We have a soft spot for record store clerks. The movie, High Fidelity, was a disappointment, precisely because it missed the point about why they are cool. The workers in record stores have access to all of the new releases first, and they are the interface between artists and audiences. That puts them on the cutting-edge of new music.
Per Aksel Lundgreen has put in his time for the counter culture. He started at Borg Platebar in 1985 and opened his own shop, Sluzk Records, in 1990. At B3 Records in Fredrikstad, he sold new music to Norway. He worked there together with Stephan Groth, and the two of them played in a futurepop band called Apoptyma Bezerk.
Lundgreen went on to work under a variety of guises, including as Cronos Titan, Chinese Detectives, and Angst Pop. He also founded a record label, Sub Culture, that has hosted Technomancer, Substaat, Carlos Peròn (ex-Yello), Shatoo’s Dag Brandth, and Piston Damp.
Although he started on the stage, Lundgreen is mostly found behind the scenes: producing, remixing – and selling merchandise. You can take the man out of the record store, but you can’t take the record store out of the man.
10. Apoptygma Bezerk – Electronic Warfare
One of the leading futurepop artists, Apoptygma Bezerk was founded in 1989 by Stephan Groth and Jon Erik Martinsen. Lundgreen joined in 1990, after Martinsen left. He played keyboards with the act for four years and remains a key link between the band and the wider synth scene.
9. Cronos Titan
Not to be mistaken for the German speed metal nand of the same name, Cronos Titan was started in January 1995 by Pr3ben Bjønnes and Lundgreen. They released an album in 1995 (Brides Of Christ) and an EP in 1996 (The Gregoraveian EP), before shifting their focus to Chinese Detectives.
In March 2012, a double compilation CD with remasters of all their previous work was released, which included seven previously unreleased songs. After a couple of reunion gigs in Norway and one in Germany, the duo went into the studio and recorded their first new material in 17 years, released as their comeback album “Titans Remain!”, in late November 2012.
8. Chinese Detectives – Situation
Chinese Detectives is a Norwegian synthpop project founded in 1995 by Lundgreen shortly after his tenure with Apoptygma Berzerk, alongside Preben Bjønnes and vocalist Kristine Ulfeng. With reinterpretations of songs by Yazoo, Men Without Hats and Divine, the act built a profile based on the alternative dancefloor. In 1999, the act (with Desirée Grandahl taking the vocal reins from Ulfeng) released a full album, Are Kisses Out Of Fashion?, combining fresh tracks and covers, before disbanding.
7. Machinista – Dark Heart of Me
Lundgreen contributed to Apoptygma Berzerk’s remix of the song, “Dark Heart of Me” by Machinista, the Swedish poptronica specialists.
6. Page – Krasch
Lundgreen facilitated and contributed to the Apoptygma Berzerk Redux version of “Krasch,” from the Start EP. Like the Machinista remix, Stephan Groth was behind the boards for the project and Lundgreen was asked to add his touches.
5. Shatoo – Floodlights
Shatoo is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in 1987 by teenagers Dag Brandth, Calle Marcussen (now Calle Varfjell) and Øyvind Haavik. They quickly found success with singles like “Overload” and “Santorini,” and released two albums in the late ’80s, which both placed on the Norwegian charts.
Shatoo reemerged in 2013 with new members (including Lundgreen) and singles such as “Nothing That I Wouldn’t Do” and this track – “Floodlights” – blending their classic work with fresh material for digital audiences.
4. Angst Pop – Øpidus Rex
Under the Angst Pop name, Lundgreen has been prolific, especially as a remixer and cover artist. Original material includes this track from 1992, which was re-recorded for its twentieth anniversary release.
3. Anne Clark + herrB – Darkest Hour
The Best Technomancer & Angst Pop Remixes collection features this version of Anne Clark’s “Darkest Hour.” A colloraboration with Technomancer (Alexandria Digre), Lundgreen appeared under his Angst Pop moniker.
The album also features remixes of tracks by Nitzer Ebb and Die Krupps, among others.
2. Rossetti’s Compass – Coboloid Race
Rossetti’s Compass recorded a cover of “Coboloid Race,” originally released by the Canadian synth-pop pioneers, Rational Youth, in 1981. The track first appeared on the tribite album, Heresy, and later appeared on the band’s 2015 EP Attrition. Lundgreen contributed on percussion, synth, backing vocals, and production.
1. Piston Damp – Something in Me
The Norwegian-Danish electronic duo Piston Damp emerged publicly in 2020, when Jonas Groth (the younger brother of Apoptygma’s Stephan) and Truls Sønsterud released their debut single, “Something In Me,” featuring multiple remixes by international acts.
Lundgreen was recruited as the man behind the curtain. Credited as part of the Production Office, Lundgreen’s role has been to organise shows, arrange remixes of recordings, and do the thing that he has been doing since he was a kid: sell records.