With decades of experience in the British post-punk scene, Inca Babies continue to reinvent themselves without losing the raw energy that made them icons of the genre. Their latest project, Reincarnation, revisits classic tracks from their catalogue with new arrangements, electronic elements, and a fresh perspective on familiar stories. Among these, “Daniella” stands out, blending swamp-jazz grooves with the dark, intense aesthetic that has become the band’s signature.

By Sandra Pinto

In an interview, Harry, one of the band’s founders, explains how the song was born from themes of war, love, and loss, turning a soldier’s drama into sonic poetry, while detailing the process of reimagining their repertoire. From legendary BBC sessions with John Peel to their lasting influence on the alternative music scene and their passion for exploring new sounds, the conversation highlights Inca Babies’ commitment to honoring the past while looking forward—setting the stage for Reincarnation 2 and brand-new music.

“Daniella” creates an almost cinematic atmosphere, filled with tension and mystery. How did this song come to life, and what story were you aiming to tell through it?
The song has a ‘life during wartime’ theme, a soldier, the figure, thinking about the things he sees and destroys, while wondering whether he will ever be forgiven and will she still remember him when he’s gone. I think it was important to make it a love song, or the dying pleas of the terminal soldier. While some called out for their mothers, the figure called out for Daniella.

The track blends swamp-jazz grooves with your signature post-punk aesthetic. How did that particular sonic combination emerge?
It was always an opportunity to play loud tremolo guitars to create an edgy sound. We have been toying with this song for decades trying to find a way to allow it to become a piece that has a broader reach of emotion. I changed the bass line and then considered breaking down the guitars into bursts of effects (delay, dub echo etc.) with little discernible pattern. Ding said it should have a ‘dub theme’, and so it did. We were really pleased with the results, and the song has become a better composition for it.

The lyrics seem to move through a world of desire, danger, and shadowy streets. What inspired that narrative?
Daniella is in parts the soldier’s sweetheart and maybe an unrequited love. I chose the name Daniella, because I didn’t know anyone called Daniella so there was no sub text for me. Looking back, she is a mysterious beauty who causes despair in all who fall in love with her. “She was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window.” Raymond Chandler.
Most of the song though sets a scene of travelling through a damaged world of desperation and destruction. The three verses deal with the inability to understand your surroundings, as any young soldier dropped into a world of death might feel. He witnesses, suicide, debauchery and anguish. And he knows he’s running out of time.
Then should the warlike Harry, like himself,
Assume the port of Mars; and at his heels,
Leash’d in like hounds, should famine, sword and fire
Crouch for employment. Henry V (WS)
“Love burns him out of the trench and into crossfire”.

“Daniella” was originally recorded for This Train in 1986. What inspired you to revisit it now?
We recorded it again, for a John Peel Session for the BBC in 1986, and it seemed to suggest an epic quality we hadn’t captured. Thus, the quest begins to somehow reinvent it as a more cinematic theme with a stronger atmospheric pull. Plus, Mike Keeble sang on it originally, and I aways wanted to put my twist on the vocal performance.

When reimagining an older song, do you aim to preserve its original spirit, or do you prefer to challenge and reshape the earlier version?
It’s very much a case of both if possible. Candy Mountain had little shape in 1985 but was quite structured when we recorded it last year. With the addition of an electro loop it took on the quality of a driving dance tune which seemed to have a more direct purpose. I received an email telling me it was an abomination to add Techno sounds into the song, but most people think it’s really cool.
I changed the guitar parts for Candy Mountain and accentuated the bass line to embellish that aspect of the song. I had also forgotten how strange the lyrics were as well. I wrote them for our singer Mike in 1985 and how he managed to twist them into the space allocated is amazing. I did cheat a little by cutting out a few words here and there. There’s one line that baffles me. And in the land of Sugar songs, the Candy mountaineer is king. But I suppose at the time it seems like a good idea.

