Odense, Denmark. Stephan Groth is born with music in his blood. His father, Jan Groth, played in a popular Norwegian blues-rock band in the sixties (Aunt Mary), while his mother, Lise, was a DJ. It was inevitable that Stephan should follow in their musical footsteps, but fortunately in electronica rather than the blues. In 1986 the family moved to Norway and two years later began experimenting with EBM, 'Electronic Body Music.'

In 1989 Apoptygma Berzerk is born, collaboration between Stephan Groth and Jon Erik Martinsen. A demo was released, Victims of Mutilation, which was enough to get them signed to Norway's Tatra Records. In 1991, Tatra released Ashes to Ashes on limited vinyl and this became Apoptygma's debut 12' single. With only 500 vinyl copies, Ashes to Ashes is a rare collector's item.

By this time, Jon Martinsen left the band and Apoptygma became a one-man project. With the success of Ashes to Ashes behind him, in 1992 Stephan wrote three tracks for the legendary Norwegian sampler, Sex, Drugs, and E.B.M. and released his first EP, The 2nd Manifesto.

Apoptygma's debut album, Soli Deo Gloria, released in 1994, surpassed all expectations. As other -ebm bands turned to American rock for inspiration, Apoptygma presented a beautifully textured and carefully stated synthesis of electronica. Alternative Press hailed the band as embracing "one of the more refreshing aspects of the evolution of the genre...the rejoining of dark keyboard gothic with the hard edged electro dance sound."

Later in 1994, Stephan released a number of techno singles under the name TB-MOONchild and H20, and it was this work in techno that resulted in Apoptygma's second CD, 1996's 7, being graced with the more upbeat techno grooves that can be heard on the singles Love Never Dies and Non-Stop Violence. Both tracks intertwined spiraling dark electronica with a strong message of against war and anti-violence. Apoptygma was embraced world-wide by wide diverging scenes, from Goths to rave-kids, and these two singles helped pave the way for the new wave of electro.

Apoptygma went on hiatus after 7, the result of Stephan being drafted to work in Norway's civil-service system for a mandatory 14-month tour of duty. However, Apoptygma struck back in '97 in style. The remixed version of Mourn from 7 was a major indie-hit and reached #3 in the German Alternative Chart. US interest in Apoptygma increased as Tatra worked on securing a US deal.

North America was given the chance to sample the future of electronic dance music when Metropolis Records released Apopcalyptic Manifesto, Apoptygma's debut CD on the label. Apopcalyptic Manifesto compiled various singles as well as tracks from the Soli Deo Gloria CD. 7 was released in the fall of 1998, to coincide with Apoptygma's first US tour.

During the 1998 European tour, Apoptygma recorded all of the shows, and in early '99 released APBL98, a 10,000-copy limited edition live album. To complement the music, the album came with a media disk that featured tour films, interviews, videos and rarities, and was mixed with quotes from the tour itself. Stephan wanted something for those who had been unable to catch Apoptygma live or who wanted something to help re-live the experience.

In May 1999, Apoptygma returned to the studio and emerged with a highly successful dance floor EBM single, Eclipse. The following album, Welcome to Earth mixes synth-pop and trance in with their conventional 7 sound. It is no surprise that Welcome to Earth both debuts, and stays at No. 1 in the German Alternative Charts. The 'Welcome to Earth Tour' took Apoptygma to ecstatic crowds across both continents. To commemorate the highly successful tour, the band released APBL2000 on CD, video, and DVD in 2001.

Apoptygma Berzerk returned to re-enforce their dominance in 2002 with Harmonizer, a BPM marvel. Thick, full electronic textures adhered to persuasive beats, which enabled one to lose themselves within Stephan Groth's lyrics and vocals. Electro, synth-pop, trance, and EBM sounds were melted and blended together to form a harmony unlike no other.

Tom Shear began constructing music at home under the moniker Man On A Stage in the late 1980's. Most of the music was very simplistic and poorly constructed, with no vocals at first but as time went on they occurred more often. While working on Man On A Stage, Tom Shear also was playing bass live for a punk-influenced band collectively known as the Advocates.

In 1988 at a Depeche Mode concert, Assemblage 23 was born. Tom was amazed by the industrial dance music that the opening DJ was spinning. His love of the electronic synth-pop sounds mixed with heavier darker aggression proved to be an turning point for him.

