How’s touring going? Really good, the crowd has been amazing, we’re playing a few new songs off the album that we haven’t played live before and it’s been a whole lot of fun. It’s been very quick though.
How would you describe your sound? Like a cross between Daft Punk and AC/DC. So it’s a bit rocky and it’s a bit dancy, also with a bit of Beastie Boys thrown in.
You’ve toured with La Roux and Groove Armada. Ever get star-struck? The most I’ve been star-struck is when we met Dylan Lewis, the guy who hosts Video Hits. He used to do a show on Saturday mornings called Recovery and so I grew up watching him. So oddly enough I was the most star-struck with him.
You played a festival in tiny Tumby Bay, by Port Lincoln. Much to do there? You can go to the red pub or the blue pub. Seriously. One has a red roof and one has a blue roof. So people tend to stick to one or the other. It’s weird.
Essential roadtrip album? It changes all the time, but right now I’m listening to Congratulations by MGMT. l met a couple of the guys on the Future Music Tour. The lead singer is actually an amazing acoustic guitarist, he was just jamming with us, and I was like “holy smokes, he’s amazing”.
What’s the story behind your name? Well to be honest, it started out because I thought it sounded cool. But as we go on, it’s fun to add more meaning to it. Now, we think of it in terms of how the music is made. We look at the really successful groups and we try and break down the elements of those popular songs like the rhythm, the beat, the melodies and the groove and how long the phrases are in each sentences, and find out what is common amongst them.
Who would win in a fight between art and science? I had to answer that very question for Mark Ronson’s bouncer at the Melbourne Future Music after party. We got there and I saw people jamming and I ran up to the front, through the rope barrier in my rush to get there. I was so excited, but this UK bouncer was like, “whoa man, you cant go up there”.
What happened? I was like, “but I love jamming, I’m Dan from Art Vs Science, I played today at Future, let me up.” And he was like “I’ll let you up if you answer me this question: who would win in a battle between art and science?” And I said, “it’s a neverending battle between them, until they both realise that there actually is no battle”. And he was like “whoa, come through”.
Favourite spot to holiday in Australia? Byron Bay. It’s such a cliché but it is beautiful.
Favourite night spot in Sydney? The Flinders Hotel. It’s starting to change though. About three months ago it was really awesome and cool, but at the moment it’s a bit of an Ivy crowd I think. Art vs Science play Perth (June 30), Adelaide (July 1) and Melbourne (July 2). www.myspace.com/artvsscience