The concept behind Reincarnation seems to revolve around giving new life to your catalogue. What was it like revisiting these songs decades later?
I had a ball. A song like Jericho was just crying out to be given a dub mix, where as Buster’s on Fire just needed to sound more like a Bo Diddley song. Thirst and Two Rails wanted the balladeering Gun Club treatment and Superior Spectre was crying out for a John McKay like spikey guitar riff. After a while there were so many songs I wanted to tinker with that I had to stop and pick 12 for the Album, of course it now means that there will be a Reincarnation 2 next year.

You worked again with Simon Archer on this recording. What impact did his approach have, particularly with the addition of dub elements to the track?
Simon ‘Ding’ Archer has so many great ideas as to how a song can sound beyond the mere recording. His production allows a song to jump out of the setting and leave an indelible imprint on the listener. With Reincarnation there were so many clever and inspired moments that it’s an album I still enjoy listening to. He mixed and produced The Fall battling Mark E Smith in the final mix downs. Because of this legacy he has contributed to much of the Music Scene in Manchester.

How did you balance the raw energy that defined your original 1980s recordings with a more contemporary production style?
Technology demands a certain finesse, but at the same time we could accentuate the energy by being better musicians. When we recorded our songs in the 1980s, we used 8 and 16 track studios often recording live and persevering with bleeding fingers until we had the right take. Luckily, we played so many live shows in those days that we were very tight and could nail the song, but due to over exuberance needed to slow down.
We never used to play to a drum machine in the old days so songs would speed up and slow down, now because we are reliant on Midi, sequencers and echo loops, we have to be in time lest we fall, not reluctantly, into the analogue abyss.

As pioneers of British post-punk and deathrock, how do you see the influence of Inca Babies on today’s alternative scene?Because we are still releasing records (Vinyl and CDs) they get noticed and people listen to them (at least once) and comment to us about how much they love them or not. It’s interesting to every now and again hear a band that may or may not have been influenced by our sound.

The band recorded several BBC sessions with John Peel in the 1980s. What memories stand out from that period?
They were great times. The first Peel Session in 1984 was the best as it held the greatest surprise for us. We turned up with some fairly broken-down drums which never did sound very good. The producer was Dale Grriffin, the drummer of Mott the Hoople, and he was horrified at the state of the kit. But he knew how to polish a turd and put the whole ropey set through the biggest Plate Reverb the BBC owned and gave us the biggest, most outrageous drum sound ever. And then for good measure did the same for the guitar, bass and vocals. It sounds as though it was overkill, but the results were magnificent. It was the first time we realised what a big, well-equipped studio with a producer could do. John Peel was suitably impressed and gave us another three sessions after that.

Since reuniting in 2007, you’ve released new albums and returned to international touring. What continues to motivate you to create and perform live?
If you are invited to perform in another country it seems rude not to accept. We have played in some fabulous places. From LA to Russia from the Isle of Mann to Chenni in India. There seemed to be so many possibilities out there, but sadly Brexit has meant it’s harder to tour, Trump has made touring the US impossible and you have to rely on the mercy of your tour manager to get you a good deal. But the audience is out there, and we have had so many great experiences, and hopefully there will be more in the future. We recently played an amazing Goth festival in Poland called Return to The Batcave which made us a lot of friends.

Reincarnation blends nostalgia with reinvention. What do you hope listeners will discover when they hear these new versions?
While there is a lot of love for the original recordings, there is also a certain wonder at what we have created with a fresh approach. And because there is new instrumentation added to the songs, they can listen to it with fresh ears but at the same time, I am careful not to take it too far from its original port of call. With Ding on board, the possibilities are endless and I have already written a potential running order for Reincarnation 2. 

How do you balance the band’s legacy with the desire to keep experimenting and exploring new sounds?
We are actually at a place in the Band’s History where we are effortlessly (?) doing both. Reinventing old songs and recording new albums. The last Studio Album of new songs was Ghost Mechanic 9, and it was a great success. Likewise, the response to Reincarnation has been fabulous. Two albums are lined up in the future one old material reinvented and one new songs, so you just can’t keep us down.

After revisiting your catalogue with this project, can fans expect completely new music in the future?
We were in the Rehearsal studio working on tracks for a new release which has a working title of ‘Eleven’. There are a couple of tracks which will be on it which is making us very excited, and we shall be playing them live at a gig in Manchester soon. Watch this space!!!!