The name de la Mancha is originally borrowed from Cervantes’ novel El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha or perhaps better known as Don Quixote.
But la Mancha is also a region in central Spain, just south of Madrid and literally la Mancha means 'the stain' or 'the blemish'.

Initially de la Mancha was a project founded by childhood friends Jerker Lundh and Dag Rosenqvist back in the early days of summer 2003. Jerker had written a couple of songs which needed some structure and arrangements and Dag needed some time away from his other engagements in music. On the first real summer evening of 2003, Jerker and Dag opened up a couple of bottles of wine, rigged up a microphone, plugged in a guitar and started recording demos. Three complete song ideas were laid down that night, all of them accompanied by the sound of girlfriends and cars passing. A shared admiration for groups like Red House Painters, Sigur Rós, Led Zeppelin and My Bloody Valentine set out a general direction for the duo.

Fall 2005 de la Mancha released their debut EP ‘de la Mancha’ on Crying Bob Records and by then the duo had expanded into a six piece behemoth.

2006-2007 was spent rehearsing, recording and eventually mixing what was to become the bands first full length album ‘Atlas’. This was a turbulent time and at the end of 2007 the band was once again a duo and-a-half consisting of Jerker, Dag and (when possible) Thobias Eidevald on bass.

Atlas is the title of de la Manchas’ debut album and it’s an album full of contrasts and beauty. Clocking in at just over an hour, its nine songs ranges from moments of serene and hushed melancholy to distorted shards of pure white light. It’s an album where words, voice and instrumental parts are interweaved into a beautiful fabric, filled with both light and darkness.