The story begins...

The two guys met back in 1989, when Truls often dropped by the
music instrument shop where Jon Erik used to work. They often
talked about their common interests and soon they discovered
that they also had the exact same taste in music. The guys
quickly became the best of friends and started hanging out
together.


They were both involved in different bands and projects at the time;
Truls was a vocalist/ guitarist in a band called Blue Velvet and Jon
Erik were soon to join in on a collaboration with Stephan Groth,
forming the band Apoptygma Berzerk.


Jon Erik didn't really feel quite at home in the EBM genre, and left
the band after they made the "Victims Of Mutilation" cassette.
Some years passed before they started doing things together
again, but today they are getting the same good vibe when
working together from time to time.


Truls and Jon Erik first started to do some serious work together
when they joined in on the band Jocelyn High, in 1994. This band
gave them most of the concert experience they have today, with
some very memorable gigs.


In 1996, they supported the British band StereoLab when they
were visiting Norway, and later that year, their debut album
"Fruit Flavoured" was released by Poppycock Records.


Despite the fact that they didn't release a single from that album,
they managed to get a small radio hit with the song "Shine". The
track got some heavy rotation when it was placed on the A-list at
the national radiostation for over a month. A musicvideo was also
made for the song, which got some Television broadcast.


They've also contributed to "The Independent Collection Vol.1",
where they were featured among artists such asDepeche Mode,
Moby and Prodigy. The record sold over 10000 copies in Norway.


During his involvement in Jocelyn High, Jon Erik also worked on a
couple of other projects. One of them was called Seadancer. They
released the intoxicatingly beautiful "Chasing A Circle" on the first
output in the Psychoactivated series.


The following year, Jon Erik once again contributed to this series.
Now with his Andromeda 2071 project. The track was called "Zoo",
and is one of his more abstract pieces.


After this 1996 release, he left Jocelyn High to concentrate on his
electronic music. At this time, Truls and Jon Erik started to make
some tracks together, and the plans they've been having about
forming an electronic pop duo were becoming a reality...


They enjoyed the work so much that they decided to collaborate
on a permanent basis, and formed the duo called SWEEP.


Truls also continued as a lead singer in Jocelyn High for a couple
of years, but the band eventually decided to break up and this
gave him the ability to focus entirely on SWEEP.


The two guys are very grateful for the years they had with Jocelyn
High. The band released a great album and couple of singles which
could be hard to find today, but certainly is recommended listening.


Jocelyn High was at one period of time a six-piece band, so Truls
had to have a powerful voice to break through this wall of sound,
and there's no doubt that this experience has helped him develop
as a singer.


Truls and Jon Erik made a couple of tracks in the studio, and then
teamed up with their friend Atle Marcussen, who immediately saw
the potential of SWEEP, and suggested that they'd release an EP
on his newly formed label, Centrevibe Productions.


In October 1997, SWEEP recorded five tracks in X-RAY Studios.
Their good friend and manager of the studio Pål E.Johannessen
co-produced the EP. Their studio time was very limited, so they
had recorded almost all the instrumental backing earlier in the
guys' own studio.


In November 1997, the five-track purple and yellow "Sweepeepee"
EP were released. The EP got some very promising reviews from
the music press, and immediately caught a lot of attention among
electronic music fans for it's strong melodic content and Truls'
powerful vocal performance.


Soon after the release, SWEEP contributed to the Sauna CD#001
compilation album with a song from the EP, "Tonight". And early
in 1998, SWEEP were voted by the readers of Release Magazine
to be one of the best newcomers in 1997.


The national radiostation, NRK PETRE also got some copies of the
EP, and decided to make it an entry to their ongoing competition
for unsigned bands. SWEEP was considered to be an unsigned
band, as their EP was released on their own label.


NRK PETRE recieved demo's and CD's from over 500 bands all over
the country, and voted SWEEP to enter the final, among the 20 best
entries. This later lead to some airplay, and a feature in a television
programme.


By this time, the guys had started to play more gigs. They also did a
couple of gigs in their nabouring country Sweden, at Romonights in
Göteborg, and later at a Halloween- party arranged by Hi-Tech Muslo
in Borås. They've also done quite a lot of gigs at the Oslo venue, So
What!, a place they enjoy very much.


