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 distills 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 Düsseldorf,
all filtered through his own unique Scandinavian sensibility. In doing
so he has created a vibrant, colorful 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.
Limited edition on 180g, black vinyl double LP with printed inner sleeves.
Released mid-October 2016 on Hard:Drive.
Track Listing:
A1 The Genesis 6 Experiment
A2 For now we see through a Glass, darkly
B1 In A World Of Locked Rooms
B2 The Cosmic Chess Match
C1 Hegelian Dialectic
C2 U.T.E.O.T.W. (Instrumental)
C3 The Devil pays in Counterfeit Money
D1 Stille Når Gruppe
D2 Rhein Klang
D3 U.T.E.O.T.W. (Extended Version)
English