The DMA's: '˜Leeds has always been a great place for us'

Australia's The DMA's return to Leeds on December 10 at O2 Academy to showcase their mix of Brit-pop and indie guitar influenced tracks from their two studios albums, bringing with them their legions of fans decked in their now customary checked shirts and baseball caps.
The DMA'sThe DMA's
The DMA's

We caught up with singer Thomas O’Dell to reflect on their past year and what the future plans are for the band.

You’ll be playing with The Courteeners at Heaton Park in Manchester to a huge sell-out crowd next year; how does it feel to have such a big following and support in the UK?

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It’s great. We can’t wait for that show. We actually supported them on our first ever UK tour, so we are grateful to them for introducing us to their fans who are now some of our fans too.

You’ve previously covered Cher and now Madonna. Is there a specific desire to cover female acts?

We like covering pop songs from that kind of era. I guess it’s just chance that they were originally sung by female artists.

Following For Now, what are your future recording plans?

Album number three in 2019.

You’ve almost certainly created a cult following with your UK fans in terms of dress sense; does this carry throughout the world when you play?

Haha, I don’t know, really. Maybe?

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Having supported The Kooks and, as mentioned, the upcoming Courteeners gig, are there any other UK acts you would like to play with?

Arctic Monkeys.

A debut album is always the one with the initial ideas and thoughts of an upcoming band, are there any songs on your debut that you ever feel tired of playing live or have stopped playing completely?

There are a few songs we’ve stopped playing because we need to make room for the new ones. It sometimes depends on the gig; if it’s a good show I’m down to play everything.

You will be playing Leeds 02 Academy in December, which will be the fourth time I’ll have seen you, and this is the third interview; are there any specific and special memories you have of playing in Leeds and Yorkshire?

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Nothing specific but Leeds has always been a great place for us and our gigs sell fast there. We’ll play for a bit longer for you this time.

Which bands have you discovered whilst touring that you would champion?

Red Faces.

And finally, if you had to reflect on your career so far, what has been the ultimate highlight?

Our Splendour in the Grass set earlier this year.

The DMA’s play at O2 Academy Leeds on December 10. dmasdmas.com