Genre/Influences: Minimal-electro, EBM, electro-ambient.

Background/Info: Apoptygma Berzerk is a band that doesn’t need any further introduction. Founded by Stefan Groth in the late 80s this Norwegian formation rapidly became one of the absolute leading formations of EBM and later on electro-pop, but in the end I would say it has never been easy to define the real style of Apoptygma Berzerk. “Exit Popularity Contest” is not exactly a new album although a full length with reworked versions of the songs featured on their 3 last EP’s “Stop Feeding The Beast” (2014), “Videodrome” (2015) and  “Xenogenesis” (2016). Notice by the way that this album is not available on digital format!

Content: This is an album that smells like pure vintage electronic music. It sounds pretty astral-like revealing an electro-ambient style made with analog gear. You easily recognize the typical arrangements and melody lines of Apoptygma Berzerk, but still a kind of wink to early pioneers like Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk.

The instrumental format of the songs even creates a cinematographic approach although all the songs are perfectly danceable. This work stands for pure synthesizer music and reveals several attention grabbers.

+ + + : It’s been quite a long time ago since we’ve gotten a new full length album by Apoptygma Berzerk and even if this album is not exactly a real new work, I can assure you it definitely sounds that way. It also is a kind of back to basics; pure vintage electronic arrangements carried by impressive melody lines and genius arrangements. It sometimes moves on the edge of experimentalism, but always remains accessible. The instrumental format –with the exception of the final song, never hurts and even accentuates the vintage approach of the songs.

– – – : I can imagine some fans will miss the more poppy-side of this band and especially the vocals of Stefan Groth. It’s probably one of the most experimental albums of Apoptygma Berzerk.

Conclusion: I’m totally fond of this vintage format bringing us back to the essence of electronic music, but also revealing the great, creative spirit of this artist.

Best songs: “For Now We See Through A Glass, Darkly”, “In A World Of Locked Rooms”, “U.T.E.O.T.W. (Instrumental)”, “The Genesis 6 Experiment”, “The Devil Pays In Counterfeit Money”.

Rate: (9).

Band: www.theapboffice.com / www.facebook.com/ApoptygmaBerzerk

Labels: www.roughtraderecords.com / www.facebook.com/pg/roughtraderecords / www.theendrecords.com / www.facebook.com/theendrecords

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. Photos by Tarjei Krogh and Jan Ronald Stange)

An extensive interview with Stephan Groth of Apoptygma Berzerk, about the “Exit Popularity Contest” album release, that’s what we were after and that is what we got! We were accompanied by Per Aksel Lundgreen (ex-member of Apop, currently aiding with the marketing), at Per Aksel’s workplace, the amazingly stuffed Retro Vinyl og CD (recordstore) in Sarpsborg, Norway (September 29th 2016). Note that the album will only be available in physical formats, so get your copy of the very limited cassette, CD or vinyl right here!

SL: What is the background for issuing three 12’’ and finally an album instead of a more usual Apoptygma Berzerk studio album?

Stephan: At the time I started on “Stop feeding the beast” about three years ago, I was in a bubble listening to John Carpenter and similar music, and I wanted to make the same kind of music. I was also somewhat in limbo regarding a new Apop album. I had worked on it for many years already, but both a lack of motivation and a viable alternative from the record industry has made it hard to complete.

SL: You have been critical of Spotify and the use of new media by the music industry?

Yes and no. As an alternative to radio and mixtapes, or as a promotion tool, Spotify is ok. But when is replaces a physical release, that’s when I say “no, no, that does not work!” I find it horrific and sad that today’s kids can’t experience the joy and curiosity of physical releases; to enter a record shop, hold the release in their hands, see the artist photos, read the cover to see who has worked with the music. At the end of the 80s, there were six record shops in Fredrikstad; now there’s just one left in the next city, and that’s where we are now! That’s where we met and discussed music. The physical experience, finding and discovering new music is no longer possible.

And that was much of the idea behind “Stop feeding the beast”. The release should be just like when synth music was released on vinyl, and only available on a physical format, and in limited editions. I wanted to do something exclusive, and it worked well. It culminated with the twelve-inches “Videodrome” and “Xenogenesis”. Then everybody thought it was awesome, and wanted releases on CD, Spotify, etc. But I draw the line at Spotify. I dig vinyl the most, but am also fan of CDs, which is a fantastic format with great sound. My deliberate choice to listen to and buy vinyl again was also part of what started these EPs – to bring back that feeling of how it used to be, the ritual of dusting off the record, turn it half way through, move the needle, and all the other physical things you must do to listen to music.

