Django Django perform in The Current studio
by Mac Wilson, Leah Garaas and Django Django
August 03, 2015
If you ask percussionist David MacLean of Django Django about what Minnesotans refer to as "cornhole," he now knows what you're talking about. After performing at Lollapalooza over the weekend, David and the band played a few rounds of what other Midwesterners call "bags" at the Chicago festival.
Then they embarked on an all-night drive to The Current in St. Paul, Minn. Ahead of their show in the First Avenue mainroom, the U.K.'s Django Django—David MacLean (percussion), Vincent Neff (vocals, guitar), Jimmy Dixon (vocals, bass) and Tommy Grace (keys)—stopped by Minnesota Public Radio to perform in-studio and to chat with host Mac Wilson about their recent sophomore release, Born Under Saturn.
The Djangos' self-titled debut album massively surpassed the band's expectations (and even brought them to our studio in 2012), but the band didn't let success get to their head when they sat down to write Born Under Saturn. "When we were making that we weren't worrying about stresses or pressures, we were just trying to do as good as we can do," vocalist and guitarist Vincent Neff says. "I think we had the same approach on the second. We didn't really think about the external pressures too much."
"Each song is its own concept," MacLean says. "Slow West," the first song Django Django performed live in-studio, is an example of that. The band set aside a studio day while they were recording Born Under Saturn to write the instrumental track for David's brother, filmmaker John MacLean, for the movie of the same title starring Michael Fassbender. "It's about this Scottish voyage to America, a story that's a little bit untold," says MacLean. And with Born Under Saturn, a little more of Django Django's story is told, too.
Songs Performed
"Slow West"
"First Light"
"Shake and Tremble"
All songs off Django Django's latest album, Born Under Saturn, out now via Ribbon Music.
Hosted by Mac Wilson
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Corey Schreppel
Web feature by Leah Garaas
