Coming on quite explosively with a muscular sound which fuses noise rock and post punk like there's no tomorrow, Chicago's Djunah unveil the first track off their debut album, Ex Voto, coming out November 1st, 2019 through Triple Eye Industries.
The upcoming LP was recorded with the great Kurt Ballou at God City Studio, and the brief, yet, very much powerful, Animal Kingdom, is a fine showcase of the band's emergence and potency; a straight-shooter impossible to overpass.
Djunah's massive sound comes from a pair of adept musicians. The band is fronted by Donna Diane, former Beat Drun Juel frontwoman, impressively performing, managing all at once duties on guitar, vocals, and a Moog bass organ which she handles with her feet. Drummer and drum maker, Nick Smalkowski, completes the band's lineup, previously on acts such as Arctic Sleep and Fake Limbs, and handmade creator of his own stave kit.
"It’s a really insane challenge," Diane says about the striking way she performs, "being tethered to one spot on the bass organ but still bringing the same energy and intensity on guitar and in my voice. I’m stunned at how much technique I’ve developed in the past year. I’m even learning to jump and land on the right note."
"I want to give people something they haven’t seen before," Diane adds."We definitely don’t play it safe. But I’d rather hit a wrong note than be fucking boring."
Animal Kingdom is a nod to the 1932 film of the same name starring Myrna Loy whose performance Donna reflects with her fervent delivery, channeling the aggressive, shameless debutante of Loy's character.
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