Interviews: Daioni

On this new occasion, we had the opportunity to interview the Pop Punk/Rock band Daioni from the UK. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you plan it or come out just like that?

BEX: We struggled to decide on a band name for an agonizingly long time. The one thing I knew I wanted from the start was a Welsh name. I’ve become quite patriotic as I’ve gotten older. The Welsh language is part of who I am. I’ve grown up speaking it and always want to keep it no matter where I end up. Thankfully, the guys were on board with the idea, and with us being based in South Wales, it just made sense. The original name we landed on was ‘Emrys’, which means ‘immortal’, and was Merlin, the famous sorcerer’s original name. We weren’t 100% sold on it, but we thought it was quite an edgy Welsh name, so we ran with that until we found out it was already taken, so we scrapped that and went back to the drawing board. Our current name, Daioni, came entirely out of the blue. We were at the studio recording our latest single, and the song “Calon Lân”, which is a popular Welsh hymn, was stuck in my head. The line of the song that the name was pulled from translates to “a pure heart full of goodness”, the word Daioni itself meaning “goodness“, and the coin dropped. It felt right; it wasn’t taken, it’s hearty, Welsh, and beautiful. I pitched it to the guys then and there, who, thankfully, were all on board with it. I would have cried if they had hated it because I genuinely thought I was onto a winner, and I guess I was haha. So yeah, that’s how Daioni was born.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

We are still trying to determine what genre we fall into as all of our songs vary so much from each other. We all tend to play how we feel and try not to make ourselves fit into any boxes. Plus it helps that we all grew up during what I believe was the golden age of music. At that time, alternative bands had taken over the mainstream. We had TV channels such as Kerrang, Skuzz, and MTV2 dedicated to broadcasting rock, metal, and every subgenre in between. Those channels were always on in our houses growing up, and I think we hold on to that nostalgia through the music we produce today.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

BEX: I wish we had a super cool, heartfelt origin story to tell you, like how we formed as misfit kids, entirely at random, jamming out in the music block one afternoon, and all the pieces just fell into place naturally. Still, the truth is, we had all been in bands previously that hadn’t worked out, so we were all scouting the music forums religiously, putting ads out, and trying to get people to “join my band”. Several ads down the line, I got a response from Alex. We arranged to jam at my house, and I think a rough version of our first single, ‘If You Let Me,’ was drafted on that day, so we stuck with each other. From there, we put more ads out as a duo and found Ross and Andy. We got together at a practice room, jammed for several hours and they liked the vibe, so now we’re holding them hostage. That concludes how, Alex, Andy, and Ross came to be Daioni —the internet.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

BEX: I am so all over the place with my music taste that I struggle to pick favorites. Still, if I had to whittle it down to what band has influenced me the most over the years, and I’m sure this comes as no surprise to anyone but, it would have to be Paramore. I’m sure many other female vocalists will agree that Hayley Williams set the bar so high, and for a band that has changed their sound so much over the years, they still hit every time.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

ANDY: That's a hard one... I mean, my favorite artist is Meatloaf. But I love so many bands! Green Day was one of the first bands that ever made me want to play punk. I’d say I love Meatloaf above all else because they were the first album someone ever gave me as a gift, Bat Out of Hell 2, Back Into Hell. I just fell in love with the whole sound and story and how it was heavy, melodic, and raw. To this day it's still probably my favourite album and I can listen to it anytime and it still fucking goes off!

ROSS: Nirvana is the sole reason I play bass. I bought their album Bleach, which is their least popular compared to Nevermind or In Utero, but that was it. I was hooked from that day onward. I was obsessed with the sound. Then I threw Mudhoney, TAD, Alice in Chains, and Melvins in too! But I got my hands on every live Nirvana DVD I could find and would watch them and think, “That is what I want to do”. Also, I said, “I want Krist’s basses, ‘cause they look and sound sick!” So that’s what I did.

ALEX: Nirvana was the band that got me into playing; I played bass originally; Krist Novoselic’s baselines just hit. I started listening backward from In Utero to Nevermind & then Bleach. I picked up the guitar from Kurt Cobain, especially the use of a lot of chorus & delay effects to replicate some of the sounds heard across In Utero. I was obsessed with learning as many of their songs as I possibly could and covering them. It helped my songwriting and gave me the confidence to get onstage and share that kind of inspirational feeling I got from their music and put it into mine.

