Transcending the Predictability of an Electronic Show
WHY YOU SHOULD LISTEN: Because sometimes you never want to stop dancing.
GENRE: Electropop
HOMETOWN: Berlin, Germany
WEBSITE: www.popcampaign.tumblr.com
“People find it refreshing that we don’t stick to the norm of hiding behind our laptops and not engaging with our audience.”
-Exclamation Mark
After meeting at a party and running into each other a few times at clubs and venues around Glasgow, Exclamation Mark and Anna Gram’s friendship was cemented by their joint love for one of England’s foremost pop rock bands. Still, it took nearly five years after their drunken night of nonstop Duran Duran videos before deciding to form PoP Campaign. They won’t come right out and tell very much about themselves, but the straightforward boy-girl duo are out to change the trend of music-lovers paying too much attention to who’s playing the music instead of what it actually sounds like. “We would rather our music was accepted on its merits rather than based on our characters,” they reveal when asked to describe their personalities. Clearly, their sound is their top priority.
PoP Campaign Theme Tune by PoP Campaign
Their punchy, synth-driven jams are heavily influenced by Brit electro-rockers The Human League and experimental maestro Brian Eno. And thanks to their light equipment load, the recording process is made simple: “We don’t need rehearsal space or a studio.” Armed with two laptops, two MIDI keyboards, a mic and what they’ve described as the “all-important” Ableton Live, these two prefer the energy and excitement of interacting with the audience during live shows, to the admittedly isolating comfort of their homes.
Although they haven’t had the opportunity to embark on a proper tour, they take their roles as musicians seriously and seek to challenge the current artistic landscape where they feel that “most bands have no imagination musically or visually.” After seeing what they describe as “phenomenal” performances from iconic bands like Parliament/Funkadelic and Pet Shop Boys, they aspire to transcend the predictability of being in an electronic band. “I think people find it refreshing that we don’t stick to the norm of hiding behind our laptops and not engaging with our audience,” Mark reveals.
With an album due out on CARP Recordings in February, PoP Campaign has just one simple message for their potential slew of future fans: “Just judge us on the music.”
photos by Sarah Steffen