In these sometimes contentious and aggressively divisive times, peaceful protests are needed to balance out the aggression.

As a homage to a political movement that started at the turn of the decade, Norwegian dance punks DATAROCK offer their latest single “DISCObedience” as a worthy anthem and gift to the Extinction Rebellion phenomenon of the same name.

Taken from their upcoming album Media Consumption Pyramid (release date: September 29th, 2023 via YAP Records), “DISCObedience” is the third single from the dance-happy record that takes the acid-washed MADchester beats of Happy Mondays and Stone Roses and marries them with socially-conscious but celebratory messages and positivity.

Mixed by 2x GRAMMY®-winning Mark Rankin (Queens of the Stone Age, Iggy Pop, Bloc Party, Adele), the song features Ketel Two (a.k.a. Kjetil Traavik Møster), long time DATAROCK member and acclaimed jazz saxophone maverick who has been touring with everyone from Chick Correa and Pat Metheny to Röyksopp, Robyn, as well as his own solo project MØSTER.

DATAROCK — DISCObedience [official music video]

On “DISCObedience,” Ketel Two takes inspiration from James Chance’s signature style, but very much displaying his own unique style of improvisation — for which he has a PHD in performing arts.

1. Armadillo Pt. II
2. Heart Shaped Circle
3. Metaverse
4. Rabbit Hole
5. DISCObedience
6. Tick Tock
7. Video Store
8. Aeon Flux
9. Digital Life
10. Double Vision (Bonus Track)
11. Armadillo (Pt. I)

From one of the most underrated groups from the late ’00s, and who still making glorious tunes, whose melodies are as ’80s terrific as they ever were, the album opens on the divine, rhythmically-hued Armadillo Pt. II and the early Depeche Mode-imbibed brilliance of Heart Shaped Circle (a portrait and visual homage to Paulo Araya aka Penetra Schön), the synth-pop extravaganza Metaverse, and then comes the Talking Heads-esque Rabbit Hole and the infectiously groovy lead single DISCObedience.

Along next is the synth-rocker Tick Tock and the free-flowing, synth-tastic Video Store and they are in turn backed by the postpunk/new romantic Aeon Flux, the electronically-textured Digital Life, the album rounding out on the Beastie Boys-imbibed, rapped bonus track Double Vision, coming to a close on the Erasure-esque, Van Halen-fused Armadillo (Pt. I).

Centered around the global environmental movement whose aim is to orchestrate peaceful protests against environmental collapse, DATAROCK zeroed in on the civil disobedience events organized in city centers that takes the form of massive dance assemblies. “Hopefully one day, we’ll see one of these nonviolent, civic disobedience gatherings dancing to the beat of their very own soundtrack,” frontman Fredrik Saroea yearns, though he feels that their brand of ‘disco punk’ may be “a bit too aggressive, high tempo and inspired by post-punk like Gang Of Four and No Wave artists like DNA and James Chance and the Contortions for Extinction Rebellion’s dance routines and tutorials,” he laughs. “What a clever and charming civic disobedience that riot police can’t aggressively shut down, right?”

The accompanying A.I.-created video is a psychedelic mind trip that begins as amorphous shapes and eyeballs that eventually coalesce into a time lapse of the mundanity and banality of office life and technology. It’s a wake up call to get up from the stagnancy of work and enjoy life before life has passed you by. Created by acclaimed Norwegian art institution Aldea (who also created their previous video “Rabbit Hole”), the video for “DISCObedience” employs the creative side of A.I. to create beautifully shifting and evolving images that portray the passage of time.

The art collaborators at Aldea explain, “We’ve utilized cutting-edge technology to produce a series of music videos, each distinctively crafted for four tracks from their new album.....in the world where A.I. meets creativity, these advanced models translate the core emotions and narratives of the music into compelling visual experiences.”

DATAROCK is guitarist/vocalist Fredrik Saroea (Rock Steady Freddie), bassists Ketil Mosnes (Ketel One) & Thomas Larssen (T-Man), Casio-operator Stig Narve Brunstad (Stig The Mystical Casio Operator), keyboardist/saxophonist Kjetil Møster (Ketel Two), and drummers/percussionists Øyvind Solheim (Ike Andy) and Tarjei Strøm (LA Gear).

Official Purchase Link

DATAROCK — Rabbit Hole [official music video]

DATAROCK — Heart-Shaped Circle [official music video]

www.datarockmusic.com

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