De Novo Dahl

De novo - a Latin phrase which roughly translates into “the new.”

Roald Dahl - a British short story author, best known for his stories, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach, which proved that children’s literature could be both intelligent and entertaining.

Put those two together and you’ve got a band which strive to be “the new Dahl;” only this time, one that brings wonder and magic to music instead of literature.

“It’s just that creative way that [Roald Dahl] writes and just the endless imagination that he has,” De Novo Dahl’s vocalist Serai Zaffiro said of the band’s namesake. “We wanted to have that within our name.” And in the few years since the band’s birth, it looks like they’ve achieved all that and more.

Formed in Nashville in 2001, De Novo Dahl got their start thanks to an unlikely source: Jessica Simpson. One of the friends of their manager at the time got the males in De Novo Dahl jobs as Jessica’s roadies for a “tour of mall parking lots” across America. This dirty job netted the boys enough cash to pay for a tour bus and enough gas to travel the nation–this time in support of music worth hearing.

This past weekend De Novo Dahl wrapped up recording for their second full length album, a process which has included a cellist, DJ and an assortment of other instruments new to the band. While they aren’t sure as to a release date yet (”it’ll be out sometime at the end of this year,” Keith said), the album will undoubtedly contain more of what De Novo Dahl’s fans have come to expect: brilliantly smart pop songs that would certainly make their namesake proud.

De Novo Dahl - Market Place
De Novo Dahl - Subject of the Kill