While in college, in addition to working on Assemblage 23 non-stop, Shear also collaborated with two friends, Mike Ukstins and Matt Guenette on a synth-pop project, Procession. The band didn't last long, but provided Shear with performance experience and practice. At first, Assemblage 23 was more of a hobby for Shear rather than a permanent project. There were occasional attempts and demos sent out, but when they lead to no interest in the band, Shear reverted back to making music for fun and his friends. In 1992, he self-released a collection of songs called "Wires". Several radio stations began playing the new act, and fledging magazines, such as Industrial Nation, began to show interest.

But it was a side project of Shear's called Nerve Filter that helped Assemblage 23 get some much needed recognition. On a whim, Shear sent copies of Assemblage 23 and Nerve Filter to Peter Stone of Xorcist, who in return handed them over to Don Blanchard of the now defunct 21st Circuitry Records. However, Blanchard's interest was not in Assemblage 23 but in Nerve Filter, although, a few Assemblage 23 tracks would later be released on several compilations. Arts Industria released the first 'official' Assemblage 23 song "Graverobber" on their Construction No. 009 compilation. Several more times Shear sent out demos to various labels, and even while being frustrated by the lack of interest, he still wrote more Assemblage 23 songs.

Finally in 1998, the Canadian label, Gashed Records signed Assemblage 23 and released their first album, Contempt in 1999, and the follow-up, Failure in 2001. Shortly after the release of Failure, Assemblage 23 had a falling out with Gashed Records and left the label to sign with Metropolis Records, who later that year re-released both Contempt and Failure. With only those two albums, Contempt and Failure, Assemblage 23 became one of the biggest names in industrial and EBM music today.

To further the American electro act's success, a third album, Defiance, was completed for October 2002. Defiance pushed Assemblage 23's sound to the limits of only the imagination. Signature melody constructions, driving rhythms, non-stop beats, and highly emotional and personal lyrics made Defiance a logical follow-up to the widely reveled Failure.

With their beginnings in the mid eighties, Covenant hail from the south of Sweden in a town called Helsingborg. Their music originally was described as big band electronics, but since the early nineties when their membership was pared down to the current trio, their sound has been an accessible blend of electro-pop and industrialism, infinitely danceable, filled with an uplifting and upbeat energy.

Igniting the E.B.M. scene with unstoppable dance floor hits, Covenant remain the mark to reach for many new emerging bands. With the perfect combination of Eskil's haunting, dark, majestic vocals, pulsating techno beats, creative noise samples, and amazing synth work, the band has created a strong North American following as well as an enormous European base.

Their sound has been compared to an assemblage of styles ranging from Prodigy, Front 242, Front Line Assembly, Apoptygma Berzerk, VNV Nation, and Kraftwerk; but the final result is like nothing anybody else has been putting out. Covenant has redefined the way Electronic Body Music is perceived

In early 1999, Metropolis Records released their back catalog of material, including Dreams of a Cryotank, Sequencer, the Theremin EP, and Europa. Metropolis's first Covenant release was the Euro EP, containing remixes from their Europa CD combined with one bonus track.

In 1999, Covenant released the single, "Tour De Force", which contained three mixes of the song, and the "It's Alright" b-side. Their fourth album, United States of Mind reflected the image that made Covenant the premier E.B.M./futurepop band. Imagine if you will, Sequencer interwoven with Europa, and you have the latest astounding sound creations from Covenant. The driving techno beats and rhythms adhere to the popular synth-pop sound, making it one of the most played albums on the dance floor.

Still igniting the E.B.M./futurepop scene with unstoppable dance floor hits, Covenant remain the mark to reach for many new emerging bands. With the perfect combination of Eskil's haunting, dark, majestic vocals, pulsating techno beats, creative noise samples, and amazing synth work, the trio have created a strong North American following as well as an enormous European fan base.

The group Dalek I (originally known as Dalek I Love You and eventually known as Dalek I) was formed in 1977/8 and originally consisted of the duo of Alan Gill and Dave Balfe. The strange name was the result of a compromise, Gill wanting to call the group The Daleks and Balfe wanting to call them Darling I Love You. In the end they took half of each, and became Dalek I Love You. Balfe left (detailing his later exploits would take a lot of time and involve almost every early 80s Liverpool group there is) after a year and was eventually replaced by Dave Hughes.

