge is the vocals. I have taken singing lessons, and practiced a lot. And I can clearly see improvement in myself, which is quite rewarding. So you might say there is a constant development in all the aspects of music making. Not unlike anything else you do. You get better the more you do it. I am curious about our next releases, what they will be.

The one thing that really surprised me as a novice musician, however, was that although music has always been very important to me, I have never had a hand in actually making music until this project. It only proves that my creativity could be channelled into music as well. And I love it.

S-L: Isak, what has it been like working with Thomas and following his development?

Isak: Bérèche You was going to be a project where I would invite many different artists to collaborate, which the first album demonstrated well. However, the collaboration with Thomas developed into something much more because he has a really good flair for catchy lyrics and melodies. He has definitely had a sharp learning curve, which is rather impressive.
We believe that every synthpop lover around the globe will strongly welcome this collection of well-crafted synthpop tracks.

S-L: The album title—any connection to the release date, Valentine’s Day?

Isak: The album title The Price Of Love is actually a little homage to an old Depeche Mode cover from when they were called Composition of Sound. The original was a song by Everly Brothers, but almost nobody knows about that any longer. That is our nod to DM. About Valentine’s Day… You could say love always exacts a price, but you can never tell exactly what. The price of love could be so many things, but the rewards are always worth it. Almost always. February 14^th is forever a day dedicated to love, so it seemed a perfect opportunity to release a new album with this title on that day. We believe in love in itself.

The band are doing their debut live show alongside Henric de la Cour in Oslo on February 21^st 2025.

About Bérèche You

Isak Rypdal has had an extensive musical career since the early 90s with bands such as Doctor No, Freeloader and Electro Spectre. Music from Doctor No and Freeloader has topped the charts in Norway and received heavy rotattion on international radio such as BBC Radio 1 in the UK. His live performances have included playing at ‘We Love The 90’s’ and over 100 live shows around the world. With Electro Spectre Isak has been so fortunate to be able to support bands such as OMD, Marsheaux, Zeromancer, Covenant, Melotron and Mesh, to mention a few.

On the new album Isak has collaborated with his good friend, -the talented songwriter Cassiel Agrippa, who has a brilliant ear for good melodies. Cassiel Agrippa has been involved in Electro Spectre and other previous work from Crab Key Studio for a long time, -creating visual media such as artwork in addition to live photography for the bands.

‘The Price of Love’ is due to be released on February 14^th 2025.

Listen to the album right here, or at Spotify | Tidal | Apple Music | Amazon | Deezer | You Tube Music

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

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(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange / Bérèche You press release) Hello gorgeous electropop lover! The brand new Bérèche You single “Head Over Heels” featuring Cassiel Agrippa is available everywhere today.

The song is a tribute “to all the gorgeous people out there, and a celebration of falling “head over heels” in love,” so the band adds. The music represents a fresh and uplifting vibe, with a hint of 80s synthpop nostalgia.

This release follows the synthpop album “Business of Love” released on May 10th. Bérèche You is the new project from Crab Key Records and producer Isak Rypdal (Dr No, Freeloader, Electro Spectre).

Listen to the song and watch the video now, and let it define your mood for the late Summer nights!

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

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(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange. Photos Tarjei Krogh / band)
Bérèche You follows up the first three Spring of 2024 singles with a full album on several streaming platforms, released by Crab Key Records last Friday, May 10th – and promise more to come the next months.

Isak Rypdal is back again with a brand new album to continue the Crab Key Studio music journey, and the first album called “Business Of Love” is exactly what it sounds like; a hymn to making music, electronic music, and the joy of making new exciting tracks.

On the new album Isak has collaborated with his good friend, the talented songwriter Cassiel Agrippa, who’s been involved in Electro Spectre and other previous work from Crab Key Studio for a long time, creating visual media such as artwork in addition to live photography for the bands.

Madil Hardis – the second collaborator

Madil Hardis is yet another talented contributor on the album.

Isak: “Madil is a trained singer and well-known on the international electronic music scene. She has done a lot of solo releases and collaborations worldwide; -particularly known from collaborations with such as Ashbury Heights and Mondträume.” Her last release is the beautiful album “Natural Darkness”.”

Isak Rypdal has a wide musical career since the early 90’s with bands likes Doctor No, Freeloader and Electro Spectre. Music from Doctor No and Freeloader has been chart topping in Norway and heavily rotated on international radio such as BBC Radio 1 in UK. Live shows includes playing at “We Love The 90’s” and more than a 100 live shows around the world. With Electro Spectre Isak has been so fortunate to be able to support bands such as OMD, Marsheaux, Zeromancer, Covenant, Melotron and Mesh, to mention a few.

Buy & listen to the album at Spotify /  TIDAL / Apple Music / Bandcamp /  YouTube, or play it here. Do also check out the video below.

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

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(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) Out today is “Someone Like Me”, the second single from Bérèche You, the new project of Electro Spectre producer Isak Rypdal, this time featuring new collaborator Cassiel Agrippa on vocals. First out was the single “Elevation” featuring Madil Hardis a few weeks ago, and with this second single they’re gearing up for the album release in May 2024.

It has been a few years since the successful release of Electro Spectre’s “Stereo Dreams” trilogy, and this time Isak Rypdal has created a new universe called ‘Bérèche You’ where different artists are invited to participate.

Isak says “after a massive workload with Electro Spectre the last couple of years, it has been a wish to get involved in new and different musically challenges as well. It was time to get out of my comfort zone and record music with a new approach.”

New collaborator Cassiel Agrippa

On this track Isak collaborated with his good friend, the talented songwriter Thomas C. A. Brevik a.k.a. Cassiel Agrippa, who’s got a brilliant ear for good melodies. Cassiel Agrippa has been involved in Electro Spectre and other previous work from Crab Key Studio for a long time, creating visual media such as artwork in addition to live photography for the bands.

The “Business Of Love” album is due to be released May 10, 2024.

Listen to “Someone Like Me” at Spotify / TIDAL / Apple Music / Amazon Music / YouTube, or play it here. Do also check out the video below.

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

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(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) In a series of new deluxe remasters released in December 2022, the Norwegian electro pop band Electro Spectre has released their complete back catalogue of albums from 2008 to 2019 in remastered deluxe versions: ‘Watch It All Turn’ (2009), ‘Dangerous Game’ (2012), ‘Bullets & Desert Blooms’ (2014), ‘Beautiful Lies’ (2016) and ‘A Man-Made Sun’ (2018).

The remasters also include the missing album ‘Pop Ghost’ from 2008. ‘Pop Ghost’ was initially redrawn from the official discography, as the band was not satisfied with the mixing of the album back in 2007. With proper restoration and mastering the album became available again in just a few days ago, including a lot of bonus track, sounding exactly how the band wanted them.

The remasters, all released the last couple of weeks, includes remixes by SnifferGod (Alex Møklebust / Zeromancer), Morganix, Technomancer, Mike Maximus, Nergaard, CAPA, Mudman, Apodyopsis, Anstalt, Sonny Sonance, Stanley Cupid, Mondträume, Martin Rudefelt and a lot more.
The “Disc 2” on the remasters are filled with previously unreleased bonus songs, including the Depeche Mode cover song ‘Fools’!

Hear all 165 tracks in this Electro Spectre – 2022 Super Deluxe Remasters playlist!

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

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(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) Electro Spectre just announced their massive release schedule for ‘Stereo Dreams Part 1, 2 & 3’, with the first album ‘Stereo Dreams Pt1’ being released September 16.

According to the Oslo-based electronic duo they’ve spent the last covid years going both back- and forward, and explored some new technology too.

Alexander Bjørneboe elaborates:
– ‘Stereo Dreams’ presents the impossible – to dream two dreams simultaneously – or to translate to the music; we want to push the limits in every direction when it comes to the musical expression.

Isak Rypdal continues:
– With the three parts of ‘Stereo Dreams’ we have also moved into more melodic subject matter, with emphasis on the distinct vintage synthpop sound, tweaked to perfection. Making ‘the perfect Electro Spectre songs’ has been the work ethics for each and every song all the way, and with more than two years in the studio we have trashed the inadequate elements, keeping only the fresh and catchy.

Electro Spectre have spent a lot of time in the studio both before and during the Covid-19 lock-down period, and the outcome is what they call «melodic synthesizer driven fireworks», heavily influenced by the fabulous 80’s synthpop era.

Alex:
– It’s time to put on glammy make up and your flashiest clothes, and travel deep into the modern days of the northern electronic synth beast!

The band are also focusing on the visual expression of Electro Spectre, and the interesting aspect of short canvas videos for the mobile app.

Isak:
– We want to give everyone a new experience when using platforms such as Spotify, and we have lately added a lot of video material to our songs. We’ve also learned that a traditional video is no longer of key importance, and are focusing more on giving the audience a new visual experience when streaming Electro Spectre songs.

The first album ‘Stereo Dreams Pt1’ will be released on September 16 on Crab Key Records in collaboration with legendary Meisel Music / Hansa Ton Studios.

Listen to/buy the album at Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube!

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

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Phoeno is the indie electro project of Adam Matthews and Liam Corbett which only appeared on our radar just now. The band brings a sound that sounds like a blend of Electro Spectre, Iris and Mesh.

The duo released their debut single last year, called “Alive” produced by the duo Richie Kennedy and Liam Corbett. The single release went hand in hand with a video directed and produced by by Luca Truffarelli and Philip Connaughton.

Although the band formed already in 2019, Adam and Liam so far only released this single (and a radio edit). Let’s see what is coming up next.

Here’s the video of the single. Warmly recommended.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. During the late 1970s bands such as the Human League, Kraftwerk, and later on Gary Numan, Soft Cell and John Foxx helped pioneer a new synth-pop style that drew more heavily from electronic music and emphasized primary usage of synthesizers. Developed in the late 1970s it has seen several revival periods up until now.

We picked out the best synthpop albums from the past 4 decades (!!!). Here’s our list.

The Human League – ‘Dare’ (1981)

The Human League are ‘oldies’ when it comes to synthpop. Formed in Sheffield in 1977 and initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group attained widespread commercial success with their third album “Dare” in 1981. The album contained four hit singles, including the UK/US number one hit “Don’t You Want Me”. The band’s third studio album, it was recorded between March and September 1981 following the departure of founding members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, and saw the band shift direction from their prior avant-garde electronic style toward a more pop-friendly, commercial sound led by frontman Philip Oakey. A remix album based on “Dare”, “Love and Dancing”, was released in 1982.

