Dance or Die (band)

Dance or Die is a German electronic band, formed in 1988 by Andreas Goldacker and Gary Wagner in Berlin. Falgalas (born Heiko Duus) joined the band in 1993, first for live touring, later as full member.[1] Chris L. (born Christian Lorenz) joined in 1998, initially for live support. In January 2018, three band members (Wagner, Falgalas and Chris L.) continued the band under the name Darkness on Demand, maintaining the DoD acronym and musical style.

Dance or Die
Also known asDo or Die North America
OriginBerlin, Germany
GenresElectronic, dark wave
Years active1988–present
Labels
Spinoffs
  • Winterhart
  • Darkness on Demand
Members
  • Andreas Goldacker
  • Gary Wagner
  • Falgalas
  • Chris L.
Past members
  • Norri
Websitedance-or-die.de

History

The band formed in Berlin, Germany, in 1988 as a duo of Andreas Goldacker (aka A.N.G.O.) and Gary Wagner. The band drew initial influences from both post-punk bands like Joy Division and Bauhaus, as well as electronic groups such as Front 242 and DAF.[1]

Their first mini album, Dance or Die, was the initial release of Berlin-based label Machinery Records. Its title track became one of the most frequently played titles in central and northern Europe. As summarized by Zillo, "in the 1990s [Dance or Die] formed the link between Gothic [rock] and Electro, and were a pioneer at that".[2] They continued their collaboration with Machinery through the label's peak in the mid-1990s.[3]

In 1997, they signed with the Polydor imprint What's Up?! and released one album (Dehumanizer), a single for the album track "Relationshit", and a subsequent EP, Teenagemakeup. The relationship with Polydor ultimately ended because the band's dark electronic sound did not match the label's profile.[1] On Dehumanizer, the band was briefly joined by Norbert Drescher (aka Norri) as drummer. Heiko Duus (aka Falgalas), a member of Nigra Nebula who had previously provided live support for the band, became a fully-credited band member beginning with Dehumanizer.

In 2001, they released the album Schlafendeenergie on Synthetic Symphony in Germany and cross-licensed to Energy Rekords in Sweden.[4] "Schlafende Energie" (literally: sleeping energy) is a term coined by the German television series Raumpatrouille and means an energy reserve.[5]

In 2011, after ten years of relative silence, the band released the album Nostradamnation on Out of Line in Europe and as a limited edition on Metropolis Records in North America.[6][7] For the album, Christian Lorenz (aka Chris L.) – lead singer for Agonoize who had been live support for the band since 1998 – joined the band as a vocalist.[1]

Side projects and transition to Darkness on Demand

Nostradamnation was the final release to bear the Dance or Die name. The band continued to tour in the years after the release, including appearances at Wave-Gotik-Treffen, across Europe, and in Mexico.[8]

Meanwhile, band members began to explore various side projects. In December 2014, Wagner released an album with a project named Ruhestätte Schwarz.[9] In 2015, Wagner and Duus began releasing neo-folk and martial music under the name Winterhart.[10] Lorenz continued his work with Agonoize, formed a project named The Sexorcist in 2015, and joined Funker Vogt as vocalist in 2017.[11][12]

By 2018, three members of the band – Wagner, Duus, and Lorenz – began producing new material but distanced themselves and rebranded from Dance or Die as a result of "some bad experiences with the former producer" of the band.[13] The trio continued the EBM style of Dance or Die under the name Darkness on Demand, which conveniently kept the same "DoD" abbreviation as before. The first release under the new name was Post Stone Age Technology, released in early 2018.[14] Post Stone Age Technology was followed up by Detoxination in 2019,[15] and by the Final Way EP in 2023.[16]

Music

In 2015, Dance or Die was still described as a "well-known Berlin cult Electro [band]" by the music magazine Sonic Seducer.[9] Their music combines cold techno sounds with a deep voice (vocalist Gary Wagner even sings as guest on other artist's records, as on "Take Some More" by And One) and cyber-themed lyrics about life in the machine age. The albums were thus appropriately named, 3001 for the future, Psychoburbia taking psycho and burb together, while Dehumanizer seems to stand for itself. (Though it may have been named after Black Sabbath's Dehumanizer album, whose song "Black Sabbath" Dance or Die did cover on Psychoburbia.)

Discography

Albums
  • 3001 (1991)
  • Psychoburbia (1992)
  • Everspring (1995)
  • Dehumanizer (1998)
  • Schlafendeenergie (2001)
  • Nostradamnation (2011)

EPs and singles
  • "Move" (1988)
  • Dance or Die (1990)
  • "Fire" (1991)
  • "Time Zero" (1994)
  • "Minute Man" (1995)
  • "Relationshit" (1997)
  • "Teenagemakeup" (1997)

Compilations
  • The Best of the 12" Mixes Berlin 89 – New York 93 (1993) (aka Psychoburbians)

References
  1. Asbarr, Marcus (January 2014). "BE Special: Dance or Die". BioElectric (in Portuguese). Ibura, Brazil. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  2. "Dance Or Die bringen die Clubs mit Endzeitprophezeiungen zum Beben" [Dance Or Die Shake the Clubs With End-time Prophecies]. Zillo Musikmagazin (in German). 2011. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015. … [die] Dunkel-Elektroniker Dance Or Die, die in den 90ern das Bindeglied zwischen Gothic und Electro bildeten und damit Vorreiter waren.
  3. "Search Results for "artist:"dance or die" AND label:machinery"". MusicBrainz. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  4. "Schlafendeenergie". MusicBrainz. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  5. Krüger, Peter R. (2021). Es lebe Raumpatrouille Orion (in German). In Farbe und Bunt Verlag. p. 52. ISBN 9783959362603. Energiereserve auf Raumkreuzern
  6. Becu, Didier (16 August 2011). "Dance or Die: Nostradamnation". Peek-a-boo Music Magazine. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  7. "Nostradamnation". MusicBrainz. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  8. "Events". Dance or Die Official Site. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  9. "Ruhestätte Schwarz: Dance Or Die-Sänger Wagner auf neuen Pfaden" [Resting Place Black: Dance Or Die Singer Wagner on New Paths]. Sonic Seducer (in German). January 12, 2015. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. … [die] wohlbekannten Berliner Kult-Electros Dance Or Die…
  10. Inferno Sound Diaries (22 May 2016). "'Click Interview' with Winterhart: 'Monumental-Industrial After 25 Years Of Electronic Music With Dance Or Die'". Side-Line. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  11. Inferno Sound Diaries (21 November 2018). "Funker Vogt – Feel The Pain". Side-Line. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  12. Inferno Sound Diaries (13 February 2020). "'Click Interview' with Agonoize: 'If Jesus Existed, He Would Have Died For Nothing'". Side-Line. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  13. Inferno Sound Diaries (15 May 2018). "'Click Interview' with Darkness On Demand: 'I Believe That Science Fiction Is Going To Become Reality'". Side-Line. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  14. Van Isacker, Bernard (5 March 2018). "Debut album Dance or Die side-project Darkness on Demand available for ordering". Side-Line. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  15. "Darkness On Demand – 'Detoxination'". Klangwelt (in German). 28 January 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  16. Mich, Eldrina (19 May 2023). "Ex-Dance Or Die members return as Darkness On Demand with a modern EBM 6-track EP 'Final Way'". Side-Line Music Magazine. Retrieved 19 June 2023.


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