When Australian DJ powerhouse Ajax fired up his new record label Sweat It Out earlier this year, who do you think he deemed fit to be his first signing? None other than Gameboy/Gamegirl. The blog-tastic Melbourne four-piece came together early last year when close friends Chris, Kate and Jess got together to sing a few songs, jump around and be silly – but the final ingredient of course was their producer mate Miami Horror. While the group’s sweaty, unpretentious charm has won them a legion of fans, they’ve rubbed just as many self-conscious hipsters up the wrong way. According to Jess form the band however, they’re not too fussed about it.

“We supported Bonde do Role in Melbourne, and the usual pretentious Melbournites stood up the back looking unimpressed,” Jess told ITM. “But Bonde were up the front dancing. What more do you want? We’ll play as good a show for a crowd who love us to a crowd who don’t, cos it’s what we do.”

With Ajax’s mighty support behind them, Gameboy/Gamegirl have gone on to fling their fervent perspiration all over venues right across the country. This Saturday they’ll be playing Sydney’s Lawn Party among the punters at Randwick Racecourse, and in anticipation ITM chats to Jess from Gameboy/Gamegirl.

I’ve seen you perform a couple of times this year and you have so much energy in your shows, what keeps you going?

Candy and vodka. Plus we’re usually playing somewhere rad with someone awesome, so it’s fun already. I mean we supported Bonde do Role in Melbourne and the usual pretentious Melbournites stood up the back looking unimpressed, but Bonde were up the front dancing. What more do you want? We’ll play as good a show for a crowd who love us to a crowd who don’t, cos it’s what we do. In Tampa Florida we were told no one dances there and we got out there and started daring the kids to dance and by the end we had a packed dancefloor. We just want everyone to dance!

I see that some of your influences are also some of my musical loves, how does Metronomy & Lo fi Fnk influence you?

Lo-Fi Fnk are amazing but I have a special love for homoerotic European electro pop. If I were a Swedish teen boy it would be my dream. They make the sweetest dance tunes. The Tough Alliance as well. I adore them! Metronomy are great also. They’re album was the soundtrack to our overseas tour, it’s a great CD. They seem pretty influenced by Gang of Four and to me Gang of Four where one of the first bands that introduced me to different music.

How does it feel to be going international into the British market?

Jess: Um… well we just got back from our world tour and we played 3 shows in London which were awesome. We played with Afrikan Boy and Bonde again. The crowds are mellow but they swamp you after the show saying how much they love it. But I’d have to say Berlin and Paris were two of our best shows. The kids in Paris went crazy and it’s a real shock to think you could be just as popular if not more popular in Europe than in your own city. Disco house has regular rotation on a major radio station in Berlin. Maybe it’s the faux Euro accents!?! Berlin is a seriously amazing city.

What inspires your lyrics?

Nothing serious. Honestly Tranter could say something really random or we’ll play a game of hip hop scattergories and bam… the base for a song is there and we just build from there. It’s hard to be in a band who embraces cliques but at the same time, really needs to try and be original. So I don’t want to say the word ‘fun’ again, but I think that we just try make fun tracks. Our inspiration could as easily be a cat falling off a couch to a new lolly at our milkbar.

Tranter likes to get naked a lot, how do you stay stage ready?

Well he has taken to drawing on himself now so it’s really a new kind of art within our show. He has an incredible left-handed upside-down body drawing technique that is producing images inspired by the likes of Keith Haring and Basquait. ‘Gameboy Tummy’ is the new medium of choice.

How would you describe each of your tastes in fashion?

The boys keep it pretty simple. Katy and I tend to be a little more over the top. We love a good bomber jacket I must have like 30 by now. We like a whole bunch of amazing op shop stuff mixed with some unique new pieces. Plus on stage we can wear our most amazingly outrageous stuff but we’re true Melbournians at heart and keep it pretty monochrome during the day.

What made you want to get into music?

I used to be in a pretty bad electro band with some friends and Tranter was our biggest fan. I thought he was a bit strange but we eventually became friends and when my band kind of fizzled out, him and I started a hardcore/gangster rap/mixup band called Wolf Brother. That was short lived, also but extremely fun. After that Tranter, Katy and I decided we should maybe make a track together. The rest is pretty much history I guess.

What do you never go on tour without?

Well now we’ve done an 8 week tour. I would say candy/snacks for the old handbag and our DSs. Those things saved us on long flights and with delays. Hell even waiting for washing to dry we’d have a group Mario Party game. We really live up to the name in moments like that. Animal Crossing!

How would you describe your own music?

Party tunes that are heavily influenced but don’t necessarily sound like good hip hop. Our lyrics are silly our beats are rad. I think we’ve made it clear from the get go that we don’t really take ourselves very seriously. Obviously the logistics and responsibility of being in a band we take seriousl,y but what we represent is just a fun kind of party attitude. If it isn’t fun then why would you be doing it?

Have your parents ever come to one of your gigs and gotten into it on the dance floor?

My Dad is our biggest fan but I am yet to allow my parents see us live. Tranter’s parents saw us when we played his birthday celebrations. I think maybe next time we do a festival I’ll drag the rents out. It’s just kind of awkward to think that the people who sent you off on your first day of school will be watching you dance like an idiot singing the word ‘c**t’.

How did you get signed to Ajax’s Sweat It Out?

Well they had approached us and basically as soon as they started talking, we were listening. Ajax is super in tune with the scene so it was a no-brainer for us. They knew where we fit in and how to market us and it worked. Plus Jaxy is pretty fun to hang out with. We finally met someone who can talk more than us.

Finally how do you feel about peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches, is it just an American thing?

Totally an american thing. Katy loves cream cheese and jam bagels but their jelly has nothing on our jam NO WAY!

Catch Gameboy/Gamegirl flinging their sweat about at Lawn Party, this Saturday September 27th at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney! Check out this clip of ‘em getting sweaty here…