The two members of the electronic group Crash and Compute met each other at the Danish SPOT festival back in 2008. Spejderrobot, - a new up and coming electronic artist – Emil de Waal jazz drummer with an impressive curriculum of international releases and a string of high profile collaborations. The meeting resulted in a musical alliance and over the past three years the two guys produced two albums and numerous gigs in Denmark and abroad under the name Emil de Waal+ Spejderrobot. 

"We have gained a lot of experience playing at many different venues and festivals and with many different exciting musicians. This experience we now channel into is a brand new sound – as well as a brand new alias" says Emil about Crash and Compute: "Crash and Compute is about carrying people through a concert or a "party" in Denmark, Germany, China, Belgium and wherever our audience is."

Defining the roles of each artist, they have focused more on their own core competencies: "We look very much forward to adding yet another layer of live played and manipulated drums, electric drums and percussion to already existing productions", Emil explains.

"We're not talking about it as techno or house: the tracks are primarily driven by a beat, with a single synth or bass line" explains Mikael, and continues: "We are moving mostly between 120 and 135 beats per minute. The tracks are electronic in their sound and structure, and it is our hope that the audience will take in the music as music they can move and dance to. Other than that we have no need to genre-label the music.

"We have been meeting up to listen to the new tracks as they came along, but most of the time, we sent the tracks back and forth over the internet. I sat up all night and turned on the little buttons, while Emil went into the rehearsal room and recorded drums during the day. "says Mikael, who adds that even Emil's 14-year-old son has contributed with a few ultra tight beats.

The music came relatively easy to the two: "More midi sax, repeat the part some more, not so much weird stuff, became our way of talking about the music," laughs Emil. However, it was more difficult coming up with the band name, "We had some really terrible names on the table, including: Ascetic Youth, Tomb of IKEA...

The band has teamed up with Danish visual artist, Casper Øbro. An EP was released summer 2012 and will be followed by a full album in February 2013.


Casper Aggerholm is following