What We’ve Been Listening To: Mannequin Death Squad

Mannequin Death Squad are fans of Chelsea Manor and Bring Me The Horizon, and they really wish that they could do the back-up vocals for The Veronicas.

Have a listen to their latest single before getting to know more about what the Australian artists are into!

Who is Mannequin Death Squad and how did the namesake come about?

Mannequin Death Squad is Elly and Dan, thrash-pop power duo from Melbourne, Australia. The name came together after weeks of failed attempts at giving ourselves a name. And then we just decided to go with a failed attempt anyway.

We went to a Kingswood show in Melbourne where they had mannequin parts all across the stage and the name just fell together like that.

What artists or bands are on your must-listen to list lately and why?

I get more obsessed with single tracks from certain artists at the moment. I’m currently blasting Predator by Chelsea Manor and Amen by Bring Me The Horizon.

When you go into the recording studio to work on new material, what are your must-haves?

Chocolate digestives, 1kg of Hummus, and our gun of a sound engineer Brent Quirk.

Which song, or songs, of yours would you recommend to a first-time listener and why?

Super Mental Psycho. It just sums up everything that we try to do: high punk energy, catchy vocal melodies, and anthemic choruses.

Which song of someone’s else’s (artist or band) would you have liked to feature on and why?

Take Me On The Floor by The Veronicas. If I could just do the “Da Da Da Da”s back-up vocals I’d be happy.

https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/232952585

What led you into becoming musicians and why do you keep making music?

El watched her sister go on several tours with her band before she took up drums in high school. But being able to write her first song on guitar at age 12 was what hooked her.

Song writing is what keeps me making music. You’ve just got these melodies in you or things to say and you need to get them out. When it gets too hard on tour, the fans are what really keep us going. That one 16-year-old who cries happy tears just because they get let into the show to see us… That truly touches your heart.

Dan’s dad is a multi-instrumentalist and a great singer, so hearing him practice every week with his band definitely rubbed off on him. His dream has always been to travel the world playing music, so to be able to fulfill that will keep him going forever.