Back in 2002, Hard:Drive was the hot-spot label for both Apoptygma Berzerk and Echo Image, but that same year, a release that many people missed out on was "The Computorgirl EP" by Computorgirl. This was a one-woman project where all songs were written by Benedicte Sveinsson, and all the pre-production was done by Jonas Groth. After the pre-production, Benedicte/Computorgirl joined Stephan Groth and Geir Bratland in the APB Studio to record the 4 tracks for the EP with Stephan and Geir as producers.
Since 2002, this CD EP has been a "lost gem", but now, Pitch Black Drive, APOP's new label, have made a deal with Computorgirl to release this beautiful EP on all digital platforms and streaming services.
It is also available physically from the Pitch Black Drive Bandcamp page here: Pitch Black Drive Computorgirl EP, and if you live in the US/Canada, it is available physically from our US webstore The Electric Fox here: The Electric Fox Computorgirl EP.
Both the Pitch Black Drive Bandcamp and The Electric Fox also carry a large amount of other Apoptygma Berzerk, Echo Image, Cronos Titan and other APOP-related items!
Listen directly to the Computorgirl EP on Spotify here: Computorgirl EP on Spotify
It's been a long long while since Apoptygma Berzerk played any gigs in their home town or the surrounding areas.
This summer that will change, as APOP will be the headliner on Thursday the 23rd. July at the 20th. Anniversary of Månefestivalen in Gamlebyen, Fredrikstad.
There will be a full 1 1/2 hour show by APOP + several other bands that evening. Tickets can be bought here: TICKETS MÅNEFESTIVALEN, and if you're only coming for that one day to see APOP, it's the "20 års jubileumskonsert torsdag" ticket you need. That will get you into the festival area from the opening at 16:00 till it closes at 00:00 on Thursday 23rd. July.
Travel by plane to Oslo and enjoy a train ride directly from Oslo to Fredrikstad. You can also take the train to Fredrikstad directly from Copenhagen, Malmö or Gothenburg, so there are many options.
Parking in Gamlebyen is very difficult, so either park over by Kongstenhallen which is a 10 minute walk from the festival area, or take the City Ferry from the city square or Cicignon to Gamlebyen. The ferry from the city square runs every 30 minutes and the one from Cicignon runs every 15 minutes (or continuously when there's a lot of travellers) and is for free, but expect the ferries to be more crowded the closer you get to the festival starting.
Welcome to FRXTA a.k.a. ELEKTRONIKSTAD! :D
Out of Sweden, you have the legendary and long-running Release Music Magazine that have been writing about electronic music since the late 80's, and when they approaced us and asked if Stephan could present them with his list of his 10 favorite albums released between 2010 and 2019, how could he refuse!
The albums are in no particular order, and no explanation is given, just 10 albums!
You can find the list here, and hopefully it will be one for inspiration: https://www.releasemagazine.net/top-10-albums-of-the-2010s-by-stephan-groth-apoptygma-berzerk/
APOP said no to all German festival requests for 2020, except one, and that's the open-air one-day festival in Gelsenkirchen on the 15th. August after a special invite by long time friends and colleagues VNV Nation.
The one-day festival will take place in the beautiful Amphithetater Gelsenkirchen, and the full line-up is: VNV Nation, Apoptygma Berzerk, Actors, Heldmaschine and Steril.
The very first gig APOP ever played in Germany, was the 7th. April 1994 at Kaue in Gelsenkirchen, also then with Steril as the support act, so with this one-day festival, it will be full circle after 26 years!
Tickets can be bought via this link at Eventim: https://www.eventim.de/artist/vnv-nation/vnv-nation-30-apoptygma-berzerk-actors-heldmaschine-steril-2112287/
Come summer 2020, Apoptygma Berzerk will once again go back to Sweden, and this time for the 5th. Anniversary of SubKult Festivalen in Trollhättan, just 30 minutes outside Gothenburg!
It's a 3 day festival from the 25th-27th. June, and APOP will be headlining on Friday the 26th. June.
A lot of other bands will be added to the line-up, but the first 9 bands were just released, and you can see that and ticket info here: www.subkultfestivalen.se
We are truly looking forward to going back to Sweden, and with many sweet memories from similar "folkpark" festivals like Arvikafestivalen, our favorite festival of all times, we're looking forward to be getting a similar experience in Trollhättan! Hope to see you all there! :D
The coming Apoptygma Berzerk EP, "Nein Danke!" is to be released late September, but already on the 12th. August, there will be a 2-track digital teaser released on all digital platforms and streaming services!
And yes, we're talking about two brand new "pop" songs, with vocals, deeply rooted in the analogue synth sounds of "Exit Popularity Contest", combined with the finest of new wave synth pop from 1978 - 1982. APOP have pulled out their favorite albums from that period and molded the songs in the sound and shape of APOP, but with clear references to the late 70's and early 80's.
The CD EP will contain 7 tracks, whereof 3 of them are brand new; "A Battle For The Crown", "Atom & Eve" and "Security In Familiar Pain". There's also a re-recording of the old "Near"/"Nearer" track that APOP have performed live for the past 2 years now with Jonas Groth on vocals, now called "Nearest". This version has finally seen the inside of a recording studio, and the result is truly stunning. Also there will be a couple of remixes, a C-64 version, and a previously unreleased horror movie soundtrack piece. The 12" vinyl EP will see the 3 new tracks + "Nearest" on it, and the digital version will have 5 of the 7 tracks from the CD EP.
But in the meantime, you must settle with the 2-track teaser, but we know that there are loads of people waiting for new material from APOP, and the good news is that it's here, VERY SOON!
The 2-track digital teaser from "Nein Danke!" can already be pre-ordered via the official Bandcamp page here: PRE-ORDER - NEIN DANKE!
"It's Apoptygma Berzerk, Jim - but not as we know it."
APOP reinvents itself - again - with an exciting new sound; different from, but complimentary to, the electro rock future pop stylings of previous releases.
On Exit Popularity Contest (a fix-up of the 12" EPs Stop Feeding The Beast, Videodrome and Xenogenesis), APOP founder Stephan Groth distils the essence of carefully selected pioneers to construct a classic yet refreshingly contemporary sound. Varied and vital, it brings instrumental music back into the spotlight, and after the wildly enthusiastic audience reaction to the sold-out performance in Norway last year, it appears he has tapped into a rich seam of electronic pleasure for a new generation as well as older aficionados.
Always a musical chameleon, Groth pays homage to his roots through emulating the analogue soundscapes of innovators like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis and Klaus Schulze, and the driving motorik Krautrock rhythms of Neu!, Cluster and La Duesseldorf, all filtered through his own unique Scandinavian sensibility. In doing so he has created a vibrant, colourful 21st century palette on which to blend these classic influences from the Golden Age of electronic music.
Exit Popularity Contest demonstrates an admirable musical purity and sincerity, channeling the best of the past to forge a path into the future.
