YCG’s Kath caught up with Paul Nash and Maethelyiah from the Danse Society, as they are in the process of planning next year’s events and about to drop a mini movie of a music video for If Only You Were Listening, a track from their recent album, The Loop.
The video has been largely the concept of founding member and guitarist Paul, supported by the rest of the band, which includes vocalist Maethelyiah; Steve Dickinson who joined the band about a year ago on keys; drummer Dylan Riley, who has been with them for approaching three years; bassist Jack Cooper with approximately ten years of tenure; and occasionally joined by Adam Scott on percussion. We were lucky enough to get a sneak preview – it’s stunning and we can’t wait to be able to share it with you.
Having already heard that the band have a very collaborative approach to building their tracks, it’s heartening to hear Paul and Maethelyiah expound about the values of working together, always having an equal partnership and using the parts of every band member’s influences to blend in the melting pot. Paul expands further, explaining how for him it has always been far more interesting to work that way; he always wants to be moving forward, to be creating something different, and that was the case right back in the early days – there was a distinct development in their sound between debut album Seduction (1982) and Heaven is Waiting (1983), for example.
The original band split in 1986, with the history and pathways detailed on their own website; suffice to say here that 2011, the point at which Maethelyiah joined, not only brought with it the album Change of Skin but a new journey for The Danse Society. What has not only endured but grown, is the fanbase; Paul relates how many original fans still come to gigs, but they are also bringing their children along now too!
Maethelyiah expresses how they can’t stop yet; as well as having some more video ideas in the pipeline, they simply have to be writing more with the talent they have assembled in the group; and a ninth studio album is in the planning stages. They have had an absolutely amazing time and reception on recent European tours; entertaining approximately 20,000 goth music lovers at the Wave Gotik Treffen festival in Leipzig at the end of May this year was a particular highlight, and they are in the negotiation stages for future touring and appearances.
The video is launched at 6pm, Saturday 26th October 2024. You can find it via the channels below and we’ll post it here when it’s live.
Links:
Official Website : BandCamp : Instagram : Facebook : Twitter : Youtube
