New Band of the Month: Van Dammes

new band of the month

After having got us Cultured Vultures hot under the collar, and our pulse’s racing, with their Better Than Sex EP – all adrenalin fuelled thrusts of infectious garage and lo-fi punk – we managed to track Van Dammes down for a sit down, albeit in very separate countries, and an exchange of some Qs for As.

So get to know the band a little better, over the course of your chat, before you commit to any relations that may lead you to discover if they are in fact better than sex. Though, if you already gave them a listen after their Pulse feature, it’s the morning after and you might as well get to know them over breakfast.

First and foremost, hello there, how are you, and who am I talking to today?

Hello and bonjour, it’s Markus (vocals, synth) from Van Dammes here, feeling pretty privileged to answer this Q&A.

We mentioned you recently in an edition of our music feature Pulse, but, for those who missed it, how would you describe the Van Dammes in your own words?

I would say that Van Dammes are the faster, harder and more European version of Earth, Wind & Fire.

Obviously there is a strong garage, punk, and lo-fi, drive to your sound, but who are some of your biggest influences when it comes to the music that the Van Dammes make?

This is always the most difficult question. I think we don’t listen to the same bands at all. Personally, if I have to pick one influence from the punk genre, I’d say Ramones, otherwise I’d say Depeche Mode. Our guitarist would surely mention Jan Hammer at this point.

When it comes to song writing, your songs are notoriously short, sharp, and to the point, is this just the way it goes, or are you keen on stripping as much fat away as possible to keep your tracks as lean as you can?

This is just the way it goes. In the past, we used to play in some indie bands and probably got slightly fed up with excessive “dribbling”.

You recently released the brilliant Better Than Sex EP, how’s the reception to that been so far? Has anyone agreed that it is actually better than sex?

Fortunately no one has agreed with that yet. :) However, the reception has been quite great. The EP has been reviewed successfully in many countries from the UK to the USA and from Australia to Mexico. It has also been played on various punk radio stations all over, and in Scandinavia even some major radio stations have played it.

Based on how full of force and energy your recorded sound is, I bet you come even more to life in a live setting, so, are you touring at the moment? Where can our readers catch you live?

I wish we could go and play in all those countries where they have written nice reviews and where we have some fans. Currently, we live in a bit different countries and that makes touring slightly complicated. This is why we do only Europe this year. Hopefully next year we have a chance to visit some other continents too.

Are there any bands you’d recommend we check out, either bands from your local scene, bands you’ve gigged with, or just any up and comers we need in our ears and our lives?

Recently we have had nice opportunities to share stages with bands such as Dune Rats from Australia, Riddarna from Sweden, and New Deadline from Finland – all worth checking out.

Outside of the band, what gets Van Dammes going? Jean-Claude Van Damme movies for example?

Maybe not his movies but his relatively new statue, located in the outskirts of Brussels.

What’s next on the horizon for the band? Any big plans?

At the moment we are editing our new music video for the song At the Drive-In. In August we’ll play some sweaty shows and probably record our next release which is going to be epic and out later this year.

Lastly, and most importantly, if you knew of or owned a particularly cultured vulture, what would you call it? Our own Cultured Vulture goes by the name of Voltaire.

A good question. I would say HÃ¥kan.

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