{"id":38261,"date":"2014-10-06T10:21:16","date_gmt":"2014-10-06T10:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wonderlandmagazine.com\/?p=38261"},"modified":"2017-03-01T12:40:51","modified_gmt":"2017-03-01T12:40:51","slug":"new-noise-dems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandmagazine.com\/2014\/10\/06\/new-noise-dems\/","title":{"rendered":"New Noise: Dems"},"content":{"rendered":"

In anticipation of their forthcoming debut LP\u00a0we chat to South London trio Dems to pick their brains on origins, influences and unlikely celebrity supporters<\/p>\n

South London trio Dems (or Dan, David and Duncan) have been making waves in all the right kinds of electronic music circles for a while now \u2013 earning them reputations as natural companions to James Blake, The XX and Sohn. But such comparisons hardly do justice to their sound, which sits on an atmospheric spectrum where stiff, hard beats bleed into soaring melodies, producing tracks that manage to be both moving and uplifting.<\/p>\n

Accompanying their unclassifiable cuts they’re attracting attention for their enchanting visuals – their most recent video was shot entirely in purple and features a headless man climbing trees \u2013 all of which they’re personally responsible for, with an aesthetic that extends to their stage wear: the boys have been known to perform in matching printed separates that typify the bold originality we’ve come to love them for.<\/p>\n

In anticipation of their forthcoming debut LP,\u00a0Muscle Memory<\/em> we caught up with them to pick their brains on origins, influences and unlikely celebrity supporters…<\/p>\n

\"Dems<\/a><\/p>\n

When did you guys start playing as Dems?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dan started about 3 years ago under the alias ‘Dems’. After getting some recognition for a couple of early tracks he moved from where he lived in Scotland back to London where we grew. At that point he got in touch with Duncan and me aiming to develop Dems into a band that could write more tracks and play live.<\/p>\n

What kind of music did you grow up listening to?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Punk, Jazz, Drum n Bass, Garage. All sorts really. When we were at Brixton Academy recently, Dan and I were reminiscing that the first gig we\u2019d ever seen there was a Pitchshifter concert. Our tastes are still pretty eclectic.<\/p>\n

Did you all play in bands before Dems?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes all three of us played in guitar bands through school, and then afterwards. So I think when we came together to form Dems it was important to us all to try and play live music in a less traditional way – using samplers and computers, but then still keeping the live instrumentation that we had all used previously.<\/p>\n

You have a very distinct style. What inspires your \u2018look\u2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The look we try and bring to the artwork and videos we make is always based in trying to create a narrative. Everything we do is about creating characters. It is the natural way to express the sentiment of the music we make.<\/p>\n