The Dead C are a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

based music and art trio made up of members Bruce Russell, Michael Morley and Robbie Yeats. Russell plays electric guitar, Morley sings and plays electric guitar or laptop, and Yeats plays drums. They have been called one of the most interesting bands in the world by

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Mo ...

, and have been cited as influences by

Bardo Pond Bardo Pond are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1991, and who are currently signed to London-based label Fire Records. The current members are Michael Gibbons (guitar), John Gibbons (guitar), Isobel Sollenberger (flute and vocals), ...

Flying Saucer Attack Flying Saucer Attack is an English space rock band formed in Bristol in 1992, led by songwriter David Pearce. Rachel Brook (now Rachel Coe) of Movietone was a member during the band's early incarnation; other musicians contributing to the gro ...

, Labradford, and Pavement.

Overview

Formed in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

in 1987, the group is known for its lo-fi guitar soundscapes and improvisational take on rock music. Their first Auckland show was in 1989 at Russell Crowe's Venue, by which point they had already released two albums on

Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American sitcom about a community of nuns which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book '' The Fifteenth Pelican,'' written by Tere ...

, who Russell had been doing

copywriting Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...

work for. They became known internationally through their releases on the Philadelphia record label

Siltbreeze Siltbreeze is an American independent record label based in Philadelphia. It is known for its eclectic roster of artists and releases of experimental, noise, folk, and rock-based music. Founded in 1989 by Ohio native Tom Lax, the label evolved ou ...

, especially the 1992 double LP ''Harsh 70s Reality''. Early, pre-Siltbreeze albums such as ''Eusa Kills'' and ''DR503'' found the group still drifting between song-based work and the experimental free rock found in later albums including ''The White House'' and ''Tusk''. Recent albums have seen the group add electronics and samples, yet still maintaining their origins in trademark hazy guitar chaos. Their records are typically all improvised, and not recorded in a standard professional music studio. The group performs infrequently outside of New Zealand, although they did travel to the US in March 2002 to perform at the

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...

festival (curated by Sonic Youth), as well as a couple of gigs in Los Angeles and San Francisco. They also performed for the first time in Europe in May 2004 at Le Weekend, a new music festival in Stirling, Scotland and returned to the UK to play at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival again in December 2006. In 2008, they played a short tour in the United States, and returned to the UK to play All Tomorrow's Parties in December 2010. In September 2016, they played a few US dates including Cropped Out festival in Louisville, Kentucky A compilation album covering their first 18 years entitled ''Vain Erudite and Stupid: Selected Works 1987-2005'' was released on the Ba Da Bing label in 2006.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Cassettes

Compilations

; Notes : 1500 copies made : 450 copies made

Singles

References

External links

Archive of the Dead C. fansite
with coverage of the fanzine era. * Biography and Discographyat allmusic.com
Michael Morley interview on MonsterFresh.com
Aug. 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dead C New Zealand indie rock groups Flying Nun Records artists New Zealand musical trios Free improvisation ensembles New Zealand experimental rock groups Musicians from Dunedin Musical groups established in 1986 1986 establishments in New Zealand Siltbreeze Records artists