Australian garage pop band DMA’s head to Riverside, Newcastle this month so Nathan Douthwaite caught up with frontman Tommy O’Dell to chat about the city, new music, and what to expect from their sold-out North East date.
This is your second time in Newcastle this year. What do you think of the city and what’s drawn you back?
We love Newcastle; some of the guys in the band lived here for a bit so they like coming back. We always sell tickets quickly up there so, yeah, that’s an attraction as well.
Newcastle crowds are known for being welcoming. Do you feel that when you’re in the city and also on stage?
Definitely. They love their music here, and we’re always welcomed really well. It doesn’t matter what night of the week it is, they always go nuts and we love them for it.
What can the audience expect from your show?
We’ll play most of our songs, with a set-list lasting a little bit over an hour. It will be a loud rock ‘n’ roll show with some acoustic ones thrown in the middle too.
Will there be any new or special songs played? Like your cover of ‘Believe’?
We’ll be playing some new songs, for sure. I don’t think we’ll play the cover though; we don’t play ‘Believe’ live you see.
The Newcastle show is sold-out. How does it feel knowing you’re extremely popular in the North East of England?
It feels good to know you’re travelling 24 hours on a plane and people will be at your show. When we used to travel to the UK when we first started out it wasn’t like that so, yeah, it’s a great feeling and one we’re really embracing at the moment.
Is there a possibility of you playing other towns and cities in the North East in the near future?
I’m not sure. I don’t really look at our schedule but I’m certain there will be at some point. We love the crowds here, so we’d love to come back again and again.
Looking ahead, can we expect new music from you this year?
Yes, definitely. There’ll be new music coming out before the end of the year and the second album will be out in 2018 – which we hope our fans will be getting excited about.
Will your new music vary from your debut album? Or will it continue in a similar vein to the sound you have so carefully crafted?
Some of the tunes will be similar and others will be a little different. We’re recording in our own studio, so it will still have our own sound. We didn’t want to go to a fancy studio, that’s not us, and we don’t want to lose that charm.
Is there anything influencing your new music right now?
I’ve personally been listening to a lot of Frank Ocean. I’ve also been smashing the Jack Ladder album, ‘Playmates’ and there’s a new Australian duo called gl. I don’t know if they’re directly influencing me, but that’s what I’ve been listening to.
Is there anything you want to say to the fans coming to your sold-out show?
Thank you so much for the support. We all love you guys and we’re going to put on a cracking show for you all.
To keep up-to-date with DMA’s live shows, both across the UK and worldwide, head to dmasmusic.com now. Their debut album, ‘Hills End’ is also available to purchase on Amazon and iTunes and can be streamed on Spotify.
