Gang Gang Dance

Gang Gang Dance
Background information
Origin	Manhattan, New York City
Genres	Experimental, neo-psychedelia, worldbeat
Years active	2001–2013 (active) 2014–present (unknown / inactive)
Labels	4AD, The Social Registry (current) Warp, Young Turks (former)
Website	ganggangdance.com
Members	Lizzi Bougatsos Brian DeGraw Josh Diamond Taka Imamura Jesse Lee
Past members	Tim DeWit Nathan Maddox (deceased)

Gang Gang Dance is an American experimental music band based in Manhattan, New York City. The band is known for its distinctive sound which features synthesized electronics and percussion, plus the varied vocal styles of singer Lizzi Bougatsos. They have toured internationally and released several albums.

Gang Gang Dance were formed in 2001 by keyboardist Brian DeGraw and drummer Tim DeWit, who first met in Washington, D.C. in 1993 and played in The Cranium. In 1998 the band released one album, A New Music for a New Kitchen on the Slowdime record label, which was described as "deconstructionist anti-music" and "insane, rule-breaking almost-noise", before breaking up. While on tour, DeGraw and DeWit met vocalist Liz Bougatsos (who joined them some years later), a frontwoman for an experimental New York band called Russia at the time. After The Cranium's break-up DeGraw and DeWit relocated to New York City. DeGraw, along with guitarist Josh Diamond (later a Gang Gang Dance member too) performed in film director Harmony Korine's experimental project SSAB Songs. In the early 2000s DeGraw, DeWit, and Diamond formed Death and Dying, a short-lived band which soon, with the addition of Bougatsos and vocalist Nathan Maddox, evolved into Gang Gang Dance. In August 2002 Maddox, aged 25, died after having been struck by lightning during a thunderstorm he was watching from the rooftop of a building in Manhattan's Chinatown. As a four-some, the band signed to Brooklyn label The Social Registry record label in 2004 to release the debut Revival of the Shittest album, followed by Hillulah EP (2005) and the second album God's Money (2005). Critics praised Bougatsos' unique approach. As Jo-Anne Green of AllMusic argued, "without her, God's Money would be a haunting journey through an ever-shifting electronic world... With her, the musical experience is far more difficult, as she cuts across the grain of the atmospheres and moods, suggesting the group will never sit comfortably in any niche but its own." In 2007, The Social Registry released Retina Riddim DVD/CD, a year later Saint Dymphna followed, marking a shift in the band's sound "...toward employing grime as compositional elements, while relying on more structured electronic workouts in general."

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