“We’d never really been a band before. Dave (Maclean, drums) had done production and I’d just written songs at home and Tommy (Grace, synths) had this MySpace page with these weird organ instrumental songs that he’d just written at home. It’s not like we’d been in four bands before this. It took us a lot longer to work out what was happening and how to project yourself and get a bit of confidence on stage.”
Django Django’s non-stop touring schedule this year has seen them widely traverse the UK, Europe, America, and they’ll make their second Australian visit before the year’s end. Due to the studio-based composition of the album many songs had to be re-arranged for live performance.
“From the moment where we tried to take them in a live format we realised that we couldn’t really play it like it was done on the record. There’s lots and lots of harmonies layered up and lots of percussion layered up and we’ve only got eight arms between us, so we have to think about another way of doing it. It made it quite good fun that you could leave the record at the door and re-interpret it for yourself. We just had to take the key elements of each song and try to work with those.”
Certain album tracks were specifically crafted to be apt setlist inclusions, but other songs required major revision to equal the level of exuberance that characterises the band’s live show.
“It’s almost like being a DJ or something, just knowing what records will get people dancing. Skies Over Cairo in particular was written almost for the show. And then there something like Love’s Dart, which has got a beat through it but it’s quite a melancholy song, so we had to really start at the basis of that. The live version of Love’s Dart is kind of acid house; it’s almost like a re-interpretation of an acoustic track. It’s a more synth-based track now. Every one’s slightly different. You might try two or three different ways of doing it before you get something that you like,” says Neff.
The relentless touring has let them extensively cultivate their live chemistry, which makes it easier to determine the best way to alter a song.
“It takes us less time to get to the root of the problem. Whereas, we would’ve played a song for a year and half and realised it wasn’t right but we wouldn’t have known how to approach it.”
The evaluative criterion for the success of a song’s arrangement is also closely informed by crowd reactions.
“If you hear a couple of ‘whoops’ or people starting to move, you know that it’s working. If we don’t get that we’ll take it back to the studio and we’ll try a different rhythm or cut it short and add another section.”
Django Django refrain from the prevalent compulsion towards rigidly structuring live shows by employing pre-recorded sounds. Rather than presenting a bland replica of the album material, they designate an area for spontaneity, which adds unpredictability for both band and audience.
“It keeps it fun for us and the songs are ever-evolving. There’s always a bit of risk, a bit of ‘I hope this works out, here we go,’ which kind of keeps you on your toes. (With) a lot of the rhythms, Tommy and Dave will be on the drum kit together and if they don’t lock right the whole track falls apart. Hopefully that’s what audiences guess, that there’s no laptop underneath. We’re always keen to have that element of risk.”
Along with a string of festival appearances, they’ll be doing a few headline shows in Australia in the New Year. Filling a headline time slot is an additional impetus for the band to implement their improvisational resources.
“You kind of have to take some tracks on a bit of an odyssey to fill the time, but not make it boring. It challenges us to make some extended sections, and maybe surprise the audience – like, ‘ok I know this song but I didn’t know this was where it was going to go’. It’s quite nice for people, they recognise the songs but they get something different in the live set. We’re not just playing the tracks verbatim from the record.”
The band are looking forward to bringing in the New Year in Australia, though Vincent admits they’ll have to be careful not to over-indulge in the festive celebrations before performing.
“We’re all really, really excited. We’ve never played a gig on New Year’s Day so we’ll just have to pace ourselves.”
Partying too hard isn’t the only thing that he’ll need to be wary of.
“I’m actually allergic to the Sun,” he exclaims through a gust of anxious laughter. “My face swells up; ‘Bubble boy.’ I’m really excited and I’ve got a slight nervousness.”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
