By Vivienne Hill
When you’re kicking back in the Scottish highlands for a quick rest in what seems to be a never ending touring schedule, the last thing you wish for is to be woken up early to do twenty something interviews. Lead singer of The Temper Trap Dougy Mandagi is one exception; turns out he doesn’t mind a yarn on a cold Scottish morning.
Since The Temper Trap left Australia, their overseas success has dramatically expanded. With an impending debut album, coupled with appearances at nearly all the major European summer festivals, the future is dazzling for these four lads from Melbourne. Dougy believes they have been well received so far. “It has been pretty consistent everywhere. The best country was probably Germany. I imagined Germans to be quite reserved, stiff people so it was weird.” Dougy admits that the touring can become very tedious. “Um, yeah being stuck in a van for 8 hours a day can be a bit overwhelming at times but the payoff is when you do a good show and get up on stage and people dig it.”
The band also played at South by Southwest festival in Texas. “It’s a crazy festival especially if you are playing there. If you are just going as a punter it’s a lot of fun but for us it was just work mainly,” says Dougy. “We had to be on top of our game the whole time you know you can’t get on the piss and drink. You have to watch everybody else having fun.”
Through periodic yawning, Dougy manages to let me know what the band did yesterday on a rare day off. “It was awesome we were cruising around the highlands of Scotland,” reveals Dougy. “We went to a castle and looked around, it was pretty rad and we went to our tour manager’s house in the hills, it was quiet and beautiful and we drank some whiskey.” Dougy assures me that whiskey drinking and the rest of yesterday’s antics were short lived. “Tomorrow we go back to England for a few shows, then a bunch of festivals.”
The hard slog is definitely paying off for the four piece from Melbourne with their debut album Conditions set for release as a follow up to their Sweet Disposition EP. The album, aptly named, observes the human environment. “The record is about the condition of humanity as I see it and my own condition and how it relates to the world and to me as an individual,” says Dougy.
With such a quick rise to fame, and an overseas tour so soon, The Temper Trap have left many Australians speculating a permanent European relocation without leaving us with some love. “Don’t worry, we are definitely coming home,” reveals Dougy. “We will be home for Christmas and we will be playing a few shows in summer.” As for the bands rocket to stardom, Dougy believes he is well equipped to handle the onslaught of overseas media. “I am preparing myself. Going for morning jogs and doing a lot of pushups,” says Dougy. “I don’t know if that’s the kind of preparation I should be doing but we’ll see. I am preparing myself for when all the attention stops. I am kind of getting used to this.”
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