Following the big success of their 2012 album, Lunatic, Kongos took some time to figure out what they wanted to do for their next record. And after the members of the South African-born, Arizona-based band penned new tunes on their own, they later came together to hash out what has become their latest album, Egomaniac.

"We came up with the title after we had written a bunch of songs," Jesse Kongos tells Myspace, "so once we saw the theme running through everybody's songs, based on the experiences of touring and ideas we had in our head, that's when we decided to make it more of a cohesive album. From that point on, we made sure those songs would be around that theme."

But did they feel any pressure when it came to making something that could top the success of Lunatic?

"Over the course of the Lunatic cycle, everything got better," Johnny Kongos explains. "The venues got better. The dressing rooms got better. The crowd got better. We definitely don't want to go backwards, you know?"

Danny Kongos also adds, "They're big shoes to fill. But during the recording process, we try to isolate ourselves from that. We were in Phoenix, AZ. You're not in LA or New York City where there's that hype, and the competitive nature in us comes out. [In Phoenix], we could just disappear and make the album that we wanted."

While chatting with Kongos, we took the opportunity to get to know brothers — Jesse, Johnny, Danny and Dylan — a little bit better.

Dylan Kongos, 30

Instrument: Bass/Guitar/Vocals
Band or Song That Inspired them to be to a Musician: Jackson Browne
Best Show They've Played: Toss up between Oppikoppi, Lollapalooza Brazil, and Corona Capital
Best Show They've Seen: Punch Brothers at Crescent Ballroom
One Thing I Can't Wait to See or Do in South Africa: Go to the game farm

Jesse Kongos, 32

Instrument: Drums and vocals
Band or Song That Inspired them to be to a Musician: Drums - Jack DeJohnette
Best Show They've Played: Corona Capital - Mexico City
Best Show They've Seen: Tinariwen at the Troubador in LA
One Thing I Can't Wait to See or Do in South Africa: House party with old friends

Johnny Kongos, 34

Instrument: Accordion
Band or Song That Inspired them to be to a Musician: Keith Jarrett - "Autumn Leaves (Live at the Blue Note)"
Best Show They've Played: Corona Capital, Mexico City
Best Show They've Seen: Tinariwen at The Troubadour
One Thing I Can't Wait to See or Do in South Africa: Visiting the Game farms

Danny Kongos, 27

Instrument: Guitars/vocals
Band or Song That Inspired them to be to a Musician: Jeff Beck
Best Show They've Played: Armando Records Bogota, Colombia
Best Show They've Seen: The Wall, Tinariwen, Punch Brothers
One Thing I Can't Wait to See or Do in South Africa: See lions