I have been carried away, raiding second-hand markets, where I always make sure to get at least ONE record I haven’t heard of before. It is okay to discover new stuff on YouTube, but nothing beats the feeling of coming home and playing something you have found on a fleamarket in Sweden. My record collection has tripled in size the past years!

The thought behind limited edition vinyl records was for it to be a small piece of art, something to touch and feel, something that still has value. I too don’t believe that giving away an MP3 file in exchange for an email address is a good promo strategy. The relationship between the value of the music and the “payment” of an email address makes no sense. With a limited edition vinyl record, with extras, such as magnets, flexidiscs and more included, you are guaranteed that the value will not decrease, making it an investment for the buyer. You purchase something of value, to hang on the wall, and which can be resold without a loss. And something more “real” seems more fair to the hardcore fans than an MP3 file, which is worthless.

One thing followed the other during this process, and not until I was almost done with «Xenogenesis» did I realize that everything fit together. I had to sit down with Halvor Bodin (cover designer) to see how we could make it all work in a trilogy format.

With hindsight, I think we’ll find that releasing an album incrementally like this was smart. There was a certain crowdfunding-feel about it, without being crowdfunded. In a way, you are working with the inner core of fans, who get the music early, while the rest read about it and look forward to the CD release. And, nothing has been leaked!

SL: How has this been of inspriration to others?

I’ve had several inquiries from other bands about the equipment and instruments that I use, and how the process has been. It seems I have ignited inspiration in bands in several countries. I too have been inspired lately. I mentioned John Carpenter, and I was lucky to see him live a couple of months ago. And we had Kraftwerk visiting Den Norske Opera in August – 8 concerts in 4 days, more than they had previously played in Norway in the past 25 years.

There are also some old TV series that reuse old sounds, which inspire even further, such as “Stranger Things”. And “The Knick” has an 80s modular, futuristic soundscape. The recent popularity of these series could mean people are interested in the origins of this type of music, rather than that of today. And perhaps take a few steps back to the roots, and find something that has been lost along the way.

The electronic music of today has strayed too far for my taste. Much of it has no longer anything to do with my roots, and many people probably think I am too critical of this. When I have been hard pressed, and asked to clarify what electronic music is to me, I have answered that as long as it has a clear, red line back to Kraftwerk, it is music I can relate to. The further away from the Kraftwerk sound, vibes and vision, the less I understand of it. And Kraftwerk can be a lot – I also love their early prog-releases.

SL: Do fans think you have wandered too much between music genres? Has someone reacted to new directions, missing what used to be?

I have tried on quite a lot, and looking back it’s probably only parts of the future pop period that I am not completely satisfied about. There were too many elements of dance/trance mixed in, and it tainted the genre too much for my taste. The idea might have been good at the time, but now I see that some things were not all good. Some like evolution, others like being retrospective, and others again would rather have a “Welcome to Earth 2”.

“Welcome to Earth” was my “Violator” and the most important record I have released commercially, but I doubt it will ever happen again. You can’t please everyone, there will always be some complaining, but that is only natural and okay. I can feel the same way about bands I like. Even Kraftwerk have had their weak moments, but nothing I would denigrate. In summary it is the genre fans who are more likely to whine and jump ship, rather than the Apop fans. Real fans don’t complain.

SL: An instrumental album is quite different than a «regular» album. Any advantages, disadvantages? And was it to give yourself new challenges?

In a way, it is easier to make – doing only instrumental, rather that needing lyrics, which easily gets trite and mostly used as a filler. It is hardest to make music that has an influence and tells a story without words – you need to tell your story, but also make sure it doesn’t get boring. To get it to add up takes longer time, more build-up, until you get in a mood. Nothing is better when you get in a flow and can let yourself float away.

We had a very long and tiresome «Harmonizer»-tour in our future pop period, going back and forth across continents. When we returned, I realized that ‘I master this expression, and I can’t top it’. Mixed with a breakup and feeling burned out, I lost all interest and motivation, and wanted to do anything but music. I had just had it. What got me going again back then was going back to my roots. I dusted off some old synthesizers, and made the “Fairlight Children” album. Even though it is not an Apop album, it is probably the most important in my career because it gave me the desire to make music again.

That is also the same with the new album; when things become routine I have to make changes and have total freedom to do something new. If that means wearing an Ace Frehley mask and make long, droning synth songs, then that’s the reboot I need to do something exciting again and start a new phase.

SL: Leafing through the album cover reveals fragments of a background story – what is the message or the theme of the album?

