Gang Gang Dance today release ‘J-TREE’, the second single from their long-awaited album Kazuashita.

A stirring and euphoric paean to nature, co-founder Brian DeGraw says, “J-TREE has always been about open space to me. When I started writing the skeleton of the song I imagined it would only ever be played live in an outdoor setting.  That was the goal: to create a song that was a sonic dialogue between ourselves and the majesty of wide open space in nature.”

At the core of ‘J-TREE’ is Shiyé Bidziil, one of the key members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, speaking out against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline through sacred Native American burial lands.  “The Shiyé sample captures a point in time that is not only a historical moment in the struggle of humankind within a state of heightened political chaos but also a reminder that Nature is not passive,” DeGraw comments.  “The stampede of buffalo was a reaction from the higher powers of Nature in response to the cries of a people who were fighting to maintain that spiritual alliance.  Standing Rock was essentially a standoff between beings who believe that money is God versus beings who believe that Nature is God.  I think the Shiyé’s moment was an example of the natural world confirming that the latter is much closer to the truth.”

Hear ‘J-TREE’ here.

Founded by Lizzi Bougatsos, Brian DeGraw and Josh Diamond, Gang Gang Dance has consistently blurred the boundaries between the New York art and music scenes for nearly two decades.  They are as comfortable performing rare improvisational sets at the Whitney Biennial as they are at Coachella and count Dash Snow & Dan Colen, Tinchy Stryder and the Boredoms as previous collaborators.

Kazuashita – the band’s first record together since the acclaimed Eye Contact in 2011 – is an intoxicating mix of shoegaze and electronic ambience and was produced by DeGraw after recording sessions across several New York studios and art spaces.  The trio were joined by drummer Ryan Sawyer (who met the band through the Boredoms’ BOADRUM project) and Jorge Elbrecht (who worked on additional production and mixing duties).  

Pre-orders of Kazuashita from 4AD come with an exclusive double-sided poster with art+design from DeGraw and Bougatsos here.

Ahead of full touring later in 2018, the band will perform on the day of Kazuashita‘s (June 22) at Brooklyn’s Elsewhere.  Tickets are on sale here.

Gang Gang Dance - Kazuashita
4AD0079
1. ( infirma terrae )
2. J-TREE
3. Lotus
4. ( birth canal )
5. Kazuashita
6. Young Boy (Marika in Amerika)
7. Snake Dub
8. Too Much, Too Soon
9. ( novae terrae )
10. Salve On The Sorrow

“Like Arthur Russell before them, they give equal floorspace to the spiritual and the sensual.” - Pitchfork