Datarock
Encyclopedia
Datarock, derived from the Norwegian
word for computer
– datamaskin and the word rock
(meaning rock music made on a computer), is a Norwegian
electro rock
band. The band formed in 2000
as Fredrik Saroea, Ketil Mosnes and Kevin O'Brien and soon hired Tom Mæland. O'Brien and Mæland later left the band, but the duo of Saroea and Mosnes continued the project. They have been featured on advertising by Apple Inc.
, was released in 2005 in 10 countries on the band's own label, YAP (Young Aspiring Professionals), receiving favourable reviews, especially in the UK. They made an appearance in Australia
's Triple J Hottest 100
with the single "Computer Camp Love" in 2005, placing at #12 . Fredrick has commented that Australia was the only country to pick up Datarock early aside from their homeland. This song was #88 on Rolling Stone
s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.
Their song "Fa-Fa-Fa" was featured in a Coca-Cola
advert, and is also featured in "Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective", NHL 08
, FIFA 08
, and NBA Live 08
. It also appears in The Sims 2: Free Time, and The Sims video team was asked to create a custom music video for "Fa-Fa-Fa." Another one of their songs, "New Song," is featured in Madden NFL 08
. In addition, a remix of "I Used To Dance With My Daddy" is featured in Need For Speed: ProStreet
and "True Stories" is featured in FIFA 09
. Datarock is also featured in FIFA 10
with "Give it Up."
Datarock was also featured in an Apple advertisement for the fourth generation iPod Nano
. The ad showed the song "Fa-Fa-Fa" playing on an orange
iPod Nano. The coverart for Datarock Datarock
was also shown. "Fa-Fa-Fa" is also featured as a free premium track on the iPhone
/iPod Touch
game Tap Tap Revenge 3
.
Fredrik Saroea also has solo aspirations and has recorded several individual tracks, including a duet with fellow Norwegian pop-star Annie for the song "I Will Always Remember You," which has been included on later presses of the band's debut LP.
Datarock's song "True Stories," featuring lyrics made up entirely of Talking Heads
song titles, is featured as a promotional download in MP3 format from The Sims 3
.
Their song "Dance" was used in an episode of the MTV
reality show Jersey Shore
.
Their song "Amarillion" was used in a key scene in the Chuck
episode Chuck Vs. The Nacho Sampler.
Their song "Fa-Fa-Fa" was used in an episode of the Comedy Central
series, Workaholics.
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
word for computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
– datamaskin and the word rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
(meaning rock music made on a computer), is a Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
electro rock
Electro rock
Electronic rock, also commonly referred to as synthrock, electro rock or digital rock, is rock music generated with electronic instruments...
band. The band formed in 2000
2000 in music
See also:* 2000 in music Record labels established in 2000-Events:*January – Gary Glitter is released from jail, two months before his sentence for sexual offences ends.*January 1**John Tavener is knighted in the New Year's Honours List....
as Fredrik Saroea, Ketil Mosnes and Kevin O'Brien and soon hired Tom Mæland. O'Brien and Mæland later left the band, but the duo of Saroea and Mosnes continued the project. They have been featured on advertising by Apple Inc.
Releases
The band has released three EPs and their debut album, Datarock DatarockDatarock Datarock
Datarock Datarock is the debut album by Norwegian Dance-punk duo Datarock, released in 2005. The duo's hit single, "Computer Camp Love", is a playful song based on the 1984 American comedy Revenge of the Nerds and almost parodies "Summer Nights"...
, was released in 2005 in 10 countries on the band's own label, YAP (Young Aspiring Professionals), receiving favourable reviews, especially in the UK. They made an appearance in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's Triple J Hottest 100
Triple J Hottest 100
The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll, based on the votes of national Australian radio station Triple J listeners, in order to determine their favourite song of the year. Voting is conducted by the internet and begins roughly two weeks prior to the new year for the previous year's songs...
with the single "Computer Camp Love" in 2005, placing at #12 . Fredrick has commented that Australia was the only country to pick up Datarock early aside from their homeland. This song was #88 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.
