From “Reforma”, the largest circulating newspaper in Mexico.

Download a copy of the article in PDF format.
You will need a PDF reader in order to open this file.

Click here for the translation:

- -

Caption of upper three photos:
The trio returns this year to the music scene with a tour of the EU, a
double disc, and a DVD filmed live in Philadelphia; they hope to visit
Mexico shortly.

- -

Title:
Revived Thanks To Nostalgia

- -

Left column:
The approaching CD ‘apocrypha’

August 1st brings to light “Apocryphon,” the “old and new” disc Paul
Robb conceived as a gift to all who maintain their devotion to
Information Society.

“‘Apocryphon’ is new in the sense that we’re releasing unknown songs
that we wrote and recorded before signing with a record company. I
don’t recommend it for those not true fans of the group because it’s
heavy and dark. If you like Information Society, it’s a treasure
because it’s a double disc with a big library of photographs.”

Besides upcoming shows in the United States and Peru, Robb doesn’t
discount a visit to Mexico.

“If something coalesces in Mexico, we’ll go. We live nearby and it’s
a brilliant place to visit. Check in on the new webpage.

“We’ve done big shows in Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Venezuela,
Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, and have plans for Peru and Chile.

- -

Central and right columns:
Paul Robb says grunge and hip-hop killed electronica.
Luis Carillo

For a band with exactly 20 years as the yolk of the electronic egg in
America which soon disappeared, it has been the lasting loyalty of its
fans and an overflow of nostalgia that has kept them alive.

Information Society, two guys bent over synthesizers and a vocalist
dancing in rollerskates with eccentricly (un)styled hair, dominated
clubs and arenas in North and South America in the 80s, with “What’s
On Your Mind” and “Walking Away.” Soon came the breakup, the
families, a hiatus of more than a decade and an attempted scheme by
the VH1 program “Bands Reunited” to seduce and compel them to perform
in 2004.

After recently making the disc “Synthesizer,” the society composed of
Paul Robb, Kurt Harland, and James Cassidy declares itself alive.
They have returned to the scene in the United States (including a
great night in Madison Square Garden), and in August they will release
the double album “Apocryphon” and a live DVD.

In an exclusive interview with Gente!, the leader, Paul Robb, admits
that for a generation which danced under neon lights and copied their
hairstyles, acne marks appeared, nostalgia weighs heavily and sells
albums and lots of tickets.

“Nostalgia sells. It’s a mixture of nostalgia and devotion.
Furthermore, people have more money as they get older and they can buy
concert tickets. Bands like Depeche Mode or Erasure haven’t stopped
making albums and touring. Surely they’ve had devoted fans since the
80s,” says Robb via telephone, from his house in Santa Monica.

“We’re alive, having concerts, and we’ll have ‘Apocryphon’ and the DVD
of the big show in Philadelphia. We didn’t die, it’s just that our
life hasn’t been structured for 15 years. We did other things and we
raised families.”

The musician recognizes that the market has changed, and speculates on
what would happen if Information Society were a new band today.

“We wouldn’t get a record deal (laughter), although there are bands
that sound similar to Information Society. We showed up at a strange
time; we were something too late for the 80s, and too early for the
techno of the 90s, and that affected our place in musical history.
Today we’re more popular in Europe than when we were a major success.
Erasure, OMD, and Depeche Mode had monopolized Europe. They said to
us “we already have Depeche and Erasure, why would we need Information
Society?”

It’s clear to Robb: two trends annihilated electronic music in the
dawn of the new decade.

“Really, grunge and hip-hop conspired to kill alternative electronic
music. In the 80s Information Society was considered alternative, and
in the middle of the 90s the alternative thing was a question of
rockers.”

- -

Right sidebar:
How I say it

“For me there isn’t one single group that’s the main icon. What’s
revolutionary one day is boring 10 years later; but something one
person finds boring, could captivate their children.”
Paul Robb
Leader of Information Society

Caption of lower photos:
For 20 years, the band has been one of the principal exponents of the
electronic genre in America.