Talk Talk – ‘It’s My Life’ (1984)

Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles “Talk Talk” (1982), “It’s My Life”, and “Such a Shame” (both 1984) before moving towards a more experimental approach in the mid-1980s. Not surprisingly that our next pick is “It’s My Life”, the second studio album by Talk Talk, released in 1984. The album enjoyed an enormous succes thanks to the big international success of its singles (notably “Such a Shame”). We have a soft spot for the tracks “Dum Dum Girl”, “Such a Shame”, “Renée”, “It’s My Life” and “It’s You” although the entire album is just extremely enjoyable.

Alphaville – ‘Forever Young’ (1984)

The German synth-pop band Alphaville, which formed in Münster in 1982, achieved chart success with the singles “Forever Young”, “Big in Japan”, “Sounds Like a Melody”. All these were taken from their 1984 debut album “Forever Young” which was produced by Colin Pearson, Wolfgang Loos and Andreas Budde. Despite the success of the album and its singles, the band did not tour as they felt more like ‘studio rats’. It remains the band’s best output to date.

a-ha – ‘Scoundrel Days’ (1986)

The Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha was formed in Oslo in 1982 by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards and guitars), and Morten Harket (vocals). “Scoundrel Days” is the second studio album by the trio and offered a more mature sound compared to their debut “Hunting High and Low” (1985). “Scoundrel Days”, recorded in England in early 1986 and produced by Alan Tarney, sported such singles as “I’ve Been Losing You”, “Cry Wolf” and “Maybe, Maybe” which was released solely in Bolivia. “Manhattan Skyline” was the forth and final single released from the long-player.

Erasure – ‘Wonderland’ (1986)

“Wonderland” is the debut studio album by the English synth-pop duo Erasure and was released in 1986. Although it was not an immediate success, the three singles released from it did become cult tracks overtime: “Who Needs Love Like That”, “Oh L’amour” and “Heavenly Action”. Although “Wonderland” was considered a failure, especially when comparing it to Clarke’s prior successes with Depeche Mode and Yazoo, the album became an all time favourite that laid the fundament of what was to follow in 1987 with the release of “The Circus”. The album was produced by Flood who would become a long-time collaborator.

Pet Shop Boys – ‘Actually’ (1987)

Pet Shop Boys, the English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981, broke all records when they released “Actually”, their second studio album, in 1987. It was pushed forward by such great tracks as “One More Chance”, “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” (with Dusty Springfield), “Shopping”, “Rent”, “It Couldn’t Happen Here”, “It’s a Sin”, “Heart” and the majestic “King’s Cross”. In short an album filled with hits.

New Order – ‘Technique’ (1989)

New Order was formed in 1980 by vocalist and guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. The band formed after the demise of Joy Division, following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis and were joined by Gillian Gilbert on keyboards later that year. Their experience of the early 1980s New York club scene saw them increasingly incorporate dance rhythms and electronic instrumentation into their work which resulted in their 1983 hit “Blue Monday” becoming and absolute monster hit. However, we picked out “Technique”, their fifth studio album. Released in 1989 by Factory Records, the album incorporates Balearic beat and acid house influences into the group’s dance-rock sound. “Technique” was the first New Order album to reach the number one spot on the UK charts and had such excellent singles as “Fine Time”, “Round and Round” and “Run 2”.

Depeche Mode – ‘Violator’ (1990)

“Violator” is the seventh studio album by England’s Depeche Mode. It was first released on 19 March 1990 through Mute Records internationally, and through Sire and Reprise Records in the United States. Preceded by the singles “Personal Jesus” and “Enjoy the Silence” (a top-10 entry in both the United Kingdom and the United States), the album propelled the band into international stardom, and also yielded the singles “Policy of Truth” and “World in My Eyes”. The album is generally considered as their most accomplisched electropop album before they encorporated more rock elements in the next album, “Songs of Faith and Devotion”. The role of Alan Wilder was crucial in “Violator”, you only have to compare the first and final version of “Enjoy The Silence” to notice the huge difference.

Bel Canto – ‘Birds of Passage’ (1990)

Bel Canto is a Norwegian music duo, originally a trio, fronted by vocalist Anneli Drecker and musically powered by Geir Jenssen and Nils Johansen. Signed originally to Crammed Discs, their second album “Birds of Passage” is considered as an absolute pearl holding an excellent production (aided by Giles Martin) and a long list of guest musicians who added acoustic elements to the cold nordic synths Jenssen and multi-instrumentalist Johansen. It was also the last album featuring Geir Jenssen. It holds the hits “Intravenous”, “Birds of Passage”, “A Shoulder to the Wheel”, “Time Without End”, “Continuum” and “The Suffering”. The band remains an often well-hidden pearl in electropopland.

De/Vision – ‘Fairyland?’ (1996)

De/Vision, a German synthpop act formed in 1988, was at the peak of its electropop stardom around the mid-nineties culiminating in the outstanding “Fairyland?” album which had such great tracks as “I Regret”, “Sweet Life”, “Today’s Life” or “Bleed Me White”. The band was fronting a new wave of electropop bands in Germany but was generally considered to be the most consistent one as far as quality and output. Sadly enough the release, and also the band’s earlier material, are no longer available on Spotify.

Wolfsheim – ‘Spectators’ (1999)

Wolfsheim was a synthpop duo from Hamburg, Germany, that consisted of Markus Reinhardt and Peter Heppner. Their fourth studio album was “Spectators” (1999) preceeded by two ‘pre-release’ singles from the album. “Once in a Lifetime” was released on October 16, 1998 and “It’s Hurting For The First Time” followed on November 30th. The LP was produced by Wolfsheim and José Alvarez-Brill and held 11 new songs. To this day, “Spectators” is the best-selling album by Wolfsheim with over 250,000 copies sold. The third single, “Künstliche Welten”, was released in 1999.

Iris – ‘Disconnect’ (2000)

“Disconnect” is the debut album by the electropop group Iris. Released in 2000 via the US label A Different Drum, the synthpop label by excellence, its success was guaranteed by the now cult synthpop jewels “Annie, Would I Lie to You?”, “Lose In Wanting” and “Danger Is The Shame”. Originally formed by Reagan Jones and Mat Morris in 1993, after the release of their first album “Disconnect”, Matthew Morris was replaced with Andrew Sega, who pushed the band’s sound in a more experimental electronic direction. Sadly enough the release, and also the band’s earlier material, are no longer available on Spotify.

Elegant Machinery – ‘A Soft Exchange’ (2008)

The Swedish synthpop band Elegant Machinery defined the Swedish synthpop movement along with such bands as Page, S.P.O.C.K, Sista Mannen På Jorden and Kiethevez. Heavily influenced by acts like Yazoo, The Human League, Depeche Mode and Rational Youth, the trio Robert Enforsen, Richard Jomshof and Leslie Bayne started the band in 1988 under the name Pole Position. The band was very successful in Sweden, with a number of successful singles and various awards. But it is their 2008 album “A Soft Exchange” that earned them a place in our list. The album was extremely mature yet very melodic and features such pearls a “With Grace”, “Do You Know”, “Feel The Silence”, “Bleeding Words” and “Is This The Way”.

Electro Spectre – ‘Dangerous Game’ (2012)

The Norwegian electronic music duo Electro Spectre fronts the 3rd electropop wave. Isak Rypdal (writer-producer) and Alexander Björneboe (writer-singer) debuted in 2009 with the album “Watch It All Turn” (which was later reproduced and re-released in 2010). The duo has secured us from a steady and consistent output ever since. In our list we picked the band’s 2012 release, which is their second studio album entitled “Dangerous Game”. Included are such pearls as “Love Thief”, “Dancing Girl”, “World Keeps Turning” and “Tokyo Shuffle”.

Mondträume – ‘Empty’ (2014)

Mondträume is the creative outlet of 2 Spanish talented artists Pikotto Vond Mond and Damasius Venys. In only a few years, the duo rapidly caught the attention of concert organizers, released several songs on compilations, and secured a label contract with Belgium’s electronic label Alfa Matrix where they debuted with the album “Empty”. The hits “Life Is Short”, “Parasite” and especially the synth pop pearl “Far From Pain” show why this band became one of the strongholders in the 3rd electropop wave together with such bands as Electro Spectre, and more.

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

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(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) “Fasan” by Norwegian Giants is released on their own label Norwegian Giants, established in 2015. Tarjei Krogh is the main producer, having his wingmen Joakim DenGode and Markus Storm by his side. Their goal is to gather all kinds of vocalists and instrumentalists all over the globe to create new types of music and exciting combinations and variations, their motto being: We don´t follow trends, only our hearts!

Tarjei told us more about the project via chat and e-mail.

Side-Line: There’s a lot of collaborations on this album – care to take us through song by song, telling it’s story and who participated?

Tarjei Krogh: ‘Hello Aloha’ is a collaboration with a great Norwegian sound designer and artist, Continental Fruit. He is very into modular electronic equipment,  which is easy to hear in his other releases available on various platforms. He tweaked one of our older tracks into something new and made it more refreshing.

‘Good God’ is a collaboration with Kim Castle and Lisa Rockfield, two vocalists and producers we will collaborate with more in the future. They have such open minds and have been producing rap songs, rock and lots of various electronica.

‘Mhmhm‘. Ten years ago I met this amazing young jazz singer/songwriter Renate Rubini. She had a significant voice reminding me of Janis Joplin, but a softer version of that. It took some years to make her like my electronic tracks, but we ended up recording lots of songs and are actually nearly ready with an album. You can find two of our earlier tracks on Spotify and two videos on YouTube if you look up “Cupid Rubini”.

‘You‘ is a collaboration with the brilliant talented Norwegian singer/songwriter Hanne Haugsand, also known as Tundra Mode and Psykosister. She has also been involved with Kant Kino and Anstalt, has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest and been on several big tv-shows in Norway. And the weird thing is, I have only met her two times. One of the times was when Nitzer Ebb and Skinny Puppy played live in Rockefeller, Oslo. Even took a picture of her and Ogre!

‘Shelter‘. Manuela Hofer is a digital artist and has a voice that stands out from the crowd. I was originally remixing a track with her ten years ago, and asked her to send me some vocals and ended up pasting her in on an older track . I met Isak Rypdal in my early 20’s and he was supposed to join our band Anstalt at that time, but we ended up being friends instead. I’ve been remixing his band Electro Spectre back in the days, and I just had to cut out some of their vocals to combine them with Manuela. I have never met Manuela in person, so thank God for the internet!

‘Here we go again‘. Some years ago I shared an office with the best rap managers in Norway. One of these guys had a girlfriend named Lisa who was very into electronic music, and we started sharing music online. This could have been a great collaboration, but we totally lost contact, telephone numbers and email. Luckily I got 4 vocals and just had to release the first one. Never met her either.

