Culture Collide Review

Two weekends ago, Los Angeles was treated to the 2nd annual Culture Collide festival, a 4-day event in Los Angeles presented by Filter Magazine. Multiple venues including Echoplex, Taix, The Echo, ReFORM, and a couple outdoor stages featured over 80 acts from 24 countries…

We sent a handful of writers and winners of our Miracle Package - which included free admission and drinks with our founder, Brandon Dorsky. Dorsky unfortunately was rear ended on I-10, but that didn't stop the show or our obligation to provide coverage. Some highlights from the entertainment rich weekend included:

On Saturday, Classixx, DJ Harvey, and CSS performed and wow did they impress. Classixx is an electronic duo from Los Angeles. Absolute beasts on stage, they likely have a very bright (or at least danceable) future ahead of them. Their laid back and unique style make for a great atmosphere to get your groove on. The two remix a lot of great tracks adding in some of their original compositions. Check out

"Into the Valley" (featuring Karl Dixon) [Download]

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/11360967"]

DJ Harvey from Cambridge, England is an influential force in the worldwide community. He is old school electronica, but in a good way. He has an affinity for long sets peppered with crafty original tracks and long jams generating relatively chill atmosphere.

CSS formerly known as Cansei de Ser Sexy is a rock band from Sao Paulo, Brazil. They headlined and absolutely killed their set. In a packed EchoPlex venue on Saturday, they crushed the dance floor with their energy and again on Sunday as the title act of the Toyota Antic block part. Their upbeat alternative rock/pop sound with obvious Brazilian flavor creates surprisingly fun and palatable tracks that have brought them success worldwide. Some favorite tracks by them are below.

"Lets Make Love and Listen to Death From Above" [Download]

"Move" [Download]

Danish pop band The Asteroids Galaxy Tour also impressed. They have a retro pop sound featuring interesting vocals from lead singer Mette Lindberg. Their soul is stripped down to permit more modern elements to shine through, but at the end of the day they feel like a indie-pop-soul act. Two worthwhile songs are "Major" and "Around The Bend".

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Major

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour -- Around the Bend

Datarock were also one of our top acts on Sunday, along with The Asteroids Galaxy Tour. Norway's Datarock indie electro-pop sound just makes you want to dance, which is what they got most of the crowd doing. Their infectious sound and playful on-stage persona Datarock (all the members of the band wearing flashing red blazers/jumpsuits) only fueled the ensuing dance party to rage harder . We liked almost every song we heard from them but three favorites were "Catcher In The Rye", "California" and "Fa-Fa-Fa".

DATAROCK - Catcher In The Rye (Extended Version)

DATAROCK - California

Datarock - Fa-Fa-Fa

The best word to describe Culture Collide Festival is diverse. Not only were the above mentioned artists great, but with artists from 24 different countries, the range of sounds and influences was on display each night. We can only thank Filter Magazine for a job well done and look forward to the next culturally informative experience curated by them.

Post by Zach Siegal Eisman

Datarock Channels Talking Heads

How are we just now finding out that Datarock does fun Talking Heads' medleys? They just moved up a level in our book...

If you love Talking Heads - watch this

Datarock Channels Heads & Makes Some Dance at Echoplex

Datarock is a band that had me at “she’s not that kind of a girl, booger!” For anyone not familiar with this awesome Norwegian electro-funk duo, that’s a line from their hit song “Computer Camp Love” off their aptly titled 2005 album Datarock Datarock.

So when I heard that they’d be in Echo Park promoting their new single (out March 21st) I jumped at the chance to go. I arrived at the Echoplex on a chilly Friday night to be greeted by their incredibly lovely tour manager, Tony. Datarock wasn’t scheduled to go on until 11:30p due to their four opening acts but Tony warned me that even still they were running a little behind. Since I can’t possibly rock out on an empty liver I headed to the bar and in the process was nearly run over by a little man in a red tracksuit. In my sober haze I didn’t realize it was old time band member Fredrik Saroe, and instead thought to myself, “that boy should really re-think his outfit”. Vodka soda in hand I made my way to the front of the room. At nearly midnight the red tracksuit clad members filled the stage and burst into none other than “Computer Camp Love." They followed this Revenge of the Nerds classic with “Sex Me Up," another great track off their Datarock Datarock album. Frontman Kjetil Møster then broke into a very admirable running man, backed by his crew, and segued into “Princess."

As fun as the show was, I was a little disappointed at the poor turnout. Kids were hanging by the bathrooms and couples were fawning over each other in the booths, but for such lively and danceable beats I expected to find a packed and sweaty dance floor. I then remembered when I first saw Matt & Kim about five years ago at what used to be one of my favorite L.A. haunts, Safari Sams. Standing before the then barely known duo in a sparsely filled room I recall thinking “they’re totally awesome! Why aren’t there more people here?” and “they should really re-think their name." I may have been wrong about the name part, but I wasn’t (and never will be) wrong about the musical deliciousness aspect. I guess it just takes some people a little longer to catch on, so I’m telling you this: catch on now if you haven’t already. Datarock is rad.

They finished up their set with a few newer tracks that I wasn’t familiar with. Upon first listen one of them sounded a lot like “Once in a Lifetime” by the Talking Heads. Moments later they introduced a song only released last year “True Stories”, the ultimate Talking Heads tribute anthem. Clearly being very big fans of the New Wave, post-punk movement, you’d expect their new “extravagant” single to be some sort of mash-up between the Talking Heads and their Datarock Datarock album, right? Well, it is. Mix Datarock with “Psycho Killer” and you’ve got “Catcher in the Rye” - a classic beat with catchy lyrics and totally worth a listen. By the end of the night I found myself telling people that Datarock was from Norwegia. Now, for those of you who excel in music but not in geography: Norway is a place. Norwegia? Not so much. That’s when I knew it was time to put down my drink and head home. Another good night of epic tunes down, countless more to go.

Written by Lauren Lomma, Edited by Brandon Dorsky