Defying the boundaries and using their creativity to venture across various genres is enigmatic seventh-piece Tacobitch. Dropping their NSFW conceptual visual for raw single “HAIJAMEN” today, the group explore the meaning behind what it is to be human with thumping futuristic bass lines and retro-inspired synths. Experimenting with both new electronic music and 80s rhythms, the group cross into punk territory with this tune while encompassing social commentary.

Opening up on the new single and EP, the group revealed, “Humami is ridden with contradiction in regards to the references used and the ample use of contrast in the music. This slightly uncanny unpredictability allows for both sudden euphoria and reckless wit all the like. The feeling that you really cannot be completely sure of anything is simultaneously intriguing and frightening, but definitely worth exploring in the safe setting of music, be it live or on a record.”

Born out of toxicity, the Norwegian group met while living in shared accommodation in their homeland, and after various arguments and disagreements in the house they bonded over tacos and formed the band. Aiming to release new music in the coming months, we caught up with the group talking early beginnings, inspiration and the creation behind their trippy new music video.

Check out the interview below…

Hi Tacobitch – how have you been during this uncertain time? How has it impacted your music and creativity?
We’ve been quite alright, actually! Luckily, everyone is in good health. Of course, it’s really boring and sad, but hopefully, the world is heading for better times! With all the lockdowns, we’ve had a lot of time to experiment, make new music in the studio and come up with new ideas for our live shows. Having something to work with and focus on has been very important to us.

Why the name Tacobitch?
A few years ago, our frontman (Shere Kahn) used to work at Los Tacos (a taco-joint in Oslo). One night, he had a very vivid dream where he dreamt that he came in late to work. In all the stress and hassle with putting on his uniform, he knocked over a big barrel of Los Tacos’ secret salsa sauce. This, of course, made the manager really upset. With much anger in her voice, the manager yelled something in the likes of “What the hell are you doing? Clean that mess up and get to work! The people need their tacos, bitch!”. Even though it was only a dream, the managers’ yelling stayed with Shere for years to come. Later on, when we started this collective, we struggled with finding a suiting name. Shere remembered the dream he once had and shared the experience with the rest of us. It all culminated in him suggesting “Tacos Bitch” as a band name. After further discussion, we figured that it would be best if we took out the plural S in “Tacos” and decided on Tacobitch.

How would you describe your genre?
We lay in the sweet spot between techno and punk, with a little sprinkle of performance on top. It’s all about the attitude and roughness, but it’s also about being sweet and warm. In other words: pop?

How has Norway influenced you sonically? And who were your musical heroes?
We spend hours on end lying face down on ice-covered lakes, staring into the deep, dark abyss. Each year, the sun leaves us to rot in the dark, afflicting many of us with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Some evolutionary biologists have theorized whether our rough climate and past high rates of infant mortality has caused us to lose some genes that are important to psychological attachment. Uur military alliances has kept our sallow, barely armed country safe for a while now, which has made it possible for our parents to find stable jobs and for us to pursue careers in the arts. A comparatively high standard of living has blessed us with internet access for our entire lives—that might also have influenced us somehow. We must also not forget a certain electronica scene in Tromsø. We are fans of many of these musicians. Some names are Röyksopp, Biosphere and Bjørn Torske.

Congratulations on your new track – “HAIJAMEN” – what was it inspired by?
Thanks a lot. It was inspired by humankind and everything we as a species has accomplished but also destroyed in our time as bipedal beings. It’s actually very impressive! We’ve had people walking on the moon, which is generally agreed upon to be good, but we are also to blame for the extinction of the dodo bird and other beings, which is bad.

And the super trippy music video combines music, dance and costume visuals – and looked like a lot of fun to film – what did you want to evoke with it?
We do not feel the need to dictate what emotions or thoughts one ought to have when watching this video. If we intellectualize it too much, we might drain it of whatever magic it might contain. Also, the video was made in collaboration with Elliot Houwing-Endresen, and we never asked him this question—maybe because we wouldn’t get to the bottom of it anyway—so we cannot speak on his behalf. With that said, we hope you people have fun with whatever you see and hear, and we hope that some of it stays with you.

How does it feel releasing new music when most of the world is in lockdown/everything feels so uncertain – what do you hope your music will bring?
It always feels good to release new music. And hopefully, our music and music videos have been able to put a smile on people’s faces and motivated them to do a little dance in the safety of their own homes. That is what we as a collective is all about – giving people some free time from their everyday lives and letting them escape into our bizarre little universe. And in our experience, it’s good to see some weird shit in times of worry.

What’s the most unusual place you pull inspiration from?
We’ve been exploring the weird side of YouTube a lot. You know, those weird videos with very few views and some nonsensical contents. During these explorations, we sometimes find a funny sound that sparks an idea, or just see some stuff we’ve never seen before.

What’s next for you? What are you looking forward to in 2021?
We are releasing some more music pretty soon! And we promise you – there are only bangers to come. We really look forward to seeing our fans again and have a raging party with them as soon as it is safe to do so. We miss the smell of smiling, sweaty audiences.