(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) Lot’s of Apoptygma Berzerk fans are rejoicing today – it’s the release day of the ‘You and Me against the World’ re-issue. The 2005 album had the band introducing a more indie-rock style of music and broke the band to new audiences, especially in Germany with four hit singles and the album climbing to #18 on the official charts.

Now it’s re-issued in two vinyl versions and on CD, and of course we had to know what Stephan Groth had to say about this and what else he’s up to these days!

S-L: How has the sale been so far of the various versions?

STP: I am not that much into the details regarding sales, but from what I hear things are going great. I`m told that the red limited edition vinyl is almost sold out… not that surprising since so many people are collecting rare vinyl these days. 

Personally, I prefer classic black and clear/transparent vinyls, but from a collectors point of view the red limited edition is a better investment, and of course, it also looks extremely nice. Sound quality wise transparent and black is supposed to be the best.

S-L: What’s the response from the fans on this re-issue?

STP: Well, I only just got the vinyls myself two days ago, and most people have not seen or listened to the record yet, so it is a bit early for any feedback. But I heard from a few record stores that people are excited and that many have pre-ordered the album and are looking forward to release day.

So it seems many people including myself are excited to finally get ‘You And Me Against The World’ on vinyl, it is long overdue. The CD has been out of print for a while, so I am happy to have it back in stock. We remastered all the tracks, and they sound really good. We also added as many bonus tracks as the CD can hold.

Both the new CD and the vinyl versions of Y.A.M.A.T.W. got a nice upgrade sonically, but also visually. Halvor Bodin re-designed the cover, and gave it a new updated look that fit today`s APOP-vibe and it is a perfect match. In the booklet we used photos by Sebastian Ludvigsen that were not in the original cover, but from the same photo sessions that we did back in 2005. So the cover looks and feels very much the same as the original, but with a modern and updated touch to it. 

S-L: More re-issues planned? Or new music first?

STP: We are almost done with a 3rd ‘B-Sides & Rarities’ compilation. This will be released on digital platforms only, just like the previous two, ‘Faceless Fear’ and ‘Disarm’.

I am also working on stuff in the studio, and as it looks right now there will be a new EP, a follow-up to ‘Nein Danke!’ but that could change, it might turn into a whole album, not sure yet…

Also, if you’re interested in APOP-related re-issues, the debut-album from Cronos Titan, ‘Brides Of Christ’, is also being released on vinyl for the very first time now with a beautifully redesigned sleeve, also by Halvor Bodin. My brother Jonas, who plays synth in APOP, just released the debut album with his project, Piston Damp, which is a superb synthpop album.

We’re also planning to get ‘Harmonizer’, ‘Welcome To Earth’ and ‘7’ out on vinyl again as they’ve been out of print for a long time now. But the pressing plants are jammed up at the moment, and with a six month waiting period to have an album out on vinyl things will take time. Still, we’re continually working on both reissues and new material simultaneously. 

S-L: Other things on the calendar now that the corona restrictions are being lifted?

STP: Hopefully things will get back to normal soon, so we can go play live again. We have three shows planned for next year, shows that have been postponed several times already due to the corona situation.
Those are: Subkultfestivalen, Sweden. Månefestivalen, Fredrikstad, Norway and VNV NATION 30, Gelsenkirchen, Germany. 
The 2022 dates for Subkultfestivalen and VNV 30 are already posted, but we’re still waiting for Månefestivalen to confirm their date(s) for 2022. Other than that, we won’t be booking any new gigs until we know 100% for sure that the gigs are doable, so we’re basically just “waiting things out” until things are more stable. 

The album can be ordered in various markets

• Europe > Lo-Fi Merchandise or POPoNAUT
• USA/Canada/South-America > The Electric Fox
• Norway > Retro Vinyl

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. Cover art by Halvor Bodin)
Exactly a month after the previous release ‘Faceless fear‘, Apoptygma Berzerk and Pitch Black Drive Productions followed up on May 1st with another digital compilation, ‘Disarm – A collection of B-Sides & Rarities’. In a busy time working on several projects Stephan Groth found time to elaborate on this release and more, and there’s even releases from his side projects in the pipeline!

Side-Line: The ‘Disarm’ compilation – any major differences as a concept from ‘Faceless Fear’?

Stephan Groth: It is basically the same concept, and a follow up to “Faceless Fear”. We are making rare APOP tracks available on all digital platforms, including the Pitch Black Drive Bandcamp page. We have so many B-sides, rare remixes and even unreleased versions of APOP songs lying around. A while back Per Aksel and I started to compile them and put them together in an album format. Because of the corona virus situation, we finally found the time to realize the project, and we are already working on Vol. 3! 😉

S-L: ‘Kathy’s Song – Litteraturhuset versjon’ is one of the more unexpected tracks here, and as I was present myself the first time it was performed I found it very surprising and pleasing seeing it on the track list.

STP: Yes, the ‘Litteraturhuset versjon’ of ‘Kathy’s Song’ is extremely rare! The song was only performed live once at a very exclusive show in Fredrikstad called “Menneske/Maskin/Musikk”, a concert we did playing only Kraftwerk songs as well as APOP songs in Kraftwerk’ish versions. The ‘Litteraturhuset versjon’ is not a live recording from that show though, but a touched up version of the rehearsal track that Jonas and I would rehearse to before the show.

S-L: The track ‘Disarm’ – never released before, right? Ever played it live?

STP: Correct, it was never released and never played live before.
It was supposed to have been put out many years ago but for some reason it just never happened. So, now was a good time to let people hear it, and the feedback has been great. It seems like people are really appreciating us doing this.

