Mando Diao Biography
Mixing garage rock sneer and Brit-pop sass -- along with a truckload of other influences -- Borlange, Sweden's Mando Diao began when its members were all still in their teens. The band's germination dates back to 1995, when singer/songwriter/keyboardist Daniel Häglund and singer/songwriter/guitarist Björn Dixgärd were in a band called Butler. Even after that group broke up, the pair continued playing and writing together, eventually bringing bassist Fredrik Nilsson, guitarist Gustaf Noren, and drummer Anton Grahnstrom into their fold; Nilsson and Grahnstrom were replaced by Carl Johan Fogelklou and Samuel Giers. By 1999, they were known as Mando Diao. The group continued to hone their sound, blending pop, mod, soul, R&B, and Brit-pop elements into a style that was quirky yet timeless. In 2002 they released their first E.P., Motown Blood, through the Majesty and Capitol imprints; the acclaim for the E.P., and the similarities in their sound to the Strokes and the Hives, raised Mando Diao's profile considerably, and the band went on tours of Sweden with the Hellacopters and Kent. Later that year the band released the singles Mr. Moon and The Band, both of which stoked anticipation for their full-length debut album, Bring 'Em In, most of which was recorded in their basement practice space. The following year, Mute released Bring 'Em In in the United States. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
Popular Biographies:
Art of noise Biography: Anne Dudley, Gary Langan, and Paul Morley were members of producer Trevor Horn's in-house studio band in the early '80s before they formed the Art of Noise, a techno-pop group whose music was an...
Blaqk audio Biography: Despite the fact that AFI singer Davey Havok and guitarist Jade Puget had been working on songs for their electronic side project Blaqk Audio since before AFI's breakthrough album, Sing the Sorrow,...
Travers and appice Biography: Exactly as advertised, Travers & Appice is a collaboration between two classic rock icons: guitarist and vocalist Pat Travers, of numerous '70s solo guitar hero records fame, and drummer Carmine...
Software Biography: Formed in 1983, this German electronic duo owes much to electronic pioneer Klaus Schulze. Software's music usually builds on sequencer patterns and simple melodies, creating a lighter version of The...
Chromeo Biography: Synth pop revisionist duo Chromeo formed in Montreal in the early 21st century, a project of Audio Research honchos Dave One and Pee Thug (news flash: not their given names). Dave handled...
Sunna Biography: Mimicking the likes of fellow alterna-metal bands such as Tool and VAST comes the U.K. band called Sunna. Fronted by Jon Harris, Sunna mixes dark electronic beats with thrashing hard rock to cast...
Coldcut Biography: DJs Jonathan More and Matt Black, aka Coldcut, rose to acclaim in the mid-'80s through production and remix work for a number of modern rock, hip-hop, and dance outfits, including Yaz, Lisa...
Henry cow Biography: The progressive-rock genre spawned many groups who became top-grossing arena acts -- Pink Floyd and Genesis are two -- as well as many who progressed right into obscurity. Henry Cow was one of the...