Danimals

“We’ve had a bit of a vote and decided that Danimals is probably more marketable,” Jonti Danilewitz, founder of Danimals tells me.

“Not to say I didn’t like the Frenchness of D’Animals,” he adds rakishly, pronouncing it Dee Animale in a velvety French accent, “but Danimals just sounds more innocent which suits the music better. D’Animals has this ravenous sexual energy and as much as I’d love my music to be ravenous and sexy it’s probably more innocent and childlike.”

Having founded Danimals as a solo side project from Sherlock’s Daughter, the band with whom Jonti serves as keyboard, sampling and Nintendo DS maestro, the project started out as a rather different beast to the multi-headed Cerberus it is today.

“I really wanted to pursue something that had a bit of hip hop production. I wasn’t even into many bands at the time you know, I was mainly into electronica and hip hop. I thought it was really the most interesting thing happening at the time you know, it seemed like this whole new movement.

“But now being in a band, it’s gone full circle. I’m just trying to balance it out, just trying to merge the two worlds of being in a band and being able to explore those production techniques, which has resulted in Danimals.”

Danimals has only recently sprouted its extra heads with Will Russell (Sherlock’s Daughter, Joysticks), Julian Sudek (Mercy Arms, Nevada Strange) and Moses MacRae (Phrase, Good Buddah) having only joined the project earlier this year. Young though it may be, this beast is wild and live shows have been know to include three drumming and instrument hopping like you wouldn’t believe.
“When we get together we’re just this coiled spring of sexual energy, like jungle cats, but that’s another story,” he tells me with a laugh.

Playing alongside i like cats and Ghoul as part of the upcoming Exquisite Corpse 1st Birthday, Jonti remains tight lipped about what to expect from their show.

“We want to be good businessmen you know and tell everyone to come along and find out for themselves, keep it secret,” he teases me. I try to persuade him with the currency of the flesh, but to no avail. Taking pity on my pathetic desperation though, he tells me about the Limited Edition Compilation CD to be released on the night.

“We’ve got a few tracks recorded and some jams that we can hopefully fit into the schedule as well, you know just some performance ideas and experiments we’re working on. All three bands I reckon are on the same page so yeah, it’s worth exploring and hopefully a lot of unique things will come out of it.”

The band’s direction, apart from looking bright with a slew of gigs coming up – as well as an ever-increasing fanbase due to this new fangled intranet, is still hazy and musically uncertain. “Everything is in the air because the band is so new. I have no concept set in stone or anything, I have no idea even what the recordings will sound like in the future. I mean I’m still going to do what I do on my own, just for my own health or whatever, but now that there’s other people involved I think it’s going to change naturally, I just don’t know how.”

Be sure to get down and see the band at Oxford Art Factory on Thursday July 30th with i like cats and Ghoul.

Check em out at

http://myspace.com/jontidanimals