Their song "Fa-Fa-Fa" was featured in a Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
advert, and is also featured in "Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective", NHL 08
NHL 08
-Soundtrack:-Easter Eggs:* Wells Greeno-McNeil is the name of a child for the Make-A-Wish Foundation whose wish was to have his name and likeness in a videogame.* The default created player names are of the game's developers....
, FIFA 08
FIFA 08
FIFA 08 is the 2008 installment of EA Sports' series of football video games. Developed by EA Canada, it is published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released on all popular gaming formats in September 2007 in Europe, Australia, and Asia, and in October 2007 in North...
, and NBA Live 08
NBA Live 08
NBA Live 08 is the 2007 installment of the NBA Live series by EA Sports. It was released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, PC , and PlayStation Portable. This is the first NBA video game to include all three next-generation consoles...
. It also appears in The Sims 2: Free Time, and The Sims video team was asked to create a custom music video for "Fa-Fa-Fa." Another one of their songs, "New Song," is featured in Madden NFL 08
Madden NFL 08
Madden NFL 08 is the 2008 edition of the American football video game series published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 19th installment in the Madden NFL video game franchise. It features Titans star quarterback Vince Young on the cover. San Diego Chargers defensive end Luis...
. In addition, a remix of "I Used To Dance With My Daddy" is featured in Need For Speed: ProStreet
Need for Speed: ProStreet
Need for Speed: ProStreet is the 11th installment of Electronic Arts' popular racing game series Need for Speed. On May 21, 2007, Electronic Arts published a teaser trailer of ProStreet, and officially announced it ten days later. It was released worldwide in November 2007. Its action footage was...
and "True Stories" is featured in FIFA 09
FIFA 09
FIFA 09 is the 2008 installment of Electronic Arts' FIFA series of football video games. Developed by EA Canada, it is published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released in October 2008 for Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii,...
. Datarock is also featured in FIFA 10
FIFA 10
carlos leivaFIFA 10 is the 17th title in Electronic Arts' FIFA series of football video games. Developed by EA Canada, it was published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released on 2 October 2009 in Europe, 30 September in Australia and 20 October 2009 in North America...
with "Give it Up."
Datarock was also featured in an Apple advertisement for the fourth generation iPod Nano
IPod nano
iPod Nano is a digital media player designed and marketed by Apple Inc.. The first generation of iPod Nano was introduced on September 7, 2005 as a replacement for iPod Mini. It uses flash memory for storage. iPod Nano has gone through six models, or generations, since its introduction...
. The ad showed the song "Fa-Fa-Fa" playing on an orange
Orange (colour)
The colour orange occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum at a wavelength of about 585–620 nm, and has a hue of 30° in HSV colour space. It is numerically halfway between red and yellow in a gamma-compressed RGB colour space, the expression of which is the RGB colour wheel. The...
iPod Nano. The coverart for Datarock Datarock
Datarock Datarock
Datarock Datarock is the debut album by Norwegian Dance-punk duo Datarock, released in 2005. The duo's hit single, "Computer Camp Love", is a playful song based on the 1984 American comedy Revenge of the Nerds and almost parodies "Summer Nights"...
was also shown. "Fa-Fa-Fa" is also featured as a free premium track on the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
/iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
game Tap Tap Revenge 3
Tap Tap Revenge 3
Tap Tap Revenge 3 was the number 1 application in the App Store within the first 24 hours of its release and stayed there for over 2 weeks.Once released as a free application in the App Store, it rose to the 2nd most downloaded application in the App Store within 24 hours with 300,000 new members...
.
Fredrik Saroea also has solo aspirations and has recorded several individual tracks, including a duet with fellow Norwegian pop-star Annie for the song "I Will Always Remember You," which has been included on later presses of the band's debut LP.
