Mando Diao

A band that do not get enough recognition. And they're from Sweden. The band: Mando Diao.

Our recommendations: If you have never heard the band before, we recommend listening to the acoustic versions of "Never Seen the Light of Day", "Sheepdog" and "Killer Kaczynski". If you want a song you can dance to, also check out "Dance With Somebody". 


Band Members: Gustaf Norén (vocals/guitar/songwriter), Björn Dixgård (vocals/guitar), Carl-Johan Fogelklou (bass), Samuel Giers (drums), Mats Björke (keyboardist).


Who they are:

Mando Diao is a Swedish band that originally formed in 1995. Today, they are big in Sweden, Japan, and are on their way to becoming big in the rest of Europe. Unfortunately, America has not caught on yet to the greatness that is Mando Diao. 

The band claims that the Beatles are one of their greatest influences, and this can be heard in their style of play. Even though they are categorized as indie rock, their music ranges from Beatles-esque to hard rock. They believe that rock has turned away from it's roots and started to turn pop and "poseur punk", so their mission became to revitalize rock. 

Mando Diao doesn't have the usual set-up of having a single frontman; instead, they have two: Gustaf and Björn. They alternate between being the main singer and backing vocals (and vice versa) producing amazing harmonies.



Why they are going to be HUGE:

How do you know if a rock band is going to be good and not just another band spit out by the producers? You strip away all of the electronics and make them go "unplugged" (one thing MTV did right... back in the day). And these guys sound absolutely fantastic acoustically (some of their songs we even prefer that way, like "Never Seen the Light of Day"). 

They also have the right attitude to become big. John Lennon once said about the Beatles, "We thought we were the best… just a matter of time before everyone else caught on". That's exactly how Mando Diao feels about themselves. And they don't only think they're the best; they think that they are even better than the Beatles! Right now, that may be an overstatement, but that is what is going to be driving them forward and make them huge.



Note: Since our original post, Mando Diao have been on MTV's "Unplugged". Check out one of their songs below!


Notable Albums:

• Bring 'Em In (2002) - their debut album.
• Give Me Fire (2009) - has reached #1 in several parts of Europe.

Check Out "Down In The Past" (MTV Unplugged):