‘Move on‘. I met Elvebakk at a barbeque on our peninsula Nesodden, right outside of Oslo. We ended up discussing music and I was surprised he loved stuff like Thom Yorke, The Cure and Joy Division. A very kind being with a rich taste in music. He sent me some of his own stuff and I loved the characteristics in his voice. Strangely we ended up with a dance track. I hope to get him to participate in some downtempo stuff in the future.

‘Perpetual‘ is a dive into what always will be a big part of me, Electronic Body Music and Synth Pop. I tried many different vocalists on this track, but ended up keeping it almost instrumental. I used a lot of analog and some modular equipment on this one. It is one of my own favourites. I guess less is more sometimes.

S-L: What’s the connection between this album and all the Norwegian Beats releases on Spotify?

TK: Norwegian Beats was a way to inspire vocalists to contribute to our future releases. We have made 20 collections so far, but will in the future focus mainly on releasing our “real” albums. ‘Fasan’ is our first real album and the beats are up for grabs for anyone to contribute, so we can include new artists on our future releases. Norwegian Giants is supposed to be a mix of a label and a band – a big collective where anything is possible. Like if you combined Röyksopp, Gorillaz or Massive Attack with Mute Records and Ninja Tune. Maybe a bit outdated references, but these are the best examples that comes to mind when concerning brilliant work.

S-L: More releases ahead or other plans?

TK: We are doing things backwards, so we are now gonna make three EPs with remixes, radio versions and videos for three of the songs on the album ‘Fasan’. We also have a new album almost ready to be released early in 2022 named ‘1969’. We will also continue to search and find new artists to collaborate with in Norway and in Europe as well. And set sails like the vikings before us.

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

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(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)
As the European Song Contest (ESC) 2021 finals are today, I thought it’d be a good occasion to reminisce about the winner of the competition in 1995, Secret Garden from Norway, and the remix made for their winning entry six years after. Their song ‘Nocturne’ was something quite different from the rest of the competitors at the time; not much lyrics, mostly instrumental, and a very surprising winner. Maybe the audience craved something different?

Anyhow, what made me think of this again was the use of the ‘Dr. No Club Remix’ at the intro of a new Norwegian humor series called ‘Olympiatoppen’. Doctor No was the main music project of Isak Rypdal (producer of Electro Spectre) back in the 2000’s, having several hit singles in the dance/trance segment like ‘Lastima’ and ‘La Luna’, and released the album ‘Fat Sound To The Masses’ in 2001 (check other songs at the bottom of this article).

Isak had arranged his remix to be used by NRK on national TV, and agreed it could be fun to have it surface again in conjunction with the ESC finals this week. His remix originally appeared on the ‘Grand Prix Party’ compilation released by Universal Music in 2001, where Isak were invited to make a contemporary version of ‘Nocturne’ as the final track of the compilation. The track also exists on a single track CD distributed when promoting the compilation.

Not only as a Norwegian, but as more than average interested in music, I thought the winning song in 1995 was a great exception from the usual ESC songs, daring to go outside the concept itselft, paving way to more diversity. And as major fan of electronic music, the remix from 2001 just added more value to the original.

Check out the original and the remix as a warm-up or a variety from todays finals!

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)
Norwegian industrial synth rockers Zeromancer follow up their February release ‘Damned le Monde’ with the new track titled ‘Mourners’. The release comes as a digital EP with three remixes in addition to the original – and they’re all great! This time around we also contacted the remixers to get their thoughts about the band and this release –  it’s always interesting to hear what someone who’s both a professional and a fan have to say about their remix work.

Zeromancer core members Kim Ljung and Alex Møklebust were very happy about the end result:

Side-Line: ‘Mourners’ and the first lines indicates someone sad, but becomes increasingly uplifting – will things get better is one find someone to share it with?

Kim Ljung: That is pretty spot on I would say! Mourners is a message for the lonely. Lonely in life or lonely at heart. Never give up. There is always a twin soul out there somewhere!

Alex Møklebust: Songwriting is about expressing yourself. The last 3 years has been pretty rough on a personal level and making music becomes kind of a treatment. «Mourners» became that song for me.

S-L: Musically it’s a bit softer than usual, almost synthpop, and the singing made me think about Alex’ guest vocals on the Bermuda Triangle album ‘33RPM’, and it also made me wanna listen to ‘ZZYZX’ again – a new direction or just keeping it varied?

AM: Trying to recreate a demo is always a challenge, but with Mourners it was impossible. The demo had parts that didn’t sound great and the performance was quite bad, but had a really good feeling to it. If we removed the demo ideas or tried to replace it with new recordings, the song fell apart. It’s all about the feeling of a song. We just chased that feeling all the way until the end and. Imperfection elevated the track. It was the right decision. You can hear the the demo tracks clearly in the Rotersand remix. Love that they decided to represent the demo tracks so clearly in the remix.

KL: When you write a song, you don’t think what genre would be best suitable. You make the choices that fits that particular song the best. Mourners were meant to be exactly like this. I remember starting out with the verse on an acoustic. I never play acoustic guitar with normal chords and full notes. Never. It’s all riffs, basslines and weird shit.

The verses are quite dark. It’s the chorus that has this uplift feel that great choruses have. However the term synthpop is not so accurate I feel, at least not to me, since my idea of synthpop is a happy thing. We don’t do happy. 🙂
When you get to hear the full album, you will get the picture. It’s a classic Zeromancer album. With all the elements present. A gift from us to our devoted, loyal fans.

S-L: You also got a good, varied bunch of remixes this time too, even by Norwegians – what about their versions did you like?

AM: The remixes compliments the EP 100%. Love it. A beautiful balance. Electro Spectre with a superb version, Sebastian Komor with his awesome mid tempo hard hitting remix and the lovely moody Rotersand version. They all put in a lot of effort to make this EP as good as it can be. How they interpreted our song blows my mind. Respect to them all!!

KL: Couldn’t agree more. What amazes me the most, is how they all understood the core of the song. I’m dead serious when I say those three remixes makes the song a better song. Not that their versions top the original. That’s not the issue. It’s what they add to that song, that makes Mourners a longer lasting piece. At least that’s how I feel! So much passion and a whole lot of “fingerspitzgefühl”!

S-L: This started with ‘Damned le Monde’, and you will get it every time now – who’s in the cover picture?! 😉

KL: My mom 🙂
Holding the white lilies. A symbolic flower, often used in funerals. Perfect for Mourners.

S-L: Other upcoming highlights fans can look forward to during these slow-moving days until more restrictions are lifted?

AM: Yes, there will be more releases and a full new album. It’s important for us to promote an album release with live shows. As for now that’s impossible, but we have to keep believing that it’s happening soon.

KL: The fans are in for a treat. A lot is happening in the shadows. New label that will help out regarding issues with previous albums hard to get, both digital and analog. At this moment I can’t reveal more than that. But in the end, there’s definitely a reward for everybody!

As mentioned we also reached out to the remixers who contributed to this EP, and also asked if they had remixes of their own to share. First to reply were Isak Rypdal from Electro Spectre:

S-L: What’s your relation to Zeromancer before this remix?

Isak Rypdal: I was a big fan early on, and two major favorites from nearly 20 years ago is ‘New Madonna’ and ‘Famous Last Words’,  I think they only were included on a maxi-single or something then. In 2013 Electro Spectre supported Zeromancer on their ‘Bye-Bye Borderline’ tour at Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo – that was a lovely event.
Alex Møklebust, aka SnifferGod, has also been so kind remixing the Electro Spectre single ‘The Way You Love‘ just a few years ago, which became a great remix.  

S-L: How did you like the new song ‘Mourners’?

IR: Personally I think it is admirable to deliver one of their very best singles to date. In my opinion not all bands only get better and better in what they’re doing as the years go by. The previous single ‘Damned le Monde’ is that kind of caliber as well! 

S-L: What was your main idea with your remix?

IR: Actually, I think it was one of the easiest songs I have ever remixed. The reason is simple; when you get a remix-kit from a major band, who delivers pure quality elements it is a lot more inspiring. Although not to say I took the challenge lightly, I spent several few weeks on the remix, adding all of what I think is my very best production techniques into the remix to get it as punchy and well sounding as possible. It was a pure joy, and I am very happy I had the time to spend that many hours on the remix process. In the end, Alex from Electro Spectre also delivered some additional spice to the final mix. I hope the Mancerheads enjoy the remix!

Across the Atlantic, in Canada, the Polish/Norwegian expat Sebastian Komor elaborated about his involvement:

S-L:  What’s your relation to Zeromancer before this remix?

Sebastian Komor:  I know the guys more as Seigmen, the Norwegian Alt Rock band. In fact, a time and place long ago I booked Seigmen to play at a venue I was working at, during their Radiowaves album tour.  Always loved their music.

S-L: How did you like the new song ‘Mourners’?

SK:  It is a beautiful song. I dig the electronic approach in this.

S-L: What was your main idea with your remix?

SK: I really dig the snare sound in the original and def wanted to make that a big element of this mix. My approach to remixes is to use as few original sounds as possible vs. making it sound like an extended 12″ mix of the original. I am really happy with the result. It promotes the emotions in the original song while taking it for a ride through my mind.

Check Sebastians playlist with a lot of his work, remixes included!

Final remixer was from Germany, Krischan Wesenberg of Rotersand:

S-L: What’s your relation to Zeromancer before this remix?

Krischan Wesenberg: Zeromancer and Rotersand are signed to the same label, work with the same booking agency and love our live-sound-engineer (which is the same person). Surprisingly it took rather long to meet in person, which luckily happened during an epic meal in Oslo while I was there as sound-engineer for Nitzer Ebb.

S-L: How did you like the new song ‘Mourners’?

KW: I really loved the depth and flow of the song instantly; its melancholic mood and I am addicted to melancholy in music anyway.

S-L: What was your main idea with your remix?

KW: Obviously with Rotersand attached to it expectations went towards a more club-orientated vibe. As there aren’t any clubs open I took the chance to search for a very electronic vibe and flow that kept a lot of the original recordings, and added some space to let the melancholy breathe and enjoy its special magic.

Listen to and buy the EP from Spotify, Apple music and other services – click here!

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)
Electro Spectre are keeping themselves busy in these quarantined times and follows up their first single of 2021 – ‘A Different Kind Of Love’ – with the new EP ‘The Endless Sky’, released March 19^th on various digital platforms.

Included on the EP are two remixes of ‘The Endless Sky’ in addition to a Radio Edit, a remix by the singer Alexander Bjørneboe and two top tracks from their remix contest for their previous single, and an yet unreleased upcoming album song in a ‘Bare Version’ from their corona lock-down ‘Home Sessions’ recorded last year. 

