Interview and live image by Jonathan Taylor
Instagram: jonathantaylorphotography
Across twelve tracks, DMA’S 4th studio album, ‘How Many Dreams?’ which is due for release on 31st March, marks yet another departure in terms of musical creativity and evolvement for the band from Sydney. It weaves perfectly electronic dance layers and unexpected string arrangements seamlessly with the bands trademark guitar based foundations. We catch up with Johnny Took from DMA’S for a chat.
Q: Firstly, congratulations on the album. From start to finish, it really is a joyous, uplifting and beautifully optimistic record. You teamed up with producer Stuart Price again who you worked with on ‘The Glow’. Why as a band did you decide to continue this partnership for the new record?
A: We learnt so much from working with Stuart on ‘The Glow’ and became good mates so tackling a second album with him seemed like a no brainer for us. We ended up working with Stuart Price and Rich Costey for 3 weeks in London’s RAK Studio where we got the majority of the album done and did some amazing work. However, when we returned to Sydney, we felt there was still a lot more to be done on the record and due to Rich being in Vermont and Stuart in London we spent another 2 weeks on the album with Konstantine Kersting where we really got to dive in deep with synth and final touches because the skeletons of the tracks were already there in such great shape.
Q: Some of the tracks on the album, for example, the title track ‘How Many Dreams’ and ‘I Don’t Need to Hide’ are very much in the same vein as some of the tracks off your last record in the likes of ‘Life Is a Game of Changing’. Was it a conscious decision for that exploration of a more electronic route to be continued?
A: Yeah, we definitely wanted to have a little bit of cohesion from ‘The Glow’ to this new album but also didn’t want it just to be ‘The Glow 2.0’. I think maybe that’s just where we have been over the last few years, incorporating more dance elements to the tunes but at the end of the day the record is a modern sounding rock album at its core.
Q: When you went into the studio to record ‘How many Dreams?’, did you have a clear idea as a band as to what you wanted the end product to sound like? Or did things take a different direction in terms of arrangements and musical outcome?
A: We knew the songs were good at their core, however I feel it’s sometimes important to leave space for arrangement and structure ideas to be changed over the period. It means you have to enforce some sense of spontaneity to the project which I feel is important for the character of the record. It also makes it more collaborative in the back end for the people that work on it.
Q: As a band musically there has been a shift in sound since your beginnings and your first album release ‘Hills End’. Has there had to be a level of compromise between you all in terms of the shift in sound or as a band is there a mutual sense of progression and evolvement in the direction DMA’S has taken?
A: We just stay true to what we feel like producing at the time and this is where we have landed.
Q: Along with the uplifting electronic tracks on the album, there are some beautifully tender moments with the likes of ‘Dear Future’, ‘Forever’ and ‘Jai Alai’. Lyrically they are beautiful in sentiment, incorporate vintage piano parts and backed with some stunning string arrangements. Is fascinating how these tracks are quite a departure, but still have that trademark DMA’S sound. Was the prominent use of stings something you wanted to explore and incorporate on this record and how do you keep that balance to ensure it still sounds like a DMA’S record.
A: Ever since ‘Silver’ we’ve loved using strings so if it’s appropriate and the part is good it’s nice to get them in there, but they all came from just experimenting in the studio. Stuart Price once told me even if we tried to not sound like DMA’S we’d still sound like DMA’S so I don’t think that’s an issue for us.
Q: As there an underlying theme running through the album?
A: Maybe sonically, but no we don’t really do concept albums. Maybe one day…
Q: ‘De Carle’ the closing track on the album is a fiery, electronic, trance inspired offering. How does and track like this start in its infancy and morph into something as big in sound as the final result?
A: Tracks like this normally stem from one of us just mucking around in our studio with synths and beats and stuff and then it kinda becomes its own beast. Once it already hits hard as an instrumental we get Tommy to sit with the track and see what kind of melodies we all can come up with.
Q: Favourite track on the album and why?
A: ‘Get Ravey’ for me. I had been sitting on these melodies for years now and it wasn’t till so many years had passed till I wrote the chorus and couldn’t be more happy with how it finished up.
Q: As a band your fan base in the UK is quite incredible and your live shows capture the spirit of something that is very reminiscent of the 1990’s in terms of unity and togetherness. How does touring in the UK compare to the rest of the world?
A: We’re fond of our fans everywhere we go but we’d be playing it down if we didn’t acknowledge how special our UK fans are to us. It’s become our second home and the rich history of music that has come out of there is entrenched in society and you feel it every time we play a show. Our UK fanbase holds a special place in our hearts that can’t be replaced.
Full review of DMA’S 4th studio album, ‘How Many Dreams?’ to come in the next few weeks.
The album can be pre ordered in the link below:
