RockFeedback

Gang Gang Dance

09.05.11

**CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ‘MIND KILLA’ – THE NEW SINGLE FROM GANG GANG DANCE’S EYE CONTACT LP!**

Biography:

The story of Gang Gang Dance’s formation is somewhat of a hazy one. Exact details are hard to come by, apart from that they first got together in “about 1999” in New York, under the name Death and Dying. That name was swiftly changed, as the collective, focusing around vocalist and spoken word artist Liz Bougatsos with an ever changing cast of members, established themselves as an art project. Eventually members became more permanent, with guitarist Josh Diamond, vocalist Nathan Maddox, drummer Tim DeWit and multi-instrumentalist Brian DeGraw joining the permanent line-up.

During this time the band shared a Brooklyn rehearsal space with Black Dice and Animal Collective, who they would later go on to gig with around the world. Their live performances were mostly improvised affairs, with the band having to use borrowed equipment, or just “banging on anything we could make a beat on”. Even from those early days, percussion and rhythm has played a pivotal role in their music, with tribal drum patterns being a feature of every release the band have put out since.

Tragedy struck the band in 2002, when, looking to fulfill an ambition to get struck by lightning, Nathan Maddox climbed to the roof of his girlfriend’s Manhattan apartment during a storm and was….struck by lightning. Yet the death of a bandmate served only to galvanise Gang Gang Dance, and for the first time the group started to recognise themselves as a ‘band’.

2004 was a busy year, with the release of their first two LPs, Revival of the Shittest and Gang Gang Dance. While not being as outstanding as some of their later work, the albums highlighted the group’s improvisational skills, full of abstract structures and free-form noise, along with Bougatsos’ vocals and the rhythmic emphasis that hinted at what was to come.

Their third LP, God’s Money arrived in 2005, and showcased a far more focused approach. Sharp rhythms and heavy bass lines came into the fold, as the band looked for a sound that could fit on the playlist of hip-hop radio stations. The album drew numerous favourable comparisons to Animal Collective from the press, and was the start of a widespread critical acclaim that continues to this day.

Perhaps foolishly, the band decided not to capitalise on the indie fame their third album have brought them, waiting another three years before releasing another album, 2008’s Saint Dymphna. The recording sessions for the album were shambolic, with the band scrapping and restarting the process three times, but the finished product was just as popular as its predecessor with the critics, finding a place in most end of year ‘best of’ lists. The band’s popularity was helped by a guest appearance by a pre-fame Tinchy Stryder (who went on to work with N-Dubz. Just saying.) Florence Welch was also clearly a fan, ripping off/”paying homage” to album track ‘House Jam’ on her song ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)’.

This week sees the release of the band’s fifth LP, Eye Contact. The album continues Gang Gang Dance’s exploration into uncharted music territory, using their synths and pounding rhythms to channel long standing influences such as Middle Eastern and African music into a form more recognisable to our ears. Opening track ‘Glass Jar’ is a statement of intent if ever there was one, a track that, if it were 8 minutes shorter (it’s nearly 12 minutes long…), would dominate the radio. Aside from three incidental ambient between song numbers, it’s a stunning album that has 7 show-stopping bangers (no irony intended), and has deservedly been getting the same kind of treatment from the critics that their previous two albums received - even without the help of Tinchy Stryder.