Alexander also collaborated with music video director Rune Hov on directing the music video for this release in addition to doing the artwork – we are going to space in this one! The raw material were old cartoon magazines from the 60’s. Then a lot of time were spent cropping, editing and retouching the graphics, and finally assembled into a story for the video. See examples below:

In parallel to releasing the single Electro Spectre also spent the last weeks remixing the next Zeromancer single, ‘Mourners’, the follow-up to their February release ‘Damned le Monde’. Fans of both bands should mark Friday April 23^rd in their calendars – ‘Mourners’ is that kind of track that brings out the best of both bands!

EP available @ Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and Youtube.

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)
Electro Spectre kicks off 2021 with the release of the single ‘A Different Kind Of Love’, released on digital platforms today, and will be accompanied by a full EP in about two weeks. This is the 5^th release from their upcoming album ‘Stereo Dreams’, which is a bit delayed due to the corona situation.  

The band also announces a remix contest for this track, read about it and download stems @ http://electrospectre.net/remix2021/

Get your kicks @ Spotify, Apple, Bandcamp or YouTube!

Electro Spectre also did a series of home recordings during the lock-down in 2020, and have recently compiled and published these recordings for an exclusive 2021 Bandcamp release.
Check’em @ https://electrospectre.bandcamp.com/album/home-sessions

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Patrik Hansson who’s known as Vanguard member unleashed the debut-album “Eternal” of his electro-pop solo-project Uncreated last year . The album plus several EP’s were all real good surprises. With “Leaving Now” Hansson serves us an appetizer for his next album “Symbiosis”. Robert Enforsen (Elegant Machinery) and Helena Wigeborn (Train To Spain) contributed as guest singers to this EP. 

Content: Next to the title song -featuring Robert Enforsen plus 4 remixes, this EP also features another song featuring Enforsen, one song featuring Helena Wigeborn and 3 more songs.

The title track is a catchy electro-pop track with a cool melody line. “Fast Forward” featuring Helena Wigeborn sounds even more catchy. Among the other new songs I heard a mix between melancholia on “Ta Över Nu”, sung in Swedish and the harder, but still melodic side “I Was Wrong”. “Pushing Borders” featuring Robert Enforsen is a soft cut.

Remixes have been made by Vanguard, Electro Spectre and Caisaron while there also is a cool “Extended Remix” of “Leaving Now”. The last song is a kind of outro with the matching title “The Last Goodbye”.

+ + + : Patrik Hansson has created next to Vanguard a real promising electro-pop project. This new EP only features new stuff and the contribution from guest singer of Robert Enforsen for sure is a noticeable element. But there’s also something to say about Helena Wigeborn who’s an interesting vocalist as well. The title song is cool, but I definitely prefer the somewhat more elaborated “Extended Remix”. Another cool cut is the harder beating “I Was Wrong”. Among the remixes I want to mention the punchy edit of Vanguard. Uncreated sounds more electro-pop driven than Vanguard revealing Hansson as a talented melody maker.

– – – : I expected a bit more from the other song featuring Robert Enforsen while the remixes by Electro Spectre and Caisaron don’t really add a bonus.

Conclusion: Uncreated confirms its strong potential revealed at “Eternal” so this is possibly a new Swedish electro-pop sensation.

Best songs: “Leaving Now – Extended Remix”, “Leaving Now”, “I Was Wrong”, “Fast Forward”, “Leaving Now – Vanguard Remix”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/uncreatedofficial

Label: www.conzoomrecords.de / www.facebook.com/conzoomofficial

About Uncreated

Uncreated is the solo-project of Patrik Hansson, singer of Swedish electro-pop band Vanguard. Following the 2019 debut album “Eternal”, Hansson released the “Leaving Now” EP reviewed here as a lead-up to the second Uncreated album, “Symbiosis”, issued by the end of 2021 via Conzoom Records with guest singers including Mark Hockings (Mesh), Björn Marius Borg (Xenturion Prime) and Robert Enforsen. Hansson discussed the differences between his two projects in a 2022 Click Interview with Side-Line.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)
With the current release of the ‘Stay EP’ Electro Spectre has released three EPs so far in 2020, a fourth EP will be released after the summer, and the album ‘Stereo Dreams’ some time after that.

During the corona lockdown the band also have posted a series of home performances, of both new and classic Electro Spectre songs, to give the fans a little extra now as live shows has been set on hold.

I had a brief talk with band member and producer Isak last week when visiting him in Oslo:

Side-Line: A lot of new material being released at the moment?
Isak Rypdal: Yes, we have a lot of material from the 2019/2020 studio sessions, and it is often a brutal process to find the perfect versions for an album. So to not wipe away any version of a song that might be the best one, better even if it not suits the album, we decided to release the versions in a series of EPs to get all the good versions out there this time.

S-L: I also noticed someone “new” on the remixing roster this time…
IR: Correct! In addition to releasing remixes from different remixers, I have often also produced a few remixes for our singles – this time Alexander delivers his first three personal remixes that gives a fresh new and different take on the singles.

S-L: You also have gone a bit retrospective the last months?
IR: Additionally to the new material released this year, Electro Spectre will release twelve – yes 12! – missing maxi singles from the past in expanded editions with remixes missing from the catalogue out there. Check our Bandcamp page for updates!

S-L: Anything else in the pipeline?
IR: Too early to go into details yet, but there will be more exciting news later this year – we’ll keep you posted!

Check out their latest EP on iTunes and Spotify.

All releases @ Bandcamp:https://electrospectre.bandcamp.com/

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

On June 5th Conzoom Records will be the newest Uncreated EP “Leaving Now”. For the occasion Swedish electro artist Patrik Hansson (also known as the Vanguard frontman) invited guest singers for many of his new songs. Included on the EP for instance are Elegant Machinery frontman Robert Enforsen and Train To Spain singer Helena Wigeborn.

In addition to the original version of the title track there is also a “Leaving Now (Extended Version)” and remixes by Vanguard, Electro Spectre and Caisaron. The EP is rounded off by 4 more tracks. Robert Enforsen sings on “Pushing Borders” and on the other songs, one of which is sung in Swedish for the first time with Uncreated mastermind Patrik Hansson doing the vocals himself.

This is the track listing of the EP:

• Leaving Now (feat. Robert Enforsen) 3:34
• Fast Forward (feat. Helena Wigeborn) 4:28
• Pushing Borders (feat. Robert Enforsen) 3:41
• I was wrong 3:49
• Ta över nu 4:45
• Leaving Now (feat. Robert Enforsen) (Vanguard Remix) 3:52
• Leaving Now (feat. Robert Enforsen) (Electro Spectre Remix) 3:38
• Leaving Now (feat. Robert Enforsen) (Caisaron Remix) 3:26
• Leaving Now (feat. Robert Enforsen) (Extended Remix) 4:45
• The Last Goodbye 4:21

You can preview the EP below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)
On April 2nd, a corona affected week behind schedule, Electro Spectre released the ‘When the night falls’ EP on Crab Key Records in collaboration with Meisel Music, Germany. This was their second release so far this year from the upcoming album ‘Stereo Dreams’, with three versions of the main title and three additional remixes of other tracks from the album. We also got the first track ‘Jungle Eyes’ last year and the ‘Where Two Hearts Meet’ EP earlier this year, and with all the bonus tracks and mixes on these EPs we really have gotten a taste of what lies ahead!

When asking Alexander Bjørneboe, singer and writer, about what lies ahead for Electro Spectre he had a lot to say when doing one of the things he does best; being imaginative.

What are your thoughts about the upcoming album?

AB: Well, I think it’s a very good one. Isak thinks it’s a very good one. We are totally objective of course. You may trust us on this. If time used is any indicator, this will be the greatest album ever. We have have polished this little gem ’till it shines. And then we polished it again. And now it shines even more. We are proud of it, I can tell you that in all honesty.

Even though guitars have never been a big part of the Electro Spectre sound, you have included some on this album. In the past, some of your albums include guitars, others don’t. Any plan behind these choices?

AB: No plan what so ever. These choices are made in a creative flow. Sometimes you feel the urge, sometimes you don’t. I guess a painter who mainly uses the colour blue is sometimes drawn to the colour red. And some dusty, desert sounding guitars create a nice tension when mixed with slick synthesizers. Opposites attract and all that.

But as a member of a synth based band – if you had to choose between a guitar and a synthesizer, I take it you would prefer the latter?

AB: For my own personal use, I would go with the guitar. But there is a big difference between playing alone, for your own pleasure, and making music meant to be communicated to others. Synthesizers are so versatile – you can make them produce sounds that are out of this world. I love synthesizers. So I can’t chose, really. In regards to this question, I will have to consider myself a bigamist. Although in the realm of Electro Spectre, the guitars are more of a fling. Electro Spectre will always be a band rooted in the synthesizer based pop of the 80s. We are not purists, though. We don’t have to sound like the 80s. We just love the New Romantic vibe.

What inspires you to write music?

AB: Many, many things. Other peoples creative output. Music. Movies and series. Emotional scenes. Stubborn memories. Sometimes you feel something inside of you crawling out. It births itself. But unless you’re a very unusual creature, a lot of the time it’s just hard work. Tiresome and frustrating. Until you get something down that you really like – then it’s the best thing in the world.

Apparently, every good interview is supposed to contain a fun/crazy question. So – if you could be a fruit, which one would you be?

AB: I would like to be the noble watermelon, thank you very much. The heavyweight champion. Sturdy, yet sweet and juicy. And green. Green is very hip these days. Yes, it’s mandatory to be green, so the scene is set for the watermelon.

Interesting. What does your shrink say?

AB: He says it’s classic megalomania. He also warns me about cheeky interviewers, so what does he know?

Exactly. Let’s go back to the upcoming album. What are your hopes for it?

AB: Well, world domination is always on the agenda. But maybe it would be smart to aim a little lower, and say that I hope those who listen to it find it very, very good. Occasionally people will tell me that our music means a lot to them. That they find something in our musical universe that they connect strongly to. That makes me proud. And happy. And grateful. I hope some people out there will connect strongly to this album. And we can all be happy. In a complicated way, that is. New Romantic style.

Electro Spectre have also started a series of exclusive studio inside versions, early demos and remixes of songs from the very beginning and up to date the coming weeks to let the fans get an inside on the process in the studio. Check their Facebook page for the first track published last night!

Get the new EP at Bandcamp or Apple Music

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

The 16th track on our free (or pay-what-you-want to support our charity work) download compilation “Face The Beat: Session 5” is by the darkwave electropop act Dark​-​o​-​matic aka the duo Piero Delux (vocals) and Greg Dovas (music). The band found a home at skyQode records which has discovered several more great bands.

