What’s the rationale behind the name Dardanelles?
In short, to reassure people that it’s okay to trash-talk Churchill. In long, because Dardanelles is a place of transformation. It’s scarred by the past – a theatre of the Trojan and first World Wars, and the campaigns of Xerxes I and Alexander – but its ongoing physical beauty slaps mankind’s lust for a longer shadow in the face. And the failure at Gallipoli, instead of remaining an open wound, is trumpeted as the birthplace of the Australian identity. Transforming sore spots into celebration is something we aim for in music. We want people to bounce to music with a dark bloodline. One thing we didn’t give enough thought to was accessibility. The amount of times it gets misspelt, or misheard! If we ever get referred to as ‘Darn Aliens’, ‘Arm Yourselves’ ‘Garden Elves’, or ‘Darkened Shelves’ again … How would you describe your music? Without genre. Genre walls keep music stagnant, and stagnant water stinks. We just try and write earnest, interesting songs and if the only genre they fit
