• Hi! Can you tell me about Danakil Heat and your previous musical experiences?
Hi! We are Danakil Heat, a groovy stoner band from Helsinki formed in 2022. We’ve all played in other bands before (e.g. Joonas: Saatananpalvojat, Valkohai). Shaun and Timm are also playing more doom-focused music in Dead Titan, although that project is currently on hiatus.
• Why did you choose your band name, how did you form, and what led you to play the genre(s) you do?
Back in the days of the pandemic, Olli, Timm and Elias started this project as a jam session to keep busy. We played mostly covers, anything from Iron Maiden to ZZ Top, without any focus on stoner rock. We had fun exploring new instruments, Timm was rather a piano player than a guitarist at the time, and Elias, bassist by trade, switched to drums. At some point, we started writing our own songs, also diverse in genre, slowly evolving toward a stoner rock sound, adding more fuzz and groove as we moved along. Our first addition was Shaun on vocals, bringing new energy and a strong stoner/doom background to the band, and finally Joonas replaced Elias on drums, who moved on to focus on singer-songwriting.
Our band name can be traced back to a desert rock sound we were chasing while writing One more Life. To describe our high-energy riffs and grooves, only the hottest desert on earth, the Danakil Desert, would be hot enough. The fact we are based in Finland, a cold place void of deserts of any kind, doesn’t stop us in the slightest.
• Can you tell us about Doomsday Delight?
Doomsday Delight is our second EP this year, released only six months after Life on the Green Planet. It’s just over 15 minutes in length. There was an urgency to release these three songs, to make it a concise and riff-packed release. Instead of slow-building atmospheres, we wanted to jump in, give it our all, and get out. Get those riffs out of our system.
Lyrically, the EP is all about our defining theme: Apocalyptic optimism, a paradox that captures both the unease of a world on the edge and the sparks of resilience that refuse to die out. We want to include this contrast in our riffs as well: Combining doomy textures with energetic riffs that carry an almost mischievous energy.
• What kind of feedback are you hoping to receive for this EP?
We hope that our music resonates with the listeners and gets their adrenaline pumping. What better way to enjoy your day than listen to some rocking music with kickass riffs! We hope all listeners alike can enjoy our music even if they are not deep into the stoner genre, since we try to incorporate influences from various different genres.
• Do you plan to embark on a world tour in the future? Do you think touring the world is an option available to every band, or what does a band need to do to achieve this opportunity?
A world tour seems very far away at this point. The world is a big place. We will approach this step by step, region by region, country by country, and see where it will lead us.
• Do you believe in a heavy music scene without money?
Today anyone can create music with very low financial investment, which is great for musicians all around the world! However, the fact is that gaining popularity in the scene requires money. At least for us, we aim to be sustainable with our money use and see where that gets us. We are not in the business to earn fortunes and we believe it is the same for many bands such as us.
• What are your thoughts on online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free, and if so, why?
We believe that music nowadays should be accessible to everyone by some streaming service. That is why our music is up on all of the major platforms. It is then the listeners choice if they want to pay for that service. Our band is of course available on Bandcamp as well which is the best place to support small music artists financially.
• Who are your musical influences? Did you ever imagine your band could become as famous as your favorites?
Our musical influences are quite diverse. Apart from the stoner scene, there’s sludge, grunge, punk, prog and traditional heavy metal in the mix. We have to do this person by person, because it is so different.
Timm: Samán, Monolord, Wormsand
Olli: Mastodon, Iron Maiden, Stam1na
Shaun: No Use for a Name, YOB, Mastodon
Joonas: Deftones, 90's rap, Gatecreeper
Some of our influences aren’t necessarily massively popular bands. Still, playing a gig with any of them would be hugely inspiring.
• Have you received formal music education? Do you think it's an important factor?
Some of us have, but we don’t consider it a key part of our playing or songwriting. If a riff feels right and grooves hard, it doesn’t matter what its theoretical composition is. That being said, we sometimes like to incorporate odd time signatures, which requires a bit of math.
• How do you balance your music with other obligations such as family, job, etc.?
Scheduling things well in advance, utilizing everyone's skills in different areas and using rehearsal time efficiently are things we try to do in order to get the best results with the limited time we have for band activity.
• How do you deal with mistakes during a performance? Do you get nervous before a performance or competition?
We try to be unapologetic about this. It’s music made by hand. We don’t use clicks or backing tracks, all you hear is our playing. Mistakes happen and are part of the experience. We are happy to sacrifice technical perfection for an organic and energetic performance on stage.
• What's next for your band? Thank you!
We already have some new material in the back of our heads, but after this release we will also jump into more gigs and maybe even some festivals next summer. Go check out our instagram for any upcoming stuff, we will keep you posted. Thank you!