Featured Image: Horacio Bolz

Django Django make a triumphant return with forthcoming album, Glowing In The Dark. The art-rock group rose to quick success with their self-titled album in 2012. Since then, they have realised two albums – Born Under Saturn, and Marble Skies, gaining wide praise, critical-acclaim and a Mercury Prize nomination.

Following a two year break, the band continue to combine genres to create their signature eclectic sound, evident throughout their discography. No two albums are the same and Glowing In The Dark is a testament to this.

aAh! Magazine speaks to bassist Jimmy Dixon over Zoom to discuss the new album, working from home, and the positivity they hope the new tracks will bring.

Do you feel that the themes on the new album of constraint and wanting to escape are more relevant at the minute?

“Yeah totally, we’d finished by the time the first lockdown came round, but it’s funny going back through certain tracks and lyrics which now seem more relevant. It’s felt like a really unstable and uncertain time at the moment. It’s is always going to influence your writing, whether it’s directly about that or not. Since the lockdown started, we’ve been writing at home. The lyrics have certainly been influenced by what’s going on.” 

How did you find creating the music video for Glowing In The Dark remotely? 

“Even with those constraints, it’s sometimes quite a positive to being a creative. We couldn’t physically be in the same place and make a video like we normally would. We just had to be a bit more creative. We went down the root of animation and started chatting to directors other than Zoom, and Vinnie [Neff] recorded little bits and pieces. We all put ideas forward and let the director feel their way through it.”

“It’s just a different way of working. It doesn’t necessarily have to be constraining.” 

Expanding on that, how have you found working from home?

“I’ve enjoyed it, I live in Margate, and I’m usually travelling into London to the studio and staying at people’s houses. It’s just been nice for me, personally, to be at home with my family and have time to just write and work on music.” 

Are there any favourite tracks or lyrics from the new album?

“‘Glowing In The Dark’, was a pretty quick track to write. It was a line that Dave [Maclean] came up with. We’ve not over-thought this album and tried not to overcomplicate tracks too much. ‘Glowing In The Dark’ is a good example of that. On other albums, we’d overwork tracks and try to get as much out of them as we could. This time around we’ve allowed certain tracks just to be poppy and simple. The third track on the album ‘Got Me Worried’, Vinnie, Tommy [Grace] and I, tried to write in a day, and it’s one of my favourites on the album.”

Previously you’ve experimented with different sounds and genres. Have you been influenced by any particular genres or albums during the writing process?

“We’re all listening to so much different music. But we all wanted to focus on bringing live elements out in the album and work on it together, as opposed to writing and recording separately. The different approach we’ve taken on this album has been quite prominent. We’ve allowed the songs to be a bit more playful.”

Do you think since the release of Marble Skies the band has creatively changed?

“This is the fourth record, and there are certain aspects of making a record that we’ve gone full circle on and gone back to certain elements and techniques, which we did on the first album. You’re always just trying to keep things exciting and new for yourself, whether it’s how you are recording or how your writing. We’re always trying to keep things slightly unexpected and collaborate with different people. It’s always changing.” 

 Are there any upcoming plans for 2021? I know it’s a difficult question to ask with things the way they are at the minute?

“It’s really difficult at the minute because we had a few things, such as socially distanced signing and a few other things. We’re just currently trying to put as much content around the album that we can put up online. Hopefully, we might be able to do a couple of festivals in the summer.” 

What do you hope fans will take from the new album?

“Hopefully, a bit of positivity. You spend a year and a half making a record, and it becomes quite difficult to be objective about it at the end of that process. It feels like a nice record. It feels positive. Hopefully, it will lift people’s spirits and help them through the next six months or so.”

You can stream Django Django’s latest track ‘Free From Gravity’ on Spotify here.

Glowing In The Dark will be released on February 12, 2021.

Keep up with Django Django:

Spotify | Youtube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Website