Dance or Die (band)

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Dance or Die is a German electronic band, formed in 1988 by Andreas Goldacker and Gary Wagner in Berlin. (born Heiko Duus) joined the band in 1993, first for live touring, later as full member. Chris L. (born Christian Lorenz) joined in 1998, so far only for live performances. As of January 2018, three band members (Wagner, Falgalas and Chris L.) have teamed up to start a new band called Darkness on Demand, maintaining the DoD acronym and musical style.

History[]

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.^{[citation needed]} As summarized by Zillo, "in the 1990s [Dance or Die] formed the link between Gothic [rock] and Electro, and were a pioneer at that".^[1] They continued their collaboration with Jor until the label's demise.^[2]

In 1997, they signed with Polydor but, after one album (Dehumanizer), that partnership ended - the dark electronic sound did not fit in with Polydor's dance-label What's Up?!. On Dehumanizer, the band was briefly joined by Norri as drummer.

In 2001, they released the album Schlafende Energie on Synthetic Symphony in Germany. It was licensed to Energy Rekords in Sweden and in Russia.^{[citation needed]}

After ten years, in 2011, they released their album Nostradamnation on Out of Line in Europe and Metropolis Records in North America.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2014, Wagner released an album with a new project named Ruhestätte Schwarz.^[3]

Music[]

In 2015, Dance or Die was still described as a "well-known Berlin cult Electro [band]" by the music magazine Sonic Seducer.^[3] 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.) Schlafende Energie (literally: sleeping energy) is a term coined by the German television series Raumpatrouille and means an energy reserve.

Discography[]

Albums[]

• 3001 (1991)
• Psychoburbia (1992)
• Everspring (1995)
• Dehumanizer (1998)
• Schlafende Energie (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[]

External links[]

• Official homepage (in German)
• Official Clan of Nihil website (in German)
• Dance or Die at MySpace
• Dance or Die at Discogs