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An Interview with Hans Akerman of Run Level Zero
Posted: Saturday, April 12, 2008
By: Michael Wozny

Run Level Zero are no strangers to success. At their first live gig opening for Psyche they were signed to Swedish label Memento Materia. In 2001, their debut album, the classic EBM-sounding Symbol of Submission, garnered them not only the coveted opening slot on VNV Nation's European leg of the Future Perfect Tour, but also the award for "Best Newcomer of the Year" at the Scandinavian Alternative Music Awards in 2002. In 2004, Minuswelt Musikfabrik signed Run Level Zero just in time for their second release, thus guaranteeing them the wider exposure they deserved, and their tour for Walk the Psycho Path saw them playing throughout Europe with Assemblage 23 and Rotersand, bringing a darker and more aggressive sound to the bill. In 2005, Run Level Zero returned to the studio to record their third full-length release. Arctic Noise was completed and announced for release in the beginning of 2006, scheduled to coincide with the band's first U.S. tour, but due to label scheduling and synchronization, Arctic Noise wasn't released until 2008. Despite the delay, Arctic Noise stormed the German Alternative Charts (DAC) and lodged itself at number two, restoring the success Run Level Zero had known from the start. It's at this triumphant moment that band founder Åkerman paused to answer a few questions for ReGen readers.

Congratulations on the release of Arctic Noise and its number five debut on the DAC. How does such a reception feel after not releasing a studio release in four years?

Åkerman: It's been at number two in the last few weeks, and it feels great to get that kind of recognition from the DJs and people in the scene. The German market is important to us, and there are lots of bands, so it's not always easy to get noticed. In this day and age, with so many new bands, we're lucky this isn't our debut.

The Run Level Zero Web site lists Arctic Noise as finalized in 2006; what caused the disc's final release to be in 2008?

Åkerman: Lots of things adding up. The main thing, though, was that we had some issues trying to synchronize the releases on three different labels, each of them covering their part of the market. The production of the album itself took a longer time than usual, since we recorded the album all over Europe.

You have a new label for North America distribution. What factored into your decision to sign with a new label?

Åkerman: We love Tommy T. at DSBP—he's done a lot for us—but our main label had good contacts with Artoffact, so we struck a deal with them for this disc.

Run Level Zero has expanded into a trio. Can you please introduce us to Ville Hising and Oscar Holter by giving us some background information and telling us how each of them became a part of Run Level Zero?

Åkerman: Run Level Zero consist of Hans Åkerman (vocals), Ville Hising (keyboards), and Ola Sundell (live drums), and we've been a trio for quite some time now. Ville joined in late 2002, and Ola maybe two years later, some time around the tour we did with Assemblage 23 and Rotersand. Oscar Holter is not a member of the band, although he produced most of the songs on this album; he is also a member of the Swedish band Necro Facility. Ville and I met in 2000 in the Stockholm nightlife, and our love of music and vodka brought us together. Ola was brought in later when the need for a new live drummer arose.

The short 2006 U.S. tour with Moulin Noir took place in the winter in the Midwest. What were your impressions of the USA after the tour? Did being from Sweden help you with the horrendous weather of the Midwest in winter?

Åkerman: We had a fantastic time, and we noticed that there are a lot of fans and people interested in this kind of music in general over in the USA. We'd love to do it again, and hopefully we will, too. The weather felt just like Sweden at that time of year, although we've heard it can get a lot colder than we usually get here in Stockholm.

Run Level Zero's sound balances innovation with a reverence for the classic Canadian electro/industrial sound of Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly and Numb. How difficult is it to maintain that balance, and what in particular attracts you and keeps you interested in that sound?

Åkerman: The sound is not planned or calculated in that sense; it's just something that comes naturally. Of course, we're big fans of the bands you mention, and we can definitely hear echoes of their classic sound, but we feel that by now we have a sound of our own. So, to answer your question, the balance is not difficult for us, but thank you for the compliment.

The chorus on 'Stroke' becomes more captivating with each listen. How was the chorus constructed? Whose voices and what treatments are we hearing? Was it difficult to blend the samples with the vocals?

Åkerman: We used several voices in harmony for the chorus. In some parts we also borrowed the voice of Herr A from the band System, who sings in a different and more high-pitched style. We also used a mix of distortion, delay, reverb and compression on the vocal tracks; a lot of treatment was put into the mix.

How much of the anthemic 'With One Voice' is an autobiographical statement of purpose about the music of Run Level Zero?

Åkerman: All songs of ours have some autobiographic elements, so sure, it has some of that, but it's hard to say how much. You decide.

'Lies Told' seems deeply personal, from the lyrics to the vocals to the guitar. Did you ever think about saving it for a solo release? How difficult was it to include that on Arctic Noise and share that with the other members of Run Level Zero?

Åkerman: Well, it is a bit different from the other tracks, but we thought that we could include it anyway. The song was not hard to share with the other members, since the decision to have it on the album shared the song with potentially the whole world, or a small subset thereof.

DJ Hellraver of Terrorfakt threw a release party for Arctic Noise in New York City; are there any plans for Terrorfakt to remix Run Level Zero?

Åkerman: We'll have to think about it. We like his reckless, kind of music and it would surely add a new twist to our more melodic EBM/dark electro material.

Will there be a remix CD that follows Arctic Noise?

Åkerman: Nothing has been decided—we're still evaluating the reception of this album—but a remix CD is a realistic threat.