Die Mason Die have set London clubs alight with their frantic performances, soaring harmonies and manic guitar loops. We got a chance to chat with them ahead of their next gig at the Sebright Arms in Bethnal Green.
Luckily for anyone who fancies catching a great new band on the cheap, the gig is free! Doors are at 8pm tomorrow as the band play the launch party for their new single ‘You’re Lonely’ (out on 9th September on the Young and Lost Club). For more info click HERE, and to find out more about the band just read below!
Eddie Bye: How did you all meet?
Die Mason Die: Apart from Dave we were all friends before DMD, and when Sam [Mason] went looking to put a band together it logically fell into place. Dave was a friend of a friend and was just the bearded drummer we were searching for.
EB: You describe yourselves as “Ghost folk”; do you think this pretty niche genre encompasses all of your music?
DMD: It was a tag we thought was somewhat intriguing and not to limiting, it does hint at the darker elements of our sound but there is some more positive moods we achieve with some songs that may not be quite as ghostly.
EB: The band name focuses on the name of your front man Samuel Mason, is he the main creative force behind the group or do you all pitch in with ideas?
DMD: The name was born out of Sam’s disdain for the singer songwriter scene he was part of, it simply didn’t suit what he wanted to achieve. At first we played Sam’s material and worked them up together, but in the last 6 months its become a unified writing vehicle. Everyone brings their own ideas and we flesh them out in detail together, its a much more interesting and rewarding approach.
EB: Sam, do you think the documentary you made, traveling on the double decker bus, was the catalyst that made you want to become a wholly credible group and without doing that there would be no E.P?
Sam Mason: I had played with the idea of getting a band together before travelling, but the time I had to think cemented my eagerness to create DMD. I think most of the real writing came long after the trip upon a more distant reflection, rather than the immediate one that manifested itself in the first EP.
EB: Give us the first line of a Christmas hit, if you had to make one?
DMD: Oh santa you insatiable man / This eve you have permission to land!
EB: How is it being a young band in a music industry that’s becoming more and more saturated with DJ’s and club culture?
DMD: We’re sure in some cities it could be tough with the industry being ‘club’ heavy, but London is strongly diverse and it can be fairly easy to ignore scenes you don’t subscribe too.
EB: When do you hope to have a full album out?
DMD: We are currently enjoying writing together and seeing what can be achieved between us, so it may be another year before an album is on the cards, but who knows!
EB: If you had en empty bucket and it could be filled with anything, what would it be?
DMD: A ‘Russian doll’ series of smaller buckets.
EB: We’d love to catch up and do a video interview with you guys, what are your tour plans for the future?
DMD: Right now we are solely focused on the current release and the show in support of that, afterwards we are to make plans for the future including our first tour. We will stay in touch!