Dark​-​o​-​matic was founded by Greg Dovas in 2017. Greg switched from progressive rock music to electronic music earlier with his project Neonskylines which was purely instrumental synthwave. In an attempt to expand his experimentation, he decided to add vocals reaching a more synth-pop sound. That was the starting point of his collaboration with Piero Delux from the project Elsehow. Enlisting the help of sound engineer and producer George Nerantzis, the duo started recording their new music, best described as a cross between synthwave and modern synthpop but with a darker edge to it.

Fans of Mondtraüme, Melotron, Electro Spectre etc. will surely love this act!

You can listen to “Zugswang” right below, the first single from their recently released album “Hope”.

Check “Face The Beat: Session 5” on Bandcamp to discover the other bands. All donations will go to charity.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Our Spotify playlist followers already noticed, out now is the brand new EP “Where Two Hearts Meet” by Norway’s electrop finest Electro Spectre. The track is taken from the band’s upcoming album “Stereo Dreams” which will be out on Crab Key Records in collaboration with Meisel Music.

The single comes right after the release of the one-track single “Jungle Eyes”, and includes two addition remixes of the song and three additional remixed tracks from the upcoming album. And it must be said, “When the night falls” for instance is a real gem, an electropop pearl you can only expect from this Nordic duo. Top notch!

The band also released a brand new video for the occasion, directed by Rune Hov, which you can see below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)

Electro Spectre announced this week that they have signed a contract for the next 15 years with the major music company and publishing house Meisel Musikverlage in Berlin, Germany. This includes Electro Spectre’s entire back catalogue, the latest album ‘A Man-Made Sun’, and the future releases from the band.

Having been in business for more than 90 successful years after being founded in 1926, Meisel is still a family company. They specializes in placing music in the entertainment industry, such as films, TV-series, commercials etc.

Isak Rypdal, producer of Electro Spectre, gave a quick comment about the recent developments:

We’ve just signed with Meisel Publishing, the mother company. Next on the agenda is to get a German booking agent or promoter, and with Meisel backing us this seems very plausible now. After months of negotiating we’re extremely happy with the enthusiasm the company shows! 🙂

Just in: Their latest album ‘A Man-Made Sun’ just made it to the top of the bestseller list for Popnaut, Germany! Currently sold out, but will be available again in a couple of weeks!

BONUS!

After working on the album ‘A Man-Made Sun’ the band found they had several left over studio sessions tracks, both alternative versions and remixes, and have decided to offer some of these for a limitied time to their fans. This also includes a brand new song not included on the album; ‘London’!

Listen & buy @ Bandcamp only!

https://electrospectre.bandcamp.com/album/2018-studio-sessions-bonus-tracks

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)
On October 19^th Isak Rypdal and Alexander Bjørneboe of Electro Spectre returns with their 5th studio album titled ‘A Man-Made Sun’, a much anticipated album we are highly curious about after the preceding single and EP releases. I met up with the guys in Oslo to talk about the album & more.

Side-Line: What has the process behind the new album been like?

Alex: Well, we never want to repeat ourselves. The feeling of standing still will in many respects contradicts creativity. We play around with ideas, and some tracks grow in an interesting way, some are put on ice for later. We rarely have a plan for where we want to go creatively, so our new album is not the result of a fixed direction. To begin with, we didn’t even decide to make an album. It just sort of manifested itself after a while. We are always making music, and after a while you realise a new album is in the barrel. In the end everything came out really well.
Isak: This time Alex went to Vietnam on a two month journey to find time and inspiration to write new lyrics for the album. At the same time I went back in the studio to experimenting with a lot of new sounds and melodies for a new album.
We actually had no plan, except challenge our self to make an album we think is up there fighting with the major league of bands making modern electronic synth-pop. We also wanted a lot more punch and beat to the songs this time, as a contrast to the “quieter” album ‘Beautiful Lies’.

S-L: Do you want to reach a bigger audience with a more uptempo and pop oriented album?

Alex: We do. As a point of departure, I would like to point out that making music, and performing music, is for me not possible if I can’t truly relate to it. I mean, to be a vocalist is to me like being a storyteller. In music and words you try to bring something across. And it would not work if I don’t feel that it is of some importance, that it means something to me. At the same time; when you have been doing this for a while, you want your music to spread to new audiences, to try to reach new people. Music is communication after all. It would be difficult to continue to make music if there was no interest. That’s like having a conversation with someone who is not listening. I guess we have all experienced that, and it doesn’t make sense over time.
So yes, we always want to reach a bigger audience.

S-L: And is A Man-Made Sun an album you would expect to be able to win over more fans?

Alex: I certainly hope so. It is an album that has that core Electro Spectre sound, but at the same time contains a… Let’s call it a constructive variation. Some tracks are cool and punchy, some are more dwelling, some are playful, some are… well, beautiful. Whether you are at a party, or it’s the day after the party, there are tracks that will get you in the right mood, or reflect your feelings. At the same time I think the album works really well both as a collection of individual tracks and as a whole. People have different approaches to the album format. For some people a few of the songs will be a lot more played than others, for some people the album as a whole is an important part of the listening experience. Either way, I think most listeners will find something they really like, and hopefully will feel the need to have Electro Spectre as a musical reference in their lives.

S-L: What is the meaning of the title ‘A Man-Made Sun’? Are you at the center of the Solar System now?

Alex: Ha-ha! Hopefully, yes. Well, we have always had an interest in the futuristic visions of mankind, as seen in movies and literature, and heard in music. Not least during the 80s, where glammy optimism went hand in hand with dystopic scenarios related to cold war, and where an interest in outer space, in the machines of tomorrow, in robots and scientific progress played an important part in art and pop culture. It is no secret that Electro Spectre has a strong love for some of the music from the 80’s. Also, I guess the contradiction that a man-made sun both indicates a thing of beauty and an engineered monstrosity is mind-tickling. Since it is a concept that is hard to fully understand, it plays well as a title. We like to fuel the listeners imagination.

S-L: What do you think about the response for the remix contest you announced for the single ‘The Way You Love’ this summer? Among others we noticed that Zeromancer front man Alex Møklebust did a great SnifferGod remix for the song. What other remixes are worth mentioning?

Isak: It was great, borderline overwhelming! We received a lot of great remixes from a lot of talented remixers around the globe – one of my personal favorites is the Morganix remix by Morgan Lindstrøm, a man who is known from ‘Langsomt Mot Nord’ and other great projects here in Norway. The remixes by Technomancer and Mudman are two other remixes worth mentioning as some of the best. Although I want to add that the majority of nearly 30 remixes is holding a high standard and there’s a lot of interesting interpretations of the song all over.

S-L: Are you going to support the new album with a tour in the near future?

Isak: At the moment we are seeking for a new booking agency that could take care of that side of our plans. It would be lovely if any relevant booking agents reading this feel the need to contact us.

Get the album at iTunes, or listen to “A man made sun” right here!

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) In the aftermath of the Electro Spectre remix contest, I had a chat with one of the remixers about… remixing! SnifferGod, aka Alex Møklebust from Zeromancer and Seigmen, produced one of the best remixes of the 20-something tracks that Electro Spectre received, and I thought it would be interesting to hear what he had to say about remixing in general, the creative process behind, his analogue gear, and other things related to remixing other peoples music.

As I was working on this interview, I was tipped that another fellow Norwegian musician, also probably most known abroad, had recently done a couple of remixes himself. Read what Stephan Groth, the main force behind Apoptygma Berzerk, had to say about remixing after Alex’ part.

Side-Line: What’s your incentive for remixing?

Alex: The main – and fun! – thing about remixing is the freedom to do what you want! And most times there’s no high pressure to deliver, but with everything else going on at the same time one usually ends up feeling there’s little time to do it anyway. On this particular occasion I did it all by myself, often I remix as Zeromancer and are joined by one or two of the other guys, adding a guitar, bass or something else to make a recognizable connection to the Zeromancer sound.

S-L: When starting a remix you are receiving the original version – do you often listen to it and immediately thinks “I would’ve done this and that different”?

A: No, not really, I don’t think as a producer when starting a remix, not thinking about arrangements. Its more about breaking all the rules, but if course there’s one exception to breaking the rules; if its destined for radio there’s considerations to be made. If I’d had more time on this particular remix I’d make it longer. I’m 47 years old, grew up when the 12” singles started arriving with those extended versions and long remixes of songs.

The first thing I do is to listen to the various part of the track, to hear if a verse, refrain, bridge or an interlude triggers something I want to work with and program my own version from. What I kept from the original (except the vocal) is their pad, but made it a bit thinner, and I used a melody line underneath my own too.
Then I started with the bass and drums, and work on a sequence until I need another part to build on. Usually I get an idea from a sound I get a kick off and build on that, sometimes I import all the stems (separate sound files of vocals, bass, drums, etc) and search for ideas there, but that often depends of what I actually receive. Some send all the files of the track, some just the vocal.

S-L: You asked for the vocal stems without any effects for your version of the Electro Spectre remix – why?

A: I wanted to make a hall reverb effect on the vocal myself and pitch it higher, so it was easier for me to that with the raw vocal, and added some vocoder too at the start. I also like it a bit dirty, so there several noisy elements added.
The arrangement comes later; first I have bits and pieces of ideas for verses and refrains, moving them back and forth until I find what’ll move the track forward.

I use a lot of modular synths, and also some soft synths – depending on what’ll fit the track. But of course, working with the modular synth are always more fun, even playful. Sometimes I wish I had an education within low current electricity, maybe still not to late? Then I could’ve fixed synths when they break, and thus be able to spend even more time nerding with them.

S-L: Are there any configurations or settings on your synths that you have kept, thinking “this is for Zeromancer” or something else?

A: No, I mostly use the modular synths for ideas and random stuff to add some mobility to other sounds using filters and so on. Fiddling about with my modular gear is often a big part of getting inspiration, both when doing remixes and getting ideas for new songs, even without a plan you get results.
The most important parts when remixing: don’t assume its to be played on the radio or try to make it that way, don’t lose that boy-in-the-bedroom feeling – and keep it fun!

S-L: You also been busy with producing and mixing Ljungblut recently?

A: Yes, I’ve been recording them during live sessions, did some overdub afterwards and then mixed the upcoming album this summer. Will also be doing some programming for other artists in the coming months. Not yet decided what to do with Zeromancer after Dan have left, started on some new songs, but put them on pause, the same with the announced new single that was supposed to be releases in 2018.

For those who still haven’t heard this gem of a remix – here it is with the rest of the EP:

Sniffergod/Zeromancer remixes available on Spotify right now:

Stephan Groth also had a lot of thoughts about remixing:

S-L: What’s your main driving force for doing remixes?

