Django Django bursts back onto the indie scene with its first album since 2018. Formed back in 2009, the British rock group has considerably changed their sound since the beginning days. Their new album _Glowing in the Dark_ hints at the dark political times of the last two years.
Their new single “Glowing in the Dark,” the titular track of their upcoming album, oozes optimism and promises a feeling a hope. Released on November 12, the song pairs with a music video boasting colorful graphics. In September of this year, Django Django released their single “Spirals,” teasing the forthcoming album. Inspired by the double-helix DNA strand, it captures its spiral shape, thematically touching on the bonds humans share. The music video similarly draws on shapes and spirals for its visuals produced from handmade spinning fantascopes.
_Glowing in the Dark_, a 9 month long labor of love, will be available on all platforms on February 12, 2021 as the follow up to 2018's Marble Skies, and the 4th LP in their discography. Their 2012 debut earned a Mercury Prize nomination, was listed on Rolling Stone’s Best Albums of that year, and was included in the _1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die_ book by Robert Dimery.
Flaunt had the opportunity to speak to Vincent Neff, singer and guitarist, over Zoom to discuss the new singles “Glowing in the dark” and “Spirals,” along with Django Django’s new upcoming album, “Glowing in the dark.”
**What was the inspiration behind the song “Spirals” and how did the process of making the song go?**
We wrote it before we toured the \[US\] in 2019. We needed something for the end of the set, this kind of slow-building track that broke off into a quite steady rhythmic drum beat. We wrote something we thought would go well toward the end of the set. We had the chorus first and then we thought we could link it to this DNA idea, that it kind of runs through us all and how similar we are in terms of our makeup. At the time it was really a dark moment, Trump was in, Boris Johnson was in, the Brexit was happening, and for us, it was kind of a positive story, that we have more in common than what divides us.
**What about your new single “Glowing in the Dark”?**
Our drummer has this techno house background so he makes loads of beats and we just go through his files to see what he's done and I just picked that one out. It seemed quite refreshing like there was just something about it, so I tried out some vocal takes on it and it just came about. It's quite focused and fully kind of electronic. We wrote it in midwinter while it’s really dark and cold and there was just something about this subconscious thought of a light drawing you out of this dark situation.
**How has the band's sound evolved from the beginning of your career to now?**
I think it changed quite a lot, the first album was just mainly me and \[David McLean\], done in his bedroom, so we had a beat out guitar, no bass and he made all the beats. He had like a Floor Tom and a shaker or two so we made everything from very little. The more we’ve gone on and \[Tommy Grace, and Jimmy Dixon\] have come in and we've got more equipment so it just opens doors. And I suppose you're always chasing and trying to avoid what you've done in the past. You're trying to chart this new territory and not fall between the cracks. The first album was quite honest and we didn't know what we were doing, the second one we had expectations but not a lot of time to put it together. I guess the third one was kind of a combination of both, and this one is a little more focused and we have gotten better at knowing what's needed.
**What is your favorite song in the new album and why?**
“Kicking Out the Devil” is my favorite one, there's a sample at the beginning we got from somewhere and everybody keeps thinking it's me. There's like a doorbell ringing and then I always kinda hear Martin Short, the actor. But everyone thinks it’s me, even my parents thought it was me saying it. But it’s a good song to just play in the car and listen to.
**Did you have a theme or idea you wanted to connect the songs with or are they more standalone in that sense?**
We always try to write a theme and it never works. I think the next one we will definitely write a theme or come up with an idea and try to stick to it. But for this one, it was like you can say ‘let’s do that’ and then the next moment somebody’s got a song which is like completely the opposite. So you try to stick to it but we normally fail.
**How was collaborating with Charlotte Gainsbourg for the song “Waking up”?**
It was really good, it was quite a scoop for us. We have been big fans of hers for years and we’re on the same label they would always tell us what she's up to. And when you go to France or even the UK you go to a newsstand, she's always like on the front cover of all these magazines. It was really fun and hopefully, we’ll do a video for it.
**What kind of message or general feeling do you hope a listener will get from the new album?**
It's a mixture of coming in at a time where things were politically quite tough for lots of different reasons and the UK was being quite rejective of outsiders so that was weighing on our minds. There are definitely tracks that kind of pick up on that kind of theme, but at the bottom of it all it's kind of about a feeling of hope and that we’ll get through this.
**What is your favorite thing about making music with a group of people you’ve known for so long?**
If you work with somebody all the time you kind of know what they do, but sometimes you get surprised by something they do. Like we will all will be sitting in a studio writing a song and we're kind of trying to come up with something and it's not working. Then there's a moment where everybody is slightly depressed but then you sit at a piano or pick up a guitar just kind of daydreaming and someone will go ‘wait that’s good, what's that?’ And they might have not even thought anything of it, but sometimes an outsider can see better. It's about getting those surprises and challenging ourselves, keep pushing ourselves and not repeating anything.
**Do you have anything you look forward to doing once the pandemic is over?**
A holiday would be nice.
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