I know I’ve done a lot of eighties revival coverage in the last couple weeks, and I hate to keep poking at a topic that’s probably long been dubbed “old news,” but I feel that this latest development has once again made a bit of commentary necessary.

DatA

By now we’re all no doubt quite familiar with the distinct post-retro style of Ekleroshock giant, Danger, and therefor it probably isn’t all too shocking that the saw-tooth electro label mate, DatA, has adopted a similar style. What is surprising, however, is the fact that the French producer has managed to summon the likes of Sebastian Grainger (former vocalist and drummer for Death From Above 1979) to take part in his latest (available as of last week) single release, “Rapture.” Upon listening, I immediately thought it rather strange that both former members of DFA79 have now officially converted from their previous distortion-happy endeavors to poppy, synthy electronic music; fortunately, I was soon after presented with the opportunity to ask JFK of MSTRKRFT (DFA79’s other member) for his perspective on the unusual conversion:

What do you think about Sebastian Grainger’s teaming up with Data? It seems rather unusual that both DFA79 guys would quit rock and move to electronic. But then again, I suppose the genre is pretty irresistible as of late.

JFK: “rock music in its present form is dead. pounding away at it is like going to university to study latin. like, its fine if that what you want to do but what satisfaction can a creative person derive from doing something thats already overdone?”

As sad as it is to admit, I’d be lying if I said I could deny any part of that statement. It seems that the reason electronic styles have become so popular in recent years is not because of some sudden massive public discovery of the fact that dancing is fun. Rather, (and please, if you disagree, I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts on this one) I believe that the migration between genres is due to a yearning for new sounds. As epic and emotional as the wail of a crying guitar sounds, fifty years of repetition has proven enough to dry up the past. I see a day, not too far into the future, where the guitar that used to lay under the Christmas tree has been replaced by a stack of software and a copy of Pro-Tools.
Strange? Yes. Sad? Yes? Exciting? You betcha.

And as for the actual track that’s sparked this digression: It’s golden. As much as I hate to admit it, Grainger’s vocals over DatA’s vintage synth sounds and pumping compression are *grits teeth* quite possibly better than they ever were in DFA79. The original DatA track unlocks emotional tones in his voice that I had previously never noted, and on top of that, the remix gives the track a bit of an interesting indie feel. Needless to say, they’re both well worth your time.

Note: The original track has a strong reputation of being torn down pretty fast from the blogs, so I suggest you grab it while you can, and once you decide you love it, that you pick up your own copy from Fnac music.

DatA - Rapture

DatA - Rapture (Pacific! remix)