Spektralized

It all started back in 1994, when three guys from Kråkerøy in Fredrikstad (now also known as "Electronikstad") wanted to start a band. At that time the synth scene in Fredrikstad was at it's best. So they got geared up and made some songs. Thus the name "Spektralized" came to life. Lot of gigs followed. Mostly in the south of Norway. The band got quite good response and good reviews by the local press. Later in 1994, Spektralized released a demo-tape called "Genetic". 100 limited edition copies were sold within a few weeks, which was quite good for that time. In 1997 Spektralized suffered from a lot of tension within the band. The band members disagreed on how to evolve the music. The result was a split. Richard Bjørklund decided to keep the Spektralized name and continued on his own. That was the start of the band as it is today. New songs were born. Spektralized appeared on the compilation "Sex, Goth & Electronics" with the track "Truth" (produced by Stephan L. Groth). The track got some good feedback from DJ`s around the world. The label Cinetic Response showed some interest, but after a few mails, the whole thing seemed unserious. At the beginning of 2000 a promo CD called "Love May Be Blind" was about to be released, but due to an error in the CD creation process, the band decided to recall the CDs. Spektralized now took a break from creating new tracks, due to some changes in Richard`s personal life. But ideas kept on coming, and new tracks came to life. Spektralized played with "Icon of Coil" in Stockholm. They got a lot of good feedback from the Swedish audience. Then a new promo followed. It was given to, among others, DJ Rexx Arcana from New York. And also to various promoters and labels around Europe. Time passed and at the end of February, Hard: Drive became interested in Spektralized. A few weeks later, Hard: Drive decided to sign the band. Richard hooked up with Sebastian R. Komor and they started working on the debut album. Spektralized then joined Icon of Coil on their European tour in January 2003, along with "Assemblage 23". They had 10 very successful gigs, with an amazing response from the German audience. Then Hard: Drive licensed Spektralized to Accession Records in Germany. Mastering and cover design was the next step towards the release of their first single "Allied" and the debut album "Elements of Truth". Due to some delays the releases were postponed for a while, but finally it`s all released. Unfortunately, before the planned release of their next single "My Needs", Hard: Drive decided to put the record label on ice. This meant Spektralized would have to find a new record label. Accession Records were more than interested, so after a lot of delays and hard work the band was was finally ready to release their second album called "Capture the Moment". The album was released in May of 2006. After the album was released, Spektralized had problems finding a booking agency that could hook them up with the right promoters. This was really unexpected and depressing news after all the hard work that they had done to make this album and caused deep scars in the band. Bjørn H (live keyboards/backing vocals) left the band after 10 years as a member. Despite all of this Spektralized are still going strong. "Capture the Moment" made it into the top 5 list for best albums at the 2007 Scandinavian Alternative Music Awards, together with bands like "Apoptygma Berzerk" and "Covenant". Spektralized are now working hard on their third album which is due to be released early in 2009. Their official MySpace page can be found at: www.myspace.com/spektralized Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.