S-L: It took literally just seconds before ‘Disarm’ trumped the original Smashing Pumpkins version IMO. It’s named ‘Alex O. Mix’ – does that imply there’s other versions too? I think the track deserves it’s own single release in multiple versions!

STP: Better than the original, well… I don’t think so, but thanks for the compliment 🙂
It is an amazing song by an amazing band, a song that was very important to me earlier in my life.
There are other versions of Disarm, yes, but I never got around to finish them. Alex Odden (Pegboard Nerds/Drugwar) made this mix years ago, and it only needed a little touch-up before it was ready to be released.

He is an extremely talented producer, someone I will be working more closely with in the future. We just revived our project DRUGWAR, something that you`ll hear more of on the ‘Nein Danke!’ EP, as we did a remix of the song ‘A Battle For The Crown’.

S-L: What’s up next? Lots of plans postponed due to the corona situation?

STP: I have quite a few projects in the works at the moment. I already mentioned Drugwar, and I am also working with Echo Image for some new releases as well as a very interesting project with Mortiis, who I am currently recording with. This project will definitely be on the more experimental side of the electronic music specter, and we will use elements of both bands broad palettes.

There will also be a follow-up EP to the recently digitally released ‘Before You Came Along’ CD-Maxi with Fairlight Children, consisting of previously unreleased mixes from back then, mixes that are way to good to be left on a shelf somewhere.

Now that ‘Rocket Science’ will be released on vinyl for the first time on the same date as the ‘Nein Danke!’ EP, we will also be working on getting ‘You And Me Against The World’ out on 2xLP, hopefully together with yet another brand new EP.
So, we’re not getting bored down here in FRXTA! 😉

Next out is the 12″ and CD of ‘Nein Danke!’ EP, preordering have started in Germany at Poponaut and Infrarot, in US/Canada at The Electric Fox, in Denmark at Braincorp, in Sweden at Hot Stuff, and finally: in Norway at Retro Vinyl in Sarpsborg (phone or e-mail only).
Meanwhile check out the teaser @ Bandcamp!

For more upcoming APOP action:
www.theapboffice.com
www.facebook.com/ApoptygmaBerzerk
www.pitchblackdrive.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

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange. Cover art by Halvor Bodin)
Barely a week before April 1^st Apoptygma Berzerk and Pitch Black Drive Productions  announced the digital release of ‘Faceless Fear – A collection of B-Sides & Rarities’, and today we can all get it on lots of platforms!

The name was indeed in touch with the current state of the world – coincidence or not?! I managed to get some background from the henchman of Stephan Groth, the x-member still pushing various buttons: Per Aksel Lundgreen.

Side-Line: This release, or rather the title, seems very current – something you decided recently due to the corona crisis, or had it been named earlier?

Per Aksel: It’s actually been planned for a long time. Before x-mas I put forward three suggestions for compilation albums to Stephan; the first called ‘Faceless Fear (B-Sides & Rarities)’. We also are more or less finished with the tracklisting for Vol 2: ‘Black Pawn (B-Sides & Rarities)’ and Vol 3: ‘Lidelsens Mening (B-Sides & Rarities)’

S-L: So the ‘Nein Danke EP’ has been postponed then?!

PA: Nope, we just squeezed ‘Faceless Fear’ in between other releases. We’re worked long and hard to FINALLY finish the ‘Nein Danke EP’, and also the remastering and cover for the ‘Rocket Science’ LP release. After that we considered the three compilations, and what better title to start off with than ‘Faceless Fear’ in these corona times when most of the world is in a quarantined standstill? At the same time it’s good to present something exciting for the Apop fans these days, trying to be a relief from news and social media packed with fear and sad stories about dead music colleagues.

Get the collection on Bandcamp, iTunes or Amazon, and it’s a also available on Spotify, TIDAL, Deezer, Simfy, Slacker, 7-Digital and other platforms.

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 / Tatra Records, Pitch Black Drive pressrelease) Apoptygma Berzerk have been very active in the recent years, and in 2016 we saw the release of the instrumental album “Exit Popularity Contest”, a hommage to Stephan Groths musical heroes and inspirations. Between doing remixes for Machinista, Peter Heppner and Page, APOP have also been playing concerts and festivals every year.

In 2018 APOP amazed everybody with the fantastic 25th Anniversary of their debut album, “Soli Deo Gloria”, and the reworked album “SDGXXV” that accompanied it, filled to the brim with legendary artists from the electronic scene doing stunning reworks of the old APOP classics!

The analogue instrumental album and the work with classic electronic artists inspired APOP to take the analogue sound into their traditional “pop” songs, enhancing them with the golden sound of electronic pop from the late 70’s and early 80’s, while also wrapping them in an electronic blanket covering your aural senses like a comfortable shroud.

Now the time has come for a new release in the form of an EP titled “Nein Danke!”.  It includes three brand new tracks; “Atom & Eve”, “A Battle For The Crown” and “Soma Coma”, and also several remixes, giving a total of seven tracks.
Estimated release date: end of September 2019.
Formats: CD EP, 12” EP and Digital EP

The teaser for the EP can be heard now from iTunes, Spotify, Tidal etc., and the tracks may also be purchased in high quality from Bandcamp!

PS! Don’t miss out on the following live dates if you’re able to attend!

August 15: Hannover (Capitol) (DE)
August 16: Dresden (Reithalle Strasse E) (DE)
August 17: Köln (Essigfabrik) (DE)
August 18: W-Festival / Waregem (BE)
August 24: Oslo (Parkteatret) (NO)
October 26: DarkMad Festival / Madrid/Pinto (ES)

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