November 19, 2007

EA recently offered GCM the excusive opportunity to take a look at the inner workings of EA Trax and hooked us up with their current top-featured band, a couple of sporty electro rockers from the icy fjords of Norway called Datarock.

For the past handful of years, North American ears have been treated to a rising wave of new sounds emerging from the Scandinavian countries. Acts like The Concretes, Peter Bjorn and John, Junior Senor, and Röyksopp have successfully blended myriad of music styles into a unique sound that many in America are now calling “Target Rock” – a nod to the American shopping chain whose television advertisements often feature these slick and catchy tunes.

One of the newest bands to materialize from the Scandinavian scene is the Norwegian dance-punk duo named Datarock, who unabashedly revisit the styles of iconic punk and new wave art rock acts Devo and Talking Heads, but with a heavy dose of modern technology, and the devil may care attitude of the Happy Mondays.

Datarock’s latest single “Fa Fa Fa” has been blowing up dance floors across the US ever since the re-issue of their 2005 debut Datarock Datarock by Canadian record label Nettwerk.

Times couldn’t be better for Datarock; with a series of great performances at Austin’s SXSW Music and Media Conference, a sold-out North American Tour, a performance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, and several “Best Of” and “Bands You Should Know” mentions on sites like Spin.com and MTV.com.

But there is one distinction that Datarock holds that is of particular interest to GameChronicles magazine; as of this writing, Datarock is currently the band that is featured in more EA video games than any other – they are currently featured in Madden NFL 08, FIFA 08, NBA Live 08 and NHL 08, and in the coming months, can be heard in FIFA Street 3, NFS Pro Street and SIMS.

This feat is made possible by the efforts of Artwerk, a joint venture between EA’s unique music division, EA Trax, and Datarock’s record label, Nettwerk.

Any gamer worth his mettle should be familiar with EA Trax, which for the past five years has been doing an incredible job introducing unwary gamers to new and unique music tracks from both established and emergent acts, all of which have been hand-picked for each game. In many cases, EA Trax attains exclusive tracks many months before their official release – giving fans a rare sneak peek at upcoming albums.

So, with Datarock holding this prestigious distinction in gaming, we thought we’d throw a few questions at them to see if we can figure out what makes them tick, and to find out how they feel about their recent success.

GCM: OK guys, I like to start out my interviews with a series of 50:50 questions to get a good feel for my subjects. Just pick one of the two answers, and I will decide your “You Rock” factor based on your choices.

Formula 1, or MotoGP	Formula 1
Shaun Ryder, or Paul Ryder	Shaun
Downhill, or Cross Country	Downhill
Plasma or LCD	LCD
Lief Ericson or Leif Garrett	Leif Erikson
New York, or Detroit	New York
Captain Hook, Dr. Hook, or Peter Hook	Peter

Ok, enough of that. So let's find a little out about you two;

Datarock hails from city of Bergen, Norway – also the home of Röyksopp and The Kings of Convenience. Both of those bands seem considerably tamer than Datarock. Do you guys fit in with the other bands in the Bergen scene, and is this a sign that Bergen is getting a bit of edgier?

Datarock: Absolutely. We're both bred on a healthy diet of local black-metal, punk, funk and junk, so us getting close to the edge, down by the water, was inevitable. There's a few new kids on the block too, so if you wanna check out what's happening back home, have a listen to QUASIMOJO, LASTNAME:NGUYEN and UNGDOMSKULEN.

GCM: I caught your gig on the Jimmy Kimmel Show on ABC. That must have been a gas to appear on a nationally broadcast late-night talk show. Aside from that gig, what have been the most memorable experiences of your recent North American tour?

Datarock: I guess selling out the show in L.A. for the third time, CMJ in NYC and the craze in Toronto were standouts, but the whole tour was memorable. Our audience just didn't seize to amaze. To us, you know, some of these songs aren't exactly brand new, but the intensity of the North American crowds was definitely fueling the tunes with teen spirit every single day, Botox style.

GCM: I see from your tour schedule, you guys have a series of shows lined up that have you bouncing back and forth between the tropics of Central & South America and the arctic winter of northern Canada. It looks like three back-and-forth instances, to be exact. What is up with that? I know you Norwegians are Viking-strong and all, but are you two on a mission to contract pneumonia?

Datarock: It's insane, we know. At the end of the year we'll end up having played in 32 countries all together. The quest for pneumonia is not yet over though.

GCM: You guys play live instruments on stage, and are able to achieve a unique retro-meets-modern electronic sound. With the high-energy beats you guys kick, it must be exhausting to keep up the intensity for a whole set. What is the approximate mix between live instruments and electronic sampling in your live sets, and who are those other fellas kicking it with you on stage?