Stp: I always enjoyed remixing. It is a lot of fun, as well as a great promotion tool. I experiment a lot when remixing, testing out new hardware and software, new styles, grooves, sounds and techniques that I will later integrate in my own songs.

S-L: When starting a remix you are receiving the original version – do you often listen to it and immediately thinks “I would’ve done this and that different”? Or consider other options?

Stp: Yes, I instantly hear If I can make the song “better” or make a different and interesting version or not. If I don’t get ideas right away, after listening to the song once or twice, I rather not remix the track.
My approach to remixing was always trying to make the song “mine” in a way. I`ll try to rearrange the song so that it sounds like it’s an APOP song. I want to leave my vibe/feel all over it, and hopefully create something that is unique and interesting. When remixes are too close to the original it often gets boring, unless it adds something unique that the original version lacked.

S-L: You ever add own voices or other elements instead of or in addition to the original stems/raw material?

Stp: Yes! I try to add as many of my own elements as possible, and try to use as few of the original sounds as possible. Normally I only keep the vocals and other important lead elements. I record my own vocals quite often as well, but most of the time I “cover them up” or bury them in the mix so that no one can really tell. I do this only if
I want to add certain harmonies, or if I feel that the vocal arrangement is lacking something.

S-L: What gear do you use? PC, Mac, software, (modular) synths, other stuff?

Stp: I have always only used Mac, except for in the very beginning when I used Atari. I am using Cubase and a few soft-synths and samplers, but 90% of what you hear in an APOP remix is from my modular synths and from my analog hardware synths. I used to use soft-synths a lot back when they were new and exciting, but I have a very nice collection of vintage synths, so I rather use them.

S-L: Are there any configurations or settings on your gear/synths that you have kept, thinking “this is for an Apop remix”, “this is for an Apop track”, or something else?

Stp: I used to never save my presets, because I did not want to use the same sounds again and again. That has changed over the years, lol!
I guess I have gotten more lazy with age.

S-L: What’s your most recent remixes?

Stp: Mortiis – “Sins of Mine”, Page – “Krasch”, Machinista – “Dark Heart of Me” and Peter Heppner – “All Is Shadow” (all included in the playlist below).

S-L: And what’s your all time favorite remixes, both your own and others?

Stp: I think the remix I did for Tobias Bernstrup, “Moments Lost (Apoptygma Berzerk remix)” turned out really good, and then there is an old remix that I did on an Icon Of Coil song called “Repeat It” that I think really stood the test of time.

One of my all-time favorite remixes is Hardfloor’s remix of Mory Kante’s “Yeke Yeke” – the perfect remix! 

While we are on the subject of remixes and collaborations… I would like to mention our upcoming 2xLP/CD/Cassette release “SDGXXV”  that will be out spring 2019 via Tatra Records and Artoffact Records. The album is almost done, and it will feature remixes and collaborations with electronic acts and artists that I admire.
As soon as we have a release date planned, we’ll give you all the names of the bands involved, but for now, that’s all I can tell you 🙂

Listen to a lot Apop remixes here – thanx to Per Aksel Lundgreen for adding to my list!

For more on seigmen, see Seigmen crowdfunding exceeds all expectations – 102% funded in just 4… on Side-Line.

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)

Late this summer the Norwegian electro-pop band Electro Spectre announced a remix contest for their latest single “The way you love”, and the results are in! Isak Rypdal, producer and keyboardist of Electro Spectre, received tens of mixes, both domestic and from abroad. This resulted in an EP release with 7 winning remixes, and lots of the runners up are also available on a Bandcamp page.

‘The Way You Love REMIXES’ WP includes remixes from SnifferGod (Alex Møklebust / Zeromancer, Seigmen), Morganix (Morgan Lindstrøm / Langsomt Mot Nord, w/additional vocals by Kjersti Helene Larsen), Defiant Machines, Technomancer, Mudman, Watch Dogs and the Cologne based remixer Yves.
The “Morganix remix” will also have it’s radio debut on Norwegian broadcaster Radio Nova this Friday night (September 14th) – check out the synth related programme Midnight Magic around 23:00: https://radionova.no/programmer/midnightmagic

Buy/listen to the REMIXES @ iTunes, Spotify and Bandcamp. Do also check out the runners up at their own Bandcamp page!

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: While the Norwegian electro-pop duo is working on a new album, Razgrom Music is revisiting the back catalogue of the band. “Bullets & Desert Blooms” was originally released in 2014 on Nordic Records. The songs have been reworked by the band and now re-released on Razgrom Music with 5 bonus songs.

Content: This is one of my favorite Electro Spectre releases. “Bullets & Desert Blooms” reflects the maturity of the band, but first of all their nose to compose genius music. Sometimes into melancholic passages, but also driven by danceable kicks and solid bass lines, this work is diversified, but always carried by a cool vintage electronic elements.

The bonus cuts feature an extra song plus 4 remixes.

+ + + : Electro Spectre has this little extra in songwriting and sound production, which differentiates them from other band sin the genre. I often call it a proper sound DNA, which for this band is characterized by great bass lines, danceable kicks, carrying leads and a talented vocalist. It’s not a copy of 80s synth-pop music, but music with a great retro-flavor on top. I also enjoyed the bonus part of this work featuring remixes by Mondtraeume, Apodyopsis vs. Ice Machine and Christofer Nergaard (2 remixes).

– – – : You can always discuss about it, but what I often missed on Electro Spectre albums is the ultimate hit!

Conclusion: This album is more recent, but it was a pleasure to re-discover this work as limited edition featuring bonus cuts and re-worked songs. Up now to the new album!

Best songs: “Your Love Is A Criminal”, “Graveyard Eyes”, “Superstar”, “Silver Eye”, “Fashion”, “Heartbeat – Apodyopsis vs. Ice Machine”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.electrospectre.net / www.facebook.com/ElectroSpectreBand

Label: www.razgrom.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Razgrom–Music/218060094876247

About Electro Spectre

Electro Spectre is a Norwegian synth-pop duo of Isak Rypdal and Alexander Bjorneboe, whose discography opens with the 2009 album “Watch It All Turn”. “Bullets & Desert Blooms”, reviewed above, originally appeared on Nordic Records in 2014 as the duo’s third album, before this reworked Razgrom Music edition.

Electro Spectre’s fifth album, “A Man-Made Sun”, followed in October 2018, discussed in Electro Spectre: “A Man-Made Sun” album release interview. The duo later issued the self-released “Stereo Dreams” singles in 2022.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: Originally released in 2012, the album “Dangerous Game” confirmed the strong potential Electro Revealed at their debut full length “Watch It All Turn”. Originally released on Crab Key records, Electro Spectre duo Isak Rypdal – Alexander Björneboe reworked the original tracklist. A limited edition has been licensed to Razgrom featuring 5 extra songs.

Content: Electro Spectre definitely belongs to the ‘cream’ of electro-pop music although this band never gained a deserved world-wide recognition. This album doesn’t set electro-pop music alight, but it reveals great songwriting and a brilliant sound production. Most of the songs are danceable and catchy featuring a few alluring choruses. Sometimes dreamy and later on harder and danceable this work had a lot to offer, and also has an amazing potential today.

Among the bonus tracks you’ll find a live version of “Dancing Girl” and several remixes.

+ + + : The global production process is ultra professional. This is high-tech synth-pop music guided by a talented vocalist and genius songwriting. The songs feature a natural elegance. This is an opportunity to re-discover some of the band’s early hits such as “Dancing Girl” and “Tokyo Shuffle”. My personal favorite one is “America” for its harder approach. Among the bonus cuts I especially recommend the groovy-dance “Mudman Remix” of “Tokyo Shuffle”.

– – – : Speaking for myself “Dangerous Game” was not my favorite album although it remains a great electro-pop trip.

Conclusion: There are some albums I absolutely like to re-discover and this ‘re-worked’ versions with bonuses is absolutely essential.

Best songs: “America”, “Dancing Girl”, “Works Keeps Turning”, “The Bell”, “Tokyo Shuffle – Mudman Remix”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.electrospectre.net / www.facebook.com/ElectroSpectreBand

Label: www.razgrom.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Razgrom–Music/218060094876247

About Electro Spectre

Electro Spectre is a Norwegian synth-pop duo of Isak Rypdal and Alexander Bjorneboe. “Dangerous Game”, reviewed above, originally appeared on Crab Key Records in 2012 as the duo’s second album, preceded by the 2009 debut “Watch It All Turn” and followed by “Bullets & Desert Blooms” in 2014 and “Beautiful Lies” in 2016.

Electro Spectre’s fifth album, “A Man-Made Sun”, followed in October 2018, discussed in Electro Spectre: “A Man-Made Sun” album release interview.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

[By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange]

The Norwegian synth pop duo Electro Spectre releases their brand new single ‘The Way You Love’ today! The single is taken from their 5^th studio album ‘A Man-Made Sun’, announced to arrive in August 2018.

Hear the new single on Spotify now:

The band also invites all producers and remixers out there to a remix contest for the brand new single – go to http://electrospectre.net/remix/ for info and download of the the remix kit.

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

The Norwegian duo Electro Spectre (Isak Rypdal and Alexander Björneboe) are back with a brand new 6-track single. “Lovers don’t forgive” turns out to be a low-tempo track which is remixed 5 times for this digital only single. Especially check out the lounge-like Angha Tribe Dub, a feast for the ear. As usual the lyrics are top notch, Alexander Björneboe is straight out the best vocalist that the electropop scene has, and hopefully this single is a teaser for a brand new Electro Spectre album, by far one of the finest electropop acts active these days.

The single is out now and you can check it below.

Usually the band is reductive to release its demos (a pity because they are already damn good in those more stripped down versions) but they released one for their new single which you can listen to below.

In further news, “Dangerous Game” and “Bullets & Desert Blooms” see a reissue on CD Limited Edition in January 2018. The albums will be released in a completely re-worked high-quality version, including a lot of bonus tracks. To be continued!

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)

Isak Rypdal, producer, keyboard player and one half of the Norwegian synth-pop act Electro Spectre, has as his other persona Model1 recorded a tribute album to one of the most successful electronic bands of all time; Depeche Mode.

Model1 producer Isak says: “Depeche Mode have been one of the major influences in my music since I was 14 years old. I started following Depeche Mode when they released ‘Some Great Reward’ back in 1984, and my admiration on how they made everything possible with such few options in the studio at the time, and how they solved the recording of their songs with different techniques inspired me a lot in my own work. For me the recording of a Depeche Mode tribute album has been a lovely journey, and made me respect them even more when it comes to the song writing the band has done during the decades. I hope all Electro Spectre fans, Depeche Mode fans and anyone else appreciate the artistic take on the different tracks on the album.”

