Apartment 26

Electronic rock outfit, Apartment 26, is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about new bands to come out of England in recent memory. For this band the most exciting aspect of being a second-stage act on Ozzfest ’99 is being able to tour alongside two full generations of hard music: pioneers Black Sabbath, and some of their better-known disciples, like Fear Factory and Deftones. But according to the members of Apartment 26, the timeline of hard music doesn’t end there, as they consider themselves as part of the next generation of metal. “The bands we listen to and gain inspiration from, like Deftones and Korn, were influenced by many of the legendary rock bands of the ’70’s, like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, and now we’re influenced by these modern bands,” says Biff, the lead singer of Apartment 26. “Sabbath is how metal began, and with Apartment 26 being an electronic rock band, it really shows the progression of how hard music has developed over the years.”

Together since last year, the common goal for Apartment 26 is to write music with no real genre restrictions. “We started out being strictly a metal band with a bit of keyboards here and a hip-hop-esque bass line there, but after bringing Andy’s programming to the forefront of the songwriting process, we discovered an entirely new sound for ourselves that we believe sets us apart from other electronic rock bands,” says Biff. “All four of us have completely different interests in music and none of us really agree on anything. I guess that’s what makes it work so well. We all bring our contrasting sounds together and end up with music that has a genre-crossover sound.”

Describing the inner pulse and rhythmic aspect of the music, Biff insists that “Andy’s intricate programming has become as important as the riffs and lyrics. Instead of the drums just being there to keep time and tap your feet along to…if you’re going to tap along to his drum parts, you usually need to use both feet, your hands, head and whatever else you can findit’s a full body workout.”

The guitars and bass are clear reflections of the band’s metal influences, yet they manage to avoid immediate comparisons with nay particular music group. Using strong riffs on top of counter-melodies, Apartment 26 form different layers to listen to and create what Jon refers to as “three dimensional music” that some have called a cross between Prodigy and Orgy.

In 1998 the group recorded a demo which found its way into the hands of Doug Firley who had previously served as co-producer on Gravity Kills’ two studio albums. “Doug was very into what we were doing and invited us to come to St. Louis to record a demo,” says Jon.

Firley and the band worked so well together that the end result developed into their five-song debut EP, Within. Lyrically, the songs “Apt. 26,” “Dystopia,” “slicedbeats,” “Random Thinking,” and “Question of Reality,” are intentionally ambiguous. Biff explains that the words are put down so as to let the listener make his or her own interpretation. “Most of them, I’ll write a set of lyrics meaning one thing and then the next week they’ll mean something else. I feel a song never loses meaning that way. This even applies within a song, too, as sometimes the chorus has a different meaning than the verses. It keeps it interesting for me and, hopefully, the listener too.”

The origin of the name Apartment 26 comes from a reference found in the 1978 David Lynch movie Eraserhead. The band claim a slightly different meaning between their name “Apartment 26” and their song called “Apt. 26.” “We wrote the song before we had a name,” explains Biff. “The day we wrote the song, we watched Eraserhead, and I noticed that the main character lived in apartment number 26. We loved the movie and loved the song, so we though the name seemed fitting. Later, we noticed this apartment number being featured in various other movies by Lynch and it always represented an interesting, mysterious place, so the name stuck.”