Thailand can't seem to get enough of American alternative rock band Imagine Dragons. They're coming back again for the third time in four years after blowing away Thai audiences with their high-energy performance back in 2015.
Dan Reynolds (Vocals), Wayne Sermon (Guitar), Daniel Platzman (Percussion) and Ben McKee (Bass) will be playing their latest hits like Thunder, Believer and Whatever It Takes on Jan 11 at Show DC Oasis Outdoor Arena.
With days left before the show, Life got to talk to the band about their latest album Evolve and why they keep coming back to the Kingdom without fail.
This will be your third time performing in Bangkok. What is it about the Thai audience that makes you keep coming back?
The food definitely doesn't hurt. One of our favourite meals we've ever eaten was at Issaya. But the people of Thailand are warm and welcoming every time we come. As long as they'll have us, we'll keep coming back.
Many people in Thailand have said that the Imagine Dragons concert in 2015 was hands down the best gig of that year. How do you keep such high energy during your performance?
We feed off the energy of the audience, and the Thai people are some of the best in the world. When people bring excitement and energy to a concert, we can feel it.
Which bands were the biggest influence on you when you started out?
We all have a pretty big variety of influences, from singer/songwriters like Paul Simon and Harry Nilsson to, of course, The Beatles. We've always been inspired by the story of The Beatles -- how they were able to write such an incomparable body of work after going through so much together.
Your latest album Evolve feels much more positive and optimistic compared to your previous albums, what was the process like writing the album?
It wasn't a deliberate choice as much as a reflection of what was happening in our lives. Smoke + Mirrors was written at a difficult time for all of us emotionally, maybe particularly Dan. So much had changed so quickly in our lives. But after that album, we were able to get centred and find a lot more peace. Having more colour in our life resulted in the music you hear in Evolve, which represented that change for us both personally and musically. That said, we did want to be more specific about the sounds we chose to incorporate this album, and you can hear that in the more minimalist approach.
Dan has been very open about his experience with depression. It's a never-ending battle, so how do you deal with it personally? What motivated you to get up even during lowest of the low? What do you suggest to people who are going through the same thing?
The most important thing is to recognise that depression is real, that it's not something that you should ever be ashamed of, and that you should never shy away from getting help when you need it, or even just when you want it. There is too much stigma around mental health, and it's hurting people unnecessarily. The sooner you recognise and accept depression, the sooner you can work on getting better. And having depression does not have to keep you from having a long, happy, successful life.
How do you feel when fans say that your music has helped them get out of a dark place?
It's the most gratifying part of what we do. We've all been the recipients of help when we needed it most, and when you can play a small part in helping someone else, you feel pretty lucky.