It was this lineup that made the group's first album Compass Kumpas on the Backdoor label in 1980. It would be oversimplifying matters to liken the group's sound directly to that other synth-based Liverpool band of the time, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, but not only was there a definite resemblance at times but the two groups histories were linked - OMD's Andy McCluskey was Dalek I Love You's vocalist for a period in 1978 and (depending on which sources you believe) either Gill, Hughes, both or neither were involved (although not credited) in OMD's first self-titled album. What isn't in doubt is that Hughes did join the band for a while (possibly during the Organisation tour) and provided the choral tapes that feature on OMD's "Souvenir".

If I was really forced to liken the two bands, I'd describe Dalek i as a less synthesized, more 60s pop influenced, quirkier version of early OMD. The instrumentation (Gill's wry, slightly wimpy vocals, guitar and cheesy synths) is fairly constant from track to track but the style of the tracks is anything but constant. Hence we move from the end of the dark, moody "A Suicide" where our hero slumps dead to the floor into the chirpy intro of "The Kiss" with Gill singing "Wasn't it me who said how nice it would be to be dead? Well I've changed my point of view" and a decidedly cutesy, catchy song. Or the 60s organ, stop-start vocals and anti-terrorist lyrics of "Freedom Fighters" leading into a cover of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" with an incredible a capella intro and some really nice effects on Gill's vocals. Perhaps the biggest contrast is between the beautiful vocal harmonies and perfect guitar pop of "Astronauts" (this one's been on auto-repeat on my player a lot recently) and the downright bizarre "Happy" which sounds not unlike a party complete with jazz band being taken over by the theme tune from a bad 60s sci-fi movie whilst Gill goes lyrically insane.

Nash The Slash has been creating his unique concept of sound and vision for over twenty years. His first live presentation of music to film was a performance to the surreal silent film "Un Chien Andalou" at the Roxy Theatre in Toronto.

Nash The Slash was born of silent film. The name comes from a killer butler encountered by Laurel and Hardy in their first film 'Do Detectives Think? ' 1927). Nash the musician has gone on to create the music scores for such recent cult films as "Roadkill" and "Highway 61' - both directed by Bruce McDonald.

Between experiments with film and music. Nash The Slash became a familiar name to music fans through his association with the pop electronic group FM. Having co-written the hit songs "Phasors on Stun " and "Just Like You" Nash established his credibility as a versatile artist. His talents have been recognized with a U-KNOW (later called CASBY) award for best instrumental artist as well as a JUNO nomination for best new male vocalist. Nash's profile was raised on the international stage when he toured the world with the likes of Gary Numan and Iggy Pop. Other high- profile shows include opening for The Who at C.N.E. Stadium in Toronto to a crowd of 70,000 people, and opening for The Tubes at a sold-out Maple Leaf Gardens.

Nash has recently recorded new music for the silent film classics "The cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1919) and "The Lost World "(1925).

Nash continues to do unique film scores for other silent film classics including "Nosferatu " and the original "Phantom of the Opera ".

Nash has released numerous solo albums, the best known being "Children of the Night" with the hit single "Dead Man's Curve". Other albums include "Decomposing" the first record playable at any speed (reviewed in Playboy Magazine 1982) and "American Bandages' a collection of all-American classics such as "We 're an American band' & "Who Do You Love" and "Psychotic Reaction".

The most recent release of Nash's music is a CD compilation of his first two recordings entitled "Blind Windows". it is a collection of all instrumental music textured with early analog synths and Nash's distinctive electric mandolin and violin riffs. The CD has been distributed throughout the world, and reached #3 on the Canadian Indie Charts in 1997. New material is being prepared for a CD release in the winter of 1998. (this material appears on the 1999 album 'Thrash'.)

VNV Nation has emerged in the past few years to become a powerhouse performer in the electronic dance scene. The name VNV Nation stands for "Victory Not Vengeance;" a motto that means that one should strive to achieve, not just sit in bitter regret. Originally formed in 1990 in London, England by Ronan Harris, VNV Nation began as a collage project of orchestrial, electronic, and soundtrack inspired pieces designed for the electronic dance scene.

