Biography
Gang Gang Dance emerged in the 2000s and 2010s as one of the era’s most inventive groups, blending a distinctive yet boundary-pushing sonic identity that fused psych-rock textures, ambient electronics, hip-hop rhythms, and traces of Indian, Middle Eastern, Arabic, Asian, and African traditions beneath Lizzi Bougatsos’ airy vocals. That approach grew from the members’ earlier involvement in experimental and noise circles in Washington, D.C., and New York City, yet each successive release rendered the music increasingly resistant to easy categorization. The 2008 album Saint Dymphna marked a decisive turn from the group’s initial percussion-driven emphasis toward a sleek, forward-looking pop framework that shaped the direction of later works, notably the widely praised 2011 release Eye Contact and the 2018 album Kazuashita.
Before the quartet formally convened in 2001, its future members had already intersected on separate endeavors. Keyboardist and visual artist Brian DeGraw first connected with founding drummer Tim DeWitt in Washington, D.C., in 1993, where they performed together in the experimental outfit the Cranium. During tours with that group they encountered Lizzi Bougatsos, who fronted the New York band Russia. After the Cranium disbanded following the 1998 album A New Music for a New Kitchen, DeGraw and DeWitt relocated to New York City, where they crossed paths with guitarist Josh Diamond, previously associated with Jackie-O Motherfucker and Harmony Korine’s experimental project SSAB Songs.
Diamond, DeGraw, and DeWitt initially formed Death and Dying, which evolved into Gang Gang Dance once Bougatsos and singer Nathan Maddox joined. Following Maddox’s death by lightning strike in 2002, the band continued as a quartet. Its self-titled debut appeared on Fusetron in 2004. After moving to the Social Registry, the group issued the 2004 compilation Revival of the Shittest and the 2005 album God’s Money, whose Eastern scales, dub-infused atmospheres, and expansive vocals would become defining traits. A series of shorter releases followed, including the 2005 EP Hillulah along with the 2007 EPs Rawwar and Retina Riddim. In 2008 the band led the Brooklyn installment of the Boredoms’ 88BoaDrum, an 88-minute piece for 88 drummers staged on August 8. Saint Dymphna arrived the next month, incorporating tighter structures alongside pop, grime, and dubstep influences. Once touring concluded, DeWitt departed and Jesse Lee assumed drumming duties.
The limited-edition EP Kamakura surfaced on Latitudes in 2010, after which Gang Gang Dance signed with 4AD. Eye Contact, their first album for the label, drew praise for merging pop conventions drawn from Asia, India, and the Middle East with the band’s jagged electronic edge. Afterward the members pursued separate ventures: DeGraw concentrated on visual art and issued the 2013 solo album SUM/ONE under the name bEEdEEgEE, while Bougatsos advanced her own art practice, performed with her all-female group I.U.D., and contributed to the MOMA PS1 Records tribute There Will Never Be Silence honoring John Cage’s “4’33.” Diamond recorded independently and staged his initial solo performances. The trio reconvened for Kazuashita, enlisting drummer Ryan Sawyer and co-producer and mixer Jorge Elbrecht; the resulting set, shaped by new-age elements and the group’s broader range of influences, appeared in June 2018.
Before the quartet formally convened in 2001, its future members had already intersected on separate endeavors. Keyboardist and visual artist Brian DeGraw first connected with founding drummer Tim DeWitt in Washington, D.C., in 1993, where they performed together in the experimental outfit the Cranium. During tours with that group they encountered Lizzi Bougatsos, who fronted the New York band Russia. After the Cranium disbanded following the 1998 album A New Music for a New Kitchen, DeGraw and DeWitt relocated to New York City, where they crossed paths with guitarist Josh Diamond, previously associated with Jackie-O Motherfucker and Harmony Korine’s experimental project SSAB Songs.
Diamond, DeGraw, and DeWitt initially formed Death and Dying, which evolved into Gang Gang Dance once Bougatsos and singer Nathan Maddox joined. Following Maddox’s death by lightning strike in 2002, the band continued as a quartet. Its self-titled debut appeared on Fusetron in 2004. After moving to the Social Registry, the group issued the 2004 compilation Revival of the Shittest and the 2005 album God’s Money, whose Eastern scales, dub-infused atmospheres, and expansive vocals would become defining traits. A series of shorter releases followed, including the 2005 EP Hillulah along with the 2007 EPs Rawwar and Retina Riddim. In 2008 the band led the Brooklyn installment of the Boredoms’ 88BoaDrum, an 88-minute piece for 88 drummers staged on August 8. Saint Dymphna arrived the next month, incorporating tighter structures alongside pop, grime, and dubstep influences. Once touring concluded, DeWitt departed and Jesse Lee assumed drumming duties.
The limited-edition EP Kamakura surfaced on Latitudes in 2010, after which Gang Gang Dance signed with 4AD. Eye Contact, their first album for the label, drew praise for merging pop conventions drawn from Asia, India, and the Middle East with the band’s jagged electronic edge. Afterward the members pursued separate ventures: DeGraw concentrated on visual art and issued the 2013 solo album SUM/ONE under the name bEEdEEgEE, while Bougatsos advanced her own art practice, performed with her all-female group I.U.D., and contributed to the MOMA PS1 Records tribute There Will Never Be Silence honoring John Cage’s “4’33.” Diamond recorded independently and staged his initial solo performances. The trio reconvened for Kazuashita, enlisting drummer Ryan Sawyer and co-producer and mixer Jorge Elbrecht; the resulting set, shaped by new-age elements and the group’s broader range of influences, appeared in June 2018.
Albums
Kazuashita
2018
Eye Contact
2011
Saint Dymphna
2008
Rawwar
2007
Retina Riddim
2007
Hillulah
2005
God's Money
2005
Singles
