Dandi Wind was a post-industrial band created in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 2003. The band consisted of duo Dandilion Wind Opaine and Szam Findlay. Dandi Wind released two albums, 2006's Concrete Igloo and 2008's Yolk of the Golden Egg in addition to several EPs and singles. Dandi Wind disbanded in 2009, as Opaine and Findlay formed the disco band Fan Death along with Marta Jaciubek-McKeever.
Dandi Wind | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
Genres | Post-industrial, electro-industrial, electropunk, electronica, experimental |
Years active | 2003–2009 |
Labels | Summer Lovers Unlimited Music (Canada) |
Members | Dandilion Wind Opaine (Vocals/Performance) Szam Findlay (Music) Evan Pierce (Drums) |
Website | Official website |
History
editDandilion Wind Opaine was raised by hippie parents in a cabin near Smithers, a small town in northern British Columbia, where there was no running water and vegetables were grown in greenhouses. Opaine's father was a sculptor and her mother was an archivist.[1] Moving to Vancouver at age 12, Opaine met Szam Findlay in high school. Opaine began attending Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 2000, where she studied sculpture, but dropped out of school.[2][3] Opaine and Findlay formed Dandi Wind in late 2003 and by 2005 the band was based in Montreal. By 2007, Evan Pierce had joined the band as a drummer.[4] Throughout Opaine's musical career she designed her own clothes and did her own styling, often wearing homemade costumes during concerts. Findlay wrote the music for Dandi Wind, with Opaine providing vocals.[5][6]
Dandi Wind's sound and style was influenced by avant-garde and electronic music artists of the 1980s, including Nina Hagen, Lene Lovich, Einstürzende Neubauten, Kate Bush, Hazel O'Connor, Skinny Puppy, and Ministry.[7]
In October 2004, Dandi Wind toured in England, performing concerts in Liverpool, Nottingham, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, and London. In January 2005, the band conducted a European tour.[8]
In 2008, Dandi Wind was one of the first foreign acts that Split Works toured in China, performing concerts in Wuhan, Xi'an, Beijing, and Chengdu.[9][10] The band was scheduled to play at Shanghai's Shelter Club, but the concert was cancelled "due to the heightened sensitivities around live music in Shanghai at the moment." Local Chinese media speculated that the cancellation was due to improper licensing. The cancellation came shortly after China's Ministry of Culture tightened controls on foreign artists due to the Icelandic singer Björk's expression of support for Tibetan independence at a Shanghai concert.[11] While playing at a venue in Taiwan, Opaine was electrocuted after an audience member threw a drink at a malfunctioning microphone. Opaine described the electric shock as "the strongest pain I've ever felt" but finished her performance, and was later hospitalized after becoming ill.[12]
Influence
editDandi Wind was featured in a variety of magazines and media outlets, including Supersweet Magazine,[13] NME,[14] Dazed & Confused, Exclaim!,[15] Nightlife Magazine,[16] The Nerve, Discorder Magazine,[17] The Georgia Straight,[18] and Trash Menagerie.[19]
The Canadian synth-pop musician Grimes has listed Dandi Wind as one of her idols/influences, describing Opaine as someone who "never got that famous, but...should be famous." Dandi Wind was an early influence, as Grimes began attending Dandi Wind's live shows when she was in high school.[20][21]
Daniel Sylvester of A.Side TV described Dandi Wind as "legendary hometown heroes" with "imagination and charm...who just couldn't get their names past the city limits"; despite being a "wildly popular" cult act in Vancouver and releasing "two terrific albums", the band "never did find a proper audience".[22]
Late of the Pier's song "Whitesnake" was influenced by Dandi Wind.[23]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit- Concrete Igloo (2006) - (Summer Lovers Unlimited Music)
- Yolk of the Golden Egg (2008) - (Summer Lovers Unlimited Music)
Extended plays
edit- Bait the Traps (2005) - (Bongo Beat)
- Break The Bone And Suck The Marrow From It (2005) - (Summer Lovers Unlimited Music)
- Nofuncity (2006) - (Noize! Records)
- A Smile Before Death (2007) - (Todtentschlaf)
Singles
edit- Apotemnophilia/Adolescent (2007) - (Alt Del – UK)
- Sleeping Beauty/Belly Cutting (2007) - (Every Conversation)
- Decontaminate (2008) - (Black Mountain Music)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Primal Scream Therapy" (PDF). Another Man Magazine. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "Blown Away by Dandi Wind". CITR-FM. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ "ELLE Radar: Fan Death". Elle. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ "Demented Dandi Wind blows back into town". The Georgia Straight. 8 December 2005. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ "Designer Profile: Dandilion Wind Opaine". The Province. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ "Eclectic electro". The Varsity. 29 January 2007. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ "Dandi Wind Interview". Public Access Media. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ "Dandi Wind Blows Through Europe". Discorder Magazine. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ^ "Can Wuhan's Punk Scene Survive the Coronavirus?". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ "Dandi Wind China Tour 2008". Split Works. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ^ "Dandi Wind Blows-Off Shanghai Date". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ "Fan Death". Issuu. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ "Dandi Wind Interview". Supersweet Magazine. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
- ^ "NME artists - Dandi Wind". NME. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
- ^ "Dandi Wind - Yolk of the Golden Egg". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
- ^ "NIGHTLIFE | Magazine | MUSIQUE | LA UNE | Novembre 2005 | Dandi Wind/ La pop qui pique". Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
- ^ "Dandi Wind's Yolk of the Golden Egg". Discorder Magazine. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
- ^ "Dandi Wind Blows Out Of Town". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
- ^ "Dandi Wind - Refined Chaos". Trash Menagerie. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
- ^ Elliot, Natalie (February 16, 2012). "Grimes Dishes On Her Less Obvious Influences And Her DIY Tattoos". Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- ^ "THE T.D. DNA TEST: GRIMES". TotallyDublin. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ "15 cult favourite Canadian hometown heroes". A.Side TV. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ "DiSection: Late of the Pier debut album track-by-track". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 2022-02-24. Retrieved 2022-02-23.