Datarock's song "True Stories," featuring lyrics made up entirely of Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
song titles, is featured as a promotional download in MP3 format from The Sims 3
The Sims 3
The Sims 3 is a 2009 strategic life simulation computer game developed by The Sims Studio and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to the best-selling computer game, The Sims 2. It was first released on June 2, 2009 simultaneously for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows...
.
Their song "Dance" was used in an episode of the MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
reality show Jersey Shore
Jersey Shore (TV series)
Jersey Shore is an American reality television series that premiered on MTV on December 3, 2009 in the United States. The series follows the lives of eight housemates spending their summer at the Jersey Shore in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Season 2 followed the cast escaping the cold northeast...
.
Their song "Amarillion" was used in a key scene in the Chuck
Chuck (TV series)
Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
episode Chuck Vs. The Nacho Sampler.
Their song "Fa-Fa-Fa" was used in an episode of the Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
series, Workaholics.
Members
Current members
- Fredrik Saroea – Vocals, guitars, drums, keyboards.
- Kjetil Møster – Saxophone, percussion, keyboards, vocals
- Thomas Larssen – Bass guitar (also plays in the band Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren BandRalph Myerz and the Jack Herren BandRalph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band is a Norwegian electronica group.-Career:The band was formed in 1997 when Erlend Sellevold asked for people to play percussion with him during a party in Bergen. Thomas Lønnheim and Tarjei Strøm showed up through a combination of mutual contacts and high-school...
) - Tarjei StrømTarjei StrømTarjei Strom is a drummer for the Norwegian rock groups Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren band and Datarock.-Ralph Myerz and The Jack Herren Band:The band was formed in 1997 when Erlend Sellevold asked for people to play percussion with him during a party in Bergen. Thomas Lønnheim and Tarjei Strøm...
– Drums (also plays in the band Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren BandRalph Myerz and the Jack Herren BandRalph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band is a Norwegian electronica group.-Career:The band was formed in 1997 when Erlend Sellevold asked for people to play percussion with him during a party in Bergen. Thomas Lønnheim and Tarjei Strøm showed up through a combination of mutual contacts and high-school...
) - Adrian Meehan – Drums
Previous members
- Tom Mæland – Keyboards (2000–2003)
- Kevin O'Brien – Vocals (2000)
- Ketil Mosnes – Bass, programming, keyboards, backing vocals (2000–2010)
Discography
- Demo/Greatest HitsGreatest Hits (Datarock EP)Demo/Greatest Hits is a demo EP by the Norwegian electro-rock band Datarock. It was released in 2002 as a 400 copies limited edition by the record label, Kaptein Kaliber Records.-Track listing:# "I Used To Dance With My Daddy" # "Maybelline"...
(2002) - Datarock DatarockDatarock DatarockDatarock Datarock is the debut album by Norwegian Dance-punk duo Datarock, released in 2005. The duo's hit single, "Computer Camp Love", is a playful song based on the 1984 American comedy Revenge of the Nerds and almost parodies "Summer Nights"...
(2005) - See What I CareSee What I CareSee What I Care is an EP by Norwegian band Datarock. It was released on 12 November 2007 by their record label, Young Aspiring Professionals.-Track listing:# "Not Me" – 3:35# "Do It Your Way" – 1:50# "See What I Care" – 3:19# "Stay" – 2:26...
EP (2007) - RedRed (Datarock album)Red is the second album by Norwegian Dance-punk duo Datarock, released on 8. June 2009.-Track listing:# "The Blog" # "Give It Up" # "True Stories" # "Dance!" # "Molly" # "Do It Your Way"...
(2009) - CaliforniaDatarock California EPDatarock California EP is the latest EP by Norwegian Dance-punk duo Datarock, released in 2011 included within the Catcher in the Rye EP aka The Most Extravagant Single in History. The EP features the title track "California" a song the band bills as part of a new modern rock musical about Datarock...
EP (2011)