Over the years, French heavy blues trio Dätcha Mandala have found the perfect balance between material and spiritual thoughts, providing a sensory experience directly inspired by the sonic enthusiasm of the 70s. The Bordeaux-based blues-rockers seduce with their high-powered guitars, ethereal voices and this generous energy. Their musical esthetics falls within a blend of mystical psychedelia and oriental-tinged sounds.
Since 2009, Dätcha Mandala has performed more than 550 shows through Europe and North America. In 2017, they supported the famous French rock trio Les Insus (former Téléphone) in an arena in front of 35,000 people! The same year, they released their fully analogue debut album ‘Rokh’ through Mrs Red Sound, produced by Clive Martin (Queen, Tom Yorke, The Cure, Midnight Oil, Skunk Anansie).
Hundred of gigs later, the French prodigies returned to the studio to record their sophomore and ecologically conscious album ‘Hara’, out since June 5th via Mrs Red Sound. High voltage riffs, political and philosophical themes, Robert Plant-like vocals and overflowing energy perfectly characterise Dätcha Mandala’s new album “Hara”. With their sophomore LP, the heavy blues trio deliver their strongest, most generous and firmly rock n’roll record to date. Each of these songs oozes its unstoppable live energy and offers a wild ride through the ages of rock’n’roll, from country blues to Bowie-esque digressions and the Beatles’ mighty pop-rock ignition.
HARA BY DÄTCHA MANDALA
‘Hara’ is our second studio album, released on June 19th 2020. We recorded it with Clive Martin, an English producer who worked with bands like Queen, The Stereophonics or Skunk Anansie, at Black Box Studio in Angers, France. It’s an 11 tracks album of rock music, with a wild range of styles, from piano-ballad to powerful rock songs. Like many rock bands, we are influenced by the greatest rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Queen… But we also love Slayer and Michel Polnareff, that’s why we can’t choose a unique music genre to play. This album reflects what we are listening to and what we like to play, namely many different things. Our musical universe might be confusing for some, but this diversity is our true self.
There are many ways to approach our writing. In this album, songs like “Stick It Out”, “Moha” or “Pavot” were born in the rehearsal room, but some others like “Sick Machine” or “Morning Song” were written by Jérémy and Nicolas respectively. Each song needs to be approved by all of us; we don’t feel like a song is just here to fill in. There are no special rituals for the writing, just feeling good together and have fun creating those songs. There might be a vegetarian diet and some weed to influence the process. Who knows!
We try to avoid rock music clichés with cigarettes, sunglasses at home and whisky on the bedside table, or stoner-like pictures like in the desert or an owl by night. That’s why we choose mythological imagery. The same artist designed the cover of our first album ‘Rokh’contrary as ‘Hara’, the great Markel Urrutia from Spain, aka Smoke Signals Studio. We found this Persian bird called “ROKH”, which also appears in the Thousand and One Nights tale.
One of the most important things for us is to love what we play, don’t think about what people can think, play the songs we’d like to hear. Of course, many great bands keep inspiring us, but movies or books (Nico and Jeremy have found some lyrics thanks to cinema and literature). Spirituality and work on the inner self is also a big inspiration.
We wouldn’t say that metal is iconoclastic by nature because it would suggest that metal bands want to be iconoclastic, and it’s up to anyone to be or not to be. Some bands play with this message, like Black Sabbath with their cross, Slayer or more recently Ghost. Maybe Scandinavian bands are more ambivalent about that.
It definitely suits metal music, or even Rock’n’roll from the early days, to be iconoclastic, because you can question religions and dogmas through songs, you can write lyrics about anything, and we understand that religions don’t like to be questioned; they want you to obey (it’s not only about faith here, but dogmas). In France, the Hellfest is often targeted by a group of Catholic extremists who want the festival to be closed because they think it will call the Devil and pervert the souls.
We think about Charles Baudelaire, this famous French poet who shook up the established order/way of thinking. He even had a trial just by writing his thoughts, which were considered taboo at that time. His poems inspired many writers, poets and widely contributed to the freedom of speech, on many many subjects. This kind of character is very inspiring for us.
www.datchamandala.net
