Music interview '“ Django Django: '˜Brexit, political turmoil '“ it's been a catalyst for us to strike out and do something light and refreshing'

When London-based art rockers Django Django put out their sophomore album Born Under Saturn in 2015, the UK appeared to be safely ensconced in the European Union, the US presidential elections were a year away and Leicester City were yet to win the Premier League. Suffice to say, a few shocks around the globe have happened in the interim.
Django DjangoDjango Django
Django Django

“I feel this new record was really a kick against everything that’s gone on,” bassist Jimmy Dixon notes. “You just get to a point where you want to break away from all the bad news, the politics and everything that’s unravelled over the past three years. You want to put it at the back of your mind and find something that’s purely fun and playful instead.”

The band’s response to make a brighter record has manifested itself in their third album Marble Skies, an outing the Yorkshire-born musician describes as “escapist”. “We’ve always wanted to write songs that take you on a journey out of everyday life,” he adds. “Brexit, the political turmoil – it’s been a catalyst for us to strike out and do something light and refreshing. It certainly pushed us in this direction.”

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Breaking from previous experience, the group crafted their own homemade studio in Tottenham, having previously record their self-titled debut in drummer Dave Maclean’s bedroom and Born Under Saturn in Oxford. “It’s nice having your own space to work in,” Dixon remarks. “In a big studio, you’re set to the timelines of others; you’ve got five days to get three tracks done or else. This has been a little less frantic.”

Have the processes changed significantly for the group in making music? “The way we write has changed a lot since the first record. Me, Tommy (Grace, synthesiser) and Vinny (Neff, frontman/guitarist) write as a trio a lot more now. But the production remains constant. We’re still using techniques that we went through when making the first album.”

The band take to the road later this month to support Marble Skies in earnest, and Dixon is relishing the chance to get on stage again. “It’s great, going out again. We’ve got to dismantle the tracks and put them back together again to see how we can make them work in front of our fans. In a way, it’s like rewriting them; playing live is like putting a lease of life back into them. It’s always exciting.”

Django Djano play at The Church, Leeds on March 3. www.djangodjango.co.uk