Action Camp is a post-pop duo from Pittsburgh, PA whose music combines equal parts surf, dream pop, and electro, with an ear toward classical composition.  Members Maura Jacob and Bengt Alexsander create an atmospheric sound and involved stage performance that are “a work of stagecraft, a piece of theatre, and a big-top attraction that is the inspired product of two very active and productive imaginations” (Burghsounds blog, 2009). Drawing from a shared love of 50s doo-wop, early art rock, and David Lynch films, Jacob and Alexsander create music that merges the organic with synthetic by utilizing traditional instrumentation in combination with found sounds and electronic elements. The result is an eclectic sound eliciting comparisons to groups like the Eurythmics and Suicide while maintaining its own personal style.  

After a busy summer performing throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, Action Camp currently is participating in the first installment of Pittsburgh’s Hi-Rez Artist Residency Program. The duo created a musical response to the works of Maxo Vanka, specifically his murals on display at St. Nicholas Croatian Church in Millvale, PA, with the resulting piece being performed in November 2010. Their residency marks this summer’s second collaboration for Jacob and Alexsander, coming after their having produced work for Conspiracy for Good, an online project started by Heroes creator Tim Kring. Prior to this year’s projects, Action Camp has produced an LP (Dead Like Tan, 2008), an EP, an album of cover songs, and three live albums. They are honored to be included in this burgeoning local cultural endeavor and are excited to start this new chapter in their history together.

Action Camp was formed in 2006 after a chance meeting between this unlikely pair. Pittsburgh native Maura Jacob is a classically trained vocalist who possesses a deep love for and experience with theater and the literary arts.  Bengt Alexsander is a multi-instrumentalist from Central Massachusetts who has been performing in bands from his early teens. After meeting in Boston and experimenting with different band line-ups and musical styles, they grew into a duo focused on creating a sound where “female vocals waft like ground fog above an ancient forest floor [and] a bizarre sense of darker monster surf music slithers in the eardrums” (The Noise Boston).

After playing in the Boston scene for 3 years the duo relocated to Pittsburgh, PA in 2009. Action Camp remains an ever-evolving entity creating a sound that is uniquely its own. Put simply, their music can be quiet then loud, slow then fast, organic then synthetic, but always drenched in reverb and charm.