♠TP, the dude that made this album, is mentioned in a report inside the cover, written by the psychologist from “Riget” by Lars von Trier. ♠TP has escaped from reality and reinvented himself somewhere else, in another reality, on the other side of the river. It is autobiographical in part, but made more cheerful and fun than my private story at times. ♠TP has moved to a new place, environmentally damaged after too much touring, and can’t wash off the makeup, so he has become his own persona for real. He has moved to a place where people accept him for who he is, and tries to get to know people through his music. By manipulating his own reality he also manages to alter the real reality, and some intelligence agencies become interested and see the potential to use this for military purposes. Then they make the report, that is also an “explanation” of what the songs are about. But not too apparent and detailed – I like that there is plenty room for interpretation and a bit mysterious, not so done served.

I often find that interpretations are both individual and important. I can get feedback that a song has had a special meaning to someone, or has helped someone in a difficult situation, where the listener’s interpretation wasn’t what I meant with that song. Now, I can’t say that is wrong and that I meant something else, but I believe this is part of the art in music; that when passing through the “filter” of the listener, the music can gain new meaning and fit in different situations for different people. Simply beautiful, really. If you google the titles and the content, you get an adventure and a study for almost every song. Many conspiracy theories and interesting topics to discover if you want to and have the time. I started to hint about this on the “Rocket Science” album, and now ♠TP has taken it to a whole new level. And to quote Aphex Twin: “…whether the theories fit or not, they are nonetheless much better entertainment than what comes out of Hollywood”.

You can also enjoy the album without diving into all these details – that’s up to the listener!

This album will only be available in physical formats, so get your copy of the very limited cassette, CD or vinyl!

… but something found its way to the net anyway – enjoy! 😉

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBdeQvItRpc

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

As we reported a few weeks ago, Apoptygma Berzerk’s Stephan Groth is reinventing his sound on the new 10-track album “Exit Popularity Contest” (a fix-up of the 12″ EPs “Stop Feeding The Beast”, “Videodrome” and “Xenogenesis”) which brings instrumental music back into the spotlight.

On the album Groth pays homage to his roots through emulating the analogue soundscapes of innovators like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis and Klaus Schulze plus adding some Krautrock rhythms of the likes of Neu!, Cluster and La Düsseldorf.

The release will be out as a very limited cassette release (which you can order now), on CD (available here) and on vinyl (available here)!

And right below is already a very sweet sounding video teaser !

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

Apoptygma Berzerk is reinventing its sound which is different from, but complementary to, the electro rock future pop stylings of the previous releases. As a result the new 10-track album “Exit Popularity Contest” (a fix-up of the 12″ EPs “Stop Feeding The Beast”, “Videodrome” and “Xenogenesis”) brings instrumental music back into the spotlight.

On the album Groth pays homage to his roots through emulating the analogue soundscapes of innovators like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis and Klaus Schulze plus adding some Krautrock rhythms of the likes of Neu!, Cluster and La Düsseldorf.

The release will be out as a very limited cassette release (which you can order now), on CD (available here) and on vinyl (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

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)

Fans of Kraftwerk and fans of Apoptygma Berzerk – this is the night for you to unite! Although they probably have a lot of fans in common already, this evening will definitely have more fans bonding.

As stated on litthusfred.no:
On October 17th, the prestigious Litteraturhuset Fredrikstad will host a special exploration and celebration of the pioneering German electronic band Kraftwerk with Torgrim Eggen, Apoptygma Berzerk and Halvor Bodin. Acclaimed author and music journalist Torgrim Eggen will present a lecture on Kraftwerk and their influence on music, art, and culture. Combining visuals, interviews, and stories, Eggen will guide the audience through the creation of the singular electronica powerhouse of Kraftwerk and the band’s impact on the past, present, and beyond.

After the lecture (in Norwegian), Stephan and Jonas Groth of current leading electronica act Apoptygma Berzerk will perform Kraftwerk covers as well as original music from their last two experimental instrumental releases «Videodrome» and «Stop Feeding The Beast». APOP’s performance will be accompanied by a mesmerizing visual presentation by innovative artist Halvor Bodin. Bodin has designed most of APOP’s artwork over the years including the covers for «Videodrome», «Stop Feeding The Beast», and the classic «Welcome To Earth».

APOP has been on a long and fascinating musical journey. Shifting through and melding genres such as Futurepop, Trance, EBM, Industrial and Synth-Pop, the band has traveled from the underground to the commercial charts and now the art gallery, weaving a history similar to that of Kraftwerk in many ways. The music of APOP perfectly conveys how the seeds planted by Kraftwerk have germinated into interconnected yet still distinctively individual branches in an ever-growing musical tree.

