Kris, Luc the line-up of MoodCollector counts three ex-members of The Dill Brothers (apart from Kris and Luc also bass player Paul Mattheus, red.). Why not simply have continued as The Dill Brothers?
Kris De Wilde (vocals & keyboard): "Apart from being the lead vocalist, Chris Dockx was also the face of The Dill Brothers and a lot of the songs in the band's repertoire were penned by guitarist Paul Stappaerts. Out of respect for them and for our fans, we just decided to wipe the slate and start afresh. As MoodCollector we don't even play any tunes from our time with The Dill Brothers anymore, even though we often get that request. Of course it's great to hear the music we did back then is still alive and kicking today. The members of Ghent based ska outfit The Nice Guys even drew inspiration from a song by The Dill Brothers ('Nice Guys', red.) when they named their band. I still treasure the time I spent with The Dill Brothers, but better MoodCollector than The Dill Brothers-light or 2.0!"

Was your time with The Dill Brothers the first step in the music business for you guys?
Kris De Wilde: "Before there was even talk of The Dill Brothers, we were already bound by a shared passion for ska and reggae taking us to numerous concerts and festivals. I've always found ska to be very cheerful; it's the sort of music that just draws you onto the dancefloor."
Luc Quets (drums): "Living in The Campine you're only a few miles from venues like 013 (Tilburg, red.), De Lintfabriek (Kontich, red.) or Hof Ter Lo (Antwerp, the current TRIX, red.) and festivals like Antilliaanse Feesten or Open Tropen almost literally took place in our backyard; so we were definitely not depraved of musical influences."

As a genre ska can still be divided in subgenres like foundation ska, 2 Tone and third wave. Where does your preference lay?
Luc Quets: "I guess I would have to say our musical tastes are mixed, as we just as much love a typical 2 tone band like The Specials as third wave bands like Hepcat and The Slackers and we even enjoy the reggae of a band like UB40 or the punk mestizo of Manu Chao or Mano Negra."

Each copy of 'Such A Lovely Day' is accompanied by a miniature tube of sunscreen. What's the idea behind that?
Kris De Wilde: "To us ska and reggae equal a summery feeling and it's that holiday and party vibe we want to evoke with our music as well. In that perspective adding that tiny tube of sunscreen seemed a fun gimmick to boost that feeling."

Even though you guys like to emphasize MoodCollector is above all else a party band, a song like 'Blood Red' seems to prove otherwise.
Kris De Wilde: "In the news we're confronted with atrocities and bloodshed on a daily basis. At times it's as if the television screen is bathing in blood. As a human being I can't help but be affected by these images and writing that song acted as a catalyst to rid myself of these negative feelings. I already wrote 'Blood Red' a few years back, but unfortunately it's still very much part of our daily reality."
Luc Quets: "Another nice example of a song with some substance is 'Mother', which talks about the way mankind deals with the environment."

Both ska and reggae have their origins in Jamaica, but often seem to attract different audiences.
Kris De Wilde: "That's not untrue. Both subcultures are open to each other's music - in the end reggae did evolve from ska - but there are differences both in the way people dress as in their outlook on life."

Have you guys never been tempted to dress up in the typical black and white blocked shirts, Dr. Martens boots and pork pie/trilby hats, so often associated with ska?
Kris De Wilde: "I can definitely appreciate that look, but never felt the urge to start dressing that way myself.
Luc Quets: "For us it's all about the music and not the clothes we wear!"