Ska band interviews – Dallax – Part 1 – The New Album And The Earthquake

The new Dallax album "Heart Storming"

These guys from Tokyo are tougher than tough. Just a few months after a horrible earthquake hit Japan and with fears of a nuclear catastrophe still present, the Skacore masters Dallax jumped on a plane to Germany to complete their FIFTH European tour.
Dallax are on a mission. The mission is to spread the word about their new release “Heart Storming” out now on Pork Pie Records. And to show that it’s hardly possible to stop them. I had the chance to talk to Dallax shortly before the first gig of their nine date tour. Singer Numb and Sax player Pe were present at the interview. Most of the time Numb did the talking.

Joe: I hear it’s your fifth time in Europe. So you keep coming back all the way. Is it still that exciting?

Dallax: Yeah, always exciting.

Joe: What are you looking forward to?

Dallax: Drinking. To see the audience. The German audience is amazing. They are always getting so high. They give me a lot of energy. So, we always come back.

Joe: Was saying Goodbye to your families different this time than the times before?

Dallax: Yes, because of the earthquake. In Japan we are in a very bad condition right now. But, you know, tomorrow something similar can happen in Germany. There are no sure things. We talked a lot with our families and with each other. Then we decided to come. Of course we worry a lot about our families, but they support us. We have to look forward. We have to be tougher. That’s why we come here again.

Joe: If it’s okay we talk some more about the earthquake and its aftermath later. Now I have some questions about your music. As a Ska band from Japan: Would you say there is anything specifically Japanese in your music? Or do you think you could come from anywhere and still sound the same?

Dallax: Ska music is from Jamaica. The music moved to England, then there was 2Tone Ska. Later Ska moved to the US, Punk Ska and Skacore were born. When Ska came to Japan, we mixed up everything. Ska has no roots in Japan. But we have the chance to choose from any roots of Ska, from anywhere. This is the Japanese sound and style I think. It’s a mix, and we move to the next level. It’s also tighter than the styles in other countries.

Joe: Your new album “Heart Storming” was released in Japan at the beginning of this year. It’s a mini album. Why that format?

Dallax: Because we wanted to release (laughs). We want to have one release every year at least. We have our own studio, so we can record more easily than before.

Joe: Today many bands record at home. Not much money is involved in the recording process. But I think your music sounds very good, and in a way that big studios sound.

Dallax: Our studio is not bigger than this room (shows). I ‘m the owner of the studio. It had been used as a professional studio before, but was like a ghost, it had been deserted. When I rented it, all the recording equipment was still there. That made recording easy for us. “Heart Storming” is in some ways a test recording. A challenge, we jammed and just recorded what we played. It was so easy and fast. With the album before we took a lot of time for each song. With “Heart Storming”, we only needed one month for everything.

Joe: The music clip to  “Glow Of My Life” features people who are holding pieces of paper in their hands and show them to the camera. Something is written on the papers: What is it?

Dallax: The name of the song is “Glow Of My Life”. We asked people: “When do you feel really happy. When do you feel “The glow of your life?” And we asked them to write the answers down. One wrote: “When I’m reading a manga”, another “When I’m listening to Ska music”. We chose “Glow Of My Life” for the video, because it is a positive song. It has a message.Today it’s a hard time to continue with music and as a band. But everyone faces the same situation for different reasons.

Joe: In an interview I read that you consider yourselves to sound “darker” than the other Ska bands. Do think musically you are becoming less dark with this recording?

Dallax: Music has got a lot of faces. A dark face, a pop face, a happy face, a sad face. “Glow Of My Life” is a pop song. But we also show other faces on the new record.

In part 2 of this interview we talk about what happened to Dallax after the earthquake and about a charity song that Dallax produced with the help of some Ska brothers from different nations. There is also a video report of the event.

In the meantime, why not share your love for Dallax in the comments?