Mando Diao

The themes of Ode To Ochrasy were born out of the band’s experiences on the road, while supporting Hurricane Bar. The band was most taken by “ochrasy” a term which they made up for those wee hours of the night, after the show, post-afterparty, before the start of the next day. It is a place and a state of mind somewhere between dream and reality. As frontman Björn Dixgard describes it, ochrasy is “that hallucinatory world you enter around four and five in the morning…a sort of utopian world where anything can happen, where everything is allowed.” On the road, the men of Mando Diao would frequently meet strange characters after their shows, stroll desolate streets near the clubs they played at, and close out creepy dive bars. All of these experiences inspired the songs on Ochrasy, where lyrics reference the characters they met on the road, and the bizarre encounters the band had in those early hours of the morning.

Recorded over the Spring of 2006, Ode To Ochrasy, was produced by Mando Diao, with early help from friend Björn Olsson (formerly of Soundtrack of Our Lives). Olsson was instrumental in making the band focus on the big picture of the album, rather than focusing on the tiny details. Bassist CJ Fogelklou recalled “Working with Björn really made us learn how to to capture the right feeling when you’re recording…This time we’ve been listening more to the general feeling and how we play together, instead of worrying too much about details.” After Olsson kickstarted the album in motion, the band took over as producers, enlisting mixer Owen Morris (Oasis, The Verve, New Order) to round out the sound.