The Chain Gang of 1974

The Chain Gang of 1974
Mohager performing in 2014
Background information
Birth name	Kamtin Karimi Mohager
Also known as	The Chain Gang of 1974
Born	July 31, 1985 (age 32) San Jose, California, US
Genres	Indietronica, electronic, synthpop, indie pop, alternative
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, composer
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Warner Music Group (2012–2014), Modern Art Records

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 currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

Born in San Jose, California and raised in Hawaii (before moving to Denver), Kamtin Mohager (Nato) joined 3OH!3 as a touring bassist from 2008 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.

In early 2010, Mohager combined both early EP's into a digital only release titled 'Fantastic Nostalgic: The Early Recordings. Mohager describes his early sound as "all over the place, from a piano ballad to songs that sound like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Primal Scream, or Justice." 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."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." David Marchese of Spin wrote that the album "swoons and grooves deliciously, but the lyrics have a distinctly processed flavor". Max Blau of Paste called it "one of the better and most cohesive electronic albums" of 2011.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." 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." Mohager received worldwide recognition when his song "Sleepwalking" was featured in the official trailer for Grand Theft Auto V.