Europe to Remain Starved for Gang Gang Dance

Gang Gang Dance has been forced to cancel their tour of Europe after a fire in a nightclub in Amsterdam destroyed their equipment. The band flirted with the idea of borrowing or renting equipment and playing an improvised tour without the samples they had stored on their equipment but decided against it saying “we feel like we came to perform a certain set of songs and if we can’t do that then it’s probably best to just come back again when we have the necessary gear to do so.” That’s 14 shows cancelled – an entire continent that will have to go without the magic of Gang Gang Dance! And even worse, the band is stranded in Amsterdam until their insurance company sorts everything out.

The band has been known over the last few years for creating heavily experimental (and often heavily improvised) art music. They’ve been called “neo-tribal” for their use of heavily repetitive and driving electronic rhythms and hypnotic sound textures. This two word description is probably the best way to describe the band – there is something both primal and postmodern in their sound – but there is so much more to them than that. They are a weird band. Their last album, Saint Dymphna, was named after the patron saint of mental illness (a fitting title, I can assure you) and showcases a bizarre collaboration with UK grime artist Tinchy Stryder. I can hardly explain what the genre “grime” is like but it’s at least something like a unique form of UK hip hop/dance music. Here is the result of this unexpected mix:



I’m not quite sure how I feel about it myself. But I really do think Europe deserves at least to see this band. They deserve a taste of the unique experience that is American indie/experimental/art music. Unfortunately, I guess they will just have to wait till next time.

myspace.com/ganggangdance

Source: thesocialregistry.com