Datarock: It is indeed, especially as there's just a few tracks that goes with samplings on stage. Everything is basically performed electro acoustically, and the ones you'll see on stage are old friends of us from back home.

GCM: You guys make no bones about your influences – Devo, Talking Heads and Happy Mondays are mentioned in your bios and press releases. What about current bands? What is Datarock listening to, and are there any North American acts that have caught your attention during your tour?

Datarock: In addition to the masters of the universe I ought to credit The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem and !!! for initially opening the doors of the scene we're now part of.

We love what Justice and their peers at Ed Banger are doing. New Young Pony Club and Lo Fi Fnk are sweet. The Swedish artist Robyn has a great new track with Kleerup called "With Every Heartbeat". CSS and Bonde Do Role are cool. Shit Disco and Klaxons are nice. Blond Redhead is tops. US Maple is great!

New North American acts that caught our attention would be Crystal Castles, Shy Child, The Carps, Foreign Born and GUNS'n'BOMBS .

GCM: Speaking of touring, I have a buddy whose band toured Europe with this band that wore pure white 70's-era polyester tuxedos. After the third show they all but ditched the duds because they were too hot, incredibly uncomfortable, and impossible to keep clean. Your signature red tracksuits seem like a much more sensible choice for stage wear. How many of these outfits did you guys take on the tour?

Datarock: I'm sure they're better suited, but ours are still a bad choice. I mean, those cottoned babies are worn by the athletes before and after, but never ever during a competition. DEVO knows better too. They'll remove their yellow suits and expose their lovely legs, whereas DATAROCK endures overheating and dehydration over and over again. We only bring one each though, but our wearable saunas are frequently washed.

GCM: You guys reference geek-nostalgia in your song "Computer Camp Love". Aside from the obvious skills with the electronics used in your recordings, do you guys consider yourselves geeks at heart?

Datarock: I guess there's an obvious nerd element to the way we've approached music, but saying we're geeks at heart would be pretentious, speculative and leading the witness. You'd have to object and move to strike.

GCM: Datarock recently penned a deal with the Canadian record label Nettwerk. That must be an awesome feeling for an act like yourselves, considering Nettwerk was the home of once-legendary industrial and electronic acts like Skinny Puppy, MC900ft Jesus, Econoline Crush, and Severed Heads. Do you think that being attached to such a well-respected lineage has helped lend a sense of credence to Datarock?

Datarock: We hope that goes both ways, but we're certainly happy to be working with such a solid, credible and progressive label. Not only do they have their history, but also their organization, working ethics, progressive approach to new frontiers and an incredibly attractive way of working with their artists. We still have full financial and creative control, and dealing with them has simply felt like radically expanding the administration of our own label, Young Aspiring Professionals.

GCM: Even better, Nettwerk and EA Trax have recently teamed up and formed Artwerk. As a result, Datarock now holds the dubious distinction as being the act currently featured in the most EA games. I am sure you guys appreciate the exposure that the Madden, NBA Live, and Sims titles give – especially in the US markets – but as a couple of frosty Norwegians, you guys must be really stoked about the FIFA and NHL tie-ins, eh?

Datarock: Someone said it's unprecedented for a band to have tracks in as many high profile games simultaneously as us, and if that's true, we're stoked about all of them. I pessimistically regard video games as the last physical medium for music, but I'm happy to see how well these "compilations" are programmed. As you probably know, money talks in most mediums, but music executives for games aren't easily pushed around. Those games have become wonderful ambassadors for alternative artists, and the exposure we're expecting, we couldn't afford any other way. And just for the record: we were programmed prior to the joint venture.

GCM: Do you guys play video games? If so, what is the preferred medium?

Datarock: We do, and as we're touring, the PSP is the way to go.

GCM: Does Datarock have the "need for speed"?

Datarock: We just did a grand auto theft, so the need for speed is immense.

GCM: Let's talk about your song Bulldozer… Is BMX really better than sex?

Datarock: No, but it's just as much fun.

GCM: So what is in the future for Datarock? Can we assume there will be a new album on the horizon? More touring?

Datarock: We'll start recording our new album in January, and we'll continue touring, touring and touring throughout the year.

GCM: Well guys, thanks for taking the time to talk to GCM. Congratulations on all your recent success, and we are looking forward to hearing more from Datarock in the future; on CD, on TV, and in especially in our games!

Now, I have one final question for extra credit; Datarock, dig up the Commodore 64 knowledge you learned at computer camp, finish the following command:

LOAD "DATAROCK", (blank) ,(blank)

Datarock: LOAD "DATAROCK", 8 , 1

GCM: You got it! Based on the 50:50 score and bonus on the extra credit, you guys definitely deserve a “You Rock” from GCM. Thanks again for taking a few moments away from your busy tour schedule to speak to us.

You can get more info about Datarock, find tour dates, and order their CD's at their official website or visit their MySpace page.