DAT Politics to play in Korea for first time

By Ines Min

Staff reporter

Prepare yourself, Korea, as the French-electro group DAT Politics will make their way to the country for the first time in their decade-long career this week.

The eight-album strong laptop group from Lille can be characterized by their eclectic sound bites, quirky background vocals, synthesizers and beats reminiscent of video game music. Since beginning in 1999, they've also had a chance to contribute to the growing vein of electronic bands as they helped transform the music scene.

``At the time laptops were not always well accepted,'' said Claude Pailliot in an email interview with The Korea Times, while the band was busy flying between Russia and Switzerland. ``But it changed recently with the explosion of the French electro scene. It just became usual.''

Though the recent popularity of laptop-based bands, which range from fellow French-electro dance group Justice to the impressively orchestrated DJ remixing of Girl Talk, DAT Politics looks to retain their sense of technical roots while continuing to engage the crowd.

``Watching someone staring at his computer screen is kind of boring anyway,'' Pailliot said, mentioning that the group has uniquely added other live elements such as a keyboard, vocals and other equipment to their shows soon after beginning to play live. ``Some people compensate it with outfits or visuals, but in our case it's a bit different ― on stage we look like a rock band with an electronic set up.''

This sense of active audience interaction has helped shape the band's sound, as DAT Politics has progressed to appeal to a wider listener base. ``Madkit'' (2009) has been their most accessible album to date, moving away from the deconstructed noise-rock interludes of their earlier albums and toward more clarified dance numbers.

``On stage, we always tried to play with this wild, rough energetic aspect of our sound. At the same time we were eager to mature and get rid of unnecessary statics,'' Pailliot said.

``We really wanted the tracks to be more readable. We had this goal from the beginning to create pop music, to concentrate on simple tricks like the efficiency of the chorus or the beats.''

A part of the reason was so that audiences could better ``understand our music and direction,'' he added. ``We play bigger events and feel that the audience is still intrigued but also enjoying it.''

It would be hard to not garner interest, as the band integrates a strain of experimentation that veers from hip-hop to techno.

``Of course, the first idea is to avoid repeating ourselves,'' the band said about the process of working on a new album. ``But the direction is never really clear at the beginning. It's hard to define in advance, because our music is not part of a specific genre.''

As for the future of their music, Pailliot said the group was still developing a more specific sound. ``We'll probably try to keep on with the dance electro-rock, while trying to refine our style. With DAT Politics we have a kind of frame and we like to stick to it, the challenge is to fit in that frame but evolve at the same time.''

And, though their sound is electronic and their main instrument a grouping of computers, a DAT Politics live show is really known for one thing: fun. Pailliot said one of the crazier shows they played was in Tokyo.

``The audience was really into it and out of control ... joining us on stage and screaming. More recently we played for the first time in Argentina, where we were very surprised by the public on the dance floor singing along to all the songs. That's always a good surprise.''

The core of any show, according to the band, is the experience the audience members have. The enthusiasm of the fans is always inspiring and contagious.

``We obviously like it when people leave the place all sweaty, exhausted, and with a smile on their face,'' Pailliot said. ``Like after a really intense party.''

DAT Politics will play a show in Daegu, Busan and Seoul each from Friday to Saturday. Tickets range from 10,000 won to 30,000 won. Visit www.supercolorsuper.com for more information.