New kinGeorg EP ‘Helter P.T.2’ out now with cover David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ remixed by Apoptygma Berzerk & Beranek
kinGeorg
(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) After releasing his cover version of David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ in 2024, dubbed ‘Helter’ in Norwegian, kinGeorg adds more versions to this release today. More electronic remixes from Norwegian legends Apoptygma Berzerk and Beranek caught our attention, so we had to dig more into these tracks.
kinGeorg, alias Kim Lunde, is one of the most unique voices on the Norwegian music scene. With a raw mix of dark pop, rock and electric undertones, he creates music that not only hits, but also lingers for a long time. kinGeorg has received attention both nationally and internationally, with regular radio listings in both Norway and Sweden. On stage he delivers a captivating live experience, and with new songs on the way, including collaboratios with Apoptygma Berzerk and poet Trygve Skaug, kinGeorg is ready to take 2025 by storm.
Kim Lunde and Stephan Groth elaborate on their collaboration:
S-L: What was your approach to doing a cover and remix of this Bowie classic, translated to Norwegian?
Kim: I think “Heroes” is one of the best songs ever written. I have fond memories of my grandmother playing this song for me over and over again when I was very young. I therefore have a special connection with this song and always wanted to make my own version of it… but since I prefer singing in my native language I had to get the lyrics translated.
3 years ago I recorded a Norwegian version of ‘Heroes’, but it would take 2 years for all the legal stuff to be sorted out with Brian Eno and David Bowies’s publishers… a quite long and tiresome process.
STP: I remember listening to Kim’s demo of ‘Helter’ at a party at a friends place. I was highly sceptical before listening since ‘Heroes’ is such a huge classic and because it has been covered so many times before, but I was pleasantly surprised! It had a very different twist and feel because of the Norwegian lyrics and because of Kim’s outstanding vocals.
I thought the version was great and asked Kim if he would let me do a remix.
Kim: I of course said YES, and I am very excited about the final result. I am also very happy that we got a remix from Beranek for the single.
S-L: What’s your relation to David Bowie’s music in general?
STP: I was first introduced to Bowie when watching the Christiane F. “Wir Kinder Vom Bahnhof Zoo” movie at a young age, but it would take many years before I could appreciate the genius of David Bowie.
He was an amazing artist in so many ways.
Great singer, performer and songwriter, but most important to me, He was extremely original and fearless when it came to changing styles, experimenting and reinventing himself. He was also an actor and even had a role in the David Lynch movie “Fire Walk With Me” (a prequel to Twin Peaks) … how cool is that?
Musically I must admit that there is a lot of Bowie’s back catalogue that I do not really connect with, but The Berlin Trilogy on the other hand I find outstanding! As a fan of electronic music I owe a lot to Bowie for promoting bands like Neu!, DEVO and Kraftwerk to the masses.
S-L: Any plans for doing any/more Bowie covers?
Kim: We could do “Dancing In The Street”!
STP: Not so sure about that… a cover version of “Dancing in the Street // Silent Music Video” would be awesome though. (Editor’s note: Didn’t get the joke? Check this!)
Espen Beranek Holm also contributed with a remix on this release, and as a seasoned interpreter of David Bowie his thoughts about this release was also interesting.
S-L: What was your approach to doing a remix of this Bowie classic, translated to Norwegian?
Beranek: I would try to build a backing track that contained some kind of «catchiness» in it’s own right, but still making the vocals stand out. I also intended to pay tribute to the repeating nature of the original as well as a nod to the guitar works of Robert Fripp from the original.
S-L: In addition to releasing some covers on your own on the EP ‘Oscillator Orkester’, what’s your relation to David Bowie’s music?
Beranek: In the early years of my career I was constantly compared to both Bowie’s voice and his music. I had not been listening that much to Bowie at the time, but of course I knew about him and his works, ‘Hunky Dory’ and ‘Scary Monsters’ being two (very different) favourites. So I listened up on the man, and I found more favourites. I think Bowie in the 80s was quite a bumpy ride, but he really got through it and I think he did some of his best works later on.
S-L: Any plans for doing more Bowie covers yourself?
Beranek: I don’t have any immediate plans, no. I play guitar and do vocals in the Bowie cover-band The Goon Squad, so I feel that the live performances I get to do in that project is satisfying enough when it comes to do Bowie covers.
The EP is available on Tidal, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube Music.
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Side-Line Magazine than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can - and we refuse to add annoying advertising. So you can see why we need to ask for your help.
Side-Line’s independent journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we want to push the artists we like and who are equally fighting to survive.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as 5 US$, you can support Side-Line Magazine – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
The donations are safely powered by Paypal.