Apparatjik | |
|---|---|
 The members of Apparatjik as "Cubeheads" | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | MetaMerge Un Ltd |
| Spinoff of | |
| Members | |
| Website | apparatjik |
Apparatjik (/æpəˈrætʃɪk/ap-ə-RAT-chik) are a multi-national band formed in 2008. The band is asupergroup that consists of bassistGuy Berryman fromColdplay, guitarist/keyboardistMagne Furuholmen froma-ha, singer/guitaristJonas Bjerre ofMew and drummer/producerMartin Terefe. The band's name literal translation is "agent of the apparatus". Apparatjik is based onapparatchik, which is a word of Russian origin and is used to describe "an official or bureaucrat in any organization"[1] but has in the past had other meanings, including "Communist agent or spy".[2]
The band first came together for a charity album forSurvival International calledSongs for Survival. The album was produced byMartin Terefe and Molly Oldfield, and the band produced the first track on the album, "Ferreting".[3] This track was used as the theme music for theAmazon series onBBC 2.[3] Subsequently they continued to work together in Magne Furuholmen's studio in Norway, and created more tracks that were periodically made available on theirMyspace andYouTube pages. On 30 November, they released the first official track, "Electric Eye", from their then-upcoming album through their website.
Apparatjik's first live performance was at the eleventh edition ofclub transmediale, an annual festival in Berlin, which took place from 28 January to 7 February 2010. This gig consisted of the band performing inside a specially constructed cube at theWMF on 1 February 2010.[4] The same day saw the release of their debut album, titledWe Are Here, for digital download via their official website.[5] Their first public performances took place at theDeutsche Bank towers inFrankfurt from 2–4 March 2011.[6] They have since released further singles, their4 Can Keep A Secret If 3 Of Them Are Dead extended-play, and on 15 June 2010 they re-releasedWe Are Here oniTunes in standard and deluxe versions.[7]
After playing at the Flø festival in Norway in June,[8] on 23 September 2010, the band played their third concert in London. The cube was transported to the red summer pavilion, designed by Jean Nouvel, when Molly Oldfield brought the group to theSerpentine Galleries, inHyde Park, London. They were invited by the Serpentine Gallery to play at the Future Contemporaries party.[9]
Apparatjik's first song to be played onBBC Radio 1 was a radio edit of "Datascroller", which aired on 14 June 2010.[10] In November 2010, Magne Furuholmen revealed the promise for "a few very exciting things with [Apparatjik] in 2011" during aBBC Radio 2 interview.[11]
Apparatjik launched a new project called agreeneryouniverse on 11 February 2011. This project invites people across the world to plant a tree, make a picture and upload it to their website. The first 1,000 people in doing so would receive new music as a gift. A download-only single was released on 28 March 2011 called "Combat Disco Music".
On 11 November 2011, Apparatjik released their second album,Square Peg In A Round Hole, as a freeiPad application.[12] Four days later it was given away as a gift as part of theagreeneryouniverse project.[13]
The band collaborated with Canadian singerLowell, who drummer and producer Martin Terefe had been working with beforehand, and released the extended playIf You Can, Solve This Jumble (stylized asApparatjik Presents Lowell: if YOu_ _ caN, 5olve thi5 jumble?) on 29 October 2012. Each track in the extended play features lead vocals by Lowell.[14]
On 1 February 2020, Apparatjik uploaded a video titled "20 3 20" on their social media,[15][16][17] containing a short music clip. It was later posted by the members on their social media accounts.[18][19][20][21][22] Magne Furuholmen elaborated on the clip on hisInstagram account, writing that "the entire song will be out soon, [sic] (on an app most likely)" and that it was part of an ongoingJulia Pastrana project. A single was released on 20 March 2020 called "Julia", accompanied by a lyric video.[23]
| Year | Single | Release date | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Ferreting"(Download release) | September 15 | Songs for Survival |
| "Electric Eye"(Download release) | November 30 | We Are Here | |
| 2010 | "Antlers" / "Electric Eye"(7 inch vinyl, 1000 copies) | February 8 | |
| "4 Can Keep a Secret If 3 of Them Are Dead"(Download release) | May 23 | 4 Can Keep a Secret If 3 of Them Are Dead | |
| "Datascroller"(Download release) | June 14 | We Are Here | |
| 2011 | "Combat Disco Music"(Download release) | March 28 | Square Peg in a Round Hole |
| "Time Police"(Download release) | December 13 | ||
| 2012 | "Sequential"(Download release) | March 20 | |
| "Shake Him Off"(Download release) | July 3 | If You Can, Solve This Jumble |
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Electric Eye" | Martin Terefe |
| "Antlers" | Jonas Bjerre | |
| 2010 | "Datascroller" | Unknown |
| "4 Can Keep a Secret If 3 of Them Are Dead" | ||
| "Supersonic Sound" | ||
| "Arrow and Bow" | ||
| 2011 | "Snow Crystals" | |
| 2012 | "Shake Him Off" | Lowell |
| "Kids" | ||
| "Run Little Horsey" | ||
| "The Birds" | ||
| 2013 | "That's the Thing About Us" |
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| Singles |
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| Studio albums | |
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| Extended plays | |
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| Legacy | |
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| International | |
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| National | |
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