“It’s Apoptygma Berzerk, Jim – but not as we know it.”
“Explore strange new worlds”
Apoptygma Berzerk 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.
“Where no man has gone before”
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. The album is announced on October 7th, 2016.
The tracklist of ‘Exit Popularity Contest’
- The Genesis 6 Experiment
- Hegelian Dialectic
- For Now We See Through A Glass, Darkly
- Stille Når Gruppe
- In A World Of Locked Rooms
- The Cosmic Chess Match
- U.T.E.O.T.W. (Instrumental)
- The Devil Pays In Counterfeit Money
- Rhein Klang
- U.T.E.O.T.W. (Extended Version) (Bonus Track)
More Apoptygma Berzerk
We know that you also have a favourite ‘Apoptygma Berzerk’ album. Match it right now with our article ‘What is the best Apoptygma Berzerk album ever?‘. Further, to honour the band, we have released a tribute compilation in 2016. If you might have missed it, go and get it now:
