Norway’s Casiokids have become a blogosphere pick-to-click by blending neon-soaked synth-pop, CinemaScope electronica, and digitally enhanced Afrobeat. When the group started out, however, its sound was considerably less exotic.

Reached backstage at the Øya Festival in his home country, singer-keyboardist Ketil Endresen notes that he founded Casiokids as a two-piece with Fredrik Vogsborg back in 2005. The collaborators quickly built a reputation in a Bergen music scene that’s given the world the likes of Kings of Convenience and Röyksopp.

“We would make songs that were edits of our favourite songs—by Radiohead, Queen, and New Kids On the Block,” the soft-spoken Scandinavian notes. “We would make our own versions of their songs using Casio keyboards. That was the early start of Casiokids. Later we started bringing in other musicians when we played live, and that evolved into a group with actual song structures.”

At various points during its existence, Casiokids’ membership has swelled to over a dozen players, this playing a vital role in shaping the band’s debut album, Topp stemning pâ lokal bar. Operating as a small army for the early part of its existence, Endresen says, meant that somebody was always bringing something new to the table.

These days, Casiokids no longer sound like a Norwegian version of Girl Talk—or the latest answer to the Dirty Wolf Bear Collective. Instead, whittled down to a quintet, the group comes on like a block party headlined by Matt & Kim, Sigur Rós, and Fela Kuti. Yes, Topp stemning pâ lokal bar is that awesome. Sung entirely in Norwegian, the songs swing confidently from the indie-rock–sprayed keyboard-pop of “Grønt lys i alle led” to gorgeously layered world-music dalliances like “Verdens største land”.

What separates the group from the synth-powered hordes who’ve made Brooklyn a godsend for the folk at Look at This Fucking Hipster is the African undertow. Endresen reveals that he first became obsessed with the mother continent’s music as a postrock-fixated postsecondary student in Bergen.

“I had a lot of spare time, so I systematically went through all the different music genres in the libraries in Bergen,” he reveals. “I checked out jazz records and a lot of so-called world music. I didn’t know much about them so I was curious. Afrobeat, highlife, and Qawwali music were things that I discovered that I’d never been exposed to on radio or TV in Norway. It really triggered something in me where I was eager to learn more, so I started up a student radio show in Bergen. We ended up doing a radio documentary in Nigeria. I then started to mix elements of that music in our music.”

The main goal of Casiokids, though, has been to have fun. Live performances can feature anything from on-stage jungle motifs and wildlife films to puppet shows and dancers in monkey suits. Past tours have included a 12-date swing through Norwegian kindergartens, not to mention a gig performed with all band members crammed into a hot air balloon. As for the future, Casiokids have dreams yet to be realized but that sound every bit as fun as Topp stemning pâ lokal bar.

“We really want to do a tour where we rig up a boat and then sail from city to city instead of driving or flying so much,” Endresen says. “The idea is that we would play on the boat. Maybe the boat would just be the stage, or maybe people would come on the boat, which I find more exciting. That way we could take them out on the ocean.”

And, in a best-case scenario, eventually drop anchor off the coast of Africa to soak up some musical inspiration.

Casiokids play the Media Club on Saturday (August 21).