The first release by VNV Nation was the 12" vinyl single "Body Pulse," which was released in May of 1990. A second 12" single, called "Strength of Youth" followed in November of that same year. At the end of 1990, VNV Nation moved to Canada, where they were able to tour as a support act for the popular electronic dance act Nitzer Ebb. VNV Nation returned to Europe and began to produce both new and reworked material, with exclusive tracks appearing on several compilations

In 1995, VNV Nation's first full length release, "Advance and Follow," was released by the German label Discordia. Following the success of that "Advance and Follow," and following the demise of the Discordia label, VNV Nation signed with the German label Offbeat for their second album, "Praise the Fallen." This album, released in the US by TVT records, broke VNV Nation to wide popularity in dance clubs worldwide. The clean and propulsive electronic music of the band, married to Ronan's thought-provoking lyrics, represents the band's concept of the clashing of modern and classical elements in today's culture.

Following Praise the Fallen, the band began work on Empires, with their new European label Dependent and American partner Metropolis Records. With preview singles like "Darkangel" and "Standing" already being featured in dance clubs, Empires was a highly anticipated 2000 release for Metropolis Records. Ronan talked of the concept behind Empires by saying, "People or groups of people and even larger groups of people replicate the mechanics and the workings of an empire in the way they try to preserve their little group or status that they built up all around them."

In 2001, VNV Nation presented a two-part single, "Genesis.1" and "Genesis.2," taken from the album Futureperfect. This spring 2002 release was explained by Ronan Harris as "a reflection of where we as a society could have gone and where we are headed. It is also the celebration of our humanity and our eternal spirit, despite the efforts of flawed visions to mold us into figures and details." Futureperfect's intellectual lyrics fused with lively synth lines, throbbing beats, and intricate sequences make it a riveting album. It sold 55,000 copies worldwide, reached number 26 in the German album charts and topped the German Alternative Charts.

VNV Nation's first DVD release, Pastperfect, documented the band's "Futureperfect tour" with 12 live tracks and a host of extra features including a studio report, interviews, tour impressions and much more. The live tracks were recorded during concerts at the Columbiahalle, Berlin and at the Mera Luna Festival in Germany where the band played to an audience of over 15,000 people. Covering Europe and North America twice, the tour ran between October 2001 and April 2002 and had well over 50,000 attendees. Two versions of Pastperfect were released; a Special Edition limited to 7,000 copies and a regular addition.

Ian Boddy has been at the forefront of the UK electronic music scene since 1983 when he both performed at the very first UK Electronica Festival in Milton Keynes and released his first vinyl album The Climb.

In the 4 years preceding this event he had been experimenting at an Arts Council funded studio in Newcastle whilst at University. His early work resulted in 3 cassette only releases on the Mirage label as well as several local concerts. These early tapes showed Boddy gradually forming his own style through a long self teaching process in the techniques of analogue synthesis and tape manipulation.

This post-punk keyboard and guitar combo originated from Mansfield, England. They were often falsely linked with the early 80s fad of New Romanticism. Graham Boffey (drums) and Paul Statham (guitar) were one-time members of punk band the Aborted, formed, like so many others, in the wake of the first Clash album. 

The duo invited Steve Hovington (vocals, bass) along to rehearsals, changing their name to Studio 10 before settling on B-Movie. Studio manager Andy Dransfield sent a demo tape of the band to Lincoln-based independent record label Dead Good. The result was two tracks on the compilation East. Soon afterwards, Rick Holliday joined as keyboard player. 

Their Take Three EP was warmly received by critics, ensuring several local radio sessions and a six-track 12-inch single, headed by "Nowhere Girl". Eccentric entrepreneur Stevo noticed the band and became their manager. Moving to Deram Records, "Remembrance Day" became the second single to attract strong support in the press. Unfortunately, Stevo's connection saw the band categorized as part of the New Romantic movement, a perception that would act as a major constraint in their future. After "Marilyn Dreams" only scraped the charts, the band set out on a major European tour, during which they acquired the services of Luciano Codemo on bass, allowing Hovington to concentrate on his vocals. In turn, he was replaced by Mike Pedan (ex-Everest The Hard Way), and soon Boffey also departed, joining Soft As Ghosts. Martin Smedley and Andy Johnson were the new recruits, but they arrived just in time to see the departure of a frustrated Holliday. He joined Six Sed Red then MCX while the reduced B-Movie line-up signed with Sire Records. A highly commercial but disappointing single, "A Letter From Afar", was remixed by Jellybean.