The Mostar Diving Club - The Bridge of Sighs

Simple lines, bright colors: the music of the Mostar Diving Club is a bit like the artwork of their records. It's made of crystalline melodies, bittersweet flavors, nostalgic sighs. A collective that grew up around English songwriter Damian Katkhuda, who chose to name the band after his father's family's homeland. On the occasion of the release of their third album, “Horizontal Hotel”, Katkhuda agreed to guide us to the heart of the Mostar Diving Club.

Could you tell us something about the beginnings of your musical journey? When and how did you decide to become a musician?

I started singing as a kid, then I joined a few choirs and began learning some instruments. It was only when I picked up a guitar after a lecture on "The Dangers of Rock 'n' Roll as a Lifestyle" that I really started to appreciate singing and playing with other people. The guitar was the only instrument I ever played without taking lessons, and it's the one I love the most. I never thought or believed it was possible to make a living from music; people and friends keep telling me I should.

What's the difference between Mostar Diving Club and your previous projects (Obi and Katkhuda)?

Mostar Diving Club is my project… I make all the decisions and write all the music, but in exchange I don't have a mixer, and sometimes I feel the lack of one. Obi was more of a band in the traditional sense, and Katkhuda was a transitional project. With Mostar Diving Club I'm literally free to do whatever comes into my head… Too free sometimes.

The reference to the old bridge of Mostar is both a symbol and a family memory. For those who don't know it yet, could you tell us the story behind the name you chose for Mostar Diving Club?

Mostar, in the old Yugoslavia, is the land my father's family comes from. Mostar means "old bridge". As a rite of passage into adulthood, the boys of the city would jump off the bridge, from a height of thirty metres, into the icy waters below. When I went to visit my cousins a few years ago, I saw a shack on a corner of the bridge with "Mostar Divers Club" written on it. My musical project was looking for a name, and that one seemed to fit perfectly.

How did the band's current lineup come together?

In a rather random way, as often happens. I played several shows on my own after the first album. The idea of having a "club" meant it could be flexible. In other words, the members could change.

First of all, I asked Will (Worsley, ed.), the producer, if he wanted to join in.

Then I was introduced to Michael (G Moore, ed.) as a possible manager. At the end of lunch I asked him if he knew any cello players, and he told me that, even though he wasn't a woman, he could play the cello himself… and he's also pretty good on piano!

I found Vicky (Osterberg, ed.) on the internet. I was searching among drum graduates in west London, saw her profile and sent her a message… I didn't get a reply for about a month, and then she found my message in her spam folder.

Then Will, the producer, got very busy, so Jason (Boyd, ed.), a friend of Vicky's, joined us to play bass, as well as other instruments.

This has been our lineup for about a year now. They're exceptional musicians — on stage we swap around as many as 14 instruments.

Why was there such a long gap between "Don Your Suit Of Lights" and "Triumph Of Hope"?

I got caught up with a record label that's always putting things off… "Triumph Of Hope" was ready about 18 months before it came out. There was probably an even longer delay in actually making the new record.

How did the recording and production of "Horizontal Hotel" go?

I recorded it with my longtime collaborator Will Worsley at his new studio, Coda-Cola. As usual, I wrote a ton of songs (around 30) and then recorded them all in a single day, just me and one instrument... Then I separated the good ones from the bad ones and focused on about 20 songs, 10 of which made it onto the final version.

Usually our approach to a song is to slow down the tempo and play it that way, adding whatever I feel is necessary to bring out the best in it. Normally I find a solution for most things, but sometimes I just follow my inspiration.

The sound of the new songs feels more intimate. Do you think there's any difference compared to your previous records?

I think it's a natural progression. The band played on some of the tracks, so I think their influence made its way in. I think the lyrics are a bit more introspective.

Speaking of the new album, where does the title come from?

The title comes from a drawing one of my kids made for me... It was a drawing of a horizontal hotel, and I immediately loved the sound of the words. It seemed to fit the music perfectly!

There's a deep sense of mortality in songs like "Scattered Flowers" or "Nothing Else". Do you think it's a way of living more intensely in the present?

I guess I think about mortality a lot, and that comes through in the songs I write. But I also think about the joys of life, so there's a kind of balance. On this album that's exactly how it is, and joy seems to win out over mortality... In fact, at the last minute I made a change to the record, swapping out "Neighbour Song" for "Old Yellow Sun" precisely because I felt it was getting a bit too dark.

What do you think is the recipe for a pop song that doesn't sound saccharine?

Write it for the right reasons and it will never sound saccharine. Put your heart into it and it will sound great. Songs only sound stupid if you don't believe in what you're doing. That's why commercial music sounds so terrible... People who want to become famous will sing whatever they're told to sing. A real musician sings from deep within their heart.

The artwork on your records is very distinctive and full of color. Do you handle that side of things yourself?

Yes, I take care of all the artwork myself... I hand-draw all the covers.

You wrote some songs for the soundtrack of the film "Waiting For Forever". What was that experience like? What do you think is the relationship between music and image?

It was a great experience; one of the most enjoyable songwriting jobs I've ever done, because I didn't have to think about what to write since it was all right there in front of me.

Image and music are made for each other. Music creates the atmosphere and the image inspires it. Imagine watching a horror film without music: it would simply be flat and cloying.

What's your relationship with live performance like?

I love playing live once I'm up on stage, but the preparation is often a bit fraught.

In 2010, your cover of "Just Can't Get Enough" by Depeche Mode was included in the first volume of our OndaDrops project. What's your key to truly making someone else's song your own?

Try not to think about the original version of the song, otherwise what comes out will always be a photocopy… Actually, I've only ever recorded two covers in total, both on request. The second was "Crying Laughing Loving Lying" by Labi Siffre.

If you could collaborate with another artist, past or present, who would you choose (and why)?

It's a bit like being asked what your favourite song is, it's an impossible task… But I love the interplay of male and female voices, so it could be one of today's folk singers (Laura Marling, Lisa Hannigan, Marika Hackman) or one from the Sixties/Seventies (Joni Mitchell, Sandy Denny). I'd also love a guitar session with Nick Drake!

Is there any chance of seeing you live in Italy at some point?

I don't have any plans at the moment, but I'd love to play in Italy if it turns out to be possible… you never know!

The Mostar Diving Club – Just Can’t Get Enough

(da “OndaDrops Vol. 1: Do you know the way to blue?”)

[download]

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