Mute Records is thrilled to announce the release of Ode To Ochrasy, the third album from Swedish five-piece Mando Diao. Ochrasy, which follows 2005’s critically-acclaimed Hurricane Bar, also on Mute, will be released April 24th.
As one of the more prominent Swedish bands, Mando Diao, which formed in the late 90’s while all the members were still in their teens, has spent much of the last two years on the road, packing shows all over Europe, Japan and the US, and picking up gold records in several European countries. The band also received wide press attention in the United States during the release of Hurricane Bar, picking up raves everywhere from Paste, who praised their “superior songwriting and musical depth” to Rolling Stone, who called them "Sweden's tastiest exports.” Filter Magazine wrote "[Mando have] managed to spread a grimy film all over melodic '60s-style pop, making even catchy melodies, harmonized vocals and shiny production feel dirty." Magnet praised the band's "tricky mix of brash guitars and cockeyed melodies" and Alternative Press asked, "Why haven't this band taken over the world yet?"
The themes of
Ode To Ochrasy were born out of the band’s experiences on the road, while supporting Hurricane Bar. The band was most taken by “
ochrasy” a term which they made up for those wee hours of the night, after the show, post-afterparty, before the start of the next day. It is a place and a state of mind somewhere between dream and reality. As frontman Björn Dixgard describes it, ochrasy is “
that hallucinatory world you enter around four and five in the morning…a sort of utopian world where anything can happen, where everything is allowed.” On the road, the men of Mando Diao would frequently meet strange characters after their shows, stroll desolate streets near the clubs they played at, and close out creepy dive bars. All of these experiences inspired the songs on Ochrasy, where lyrics reference the characters they met on the road, and the bizarre encounters the band had in those early hours of the morning.
Recorded over the Spring of 2006, Ode To Ochrasy, was produced by Mando Diao, with early help from friend Björn Olsson (formerly of Soundtrack of Our Lives). Olsson was instrumental in making the band focus on the big picture of the album, rather than focusing on the tiny details. Bassist CJ Fogelklou recalled “Working with Björn really made us learn how to to capture the right feeling when you’re recording…This time we’ve been listening more to the general feeling and how we play together, instead of worrying too much about details.” After Olsson kickstarted the album in motion, the band took over as producers, enlisting mixer Owen Morris (Oasis, The Verve, New Order) to round out the sound.
Since releasing Ochrasy in Europe, Mando Diao spent the last weeks of 2006 touring the UK with Dirty Pretty Things, and sharing the stage with Razorlight on the continent. They look forward to visiting the United States this Spring for extensive touring, including appearances at the South By South West festival in Austin, TX.
The tracklisting for Ode To Ochrasy is as follows:
01. Welcome Home Luc Robitaille
02. Killer Kaczynski
03. Long Before Rock’n’roll
04. The Wildfire
05. You Don’t Understand Me
06. Tony Zoulias
07. Amsterdam
08. TV & Me
09. Josephine
10. The New Boy
11. Morning Paper Dirt
12. Good Morning Herr Horst
13. Song For Aberdeen
14. Ochrasy
