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Interview: Apoptygma Berserk's Stephan Groth
Date: April 1999
Where: Black Easter Festival/Belgium
Interviewed by: Luc Snijers/BelgiumWhile Stephan Groth, lead singer, gathered a meal, someone jumped in asking if anyone of Apocalyptica Berserk was in. What Apoptygma means, doesn't matter: just listen to '7' or 'Mourn' and you have a reason to remember this name. I had to have patience for over two years before I got a chance to talk with him at the Black Easter Festival in Gent, Belgium.
Last Sigh: You live in Norway. Is there a scene where one can discover body music?
Stephan Groth: I used to live in Denmark and back then I already listened to Depeche Mode, Front 242, Nitzer Ebb,… When we moved to Norway, I met a lot of interesting people who were involved with such music. In the whole of Norway there are only three clubs: in Oslo, in Fredrikstad in the southeast where I live, and in Trondheim. It's a small scene, but Norway only counts about four million people.
Last Sigh: You're called Stephan Grothesk…
Stephan: Not anymore. It was a nickname I had in Denmark. I kept it for some time, but now it's just Groth.
Last Sigh: I discovered APB with '7', which opens with 'Love Never Dies', a song you wrote as an alternative soundtrack for the picture 'Dracula'?
Stephan: I liked the movie a lot, but thought the original score was rather boring, except for the Annie Lennox track. I used the idea 'Love Never Dies' as a theme for the rest of the album.
Last Sigh: You dedicated 'Mourn' to Kurt Cobain…
Stephan: I love the music of Nirvana and Kurt. The day his death was announced on the radio we were to play on our first German festival. This turned this special day to a sad day. For 'Mourn' I used some guitar samples of Kurt, but it's not really a song about him.
Last Sigh: When I reviewed '7', I referred to Depeche Mode. Do you see that as an insult?
Stephan: I think Depeche Mode is the greatest band off all times, but I have more sources of inspiration, like the early Young Gods, a lot of electro from the eighties, but also a lot of pop from the sixties. I have a thing with melodies: I try to put as much melody in my songs as possible.
Last Sigh: How would you like to be as popular as Depeche Mode? Do you fear The Big Success? Both your idols Kurt Cobain as David Gahan had problems with it.
Stephan: That's not a point yet. Depeche Mode made many more records than we did. Such a success isn't my goal either: my goal is to make a living of it, so that I don't need to do sidejobs. If we ever get really successful, I do hope to handle it differently.
Last Sigh: On the '7' cover you pose like Jesus Christ?
Stephan: That picture was taken after a party when I was really drunk. When it was developed we thought it looked like the Mona Lisa.
Last Sigh: The Mona Lisa????
Stephan: It's just how you look at it. There are many ways to look at it.
Last Sigh: After the release of '7' you did civil service, for which you went to a long struggle. Is it so hard to do an alternative army service in Norway?
Stephan: Normally not, as my younger brother did it without a problem. But for me they made it hard as I am a singer and they were afraid that I would encourage people to do the same. I had to go to court for it, costed me a lot of money, but I got it in the end.
Last Sigh: The Pax Christi logo is part of the Apoptygma logo. Are you a real pacifist?
Stephan: Yes, but I also like the PX logo, I think it's a cool logo. Peace is part of the Apoptygma philosophy, in a contrast to the macho image of most industrial and body bands: I'm not like them, I'm rather a modest, honest guy.
Last Sigh: Do you like shooting videogames? The track 'Electronic Warfare' sounds like one.
Stephan: I do like shooting games, yes, but only if I have to shoots things like space ships or so, not if it's about shooting people. I don't care really about violence in videogames, but I hate violence in real life.
Last Sigh: 'Burning Heretic' was your first success and can be found on many releases, which is one of the most heard criticism on APB.
Stephan: Yeah, I know, it's just the order of releases: This track was first released on a Norwegian compilation and it got popular in Germany, so we put it on a maxi. I also wanted it on the album '7'. When we later got successful in the US, we released the early works on 'Apopcalyptic Manifesto', including this song. This cd was also released in a limited edition in Europe, to prevent the US record to come back to Europe through the import channels. So yes, some songs can be found on several releases.
Last Sigh: Which instruments did you start with?
Stephan: We had some old synths, a Korg MS20 and an MS10. In the late eighties analog synths weren't in anymore, so we could buy them cheap. Now they even cost more than a digital one. With our first demo we got a contract at Tatra Records.
Last Sigh: Does Tatra have other bands we might know?
Stephan: Tatra mainly releases black metal, like Satyricon. They have some more electro bands, but no known bands. The sublabel Space Echo is run by me and releases techno stuff: I made some records as TB-MOONchild, H2o, Total Transformation and Acid Queen, but haven't had much time for that lately.
Last Sigh: Are you concentrating on APB now?
Stephan: Last year we toured the US, and in a few days the live-album we recorded last year in Europe will be released. For this year a new studio album is top priority. So I think that is a yes.
Last Sigh: What will the new album be like?
Stephan: Like '7' it will a varying album, with dancefloor tracks and some slower songs. I have a lot of ideas, but have to experiment with them, put more melody in them.
Last Sigh: APB also broke through in the US?
Stephan: Our records first got to the US through the import, but last year we signed a license for Metropolis. Last year we also toured the eastcoast and part of Canada, but we didn't get any further. We did play for full houses, so it was a success.
Last Sigh: I read that the concert circumstances were so lousy?
Stephan: Do you know they still use mono-pa's in the US, the so called showbizz paradise? Also the food is terrible: in Europe we are used to decent food, like here. In America we only got food three times, and then take-away pizza is top. And we always ran out of beer, too.
Last Sigh: Your bandname then: I've been searching on the net and found that an apoptygma is a part of a peplos, which is an ancient Greek dress. How did you found that?
[Hearing this, the rest of the band gathers around us to see the real Apoptygma.]
Stephan: You know more than I do. When we recorded our first demo, we needed a bandname. I opened a dictionary and picked this word. When we signed our contract and Tatra released our first maxi, it was too late to change. After all these years I got used to all the possible variants.
Last Sigh : Apropos big mama burlesque!
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