(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

jrstange

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 / 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!

jrstange

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. 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.

jrstange

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) 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.

jrstange

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 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!

jrstange

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

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” showcase 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.

www.side-line.com

(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.

jrstange

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)
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!

jrstange

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!

jrstange

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)
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/

jrstange

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 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

jrstange

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!

jrstange

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!

jrstange

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.

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

jrstange

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)
‘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:

jrstange

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: 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.

jrstange

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

jrstange

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!

jrstange

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 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:

jrstange

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.

jrstange

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