This exclusive, intimate concert will be a truly unique event and a chance to experience Apoptygma Berzerk in a vastly different way than ever seen before.

Only 300 seats will be available for this special presentation. Reserve your tickets now to add your presence to the continuing expansion of the Kraftwerk universe!

Tickets here!

And as most Apop fans already know, they have a knack for doing great covers of songs they like – maybe we’ll hear one of these too? 🙂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2O9t3AIT3c

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-rock band Apoptygma Berzerk released yet another instrumental 12’’ this spring named ‘Videodrome’. The three track vinyl  (available here) comes in two versions; 400 copies in blue vinyl, and a more limited edition of 100 copies in black vinyl plus a slipmat for your record player. And hopefully the listeners will discover this little easter egg: the tracks on both sides play on different speeds.

As this was the second consecutive Apoptygma Berzerk release in this way, I just had to ask Stephan Groth about this concept.

SL: Tell us about the main idea and inspiration behind this release? Any relation to “Videodrome” as in the 1983 David Cronenberg movie? 

STP: It began a while back when I was working in the studio testing out some of my old analog synths after they came back from the repair store. I love analog gear, but those things are very fragile, and by now most of my synths are quite old and unstable and therefore requires a lot of repair and maintenance. While checking out if everything was working correctly, I made up some very nice melodies and arrangements – two months later the songs were ready to be released.

After the success of the “Stop Feeding The Beast” EP I was really eager to create a follow-up. I find great pleasure in doing little art-projects like this even though it is not very compatible with what is going on in the world of music today. Actually… this is the main reasons why I find it so exciting. The sound, the vibe and the feel is definitely inspired by Cronenberg and Carpenter. I love Cronenberg’s “Videodrome”, but no, there is no direct relation to the movie. Conceptual both this and the previous EP are heavily inspired by 80’s horror movie soundtracks.

SL: Some elements in these tracks sound familiar, like a homage to your heroes. “The Cosmic Chess Match” reminds both of Jean Michel Jarre’s early days and John Carpenter’s soundtracks , mixed together in an updated APB soundscape.

STP: Absolutely. I’m a big fan of both Jean Michel Jarre and John Carpenter!

SL: “For Now We See Through A Glass, Darkly” sounds in the beginning like early Recoil and Jean Michel Jarre, leading up to a mash-up with your own 1993 classic “Burnin’ Heretic”  – a great revitalization of all elements.

STP: Well, I’m a big fan of Alan Wilder as well, so I take that as a compliment :-). Adding a piece of “Burnin` Heretic” in there happened by accident. I was tuning the synths I was using for the track, and it just happened that I played the “Burnin` Heretic” main riff while tuning. I had the riff running in a loop for 15 minutes or so, just to check if the pitch of the synth was drifting over time. When I was done it just felt right to leave a part of it there in the final mix.

Art by accident I guess? It makes sense in a way – “Burnin` Heretic” is one of the first songs I ever wrote, so in a way it’s symbolizing “a new beginning” when used like this at the end of a song.

SL: “Hegelian Dialectic” made me google the term, thus learning something new: “Hegel’s primary object in his dialectic is to establish the existence of a logical connection between the various categories which are involved in the constitution of experience”. Is this philosophy related to your idea behind this track?

STP : AWESOME 🙂 I`m glad you looked into it! I believe that understanding the Hegelian Dialectic is essential if you wanna understand what’s going on in the world today. Problem-Reaction-Solution.

I wrote lyrics about this some years ago, in the song “Incompatible”:
“Every time you create a problem
You have the remedy
The same old strategy
I ate the red pill, no turning back
The gloves are off now
Where did we go wrong?
Where did it all go wrong?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCg7_NMNjKg

I don’t believe in coincidences. I believe that most major things that happen in the world today in one way or another have been orchestrated by the government and others, who will create problems so that they can sell us their solutions.

SL: Are you implementing these new tracks into your live sets?

STP : Yes and No. At the moment I`m working on a brand new and quite different live concept where these more experimental tracks fit in, but I don’t think they will be integrated in a “regular” APB show anytime soon.

SL: Will there be more 12″ like this, or is an APB album the next release?

STP : YES, I’m working on the 3rd 12″ right now, while simultaneously working on new APOP songs . The next EP will be slightly more Kraftwerk’ish sounding. It looks like we’re going to compile all 3 12 inches and make a CD release of it later this year.

Yes, there will be a new APB album soon too 😉

Tracklist:

45 RPM A-side
– The Cosmic Chess Match 7:54

33 RPM B-side
– For Now We See Through A Glass, Darkly 8:36
– Hegelian Dialectic 4:19

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