ON RADAR: Big Data

Originally from Rochester and Brooklyn, New York are the electro pop duo known as Big Data. The band consists of members Daniel Armbruster and Alan Wilkis, focusing their music on issues of people and the Internet and technology world. Their music primarily puts an emphasis on NSA surveillance. The band’s hit song “Dangerous” has garnered airplay on multiple commercial radio stations and has topped the top 10 chart here at B-Sides! The track is featured on their debut EP known as 1.0. Along with the release of the popular single, the band also released an interactive video to accompany the song. The video “Facehawk,” combines the listener/viewer’s Facebook profile and creates their timeline into a video. Big Data wanted to provide their fans with a visual reminder of how much information they share on the social networking website. “Dangerous” starts off as a slow heavy bass guitar tune combined with high pitch vocals; this plays throughout the entire song. There is a break in the song where the bass pauses and the listener hears an upbeat electronic keyboard instrumental. The track is essentially about stalking someone, and based on the band’s theme, it’s a good indication that they are speaking of stalking someone online to eventually stalking them in person. We hear this in lyrics, “I bet you didn’t know that I was dangerous, it must be fate, I found a place for us, I bet you didn’t know someone could love you this much.” Although the song is presented in a catchy electro pop beat, the song itself has an underlying dark theme. Fans of Foster the People and Passion Pit should check out Big Data!

Check out the official music video for “Dangerous” here!