- Title: COLOMBIA: Recycling propels Colombian family band to Internet fame
- Date: 16th January 2014
- Summary: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) DMK BAND REHEARSING AT HOME / CHEERING AT END OF SONG
- Embargoed: 31st January 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Colombia
- Country: Colombia
- Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVACMR3Y67ASY3SLJB08JA6B03Q4
- Story Text: A family band made up of a father and two small children, who perform cover versions of Depeche Mode songs using an old keyboard and various toys and household items as instruments, becomes an internet sensation in Colombia.
A new family music band - formed by a proud father and his two children - is taking Colombia and the internet by storm.
Called DMK, the family from Colombia's capital city of Bogota, have become an overnight success with their YouTube videos featuring a a forty-year-old Colombian-American father Dicken Schrader and his two children - nine-year-old Milah and seven-year-old Korben - performing cover versions of Depeche Mode songs using an old keyboard and various toys and household items for instruments.
DMK's cover of Depeche Mode's 'Everything Counts' has already attracted nearly 3 million hits worldwide.
Schrader, a publicist and music producer by profession, has always admired English electronic music band Depeche Mode. He always dreamed of starting up a rock band but his dream never materialised.
When Schrader wanted to make a music video of one of their songs, he asked his children to help him make additional instrumental sounds.
It was then, in February 2012, that the band DMK was formed.
"DMK started because my Dad wanted to form a band but as he couldn't do it all himself he asked for our help. He wanted us to help him come up with more great sounds," said son Korben while taking a break from rehearsals.
With enthusiasm and an obvious talent for music, Schrader's children have happily come to love being part of the band.
When asked about the band's sudden fame, Schrader said people are surprised when they hear the sounds his children are able to create with basic instruments.
"A lot of things stand out, such as the children. To see the children making music and making music people don't expect them to make. Many think Depeche Mode is a dark band, very dark and so it is strange to see children playing with toy instruments that give a very cheerful sound to the song."
As of 2013, DMK has covered six Depeche Mode songs: Shake the Disease, Strangelove, Everything Counts, Black Celebration, Enjoy The Silence and Just Can't Get Enough.
"With toys, with a cheese grater, we manage to make a really fresh version of the song which has been made with equipment worth thousands and thousands of dollars and it did not cause the same impact because of that. I think we stripped Depeche Mode's song down to its bare minimum, to its most basic form reaching the nucleus of the song and we managed to do that with things a lot of people have in their homes," Schrader said of the band's cover version of 'Everything Counts.'
Milah said she was thrilled to make more music.
"I feel proud and I feel I want to do more and more so that people are able to see this and enjoy it," said Milah.
Schrader graduated from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Florida International University in 1996 and then began working at MTV Latin America as a writer/producer.
In New York he worked as a Creative Director for VH1 before moving back to Colombia in 2009 where he owns a production company. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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