Franco-Finnish duo The Dø will release their third studio album Shake, Shook, Shaken in Australia on October 10 and are finally coming back to our shores to support the release this January! I caught up with one half of the group, Olivia Merilahti, who reflects on making the record, looks forward to her Australian tour and talks about how things are shaping up for the record live!
Congratulations on your new record Shake, Shook, Shaken! We’ve been eagerly awaiting it for a while now!
Yes, us too! It came out on Monday here in France and some parts of Europe (it will be released in Australia on October 10th). There’s been a lot of movement, it’s been nice.
How has the reception been so far?
I think the response has been really good. I feel a lot of warmth coming in. After so many months without any attention, it does feel nice to get that back again.
So when did the process for putting the album together begin?
Well we stopped touring in August 2012, I already had a few demos… I like to start writing on the road, even though it’s quite frustrating because you can’t record anything. But I still usually have a fair idea of where we’re going to go next. I think there was a gap of about five months where we built a new studio in the country side (Normandy in France) and we started recording that in early 2013. We already had a few demos by that point. We knew where we were going. We knew that we wanted to use a new set up and new tools.
When you say new tools, was that something that the space you had built facilitated?
It’s funny, we had this new studio, we could have filled it with a million instruments as we used to do. But this time we decided to keep it minimal and clean. We wanted to have a laptop and a midi keyboard and work out from there what we can’t go without. That setup was the basis. We wanted to see where we could go. Still writing proper songs, but with a minimal electronic, almost plastic setup. That was part of the fun with the record! And then of course we eventually added some drum machines and analogue synths… We only used real drums and guitars on a couple of tracks.
So we really had something in our ears, something ringing, that we needed to go to; some desire we had to fill.
Having just listened to the record for the first time, it certainly doesn’t feel minimal in its result, in the same way that Both Ways Open Jaws didn’t feel minimal…
Yeah that’s true. It was just a starting point, but we never managed to be minimal in the end. We love sounds too much. We didn’t succeed in the minimalism, but it was just a starting point.
So how long was the recording process?
About a year in Normandy. And then we went to New York for the mixing.
What took you to the countryside?
It’s not too far from Paris, so it was quite convenient. I went back and forth between the city and the countryside. Dan stayed there a longer time, he wanted to stay in the country longer. I liked the movement… I think there was something that wanted to reconcile the urban and the rural with this album… the initial idea was to be more urban than ever, with this record, but we were in the countryside – something contradictory we like to play with.
That certainly lends itself to the notion of a unique sound you’ve always tried to achieve…
Dan loves sounds so much, even if we take a basic factory plugin, or a basic synth, the idea is to make it ours. To try and make it as personal as possible. But the starting point can be pretty basic and not very sexy. I’m generally more concerned with the songs than the sounds, but I guess with this record I wanted to make sure the sounds were really ours as well.
So where does a song start for you two? With a sound? With a lyric? Or does it differ from song to song?
There are so many ways we do so. In the beginning of the process, we send each other a bunch of bits and pieces we record in our own studios. It could be beats, or a melody, or sometimes even a whole song. It can be complete, it can be really bare. I usually have a lot of lyrics when I come off tour. I have a lot to write about. So at first, maybe the lyrics drive the first direction and then there’s a blur of music and beats and lyrics and sounds from there.
And we’ll get to hear all this in Australia next Friday, and then you’re going to be making it down to Australia for So Frenchy So Chic in the Park!
Yeah, we’re really excited. It’s been a while. 2009 I think. I know we have a lot of people asking about us down there.
I was surprised you never toured Both Ways Open Jaws in Australia! It was very well received down here.
I think there were a few occasions, but every time it just fell through. I think it didn’t help that we had six on stage and all sorts of instruments, and it became too hard to do.
So you have a few shows under your belt with the new record, ahead of the bigger European tour which starts later this month. How has the process been transferring the songs into the live environment this time around?
It’s always a big challenge. It was more difficult than the other ones. It should have been more simple, because we tried to stick to what’s on the album, and tried to have the sounds of the record. Because we could have them… we have a mix of sequences, computers ready to go. But it was quite a headache. I think when it’s just Dan and I in the studio for so long, and suddenly we have to share it with other musicians and sound engineers, and everyone has a new point of view and there’s a balance to find that’s not easy. But I think we’ve found it. I think we need that challenge. We’re happy with it now. The first shows went really well. We still have a little bit of work to do on it, but it’s a lot of fun and it’s great to share it with other musicians.
Are you touring with the same musicians from the previous record?
We have Marielle Chatain & Bastien Burger who were with us on the previous tour. So it’s nice to start with familiar people. Because up until now we’ve changed a lot. We’ve had many musicians with us, it’s always depended on what we’ve wanted with the music… this time we really wanted Marielle and Bastien to follow us on this tour.
We feel terrible because we don’t let them play their initial instruments, but they’re talented with all sorts of instruments. We like to do that because it has to remain fresh and naïve. We don’t want to get too… skilled with the instruments. There needs to some kind of freshness there.
Which gives more energy to the shows I imagine as well.
Yes, it does.
Well we can’t wait to see you down in Australia. Anything you’re looking forward to doing while you’re here?
It’ll be lovely to escape the winter here and come to the sun in Australia. We love it there. I’d like to go back out on a boat in Sydney Harbour. I have this memory of the colours… sharp, contrasted… I have an incredible memory of the blue… I want to see that again!
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The Dø will release their third studio album Shake, Shook, Shaken in Australia on October 10 via Cartell Music. They’ll be touring in the new year, as part of So Frenchy So Chic in the Park, with the dates announced so far below!
Melbourne
January 11th 2015 – from noon
Werribee Park Mansion, K Road, Werribee
Sydney
January 17th 2015 – from 1pm
St John’s College, Sydney University
Entrance: 10 Missendon Rd Camperdown
For more details head to: http://www.sofrenchysochic.com.au
