Introducing: Stoner/blues rock power trio Apewards from Marburg, Germany!

Photos by Paulo Gabrian

“Apewards is the creative metropolis of Desert Rock, the freshly washed jeans of Blues Rock, the unmistakable Alternative and the sunrise in the Psychedelic universe. The power trio from Marburg starts songwriting where others stop. Instead of turning back time, they destroy time itself and let the best happen at once: Pounding rhythms and tons of riffs provide the canvas for catchy vocal melodies.”

Apewards is a stoner/blues rock power trio from Marburg, Germany. The band is known for their tight live performances, their creative mixing of genres – and as the loudest band in town. The three experienced musicians found each other in 2012 while studying and initially started the project as a hobby and an escape from the everyday grind.

After two EPs and countless gigs, the successful first album, »Tales Of Cloud Forest« was released in 2016. In the following years, the first socio-political tones already sounded through which became a cornerstone of their second LP »We The Living« (2019).

After founding member Vincent Krause left the band in 2019, the remaining trio of Nico Gehle, Lukas Plümpe and Frank Eckerle had to reinvent themselves. This process resulted in two EPs, merch community »Peaks Vol. I« and merch community »Peaks Vol. II«, where the influences of blues and stoner rock slowly receded, while fuzz-distorted guitars and psych-rock influences became ever more central building blocks.

In the summer of 2022, Apewards locked themselves in at the unique Studio Red Roof Loftsound to record their first album in the new-old formation. Together with producer Matt Korr (Tiamat, Daily Thompson, Knights Of The Realm), they agreed on a “direct-to-tape” approach. The nine songs were recorded live and all amps, microphones and effects were selected in advance and magnetized to tape along with the performance. The result is a sound that hums and lives – where you can literally hear the creaking of the beams of the recording room and feel the warmth of the glowing tubes.

When recording to tape, there is no shuffling, cutting or touching up later. And whether it’s amps, guitars or compressors: Everything was selected to complement each song long before the recording. Even the reverb on the album comes entirely from the special recording room of the studio itself. All of this results in »Akrasia« having a natural, raw energy to it, feeling alive and having a heartbeat – something that many digital productions lack.

»Akrasia« was released on May 5th, 2023 and available on vinyl, CD and digital: apewards.bandcamp.com/album/akrasia.

Apewards is
Nico Gehle – Guitar, Vocals
Lukas Plümpe – Bass
Frank Eckerle – Drums, Rhodes

Links:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well