OneMetal.com INTERVIEW:
Diablo Swing Orchestra talk to OneMetal

Diablo Swing Orchestra have kicked up a storm and delivered one of the most thoroughly entertaining albums of 2009 with Sing Along Songs For The Damned and Delirious. When we were given the opportunity to slap some questions in front of axe weilding vocalist Daniel Håkansson we jumped at the chance…

OneMetal:D:S:O have produced a blinder of an album with Singalong Songs and have become a firm favourite with OneMetal, but for our unitiated readers can you sum up in you own words what is Diablo Swing Orchestra?

Daniel:Thanks! Well I kind of like the description that it sounds like “system of a Down collaborated with Danny Elfman and got Maria Callas to handle the vocal duties. Feels like that description sums things up .

OneMetal:Your sound has been described as all sorts; freaky, dark, insane how would you describe it?

Daniel:Danceable!

OneMetal:Lets face it, when you think of Swedish metal bands like In Flames, Amon Amarth, Opeth spring to mind how does D:S:O fit into the genre?

Daniel:I guess we don’t (laughing) Looking at the difference receptions we’ve gotten abroad and here at home I guess we’re not too popular here at home.

OneMetal:It’s a pretty mad concept, the whole genre skipping from swing to metal, how did it come about?

Daniel:I think it all comes down to the fact that everybody in the band likes different kinds of music and we try to include most of our own preferences in our own songs and try really hard to create music we would like to hear ourselves.

OneMetal:I admit I had to listen to Butchers Ballroom (1st album) after hearing Singalong Songs and there seems to be a noticeable difference, more of a move away from the gothic element, and more diverse. Was this a conscious decision ?

Daniel:Well, when we first started writing the songs for our debut album we were’nt aware of the fact that the whole female fronted gotic thing already existed. So I guess we wanted to try another road this time around since we want to do things our own way.

OneMetal:File sharing is a nightmare for bands nowadays especially with albums being leaked before release dates, was this a worry for you, as there was quite a delay before Singalong Songs was released?

Daniel:I think it leaked 1 or 2 weeks before it was released. We didn’t think to much about it since it’s not much you can do about it anyway as a band other than try to let your listeners know that you lose money when they download instead of buying the albums. But it’s not something we loose much sleep over…. no.

OneMetal:We have heard how well you sound on record, how does it transpose live and is it difficult to maintain the orchestral feel ?

Daniel:Well, live is a whole different ballgame anyway since we don’t want to use any backing tracks on stage. It sucks having to play to a clicktrack so we just make the shows as raw and energetic as possible.

OneMetal:What can fans expect from a live D:S:O show ?

Daniel:Dancing, fun and a lot of sweating.

OneMetal:Turning it around actually, as a band you are not exactly ordinary so what can you expect from your fans, do you get some strange audiences ?

Daniel:The ones we’ve met so far have been really nice but there have been some strange emails (laughing)

OneMetal:Have you had any strange requests from fans?

Daniel:Something about writings in blood….

OneMetal:Bearing in mind your own diversity, if you had to pick three other bands (past or present) to play alongside in a festival who would they be?

Daniel:Primus, Muse and Tori amos.

OneMetal:There are six of you in the band, how easy is it to tour with each other and how does Annalouice cope with the rest of the men?

Daniel:It has gone ok so far, if someone is annouing she just sings really loudly in that person’s ear.

OneMetal:What are the plans now for the next year and where do DSO go from here?

Daniel:We will tour in May next year and do as many summer festivals as possible and then it is time to start the pre production of the next album.

OneMetal:Finally, what makes D:S:O stand out above all others and why should our readers go out and buy a D:S:O album?

Daniel:Because they should finance our drinking habits!

OneMetal:Thank you so much for spending some time answering our questions and good luck with the future.

Daniel:Cheers and thanx!