What Do The DMA’S Dream About?
Musicians and bands coming out of the pandemic have gone one of two ways – producing super introspective melancholic work born from too much time thinking or pumping out a euphoric celebration of thank fuck that’s over let’s party.
DMA’S latest record, How Many Dreams, sits on the latter while still interlaced with that heartfelt lyrical relatability that they are so loved for. ‘Everybody's Saying Thursday's The Weekend’ a song inspired by Johnny Took’s mate trying to twist his arm for a post-lockdown pint a case in point.
Having just cracked the top three in the UK charts, (an impressive feat for an album independently released by an Australian record label I oh you) the boys have been putting the hours in around Britain doing meet and greets, sometimes playing two shows a day. We managed to get some time in with Johnny, who’d just woken up to talk about their new album and if Britain has claimed the band as their own like Australia did with Russel Crowe.
Hey, Johnny, how are you? How’s the hectic gig schedule going?
Yeah, it’s been pretty full on, but they’re acoustic gigs, so they're usually only thirty to forty minutes and a little bit different to the full band shows. You’re talking to the crowd more and less of a production element goes into them. A little less intense.
Is it hard to not be guided by what is successful or what is trending or what other people say they want to hear when making a new album? Especially with such a successful album like The Glow?
Yeah. It is sometimes. I had a moment writing for How Many Dreams? where I was questioning whether we moved too far away from our original sound – the sounds that people got into us for. I mean, this album is a little more synth and program-heavy, but at its core, it’s still similar. I did have those thoughts, but then when we released The Glow and even when we released ‘In The Air’ it happens every album. Someone is always going, ‘oh, it doesn’t sound exactly the same as the previous album.’ But then three months later, six months later, a year later, everyone has grown with the sound, and the new songs become their favourite songs. You see the reaction live, too, particularly live. We used to finish the live show with ‘Lay Down’ or maybe ‘Feels Like 37.’ Everyone’s loving it and rocking but only half the crowd are moving intensely. But last night, we decided to close with ‘Everyone’s Saying Thursdays The Weekend,’ which has gained us more fans, finishing with that is almost more inclusive because everyone knows those tracks now, perhaps not so much the stuff off our first albums and now the whole room, all the way to the back people’s arms are up. It’s nice when you play something new, and you get that reaction to then be like, ‘oh, I think we’re heading in the right direction.’
Did the pandemic pause give you more than it took away, or was it the other way around, given you had to stop touring, which you guys seem to be massive fans of?
I guess it’s not really an experiment you can do twice. We were gaining some pretty good momentum in the UK and then we weren’t able to tour, so maybe things would have connected differently with our last album, but at the same time, being able to have the time and stop and try new things was positive. We’re pretty curious guys musically. I like the idea of discovering a new genre and working out what makes that genre tick sonically, with the beats and sounds, the lack of guitars or the layers. And you can hear it on tracks like ‘De Carle’ and ‘Something We Are Overcoming’ – that kind of trance track that we wouldn’t normally release but now that we’re a bit older, we just don’t really care. It’s fun.
Why was this record the hardest one to make?
Previous records we’ve made it’s been done in two or three weeks. You get it mixed and it’s been great. This one was different. Firstly we were in London when covid was going crazy, so that slowed things down. Then the way we think of music these days, I guess. We wanted it to sound bigger and more produced and we were going for a particular thing. We didn’t wanna do the raw gangly guitar thing. We did a lot of structural work. Then took a month off. Then got in with Constantine Kurstin. Had some more time off. Really got down into the drum programming, changing the lyrics, and having the time to add all the extra bells and whistles on it. It just took a lot longer than doing it in the one block that we’ve always done.
What song have you made that makes you the happiest and why?
‘Step Up The Morphine’ - I wrote it about my grandma after she passed away. That song has connected with a lot of people. It reminds me of her when I play it. It’s nice because it wasn’t supposed to be a sad song, more a positive one like looking back on her life. And when we play it live, when everyone sings it, the energy in the room makes it feel really special. At the moment, though, ‘Everyone’s Sayings Thursdays The Weekend’ just because it makes me feel like we’re heading in the right direction.
What do you honestly think about the British Pop Revival?
(Laughs) I dunno.
If you search British Pop Revival, it comes up with Oasis and you, which is kinda funny considering you’re an Australian band fronting the Revival.
I mean, the UK feels like a second home to us. We played Lincoln last night and there were a couple of thousand people there which is just this small little town. That’s really special because we really feel like Britain has really taken us under their wing. We can’t wait to get home, though, because we’ve got the biggest tour that we’ve ever done. We’re fucking pumped for that. But the fact that the UK has taken to us so much. It’s nice.
You guys have been together for ten years or so now, right? What would you say to your twenty-something-year-old self who just released ‘Delete’ given the experiences you’ve now racked up?
I’d probably say do more exercise and try to live a more moderate lifestyle (laughs). Nah, nah, nah, maybe not a more moderate lifestyle but just definitely do more exercise because when you hit thirty, you really gotta start doing that shit.
And just keep writing. If you start feeling disheartened – like there’s been so many moments when I tried to change and write new songs when I feel like I was banging my head against the wall, and even on this last record feeling the pressure trying to make something that lives up to all the other albums that did well – you just have to go through those frustrations and pressures and realise why you’re doing it. Now my only goal when I wake up is to remember how I felt when I was fifteen and first started writing songs. That magic of finding chords and lyrics that connect and not to forget that. Not thinking about what to write for radio or a single or none of that bullshit – just remember that magic. I’d probably say not to get caught up in all that other stuff that’s out of your control.
You’ve created something from your brain that connects to other people and makes them feel seen/ heard, it certainly has for me – what does that feel like to know that your lyrics and music do that to people?
It’s amazing. Especially when you meet people. I mean, at the record store meet and greets that we’ve been doing, people have been bringing their whole families down. Eight-year-old kids with a big DMA’S hat and jersey. We’ve met a lot of people who said they couldn’t get out of bed for days on end, and one of the only things that got them out was listening to our songs, and you don’t think about that when you’re writing something so personal to you but when you start getting that feedback that’s the kind of stuff that makes it all worth it. That’s the most rewarding side. Obviously, all the gigs and stuff are fun, but it gets pretty emotional when someone opens up and relates to you. Sometimes it's quite an unsuspecting person too, like a staunch-looking guy in his 40s.
That’s really beautiful. Can I ask, is there a meaning behind the title of the album?
Yeah, I mean, firstly, the reason we picked it and why I like it so much is because it’s a question. The ambiguity of it. Someone said to me one time that we don’t always write the most direct lyrics, they’re more like poetry than a direct story. I feel like recent pop music has been quite direct, and someone said to me that I should be a bit more direct, and maybe they’re right, but that’s not the lyrics I like.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that’s exactly why people like you guys – the poetry in your lyrics.
Yeah, I like lyrics that are open-ended and make you have to think. They’re describing emotions, you know. So yeah, I like that the title is ambiguous. But I guess the meaning of it, for me, is the concept of the chances of the person who is succeeding is the person who has failed the most. So it’s like, how many times are you going to fail before you reach your dream?
Wow. See, that’s why people love you. Finally, I’d personally just like to know where you get your hats from. Like, you seriously all have the best hats.
Tommy mainly wears Nautica. But the ones I’m wearing now are from my mate @myslimnateba He’s a really talented artist.
Noted. Thanks so much, Johnny. All the best, and look after yourself. Pretty sure our whole office is coming to the Sydney gig.
Love to hear it. Thanks for the chat.
