Acclaimed local band Django Jones and the Mystery Men have today released their third single, a heavy, ferocious post-punk track called Animals, which mirrors the band’s own wild and unrelenting energy. This is the first single from their upcoming EP titled Thank You For Having Us which releases later this year. We spoke with the band’s drummer, Ciara Hurding, to talk about the band’s releases, their reputation as unmissable performers, and to get some advice for aspiring drummers.

Tell me about Animals, how long has it been around?

“So since about two years ago now we’ve been playing it live, literally every gig since we’ve started playing live. So I think sort of been a long time coming for all of us. And we’ve been quite excited to release it.

“We recorded it, I think, September last year. So that’s been a while as well. And this is sort of the first single of a few singles in the run up to an EP that we’re going to release around sort of September, October time.

“We all just kind of wanted to make sure that we had lots of music coming out this year, because we’ve previously only just done a single a year. And we were like, we need to actually get some more stuff out. So yeah, this is sort of the first single of a few that are to come.”

What’s your favourite song from the upcoming EP?

“A song called Say My Name, which we’ve not been playing for as long as some of our other ones. If people have seen us in the last few months they might recognise that one. I think it’s like a White Stripes kind of vibe, maybe even a bit more poppy than stuff that we’ve done previously.

“I think it definitely shows a bit more variety, but yeah, I think that was a good one. We’re going to have an EP launch, which we haven’t actually announced yet, but will properly be announced over the next few weeks or months, and that’ll be in Sheffield. So that’s something to look forward to.”

You’ve become somewhat of local legends not just amongst fans but other artists for how well you perform live – how do you bring such great energy to the stage?

“I think when we sort of were first starting out, we were really keen that it was a performance and not just sort of us going on stage and playing our music, we wanted people to have a really good time, that it’d be enjoyable to watch as well as listen to.

“Often Will (DJatMM’s frontman) is really good at performing, I don’t really know where it comes from, because I think a lot of people watch him on stage and then they’ll chat to him afterwards and he’s just a completely different person.

“I don’t know where he actually gets that energy from. I think for me obviously, I play drums. So I think with the style of music, it’s quite hard to not get that energy from it when you’re playing.”

Particularly in smaller venues as a drummer, how do you balance that energy so that the rest of the band can still be heard?

“It can be tricky at times, when you show up and you play in a gig. Maybe the sound’s not great, you can’t properly hear each other, things like that. But we’ve always got the attitude of, if there’s five people there, or there’s 100, they’ve all come to see the exact same show, and it should be the same show for them.

“So we always just try and absolutely go for it, even if we are just playing in a local pubs or to our parents or something. We always sort of bounce off each other as well. I think it’s quite easy for us because you can look around and get the energy from each other.”

How do you bring the energy from the stage into the studio?

“Something that’s quite important to us is that we got the atmosphere of live sound into the studio recordings. Stephen House (producer) that we work with, we’ve had a lot of conversations with him before we recorded about getting that energy in the songs and not making it sound like a live gig recording, but definitely trying to carry that energy across.

“He’s really good at getting that sound and allowing us to trial different things. We’ll never just do one take of any instrument and be like ‘yeah, that’s fine’, we’ll try so many different things in the studio.

“Will does random tracks of him screaming on the mic that we’ve put in. It’s a lot of trying things out and seeing what works.”

How can artists get the most from their recording sessions?

“I think definitely practice a lot before. But I also think it’s really important to go in with an open mind and not be too strict, there are a lot of times that we’ve gone in with a finished song but it’s come out of the studio quite different.

“I feel like listen to the producer as well because they obviously know what they’re doing, so if they’ve got ideas for a different way to start the song or something like that, just try everything out. Make sure that you have enough time as well so that you don’t feel rushed.”

Do you think there’s a shortage of drummers in the indie music scene?

“Yeah, I think it’s always drummers and bass players that bands struggle to find. I’ve been in quite a few different bands, and I think a lot of that is down to the fact that people can never find a drummer.

“It’s one of those instruments, it’s probably a bit harder to pick up than guitar, isn’t it? Because you have a full drum kit and things like that, it’s a lot more effort in that sense. Also if you’re starting when you’re a kid, convincing your parents that you want to play drums is a lot harder.”

Should aspiring drummers aim to be versatile or to carve out a style?

“I don’t know, I’ve practised for years doing the same style, but that’s mostly because that’s the sort of music that I like, and so that’s what I’d want to play.

“I look at like jazz drummers and it blows my mind. I have no idea how they do that. But I think it’s definitely important to try and learn different genres of music because it’ll improve you generally. So yeah, learning those skills is a really good thing to do, I think.”

Stream Animals by Django Jones and the Mystery Men wherever you listen to music here.

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