Mando Diao

The Swedish pop-rock band Mando Diao was the idea of two friends Bjorn Dixgard and Daniel Haglund from Borlange. When they were studying together, the young men decided to form a group and called it Butler. Later, Haglund abandoned the project and Dixgard recruited new musicians. In 1999, Butler was renamed into Mando Diao, which, according to the confessions of the musicians, meant nothing. The town where this formation assembled was too small to own several good outfits, which made it easier for the young musicians to conquer the local audience. The next step was producing an impression on the picky listeners of Stockholm, the capital.

Compared to Oasis and other pop-rock bands from the UK, Mando Diao found it no big trouble to get in touch with the leading sound recording companies and finally made a deal with the Swedish department of EMI. The managers of the influential label were so enthusiastic about their new partners that they gave the band a free hand to do whatever they wanted. Therefore, the dirty garage sound featured on the demos went smoothly to the official releases of Mando Diao. Yet, before releasing anything, the talented group toured their country as a supporting act for Hellacopters, Kent, and Thаstrоm. Bring 'Em In, released in September 2002, captivated not only the compatriots of the new rock-stars, but also music lovers from most remote lands. That was a catchy type of sound made of simple melodies, prominent guitars and garage-rock uncontrolled temper.

Although, critics discovered a multitude of acts that Mando Diao seemed to follow, nobody questioned their own distinctive approach. Surprisingly, the Scandinavians found their most faithful fans far away from Sweden, in Asia, especially in Japan. This predetermined the band’s constant visits to the East. They also trod the paths to many European countries and even the States. Although the majority of reviews praised Mando Diao, there were those who considered them just one more copy of what had been played so many times and was popular then again. Neglecting this, the Swedes were hard working to produce new albums one by one speedily. To prepare the sophomore album, Hurricane Bar, the band went to England. First they released the single Clean Town. It was a song about their native town, the most criminal place in Sweden. None of the members lived there any longer, and this composition was aimed to show that they still remembered and cherished Borlange. The album itself hit the stores in September 2004 and featured a combination of different genres from different times. The music was again very emotional and energetic with cheerful and sometimes ironical vocals. M

Mando Diao spent the largest portion of 2005 in concerts visiting the biggest venues in Europe. Exhausted after the long and packed tour, they went back to the studio to put their new ideas into music and lyrics. Ode To Ochrasy was released in summer 2006 to please both public and critics. One year later, still creative and productive, the Swedes delivered another long player, Never Seen the Light of Day. The band did not change their stylistics significantly, always faithful to what they decided to play in the very beginning. In February 2009, Mando Diao issued their subsequent studio effort, Give Me Fire. Apparently, the group is not striving to shock the world with music inventions, but they are truly good at making the mainstream pop-rock and have definitely occupied their own spot amongst the scores of such performers.