When I catch Nik Kozub, co-founder of Edmonton electro group Shout Out Out Out Out, on the phone he tells me he’s about to go to work. I was confused — isn’t he about to release his band’s new album? Why’s he recording again? He quickly sets the record straight. “I’m mixing my dad’s album,” he explains. “He brings me to work on his records.”

His father, Wilfred Kozub, frontman for Wilfred N & The Grown Men, has been making rock music since the early ’80s, and while the two haven’t collaborated on a song yet, it’s pops that’s responsible for his son’s love of club beats and synth sounds.

“I grew up around an 808 (a digital drum machine) and a lot of my synths were inherited from my dad,” says Kozub.

While the E-Town songwriter has made his name twisting knobs and slamming keys with the Shout Outs, his love for everything electronic is a recent development. The band is made up of recovering rockers — Kozub played with Luke Doucet in Veal — so when the six-piece saw their debut disc, Not Saying/Just Saying, receive critical acclaim and a Juno nom they were floored.

“We certainly didn’t expect anyone to care,” says Kozub. “We started the band as something different and interesting for us as individuals who have played in a bunch of rock and punk bands for years.”

Now that the project has turned into a full time job, the group has gotten serious about their new record Reintegration Time. It picks up where their last disc left off — brooding minimalist beats, techno heavy synths and catchy, but not overpowering lyrics.

Getting the sound they wanted this time around wasn’t as easy as it was before. The Shout Outs were so careful about crafting the right disc, it took them six months to get it done.

“It took us a lot longer than we thought,” says Kozub. “One thing we wanted to do this time around was create a dense and textural disc, with more of a focus on the electronic music side of things.”

While it’s too early to say whether all the hard work will result in a Juno win this time around, it’s a safe bet that more and more fans will flock to these rockers-turned-dance floor fanatics.

“A lot of people who have traditionally grown up listening to rock bands are now seeing that dance music is pretty fun,” says Kozub. “But I think for a lot of people they still like to have a live band element. Sure, our band is trying to make full on techno music, but just because we are who we are we can’t help but put a live band feel to what we’re doing.”