BEX: Great question! What inspires me the most when writing is all my life’s worst experiences. I take every horrible thing that has ever happened to me and therapy myself through song. Why hold on to bad experiences by staying silent and stewing over them when I can turn them into something I love? Telling these stories through song takes the power out of the bad times and helps me make peace with the memories and be thankful for the journey. Ask Taylor Swift; she gets it.

6. Where was your last gig?

Our last gig was at Fuel Rock Club in Cardiff! We love it there; the vibes are always immaculate. Fuel and Womanby Street, in general, is the hub for our local music scene. We’ve all grown up going to see bands there and now performing there. Over the years, there have been threats to stop live music on Womanby Street. These range from complaints about noise pollution from nearby residents (who chose to live there) to Wetherspoons wanting to build a hotel or venues simply struggling to find the funding to keep going, among other things. If these threats ever materialize, you’d better believe we will be front and center at that protest! Support your local music venues folks! Or they may be taken away!

7. Where would you like to act?

Download Festival. Any Location. That’s the goal. I feel like that would be our “we made it” moment.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

That’s tough because so many bands are killing it right now! We'd love to, at some point, get a guest vocalist to jump on a track and lay down some harsh vocals or screams or vice versa, with say Bex, jumping on someone else’s track with some soft vocals, proper ethereal-like, or maybe a pop punk feature like A Day To Remember did with Sierra Kusterbeck on “If It Means A Lot To You”. We’ll have to wait and see. Any takers?

9. Whom not?

Kanye. For obvious reasons! not that that would ever happen anyway, haha. Other than that, we can’t think of anyone we dislike. I’m sure there’s plenty, but our brains have taken out the rubbish.

10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

BEX: This band exists because of struggles with stage fright. Growing up, I had always wanted to do music and be in a band, but every time I tried, I’d quit as soon as it came to performing because I cared so deeply about what other people thought of me. I was so scared of messing up and embarrassing myself that I just quit. I stopped doing anything music-related for years; it was my life’s most depressing time. I tried a bunch of different hobbies, but nothing stuck, so I ended up doing nothing. I’d go to work, come home, and go to bed, which ultimately resulted in me developing horrible social anxiety. I scrolled through social media at all hours of the day, because I had nothing better to do, and I’d watch all of my other talented friends do all the things I wish I was doing, and I’d thought to myself, “Wow, this is torture” that’s when I realized, I felt way worse not trying than I did try and failing. So I told myself I’d give it another go with this newfound perspective, and here we are! It has been far from perfect, but it’s been real! it gets better and better as time passes. I think the trick is not to care so much about what other people think and to do what makes you happy because trying to fit into other people’s version of perfect is way more painful than being imperfect.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

BEX: We’ve already established my love for Paramore, but I’d say Knuckle Puck is another band that has inspired me massively, I think their lyricism is top-tier, and their live performances are electric, I’ve been to a few shows over the years, but none of them have come close to the feeling I got watching Knuckle Puck tear the roof off of Clwb Ifor Bach, which is a tiny venue on Womanby Street, directly across the road from Fuel. No fancy lighting or pyrotechnics, just a tiny stage in a sweatbox room and a band that put everything they had into their performance. A band that can captivate an audience like that is magic and until another band tops that, they will be firmly at the top of my leaderboard, and I will forever strive to do how they do!

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Thankfully, our experience with the people who support us has been positive! Nobody has made any strange requests; the things we get asked for are usually: “Can you come and play here?” “Can I have your set list?” and “What drink do you want?” so it’s all good stuff!

13. What do you think of your fans?

They’re the best! We are lucky to have gained a crowd of really down-to-earth, respectful, fun people! We couldn’t ask for better. To have people like them supporting us means everything, and to know people resonate with the songs is the most comforting feeling. We hope we can keep growing this incredible community we’ve got going on!

14. What do you think of our site?

It’s clear as day how much dedication and passion has gone into building your platform! It’s amazing! The information you have on there is so extensive. We can tell a lot of long hours go into creating this space, and we are so grateful to you for inviting us to be a part of it! The fact that you have opened up this space to underground artists, as well as established artists, is heartwarming because ultimately, you guys do not have to do that, but you did and do, for the love of music and the scene and helping people find their people. That’s what it’s all about!

15. Something add?

We are so grateful to be where we are, but we want to take this as far as it can go! We’re always looking to play with more people in new places! What better way to get out there than to say it here? We want to play at every venue that will give us a stage! Thank you x