Apparatjik are a supergroup. But they’re no ordinary supergroup. Announcing themselves as a collective, fusing interests in science and culture, it consists of Guy Berryman (Coldplay), Jonas Bjerre (Mew), Magne Furuholmen (a-ha), and producer Martin Terefe.

A quick look on Wikipedia reveals that the bands name is the Swedish word for apparatchik, which is of Russian origin and is used to describe “people who cause bureaucratic bottlenecks in otherwise efficient organisations”. Nice.

The group recently made their live debut in a specially constructed cube at the Club Transmediale festival, in Berlin. On the same date, 01022010, Apparatjik’s debut album was released through www.apparatjik.com.

We have a bit of a World exclusive after that history lesson – a chance for you to hear a track from the amazing album We Are Here.

The track, ‘Antlers’, is an impressive pointer to the entire project. A backwards guitar riff starts things off, it swoops into focus and Jonas’ vocals kick in, this is the warped and glacial pop of Mew, but it feels refreshed by an additional guitar crackling into view… The drums sound almost post-Gothenberg in their tempo and washed out feel, bouncing around and focusing the song in its quasi-pop melody.

Forget the origins of the guys involved. This feels like a lesson in wiping the slate clean, of starting something completely different, breaking free of the confines of chart pop, and trying something new.

Apparatjik: “Antlers”

The good folks at Wilco HQ have just made available a couple of ‘free’ downloads from shows from last year, the idea being that in return you make a minimum donation of $15 / £10 to one of the organizations listed below.

OXFAM
Doctors Without Borders

As they say, “Both organizations ask that you donate to their Emergency Relief Funds which allows them to spend the money on situations such as Haiti, but, not expressly limited to Haiti.”

All fine and dandy of course, but of particular interest to fans over here is that one of them is the London Forum performance from 4th November. So, a possible little trip down memory lane for some of you with the additional chance to feel good about yourselves by making a contribution to a worthy cause too. The other show is from Brooklyn in July.

Full details from the horse’s mouth here.

A bit of an exclusive for TLOBF on this dull and grey Wednesday morning: we’ve got a taster from Pontiak’s latest long-player. The track is the immense wall of sound that is ‘World Wide Prince’ from the forthcoming Sea Voids, which is released next month.

Download the track here.

Pontiak wrote, recorded and mixed Sea Voids in eight evening sessions over the course of three weeks. The brothers sketched out what kind of album they wanted to make while on a two month US tour. It would be visual, it would be expressive, and it would be inspired by what the brothers had seen. When they returned home from tour they had just four weeks to write and record the album before disembarking on a European tour.

They tuned the bass and the guitar down to B, cranked their amps and let the air open up. Hardly any distortion pedals were used. It was just LOUD. Pontiak finished Sea Voids the day they left for Europe.

The band are returning to these shores for a tour with label mates White Hills in March. Catch them if you can – an immense and brutal live experience.

Oh! Canada faves Ohbijou have just hit UK soil and are about to play a host of dates, kicking off tonight in Glasgow:

September
04 Captain’s Rest,Glasgow
05 Electric Picnic
06 The Grand Pavillion – Across The Borders, Portcawl
07 Bodega Nottingham
08 Bush Hall, London
09 Joiners, Southampton
10 Louisiana, Bristol
11 End of the Road Festival
13 Bestival

To celebrate the tour the band have released a new video for their song New Years:

…and as if that wasn’t enough, they have given us a track from their split tour 12″ with The Acorn (available from Kelp Records). Download the wonderful ‘Tender Bones’ below.

mp3:> Ohbijou: ‘Tender Bones’