Interview with Fredrik Saroea – Datarock

Interview by Stuart Blythe
datarock-smlWe caught up with Fredrik Saroea, lead singer of Norwegian punk funk band DataRock ahead of their Australian tour.

LMM: Your tour is in support of your latest release cd, can you tell us a little about the album?

Fredrik Saroea: The album is the best to happen mankind since the C64 and the international means to get through the financial recession.
 
LMM: How would you compare the album to your previous recordings?

Fredrik Saroea: It’s just the same, but better in all ways.
 
LMM: The “Give It Up” video looks like a lot of fun, how did that come about?

Fredrik Saroea: It came to us on a drunken evening but took a hell of a lot of work to make into a video. You won’t believe how many people were involved. And it’s filmed on location at the middle of the night, mid winters in freezing minus degrees. Even the stupid ass dancing became quite a challenge. And we’re doing this in front of a very serious choreographer surrounded by professional Swedish dancers and a big ass film crew. Next time we wanna pay tribute to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, “Beat It” & “Bad”, Toto’s “Rosanna”, Coppola’s “Rumble Fish”, Broadway’s musicals, “West Side Story” from ’61 and Romeo & Juliette, please stop us!

 
LMM: I understand that Stone Roses are your favourite band, which other artists have been have influenced you?

Fredrik Saroea: More than any I’d say Talking Heads, DEVO and Happy Mondays, but also acts like Fela Kuti, Afrika Bambaataa and Kraftwerk. There’s bits of all parts of the nineties and lots of the late eighties and bands such as Charlatans, Inspiral Carpets, Ride even Ned’s Atomic Dustbin. Of the late seventies early eighties we have admit Laurie Anderson, Television, Gang Of Four, A Certain Ratio, ESG, even juxtapositions such as Prefab Sprout and The Fall, PIL and The Cure, The Smiths and Nuclear Assault. It’s a mess…
 
LMM: Can you tell us a little about your record label “Young Aspiring Professionals

Fredrik Saroea: It’s extremely active nowadays with 11 act right now. We’re in the process of releasing a 7″ series where we produce all A sides including DATAROCK, Karin Park, Syntax TerrOrkester, MT Six, Denga Denga, Fjorden Baby!, ZenZuluZero, Obijans Himmel and John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen. We just released an album by Karin Park called “Ashes To Gold” produced by yours truly and soon the singles will be compiled as DATAROCK’s Patriot Act.
 
LMM: Are there any Australian acts that have sparked your interest recently?

Fredrik Saroea: I still really like Cut Copy, and I’m into acts like Lost Valentinos and PNAU. Haven’t really been good at catching up recently though…
 
LMM: Can you share your most memorable experience from a previous Australian tour?

Fredrik Saroea: Playing>Meredith Music Festival after sunset in front of 13000 Aussies was indescribable, but all shows and all tours have been insane. Having The Doctor from Triple J going mental on stage with us at Future Music Festival in Sydney last year was definitely something to remember too.
 
LMM: I know your Brisbane fans are hanging to see you live but how would you describe DataRock to a newcomer/random?

Fredrik Saroea: The best of the worst, and the worst of the best of everything you ever encountered of any kind. That being sex, drugs or rock ‘n’ roll. A little bit of this. A little bit of that. And what do you get? Something you couldn’t live without once exposed for even just a little second.

Datarock tour dates:
4th June 2009 The Hi Fi Melbourne
5th June 2009 The Zoo Brisbane
6th June 2009 Come Together festival, Sydney

Related: Photo Gallery: Datarock @ The Zoo, Brisbane – 5th June 2009