Early 1999, the guys contributed to the Electrocity Vol.11 compilation
album, released by the German company Ausfahrt. Here they appear
alongside established artists like And One, Cat Rapes Dog, Sabotage
and Komputer. SWEEP were indeed very honoured to participate on
this album. The release also helped SWEEP getting their music
heard outside Scandinavia.


Then followed a couple of remixes, and the first one was a remix of
Apoptygma Berzerk's "Untitled Too", which was released on the
"Mourn EP". Another remix was done by View's "Heroine".


Those remixes are great examples of SWEEP's feel for adding a new
and exciting twist to the material they're given. They always try to
use as much as possible of the original sounds and melodies, and
then add some new arrangements and sounds, with the aim of
giving the mix that recognizeable SWEEP sound.


The same year, 1999, Jon Erik was invited to collaborate on a
couple of tracks for Acid Queen, a side project of Stephan Groth
and Christian Grimshei. Acid Queen had joined in on a collaboration
involving the Tanzanian musicians' rights organization Chamudata
with the aim of helping to improve the conditions for our fellow
musicians in Tanzania, Africa.


A ten-track CD was released, Tranzania. Very different in style
from what all those involved had done before, this was just as
exciting musically, as it was a great initiative. Jon Erik wrote
two tracks together with Acid Queen, "Sema" and "Kuchwa -
Dar Es Salaam".


SWEEP contributed to some more compilation albums, among them
the "Kinetic Art" released by Kinetic Response Records, and the
Oslo Synthfestival 2000 sampler.


To their delight they now noticed a high interest in their music and
recieved a lot of e-mail from people who got to know the band from
their participation on compilations and their remix work.


Towards the end of 2000, SWEEP sent out a five-track demo to
three different labels. The band were very happy to see that all
three labels showed great interest in the band.


In February 2001, SWEEP signed a deal with A Different Drum.
The guys are very happy to be a part of the ADD family of bands,
and they enjoy their close collaboration with the label manager,
Todd Durrant.


At the same time of signing the record deal, SWEEP participated
on ADD's "Shadowdancing Vol. 2" compilation album with one of
their demo tracks, "Agoraphobia".


SWEEP also contributed to "Very Introspective, Actually", a Pet
Shop Boys tribute compilation, with a wonderful version of PSB's
1985 single "Love Comes Quickly". This album was realized on
the initiative of Patrick Rodgers from Dancing Ferret Discs.


Then followed another fabulous remix. This time it was "Skulk" by
their former labelmates Echo Image. This remix is one of SWEEP's
absolute favourites, and they really enjoyed doing some work for
their good friends from Fredrikstad.


Then, later that year it was time for SWEEP's first release on ADD,
the four-track single "Emptiness, Your Loneliness". The single also
featured great remixes by Echo Image and System22, and "Favourite
Song". The single recieved some very good reviews and gave the
band a chance to establish in the US.


Several more compilation albums follows, and at the same time the
guys are working on their next single. "Miss You" was released in
the spring of 2002. This is a much more laidback single than the
previously released "Emptiness, Your Loneliness". Still, the
audience seemed to love it, and indeed, it really is a great
song with it's moody vocal and catchy refrain.


Later on, Jon Erik collaborated with Stephan Groth on one of the
songs for his next album, "Harmonizer". The idea was to record
as much as possible of the synthesizers live, so Jon Erik brought
his favourite synth and a couple of beers down to Stephan's studio
and they started recording some melodies and effects.


The track is called "Something I Should Know" and also features
Pål Magnus from Echo Image on backing vocals. Great song!


During 2002, SWEEP is spending a lot of time in their studio to
work on their forthcoming album. Unfortunately, the release is
delayed several times, but in May 2003 the album is finally
released.


The "Two Players" album is a very strong debut longplayer, and
clearly shows how the band has developed their music by playing
around in the studio and just having a lot of fun recording. They
have a rock solid focus on the details in the music, but above
all it is the unique vocal performance of Truls and the
countless melodies that carries every song.


Since the start of the duo in 1996, SWEEP have earned a reputation
for their great live performance. Their onstage vibe is indeed very
contagious, and you'd be a hard one not to be infected by it.


Hopefully, they'll be able to head out for a tour, following the
release of their "Two Players" album.


We are all looking forward to it!

...to be continued!