The album is released by Crab Key Records and contains classics such as ‘Never Let Me Down Again’, ‘Stripped’, ‘Behind The Wheel’, ‘Get The Balance Right’ and many others.

Isak also tells us about other future plans: “Another four Model1 concept albums will be released in the upcoming weeks, and Electro Spectre are also back in the studio after the summer, recording the third single this year. Additionally a re-worked ‘Best Of’ will be released by Electro Spectre this autumn.”

Buy & listen: iTunes

For more on Depeche Mode, see Depeche Mode chased by Hurricane Irma – forced to cancel gig on Side-Line.

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

Out now is the brand new video for the excellent Norwegian electro pop act Electro Spectre: “Been Too Long”. “Been Too Long” is taken from the EP “Been Too Long”, the second single from Electro Spectre in 2017.

Here’s the video:

For those who want to have a selection of some of the best tracks of Electro Spectre, then it’s advise to get ahold of the compilation “Essentials” (available here), a massive double-CD compiling the best of the best in all new versions + remixes.

In 2012 Side-Line Magazine stated that Electro Spectre had produced the best electro-pop album in the world with “Dangerous Game” that year. Since then the band has proven again and again that they belong to the absolute top in electro pop land.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)
‘Been Too Long’, the new EP and remix bundle from the Norwegian electro synth-poppers Electro Spectre, was released on various platforms last week.
The EP contains the four new tracks ‘Little Wonder’, ‘Been Too Long’, ‘The Colour Of Your Love’ and ‘The Secret Path’. Also included is various remixes of the singles ‘Been Too Long’ and ‘Little Wonder’. The new songs will thrive in your car speakers or at the beach this summer, and the dub/club remixes keeps the tempo up for the party evenings.

Producer Isak Rypdal adds:
The EP will also be released as a Limitied Edition Collector CD too, and the music video for ‘Been Too Long’ is in production now, so check our Facebook page in a few days for its release.
I also have another update; our bestselling album ‘Bullets & Desert Blooms’ are at the moment unavailable, but the ownership are being renegotiated back to the bands own label, Crab Key Records, and it’ll be re-released as a remastered deluxe edition during August.

Get the EP at iTunes or listen at Spotify:

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

This morning IKEA Ghent (Belgium) was the place to be for bands wanting to know something more on the future of the music business and how to make the best of it. More precisely, the Belgian electronic music label Alfa Matrix was presenting a workshop at IKEA to the musicians behind the bands Llumen, ELM, Psy’Aviah and Mildreda (Diskonnekted), respectively Pieter Coussement, Peter Elm, Yves Schelpe and Jan Dewulf. For the label it’s the first time it has organised a joined workshop with other bands inside Belgium, but it surely won’t be the last.

Side-Line talked with Alfa Matrix’s promo manager Bernard Van Isacker who gave the workshop.

SL: First of all, you also work as an online marketeer during your daytime job?

B: Yes, I’m the online marketeer for a major seed company (number 5 in the world) for whom I develop the social media strategy, and in that role I have been giving several trainings regarding social media tricks in Belgium and in the Netherlands, but also regarding CRM since one doesn’t go without the other. For those who don’t know, CRM stands for customer relationship management and is an approach to managing a company’s interaction with current and potential future customers. We then analyse this data to improve business relationships with customers. But that’s another story.

SL: Why did Alfa Matrix decide to do this workshop?

B: This is not the first time we do this, in the past I have organised a couple of such workshops with Alfa Matrix bands but then more face to face, so one band at the time. I did several in Belgium, in Scandinavia and in Greece (where I had sessions with Siva Six and Virgins O.R. Pigeons).

But the idea to get a few bands together only started a year or 2 ago when I had a very interesting networking diner in Oslo (Norway) where several of the Alfa Matrix bands were joined by such people as John Fryer, Paul Kendall and the Electro Spectre duo. You immediately could sense there was an energy that you don’t often see.

I also know that there is a need for bands to discuss about the topics we talked about today such as marketing, communication and an insight on how the algorithms work for such companies as Spotify, Apple Music and so on.

Anyhow, when I was at an intimate event at the Club 52 here in Belgium a few weeks ago, I talked with the people behind Llumen, Psy’Aviah and Mildreda who were playing there and suggested them a joined workshop in the near future. They all agreed, so a few days later we decided upon a precise date, a location and I prepped the workshop itself. In the meantime I had invited a few other bands over too, so that’s how Peter (ELM) also joined us, the others will be joining me during a future workshop that fits their agenda.

I also plan a few of these workshops outside Belgium with the next one being in Oslo where Kant Kino, Essence Of Mind and a few other acts will be joining.

SL: What was the purpose of this meeting?

B: It’s always good to meet the artists from time to time, so that is already a good plus. But the main purpose of the workshop is to help the participating bands with their communication, their online presence, and explain them a few things which the general public and most bands are not aware of (because often their label doesn’t know either). Today for instance I presented them my future vision on the (online) press and club scene.

SL: And that is?

B: That’s classified, but it’s safe to say that my vision is quite radical. Back in the days (let’s say 10 years ago) people told me I was mad to start investing in digital distribution at such a fast pace. 10 years late I’m not so mad anymore so it seems, at least what that aspect is considered :). You have to know that I talk a lot with people from inside the business (digital distributors, major promo companies, …) to know the ins and outs of what happens and what is going to happen. I also have a few trusted people from within the scene (distributors, musicians such as Yves Schelpe, other label owners) with whom I discuss quite often about what directions the music industry might take. From that input and my own knowledge and intuition I distill a vision for Alfa Matrix which I then share with my 2 other colleagues in the label.

SL: How did you come up with the idea to do this workshop at IKEA?

B: I’m an IKEA addict basically… :). Ghent is in the centre of the Belgian cities where our bands come from, so it was kinda logical to choose this city as the central place. And since it isn’t the first time I do meetings at IKEA, it kinda was logical to keep it here. Plenty of coffee and plenty of space, I only asked the bands to be here at 10 AM so we were sure to have the space we wanted.

SL: What came out of this workshop?

B: Well, besides the content of my presentation which gave these bands a nice insight in how the business works these days, there were also a few new and exiting things that have come out of our interaction, which we hope to materialise soon. Add to this that a few really nice surprises appeared which opened opportunities. I personally strongly believe in the 1+1=3 setting if you have people sit together who are all very driven by the desire to learn. That was the case here.

SL: Do you plan to publish this guide on the net?

B: No, nice try though! This presentation and its explanation is strictly restricted to the bands signed to Alfa Matrix and is not for external distribution. In the past I have worked for labels on consultancy basis giving them ‘intel’ on a few things, but that’s only because they contracted me for this. Since I’m now only busy with Alfa Matrix, it will remain for the Alfa Matrix eyes only :).

SL: Can we expect some more of these workshops taking place in Belgium?

B: Sure, we plan one in Brussels as well in the near future, probably at IKEA Zaventem :). Next we also plan one in the Netherlands and in Mexico where we also have a few bands under contract.

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: Isak Rypdal is a name that will immediately ring a bell for numerous electro-pop lovers. Rypdal of course is one of the members of the famous Norwegian formation Electro Spectre. Model1 is a new side-project by this producer.

Content: The album takes off with an alluring space-pop cut, which reminds me to Mind.In.A.Box. The robotic vocals inject a good-old vintage touch to the work. This song however is not entirely representative for the rest of the work. Model1 deals with a rather soft, but fully evasive electro-pop format, which is carried by an outstanding production. The addiction of a few female vocals makes it even a bit transcendental. The clear and captivating male vocals totally fit the music.

Model1 brings pop music that will make you feel happy. Some hopping sequences and rhythms both inject some dynamics although the songs remain very sweet-like.

+ + + : “The Vocoders Strikes Back” is a beautiful piece of music carried by a real professional production. It sounds clean and accomplished revealing a few highlights on the second part of the album. The final (bonus) song featuring Kist (female singer singing on a few cuts) is the real apotheosis to this opus.

– – – : I honestly expected a bit more from this album. It for sure is an entertaining composition, but I’m missing elements like a carrying melody and other catchy ingredients. I sincerely get the impression there’s more potential inside this artist than what came out on this debut-album.

Conclusion: Isak Rypdal is an artist who no longer needs to prove anything, which doesn’t mean that all his work is successful. This is an entertaining album, but not exactly one that will enter into history.

Best songs: “River Of Men”, “I Need To be Found”, “Let Me Fly Away”, “If The Machines Comes Back”.

Rate: (6½).

Band: www.facebook.com/Model1Official

Label: www.razgrom.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Razgrom–Music/218060094876247

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) The new project led by producer Isak Rypdal will present raw electronic music in the same ways as Electro Spectre, although focus is set to make the music more punchy and melodic.

An important aspect is also the collaboration with different featuring artists such as the new collaboration with the Norwegian artist Kist – former known from Ugress and Jane Helen.

‘The Vocoders Strikes Back’ was produced in 2016 at Crab Key Studios, Oslo, with some of the most interesting vintage synth gear around and with electric keyboards for starting out. This included Korg MS20, Roland Jupiter 8 and Emulator EMAX II to give the sound a unique touch of the famous raw 80’s sound, combined with new state of the art studio production facilities.

Model1 will be a major focus point at Crab Key Records the coming years. The album was released August 2016 on Crab Key Records and on Razgrom Music in Russia.

There’s a pre-order for the Limited CD edition, and the digital versions are already available at iTunes and Spotify.

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) The Norwegian electronica project KIST is the collaboration between the producer Isak Rypdal and the singer Christine Litle. The first single ‘Rainy Day’ was released in May 2015, and KIST was soon described as “Bat for Lashes meets Depeche Mode”. Christine Litle has furthermore been compared to Róisín Murphy and Sarah McLachlan’s female vocal of Delerium. MusicKist is a lovely electronic pop album with pure raw edge that should not be passed by silently!

Although KIST is a brand new project, both Isak Rypdal and Christine Litle have a wide experience from the music scene. Litle is known from the Norwegian rock band Jane Helen, as a straight-in-your-face kick ass live performer. She has also been part of the Norwegian formative electronica act Ugress, and demonstrates a compelling breadth of musical expression.
Rypdal is mostly known from Freeloader, Dr. No and Electro Spectre. Freeloader’s single ‘Pure Devotion’ was listed on BBC’s Radio 1’s top ten list for 6 months, and Electro Spectre’s album ‘Dangerous Game’ was recommended as the world best electro-pop album of the year in 2012 by Side-Line Magazine.

MusicKist is Kist’s first full length studio album containing ten brand new songs spanning from catchy and dance-able tunes to dark edged songs, in addition to three remixes, revealing new levels of the original material.

