DATA HERO - Data Hero (2003)

"The viennese duo data hero succeeds in combining electro pop eighties style and indie-spirit"


Country:
Austria
Genre:
Electronic, Rock
Synth-Pop, Pop

Members:
Gernot Grassl (ex-Scapegoat Delu:xxe, and currently in Starpilot, see: http://www.starpilots.net/ and http://www.myspace.com/starpilotsmusic and http://www.gg-schnitt.at/ and http://www.sra.at/person/5961)
Gottfried Schinagl (ex-Lieblinge der Nation, currently -since 1998- in Jellybeat, see: http://www.angelfire.com/md/jellybeat/ and http://www.sra.at/person/8216 and http://www.facebook.com/gottfried.schinagl)
Michael Steppan - Vocals (only on the second album)

VIDEO:
"Drive"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grTs9o7uemA

"Born Unhappy"
http://video.filestube.com/video,9e7555fac6c6bfbb03ea.html

DATA HERO (2003)

Credits:
Gernot Grassl - Vocals
Gottfried Schinagl - Instruments & Programming

Additional Vocals by Iris Grassl
Additional Guitars & Vocals by Alex Wunderbar
All songs by Data Hero, lyrics by Data Hero & Alex Redl
Arranged, Produced & Mixed by Gottfried Schinagl
Mastering by Michael Danner
Photography by Stefan Csáky

Tracklist:

01 Awake And Alive
02 Alone In The Crowd
03 Born Unhappy
04 The Closer We Get
05 Unity
06 Cloud
07 Teenage Lovesong
08 Egomaniac
09 Ready To Go
10 The Ride
11 Data Heroes
Bonus:
12 Drive (from the second album)

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/318049263/data_hero.rar

Reviewers said that the album has a strong New Order influence. You have to decide if it is true or not. I bought this album totally accidentaly in a second hand shop few years ago. Untill then i didn't know about them, but it was a surprise to me how good is the CD. Though the first rather pop than synth track is not my favourite, after it starts something -to me at least- what i really like. From there the album becomes totally melodic and synthfull with such wonderful songs like "The Closer We Get", "Egomaniac" and the final track "Data Hero". And all of this has a kind of 80's feeling. The CD is very rare and highly recommended for syhth fans.
It would be great to get somehow their second album too. I know only one song "Drive"(i included it to you), which is pretty awesome.

I have to talk about the third song on the CD too, as Data Hero made a video for it:

"Directed and edited by Gernot Grassl The story of "Born Unhappy" is told by 8mm film footage of several car and motorboat races shot in Austria´s golden Seventies. The use of neverending drive-bys of vehicles of several kind ironically emphasises the melancholic lyrics of Data Hero, showing the endless chase for happiness in a world of consumption and entertainment. The footage was provided by label boss Kerstin Breyer from her private archive. "Born Unhappy" was taken from the debut album by Data Hero from Vienna, Austria, a duo consisting of mastermind Gottfried Schinagl (Jellybeat, Lieblinge der Nation) and singer Gernot Grassl (Starpilots), who celebrated their love for 80ies-style synthpop on this record. datahero.net"

More(German)reviews:
http://www.wohnzimmer.com/releases_reviews.php?id=WOHN003&s=2717

http://derstandard.at/fs/1405832/Data-Hero-Data-Hero

http://www.b72.at/?b72=programm&pid=2012

Biography:
Data Hero was an electronic music band from Vienna, Austria formed in 2002 and interrupted circa 2006. The duo consisting of mastermind Gottfried Schinagl (Jellybeat, Lieblinge der Nation) and singer Gernot Grassl (Starpilots), who celebrated their love for 80ies-style synthpop on these two records. Schinagl and Grassl are well known names in the Austrian indie scene with Jellybeat and Starpilots, but these bands have a different sound from Data Hero as reviewers noticed. After the first album Gernot Grassl and his "juvenal"vocal style was replaced by the new vocalist Michael Steppan and the band produced a more strict and heavier sound.

Though with this new lineup they released one more succesful album in 2005, the new singer soon left Data Hero. Since then no news about them, but as far as i know the band didn't disbanded officially. Perhaps Gottfried Schinagl will come out with a new stuff in the furure under the name of Data Hero...

A Gottfried Schinagl interview (German):
http://blog.beatboxx.at/?p=656

ALBUMS:
Data Hero (2003)
Shade Of Your Ray (2005)

More info:
http://home.pages.at/datahero/

http://www.gotv.at/hostedby_detail.php?id=305

IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE THE SECOND ALBUM "Shade Of Your Ray (2005)", UPLOAD ME PLEASE!!