Five Minutes with Mung Dahl

Recently arriving on the scene with their unique shed-conceived jams, Mung Dahl are the kind of band you’d probably wish you could watch in a dingy New York indie bar. Somewhere in between the ironic off-pitch wailing of New York City's Parquet Courts, the messy lo-fi blitz of Canadian band Metz and even the pop sensibilities of the Arctic Monkeys, these guys fuse all that with intricate blues-jazz elements and gloriously impromptu song structures. In the lead-up to their EP release and launch on May 11, we had a quick little chat with lead singer Sam Rocchi:

So who’s in Mung Dahl? Tell us about yourselves.

The core-team is Sam Rocchi (guitar/vox), Oscar van Gass (drums) and Chris Bye (bass). We get somebody on tambourine for most shows too, usually just any mate that came down, but could be anyone! We’re hoping to extend the lineup soon, to include a cello. Cause why not?

Where on earth did the name come from?

We couldn’t think of a good one and we like the absurdity of it - it sounds gross too.

What kind of tunes are we talking?

“Progressive garage rock” (whatever that is), definitely some jam-band elements too; the songs tend to change a little at each of our shows. That was the initial idea - to try and create a different live experience each time we play.

You have a pretty unique sound. What are the band’s biggest influences?

The Velvet Underground, Gareth Liddiard, King Giz and The Pixies are pretty important from a writing perspective – I’d say we take a lot too from the local scene that was around when we first started and now, like, The Love Junkies, Tame, Sonpsilo Circus, and Pond, definitely. I think that’s where a lot of the jam-bandyness comes from.

What’s the rest of the year have in store for Mung Dahl?

We will write new songs and play them in our sets. Hopefully, maybe, we will put together another EP! There’s a few new tracks coming together, I’m pretty excited to see where they end up going.

And where can we hear the EP?

At our shows! Or the usual Soundcloud/Bandcamp/myspace places. Buy the EP though [Bandcamp], it’s pretty fun. Take it home. Love it. Listen to it in the car. Results!

Mung Dahl release their EP Pitching Noise tomorrow and to celebrate they're launching at the William Street Bird tomorrow night with Shit Narnia, Segue Safari and The Kramers. Watch their enchanting music video for one of the new tracks Tides below and get a taste of the garage rock goodness to come:

Follow Mung Dahl: FACEBOOK