Interview with Kist on Norsk På Spotify: http://norskpaspotify.no/kist/ (Norwegian language)

Follow Kist here:
www.facebook.com/KISTMUSIC
www.youtube.com/crabkeyrecords

Download/buy the album here:
kistmusic.bandcamp.com/releases
www.amazon.com/Musickist-Kist/dp/B01IMPCKIE

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) Poznan, Poland was the host for the Dark Sounds Festival on June 25th. The event was  held at Eskulap Akademickie Centrum Kultury, a great concert venue (panorama picture here).

The evening started with DJ James (Grzegorz Długoszewski) spinning various 80’s synth pop/new romantic music, then the Polish electro industrial/wave duo Dark Side Eons started the concerts of the evening.

They were followed by the German/Spanish futurepop act Mondträume, and Damasius Venys was for the occasion joined on stage by back up member Daniele Jaeger due to the illness of band member Pikotto VondMond.

Third act this evening was Electro Spectre from Norway, and all members of the band – Alexander Bjørneboe, Isak Rypdal and Marlina Bjørneboe – agreed this was probably their best concert to date. Great audience and atmosphere, their performance was top notch, and Polish fans have always treated them well.

Finally Covenant, the headliner of the festival, entered the stage, delivering a set full of hits and energy, one of the highlight probably being when Daniel Myer captured the stage and walked among the audience during a highly entertaining version of ‘Lightbringer.’

The evening ended with DJ Alex Hunter doing a dark wave/future pop set, and DJ James sent the audicence home with more 80’s ear candy 🙂

Big thanx goes to the organizer Anna Butkiewicz (SynthNoir Booking & Promotion) and her helpers; Aleksander Czichos (aka. DJ Alex Hunter), Joachim Andrzejewski (aka. the language wiz kid!) and Krzysztof “Karis” Kaszkowiak (technician)  for making this a great weekend for all of us – Norwegians, Swedes, Germans, Polish and others!

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

Available right here for ordering for the North American market is the 2CD set “Essentials [Reworked Hits & Remixes]” by Electro Spectre. For the Norwegian electropop act this release comes right after the recently released (excellent) album “Beautiful Lies” and compiles the best of the best in all new versions + remixes as we reported before already.

To celebrate this North American distribution news, we have 5 “Beautiful Lies” albums to give away! You can enter by sending a mail to info@side-line.com with subject “Get me electrospectered!” including your full address.

“Beautiful Lies” is a true electropop pearl and spawned also the excellent track “Never Let Go” of which you can see the excellent video below. As you will notice, the cover artwork for the new 2CD set is taken from a still from this video.

In further news, Electro Spectre will join Mondträume, Covenant and Dark Side Eons on stage for the Dark Sounds Festival 2016 taking place in the Polish city of Poznan and this on Saturday 25 June. Here’s the address where all the fun will be: Eskulap Akademickie Centrum Kultury, ul. Przybyszewskiego 35. Poznan. Tickets are available here.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

When a-ha announced (yet another) farewell tour, it was my guess that the best place to see them live would be in Oslo, Norway. After all they formed in that very city in 1982 and the public there is always that little bit more enthusiast.

I quickly booked my wife and I seats for the April 30 concert at the Spectrum venue near the Oslo Central Station, got some really cheap Ryanair tickets and found a good Airbnb flat in the Majorstuen area (just a few minutes by tram from the city center and in walking distance from the Vigeland park) to spend a few days. At the same moment we also took some time to meet up with Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange and family, producer John Fryer and his wife, plus the members of the Norwegian acts Kant Kino, Essence Of Mind and Electro Spectre.

The support act for the a-ha’s shows in Oslo on April 30 and May 1 was Frøkedal & Familien. Frøkedal is a Norwegian songstress who mixes minimal pop music with folk, traditional music and bits of electronics. It was quite well received by the public, not in the least thanks to Frøkedal’s very modest way of talking to the public. Whilst watching the support act I noticed that there was free wifi available (a service unknown in Belgium) with some pretty good connection, so instead of just taking pictures I decided to just start tweeting out live. As a result you can follow the concert below via the tweets sent out. Enjoy!

For those still in Norway tomorrow night (May 3rd), know that a-ha will play a one-off live show called “Afterglow” with advanced scenography by Void. The concert will equally take place in Oslo at the Spectrum venue. For the show, a-ha will clear away their normal stage-production to give room to a very different concert performance in collaboration with Void, a computational design studio working in the intersection between design, architecture, art and technology.

If the live show we saw this weekend was already offering an excellent visual experience (Anton Corbijn should have a close look to get some inspiration) then the “Afterglow” show will probably be stunning. Judge for yourself below.

Prepping for @aha_com in #Oslo pic.twitter.com/mtHptrzknB

— Side-Line Magazine (@sidelinemag) April 30, 2016

#mortenharket #selfie #ahaoslo2016 #ahaoslo16 promises to be a great evening! pic.twitter.com/jssY9mnnNc

— Side-Line Magazine (@sidelinemag) April 30, 2016

@aha_com has started playing in #oslo #spektrum #ahaoslo16 opening track… pic.twitter.com/C7gvWl8loG

— Side-Line Magazine (@sidelinemag) April 30, 2016

#ahaoslo16 fans go nuts #oslo #spektrum 🙂 good vibe. pic.twitter.com/EMmPawBjXK

— Side-Line Magazine (@sidelinemag) April 30, 2016

The swing of #ahaoslo16 things in #oslo @spektrum pic.twitter.com/aYqtxWZ3wK

— Side-Line Magazine (@sidelinemag) April 30, 2016

Looking for the whales introduced by @mortenharket #ahaoslo16 #oslo @spektrum pic.twitter.com/SqrHh4FLW9

— Side-Line Magazine (@sidelinemag) April 30, 2016

Pål Waktaar goes velvet with @annelidrecker #ahaoslo16 @spektrum #oslo pic.twitter.com/5eTZJ5WgHm

— Side-Line Magazine (@sidelinemag) April 30, 2016

#smartphone lifeline #flashmob at #ahaoslo16 pic.twitter.com/tmEFavyjCK

— Side-Line Magazine (@sidelinemag) April 30, 2016

Absolutely top visual work at #ahaoslo16 with @annelidrecker doing an excellent intro @spektrum pic.twitter.com/xAkvupqEfh

— Side-Line Magazine (@sidelinemag) April 30, 2016

Lots of live recordings being made at #ahaoslo16 , if you don't have tickets, youtube will be your #firstaid #ehbo pic.twitter.com/Sc5MAl9nNh

— Side-Line Magazine (@sidelinemag) April 30, 2016

Hunting high and low #ahaoslo16 you now know what you are missing @spektrum in #oslo pic.twitter.com/wjcZ0oo4rE

— Side-Line Magazine (@sidelinemag) April 30, 2016

Hunting high and low singalong moment #ahaoslo16 @spektrum #oslo pic.twitter.com/MXeSBsX6Ln

— Side-Line Magazine (@sidelinemag) April 30, 2016

Sun always shines on tv #depechemode #wime shot at #ahaoslo16 @spektrum #oslo pic.twitter.com/cOOJPaTObr

— Side-Line Magazine (@sidelinemag) April 30, 2016

Major fun during the living daylights #jamesbond #ahaoslo16 @spektrum #oslo thanks for tuning in. CU in next concert pic.twitter.com/dSdHFmveWD

— Side-Line Magazine (@sidelinemag) April 30, 2016

Take on me #ahaoslo16 @spektrum @aha_com did it again. #oslo and thank u @Ryanair for the great flights! pic.twitter.com/I2p9dy7Hs0

— Side-Line Magazine (@sidelinemag) April 30, 2016

Gente molona que conoces en los conciertos de @aha_com . Directo desde #Belgica @sidelinemag #ahaoslo16 pic.twitter.com/JqLGZsGN3Z

— Mónica Castelao (@castelao19) April 30, 2016

Me han pillado ! Gracias @sidelinemag ! 😂 #ahaoslo16 @aha_com https://t.co/KZ1UKlP40q

— Mónica Castelao (@castelao19) April 30, 2016

@sidelinemag @spektrum @aha_com @Ryanair thank you for posting the pics

— Sabrina Crunch (@sabrinacrunch) April 30, 2016

Side-Line also covered a-ha’s ‘Afterglow’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

(By Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange and Bernard Van Isacker) Out now is “Essentials”, the platinum collection of the very best from Electro Spectre’s entire catalogue. The Norwegian duo, Isak Rypdal and Alexander Bjørneboe, have included hits, remixes and additional album tracks, all reworked and remastered for the 2016 release. The work spans from 2009 to 2016, and contains 50 tracks on 3 CDs – panning from catchy and danceable to the more dark edged.

The ‘Essential’ collection contains a union between the past and present of electronic pop music, between modern music technology and vintage retro atmosphere of the 1980s, and is highly recommended by the Side-Line editorial staff since we consider Electro Spectre to be the absolute best electropop act of this moment!

You can order it now via iTunes among many other outlets. We managed to have a quick chat with the producer half of the duo, Isak Rypdal.

SL: What’s lined up for 2016?

Isak: The band will release two albums; ‘Essentials’ and ‘Essential Remixes’, plus the entire remastered back catalogue.

SL: Any live performances planned?

Isak:  After Side-Line Magazine dubbed our release of ‘Dangerous Game’ as the best electropop album in the world in 2012, we’ve toured numerous countries and have supported bands such as Melotron, Zeromancer, Mesh, and last year in Poland we played with Marsheaux in Warsaw. This summer we will join the Swedish legends Covenant, Mondträume and others at the Dark Sounds Festival in Poznan, Poland. Join us there June 25th!

Listen here and check Electro Spectre online:

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

Read the news on ‘Beautiful Lies’.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Read the review of ‘Beautiful Lies’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)
The Norwegian electro-pop band Electro Spectre starts 2016 by releasing the single ‘Never Let Go’ on iTunes and Spotify, accompanied by the music video seen below.

The track is the first single off their upcoming album ‘Beautiful Lies’, scheduled to be released January 15th.

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) The Norwegian electro-pop band Electro Spectre has several plans for 2016, but ends 2015 with producer Isak Rypdal contributing an instrumental track to an ad video for the Nordic subsidiary of the German company Döllken Lighting, promoting their LED lights (see video below).

The track will most probably be further developed into a new single later in 2016, accompanying a planned ‘Essential’ compilation album.

Meanwhile Electro Spectre will kick off the new year with the release of their new album ‘Beautiful Lies’ on January 15th, preceded by the single and video of ‘Never Let Go’ on New Year’s Day! A teaser can be seen on their Facebook page.

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange