Ok Go: Dance, Dance, Dance To The Video

Sometimes the best ideas are the ones we have without intending to have them in the first place. Ok Go know this for a fact. While record label executives and PR gurus across the globe are trying to work out how this whole ‘making it big through the internet’ thing works the New York quartet have seemingly mastered it by complete fluke. The video for their last single ‘Million Ways’ is now officially the most downloaded in history and it only cost $25 to make. On the eve of the release of the bands second album ‘Ok No’ Gigwise talked to front man Damian Kulash and heard how the band entered the record books by complete accident.

“We were trying to come up with an idea to make the live shows unique,” explains Kulash. “We decided that halfway through the set we’d drop our guitars and perform a choreographed dance routine.” With the help of Kulash’s sister, a trained ballerina, the band set about creating said routine, practised for four days and then decided to film it to see what it looked like. “It was never meant to be a video, it’s mind boggling what’s happened since,” says Kulash. “We’ve even been sent videos from Vietnam and Russia, basically all over the place, of people recreating it. They’re even doing it at weddings!” Its surely beat the ‘Maquerena’ hands down. “There are these five girls who have sent us about ten different versions in different outfits, we‘re thinking of getting a restraining order,” laughs Kulash.

The idea for the promo for ‘Million Ways’ came after the band had decamped to Malmo in Sweden to record their sophomore album. They eventually hook up with producer Tore Johansson (Franz Ferdinand, The Cardigans) after he was impressed by the erly demos. Kulash describes ‘OK No’ as more “organic” than it’s predecessor, 2002’s self titled debut. “This record is much different,” he reveals. “The first was like some kind of science project - a lab monster. It turned out surreally perfect like a synthetic slab of pop full of bells and whistles. This one is more organic, simpler, more human. It’s more emotional rock n’ roll, you can really hear the rumble of the rhythm section on it.” Lyrically he says it ploughs much darker subjects than the buoyant music would suggest. “We wanted to explore the gap between happy and sad, while the music remains energetic and upbeat we put a darker, more emotional spin on the lyrics. People like Elvis Costello or The Stone Roses were really good at that type of thing. The Smiths as well.”

The band toured ‘Ok No’ throughout the UK in January and are to return at the end of March, the reaction to the new material has been amazing says Kulash. “The tour was spectacular, every show was sold out. The new songs are just really fun to play live, they have an honest, full band sound to them. While the songs from the first album had a certain charm, they had too much of a studio manufactured feel to them.” And have the crowd been dancing we ask. “Yeah, surprisingly in most places large numbers of the audience have been joining in. Its really made our jaws drop!”