Interview With Drummer Daniel Cardoso From Anathema
Daniel Cardoso is the man behind the drum kit in Liverpool’s most iconic alternative rock band
Daniel Cardoso is a multi-instrumentalist born in Beja, Portugal, who started playing live with Anathema in 2010 and became a band member. Rock n’ Heavy had the chance to talk with Daniel just after the release of “Distant Satellites.”
The entertainment business is among the most afflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic. On 22 September 2020, the British alternative rock band Anathema announced how they “faced unpredictable challenges, which impacted both our professional and personal situations. In this hardest of times, events over this year have left us with no option but to go on an indefinite Hiatus.”
The first time you played live with Anathema was in 2010, in Tunisia. How did that opportunity come about?
It came when I was working with Danny (Cavanagh) on a side project. We were in the studio when he received a Skype call from the band’s management about the concert in Tunisia and how John, the drummer, wasn’t available. Basically, we were in the same room, and during the call, Danny turned around and asked me, “do you want to play in Tunisia with us?”. Of course, I did.
In November 2012, you were announced as a permanent keyboardist for Anathema. After some time in which you essentially played keys, you finally moved to the drums, your favorite place. Congratulations! How did this change take place?
Everyone in the band knew that my place was on the drums, but as flexible as I am, I always adopted the initially intended role for me in the best possible way. I have piano training and was educated as a pianist, so it was not difficult. But we played with that; I said that being in Anathema was like “having a dream job, but being in the shitty office.” Some band members “flirted” with the idea of having me as a drummer on some themes, and the possibility of having two live drummers was discussed. I think the transition took place during the pre-production of the new album. John had to leave for family reasons, and I ended up recording I gave them and later recording the album. During the tours we did in the United States, John was once again absent but ended up being present in the musical composition of the album, having now returned to the band’s live formation as a percussionist, also responsible for a panoply of electronic gadgets, keeping me so on the battery.
In 2014, the band released the album “Distant Satellites,” widely applauded by critics. How was the recording process, and what is your role in it?
As I said earlier, I was present in pre-production and helped to shape some themes in their embryonic phase by creating rhythmic parts. But Anathema’s composition process is very closed and extremely overloaded with existing ideas and ideas in development. It is redundant to be throwing more ideas into the whirlwind. I essentially limited myself to giving drum ideas and recording them later.
Anathema has concerts scheduled in Portugal on 10 and 11 October. It won’t be your first time playing with the band in Portugal, but it will be the first time as a permanent member and behind the drums. What expectations do you have for this return?
Playing in Portugal is always a homecoming. Literally, because I’m really going to take the opportunity to go home, even if it’s doing laundry, it will always be special, it will always remind me of my teenage dreams of seeing the foreign bands that passed through our country on tour and wish one day to be me. There will always be an entourage of friends and family overflowing the guest list at both concerts. It will always be good.
Can we expect any surprises from this tour?
Apart from the fact that the band is sounding terrific and extremely cohesive, I don’t think there will be any big surprises. There will be some “swing” of positions, I can play keys on a couple of themes, but essentially it will always be an intense show already known by Anathema with the addition of themes from the new album.
Anathema is like a big family, with the Cavanagh brothers (Vincent, Danny, and Jamie) and the Douglas brothers (Lee and John). How has the relationship with the band been?
Always good. I will always be a bit of an outsider because I have no family connections with anyone in the band, second because I am the only non-English. But the Douglas adopted me; they say I am a Douglas to have a better balance between the two families, 3 Douglas, 3 Cavanaghs. Basically, this will always be an extremely familiar band; the atmosphere is good, with the normal ups and downs of those confined to the same space with the same people for weeks, but essentially an environment of respect, friendship, and few egos.
You have a solo project called “The DC,” All the instruments are played by you, which had already happened in your Head Control System project, with Ulver’s singer, Kristoffer Rygg. This time, however, you are also in charge of the voices. Was it something you’ve wanted to do for some time?
It was indeed. I always sang. But now that I have the album ready, I am creating some resistance to its release. I will have to launch it because it is something that I really want to do, but I think I have become too paternalistic concerning this work. It costs me to have to throw it at the lions when I am very skeptical about the music market and the record industry. Eventually, it will happen because I have commitments that I have to keep, but it is a painful birth.
When can we expect the release of the album “City Blur”? What are your expectations?
For this year, without a doubt. I will take advantage of the Anathema tour to give it a final touch, and I will take advantage of the next year to promote it as much as possible.
Enjoyed my story? Here’s something else you might like:
My Fiery Interview with an Exotic Heavy Metal Belly Dancer
Inside the world of Mahafsoun: gothic metal muse, Persian belly dancer, and dreamer in motionAlbum Review: Weather Systems by Anathema
Weather Systems is music written to move the listener
If you enjoyed this piece and would like to continue exploring new ideas together, consider subscribing. I’d love to share more stories and thoughts with you.
Engage is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Rui Alves is a musician and digital publisher. He runs Alchemy Publications and serves as editor-in-chief for Engage on Substack, Life Unscripted, Musicverse, Writelicious, The Academic, Portugal Calling, Engage on Medium, Rock n’ Heavy, Beloved, Zenite, Poetaph, and Babel.