A small story that must be told

Loud guys in quiet: Mando Diao in an interview

 You´ve played an MTV unplugged concert. When did the idea of this appear? 

Gustaf: We´ve had this since 1992. But the possibility turned up only in 2010. 

Björn: Some of our fans wrote letters and mails and called MTV. I have no idea if it´s just a rumour but it has been said that they permanently called MTV and told them: you have to play Mando Diao at MTV Unplugged. And all of a sudden we had a request from MTV in our inbox. Looks like they were convinced. 

What was your aproach to the acoustic versions?

Gustaf: Some songs had to sound almost the same like on the album. But with acoustic guitars you get this different rhythm. Such song as ´Long Before Rock´n´roll would absurdly become even more electric and got a considerable portion of upswing. With ´Sheepdog´ we wanted on the contrary, a slower, clearer beat. This is why some songs had to be arranged a new.

This concert was definitely made specially for the television. Was it different from your other concerts, for example, did you have to repeat things?

Gustaf: We feared that too, that we´d have to repeat something constantly. That´s why we rehearsed like we´d never have any opportunity to repeat anything. This was our aim, and at the end it turned out to be quite a normal show. From the beginning till the end without repetitions. But as you said, it was a TV-show and of course there was a completely different directing. Actually we had to think in cinema dimensions. 

Why did you record this concert in Berlin? 

Björn: We come here often and with pleasure. Even the rehearsals took place in the studios of the former GDR Broadcaster. Besides, there are good TV studios in Germany- so that´s exactly what we needed: a studio with large space, more rooms, etc. 

Gustaf: Besides, Berlin is the center of Europe ... like Rome was a couple of millennia ago. The media and cultural center of Europe is Berlin, thatís why it´s much easier to work here. 

The programme has a long history. Can you remember a concert of this series that stayed in your memories when you were teenagers? 

Björn:  Nirvana was surely a big thing for us because it was shown when we were younger. From the musical point of view this was definitely a highlight of my younger years. Later I haven´t seen that much. Jay-Z was rather good, I can´t say anything about the others. 

Gustaf: Alicia Keys Show was also pretty good. I still remember Mariah Carey - also cool. My father always liked Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton. Actually for this reason Eric Clapton was my first MTV Unplugged memory. 

MTV doesn´t have the big status any longer it used to have still a couple of years ago. Do you have any thoughts in connection with this?  

Björn: I haven´t analyzed your situation but probably it´s due to the fact that you don´t show so much music any longer? Or maybe people don´t want to see music any more. Who knows?! 

Gustaf: This makes our show even more important for the modern kids. Even more than in the 90ies. To make something like that for a programme like MTV is really exclusive. 

Has your opinion about the value of music changed over time? 

Björn: You can´t change the value of music at all. Everyone needs music and this will always be like that. We want to be a band that inspires people to do something similar. That´s why we made everything ourselves: from the decorations to the setlist. This is our product. We want exactly to bring others to this. And today - with all those X-Factor and Pop Idol shows n this is even more important. 

You don´t seem to like such formats? 

Björn: I don´t see them as enemies but it´s a different world. It´s not about music but mostly about rubbish. 

Have certain things changed in music business over the time? 

Gustaf: Oh yes. In my opinion the biggest problem is that there is no more good music. People live only on nostalgia and nothing new anymore. There´s always place for nostalgia but when there´s nothing new coming, at a certain time there will be no nostalgia either. Sometimes I have the feeling that Madonna, U2 and The Rolling Stones are the only acts who still go on tour. The only ones for whom people still want to give money away. 

Björn: I´m not sure if record companies don´t bring up any new bands or if there are no young bands. But that can´t be. 

Gustaf: A new band is a risk that you have to take if you want to keep the quality of the music. But then the sales numbers go down and money is lost, record companies don´t want to make mistakes any more. But for music it´s most dangerous when one doesn´t want to take that risk. So the value of music has changed. Everyone listens and uses music but its value can´t be measured by diamonds or gold. 

You´re The Beatles fans. Are there modern artists that have also influenced you? 

Gustaf: There are some artists that have inspired us in the past ten years. Empire Of The Sun for example, a very special band. Or The White Stripes and The Strokes - both are pretty good. All these bands and us, we see the world, so to say, in retrospective, looking back. Outkast for example can be important for our generation, even more important than us. The entire indie stage is pretty retro, looking back with pleasure. This must definitely be changed. 

In the beginning you didn´t have the best reputation with the media, you were considered very arrogant. Why has your attitude towards media changed or why have you changed?

Gustaf: We haven´t changed but media looks at it in a different way. In the beginning we were arrogant because everyone asked us if we were the best band in the world. And of course we said yes. 

Björn: Otherwise I would have played in another, better band. 

Gustaf: It´s like when Lil Wayne rapped that he´s the best rapper in the world. What he wants to say is that you don´t listen to anyone who claims that he´s better than you. Music will be so much more boring if people donít decide themselves what they do. We´re simply able to talk only about what we want. 

Björn: Songwriting and self-confidence just belong together. When you don´t believe in what you want to achieve with your song- then who will? In this regard we were always strong. 

How difficult is it for you to combine music with private life? 

Gustaf: For me music and private life go perfectly well together. It´s fine to be a songwriter and a family man at the same time, because you always write new songs. You absolutely can´t control that. You´re cleaning up and suddenly this song comes to your mind. You can combine that well. 

In your opinion, is there a Mando Diao brand mark? 

Gustaf: Of course the energy and the big sound but the longer you think about that, I think you come to the conclusion that we´re story-tellers and songwriters. That´s the reason why ´Dance With Somebody´, ´Gloria´ and ´Sheepdog´ have something in common: they´re pop songs with soul and a small story that must be told.