The Music of APOGEE

All instruments and vocals: Arne Schaefer

APOGEE music is complex progressive rock based on the great progressive music of the seventies but often emerging out of the established rock field in various directions. The musical influences of APOGEE´s music are covering a wide range of styles from classic progressive rock into folk, heavy rock, jazz, baroque and renaissance music, minimal music, and new musics.

In contrast to versus X where I play guitar and sing, in APOGEE vocals and all instruments except drums are performed by myself via multitrack recording.

From the Album "The Garden of Delights" on I was supported by Uwe Voellmar creating the drum arrangements for the Apogee songs. After Uwe had to leave versus X and Apogee in 2006, the new versus X drummer Thomas Reiner also took over Uwe's duties in Apogee and is now my regular counterpart on drums and percussion. On the Apogee album "Mystery Remains" both drummers can be heard. On the album "Waiting for the Challenge" Thomas Reiner and Eberhard Gräfe are playing the drums, while on the latest Apogee release "The Art of Mind" Ebi Gräf played all drumparts. Ebi is also currently working with myself on the songs for the next Apogee Album.

Musically I prefer complex structures, combining song-like elements with extended instrumental parts, featuring odd rhythms, unusual harmonies, mystical atmospheres and improvised guitar solos.

The main thing about composing to me is absolute freedom. I always worked by the "trial and error principle" and from there my style developed. A very important thing is a wide arc of musical tension within the longer pieces.

I love strong contrasts like soft/heavy, quiet/loud, dense/spaced, slow/fast, etc. Before I record a long piece of music, it´s basic musical structure has to be clear as a whole. Before that it has been permutated and recrystallized a lot of times in my head and written down as a series of working titles for single elements or recorded as rough versions on tape (I am not able to write or play after musical notation).