dios [Malos]
Atomic Dioster
With a fine debut album having been lapped up by the music press
and an even better offering to follow it, dios (malos) would appear
to have something of a golden touch. I infiltrated their Inbox with
some random questions to find out how their minds tick…
AD: What made you decide to form a band in the first place and at what
point did you realise “Hey, we have something special here!”?
DM: Bands get serious on a gradual level, moment to moment. Quitting
school and work about three years ago was definitely the point where
it got there.
AD: Phil Ek produced this album for you. Did his style differ greatly
from the way you worked on the first one?
DM: We worked on the first album over the course of a year and it
was very relaxed. The second record was recorded and mixed in a little
under a month, so we definitely had to focus. Phil Ek was pretty comfortable
letting us dictate how we wanted the record to sound, although he was
a
good second opinion and kept work moving.
AD: How did the OC come to use one of your tracks?
DM: The OC wanted to use “You Got Me All Wrong” off the
first album in a scene about some serious baby momma drama so we just
said yeah.
AD: Some of the tracks on the album sound kind of Latin American
to me, particularly (bizarrely enough) “Tokyo Sunrise”. Have
you ever been influenced by this kind of music? If not, which artists
have shaped the sound of dios (malos)?
DM: We are fans of trio / ranchera music (Mexican folk) and like
latin music in general, although that’s generalising it too much.
In terms of bands, Os Mutantes (Brazil) had a real gift for taking the
high/lowbrow elements of western music (classical, rock and roll) and
attaching parts of their own cultural aesthete.
AD: Who is your all time hero?
DM: Neil young; for honesty and being true to the idea that you
can do things how you want them, musically and aesthetically.
AD: How would you describe your sound in a nutshell?
DM: Psychedelic freak out thrift store folk
AD: I’ve been trying to think of a load of questions for you
all week, but to be honest I know so little about you (except that the
album’s great!) that I’m struggling to think of any more sensible
ones; therefore I’d like to give you the opportunity to talk about
whatever YOU’D like to say, whether it be profound, angry or complete
gibberish. So, go ahead…
DM: Give us your booze, money, Richard Pryor DVDs...We need it.
AD: You have invented a time machine. You can go back in time and
delete 3 stars from the history of music. Who would they be and why?
DM: 1) Selena, because the heartbreak at the end of her music biopic
(starring J-Lo) outweighs the sheer greatness of her surviving work.
2) Prince - post 1990 and 3) Country mega-stars big and rich - do you
need to ask why?
AD: What’s your ultimate fantasy?
DM: Owning colonial mansions in Delaware. Free Popeye’s chicken
for life!
AD: What’s next for dios (malos)?
DM: We just home recorded a 5 song e.p. (to be released soon) and
are planning on recording and releasing a lot more material in the immediate
future. Tired of being lazy!
Well, you’ve gotta give the guys credit – most of my questions
were piss poor in this interview, but they’ve somehow turned what
could have been a washout into a top notch read! There’s no question
at all that they will be in my “Top Ten Albums of 2006” come
the end of the year and if you disagree, I will send the men in white
coats around to your house shortly…
Interview: Tone E
