Paul Gilmartin, the former drummer of the UK's post-punk/gothic rock legends The Danse Society passed away. Gilmartin was a vital force in the early post-punk and gothic rock realms. Gilmartin’s style of drumming influenced many post-punk drummers to come.
As stated on his Facebook page on 6 August: "Dear friends and family of Paul. It’s with a heavy heart that we write this post. Paul has sadly passed away today peacefully around his loving family. We are all going to miss you so much."
Together with Steve Rawlings (vocals), Paul Nash (guitar), Lyndon Scarfe (keyboards), and Tim Wright (bass), Gilmartin formed The Danse Society in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, in the early 80s. The Danse Society swiftly attracted a dedicated following with their shadowy, atmospheric sound and sombre lyrics. They achieved moderate success during their career. In 1980, they recorded and released their first 7″ single, “Clock”, on their newly-formed record label, Society Records.
Paul Nash of The Danse Society posted the following statement: "Very very sad to report the passing of Paul Gilmartin (Gigi) our original drummer who was an incredible musician and inspiration to many drummers that followed. His creativity and power behind the kit were second to none. Although we had our differences in recent years I will always remember him with great fondness and love for his sense of humour and passion for playing, and that the drums were never loud enough lol. Our thoughts are with his family, which he loved with equal passion, and his friends who will be devastated by this loss. Paul played on our first single "Clock" through the albums Seduction, Heaven Is Waiting, Looking Through, Change Of Skin and Scarey Tales leaving an amazing legacy or recorded music and live gigs. We send love to all who knew him. RIP Gigi xxx."
Paul Gilmartin quit a reformed The Danse Society in January 2014, citing creative and personal clashes. He believed the band had strayed from its original spirit. Internal rifts emerged, splitting Gilmartin from a new incarnation of The Danse Society with singer Maethelyiah, formerly of Blooding Mask, and Paul Nash. Gilmartin would then go on to form the Danse Society Reincarnated, which, following a legal dispute with his former colleagues, would be rebranded as The Society. Link
The Eternal have put out a captivating music video for their latest single, "Colours Fade", offering another compelling glimpse into their new opus, Obscured Horizons, earmarked for...
Nuremberg (Germany)‑based melodic dark rock unit Stigma unveil their new single “Thinking Machine”, a track that sets the conceptual and sonic foundation for the band’s forthcoming EP...
Sweden's Proletarian Poetry unveil their new track, "Betrayal", expanding the project's steadily evolving sonic identity. Patrik Pavlov, the project's central figure, describes the piece...
France's Résonance Magnétique, the dark electro/industrial noise project of Ludovic Dhenry, establishes its latest raw structural framework with a new instalment, "atomic mass unit"...
"Goth people want to have fun sometimes too. I guess if your listening time is 99% dark, sad songs or evil black metal songs, sometimes you want 1% joy, and here I come." - Franck Hueso
"I like to call our music suicide pop, because our songs are pretty easy to listen to, but the topics are very negative and quite dark. It's pop, but negative pop." - Simone Salvatori
"Within this darkness, where there's no light at all, the golden raven still shines. It's not like a perfectly cut statue of Michelangelo..." - Val Perun
"We're really into oxymorons and that sort of thing. Years and years ago, we came up with this idea—well, we didn't invent it, but we called it "happy sad"." - Matt James
