Sauce

The last time we spoke with German duo Datarock, they were giving us a dose of Computer Camp Love. Now they’ve returned with an EP entitled See What I Care – and, because I care, I spoke to Ket-Ill about embracing different influences, and growing up to a soundtrack by Talking Heads.

So I understand that both you and your partner are big Talking Heads fans. Is that still the case?
That’s correct, yeah.

So tell me – what is your love with Talking Heads?
Well, I can’t speak for Fredrik, but it’s just been one of those bands I’ve been listening to since I was a kid, basically. I think my father took me to that … you know that concert movie that they released, like, twenty years ago or something, called Stop Making Sense?

Yeah.
I think my father took me to that one. I was a kid at the time, obviously, and I just became a fan, and I’ve been collecting their records since. And it was funny, because when I met Fredrick here in Bergen like, ten years ago, we started talking music, and that’s one of the reasons I got to know him; our common taste in music. And I think bands like Talking Heads, Devo, and, to a certain extent The Stone Roses – they were kind of the band we were both really enjoying. I guess you could kind of say that that was the start of Datarock.

I think we talked about a year ago when you released your album. On the Remain In Light album by Talking Heads, there’s a track which talks about a man who, over time, adjusted how he looked – he made his jaw longer, and all these sorts of physical changes. Reinventing himself … I think, in a way, that’s what you guys have done. You’ve completely reinvented yourselves, from a rock beginning into pop-electro musicians. Would you agree to some extent with that?
Yeah. I mean, in a way, I guess both me and Fredrik have … When we met, we both had backgrounds from punk rock and metal and hard rock bands, and when we started hanging out, and started making music together, we were basically going to clubs; dance clubs here in Bergen, instead of the rock clubs. I guess there were more interesting things going on at the dance clubs.

Like what?
[Laughs] I won’t answer that! [Laughs] No, but that’s where all our friends went. Most of the music scene in Bergen happened around those clubs … So yeah, when we made the record, we definitely wanted the songs [to be] quite danceable and quite electronic. But it changes a bit over time, I think. It depends what we’re inspired by when we go in the studio and make songs, because we listen to a lot of different stuff. I mean, sometimes both of us are inspired by some hardcore bands, and we both try to go and make a hard rock song. Then we might want to do a dance song. The new EP that’s about to be released in Australia; the EP called See What I Care – it’s probably more rock-sounding than the album. It’s more British-influenced, I would say; like, Manchester-influenced.

Are you guys playing the guitars on this? Or are you using the computers still?
It’s basically live instruments – guitar, bass, drums and vocals. So it’s definitely more of a rock EP. So that’s something that just happened this time. God knows what the next record will be like! [Laughs]

Datarock tour the mainland in September.

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