The Chain Gang of 1974 is the indietronica project of American musician and DJ, Kamtin Mohager. "The Chain Gang of 1974" can also be in reference to Kamtin Mohager himself. Mohager was raised in Hawaii and Colorado, and is currently based out of Los Angeles, California.
History[]
Born in San Jose, California and raised in Hawaii before moving to Denver, Kamtin Mohager joined 3OH!3 as a touring bassist from 2007 through 2010. He self-released Fantastic Nostalgic: The Early Recordings in 2010. That year also saw the release of his full-length debut, White Guts. Mohager moved to Los Angeles to record the follow-up album, Wayward Fire, which was released on Modern Art Records in 2011.[1]
Mohager described Wayward Fire as "all over the place, from a piano ballad to songs that sound like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Primal Scream, or Justice."[2] Zachary Houle of PopMatters called the album "an homage to the '80s, in particular the soundtracks to John Hughes films, and it is, in a word, fun."[3] Pitchfork Media's Ian Cohen remarked that it "ends up less like a living celebration of the past and more like a display case of your favorite synth-pop action figures in their original packaging."[4] David Marchese of Spin wrote that the album "swoons and grooves deliciously, but the lyrics have a distinctly processed flavor".[5] Max Blau of Paste called it "one of the better and most cohesive electronic albums" of 2011.[6] Allmusic's William Ruhlmann said "Mohager convincingly makes the case that there is more to say in the music of the '80s, even if fashion has banished it to its own radio formats and nostalgia tours."[7] Justin Gerber of Consequence of Sound found flaws in the lyrics and suggested that "just about every song could be cut by about a minute", but added that "nearly every song has a beat that pummels you into submission, and that is most definitely a compliment."[8] Mohager received big world wide recognition when his song "Sleepwalking" was featured in the official trailer for Grand Theft Auto V, which later became the most successful video game of all time. The trailer was shown worldwide.
Discography[]
- Fantastic Nostalgic: The Early Recordings (January 31, 2010)
- White Guts (April 27, 2010)
- Wayward Fire (June 21, 2011)
- Daydream Forever (February 4, 2014)[9]
Songs in media[]
- Song "Make My Body" featured in Scream 4. (2011)
- Song "Hold On" featured in FIFA 12. (2011)
- Song "Devil Is a Lady" featured in FIFA Street (2012) and MLB 12: The Show. (2012)
- Song "Undercover" featured in FIFA Street. (2012)
- Song "Sleepwalking" featured in Grand Theft Auto V: The Official Trailer, in the game itself as radio music, and in the official soundtrack. In addition to this, "Sleepwalking" is symbolically played as the end game credits theme for one of the game's three endings. (2013)
- Song "Miko" featured in FIFA 14. (2013)
- Song "You" featured in Real World: Ex-Plosion. (2014)
References[]
- ↑ Cherrie, Chrysta. The Chain Gang of 1974 – Biography. Allmusic. Retrieved on October 2, 2013.
- ↑ The Chain Gang of 1974 on World Cafe. NPR (December 22, 2011). Retrieved on October 2, 2013.
- ↑ Houle, Zachary (July 27, 2011). Review: The Chain Gang of 1974 – 'Wayward Fire'. PopMatters. Retrieved on October 2, 2013.
- ↑ Cohen, Ian (July 14, 2011). Reviews: The Chain Gang of 1974 – 'Wayward Fire'. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on October 2, 2013.
- ↑ Marchese, David (July 2011). "Reviews: Albums: The Chain Gang of 1974 – 'Wayward Fire'". Spin (SPIN Media LLC) 27 (6): 70–1. ISSN 0886-3032. http://books.google.com/books?id=HjzFlV6oDIQC&pg=PA70&dq=%22chain+gang+of+1974%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XHFMUvSLJuWiigLS6oC4Dg&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22chain%20gang%20of%201974%22&f=false. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
- ↑ Blau, Max (June 20, 2011). Best of What's Next: The Chain Gang of 1974. Paste. Retrieved on October 2, 2013.
- ↑ Ruhlmann, William. Album Review: The Chain Gang of 1974 – 'Wayward Fire'. Allmusic. Retrieved on October 2, 2013.
- ↑ Gerber, Justin (June 21, 2011). Album Review: The Chain Gang of 1974 – 'Wayward Fire'. Consequence of Sound. Retrieved on October 2, 2013.
- ↑ Twitter / CHAINGANGOF1974: New album//DAYDREAM. Twitter.com (November 24, 2013). Retrieved on February 4, 2014.
Further reading[]
- The Shortcut (2009). IMDb. Retrieved on December 27, 2009.
- Kale, Wendy (June 17, 2009). "Club Notes: Back on the Chain Gang". Colorado Daily. http://www.coloradodaily.com/ci_13125380. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
- Kale, Wendy (June 18, 2009). The Chain Gang of 1974: Playing Bass with 3OH!3 and Making Waves with Solo Project. Colorado Daily Blogs. Retrieved on December 27, 2009.
- Owens, Kim (September 12, 2008). "The Chain Gang of 1974 – playing Sunday, Sept 14, 1:30PM, GigBot Stage". Kaffeine Buzz. http://www.kaffeinebuzz.com/interviews-the-chain-gang-of-1974.php. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
- Nubi, Lil (January 22, 2009). 3OH!3, Inner Party System and The Chain Gang of 1974. Royal Flush. Retrieved on December 27, 2009.
- The White Tie Affair. A. V. Club Denver/Boulder (November 20, 2009). Retrieved on December 27, 2009.
- Chain Gang of 1974 – Dream Forever Interview. Rockstarnetwork.net (April 27, 2014). Retrieved on April 27, 2014.
External links[]
| The Chain Gang of 1974 |
| Studio albums: White Guts • Wayward Fire • Daydream Forever |
| Singles "Make My Body" • "Undercover" • "Miko" • "Sleepwalking" |
| Related articles |
| Warner Bros. • Grand Thet Auto V |