Deus (or
dEUS) is an indie rock band based in Antwerp, Belgium, currently consisting of Tom Barman (vocals and guitar), Klaas Janzoons (keyboards and violin), Stéphane Misseghers (drums), Alan Gevaert (bass) and Mauro Pawlowski (guitar and vocals).
History
The band, whose songs are primarily sung in English, was founded in Antwerp in 1989, but did not get its form until after Humo's Rock Rally of 1992. In the tour that followed through Spain, set up by Filip Eyckmans, they laid the foundation for their sound. Deus displays a bewildering array of influences, including Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, Big Star, Sonic Youth, Sun Ra and Mingus-style jazz, Leonard Cohen and the Velvet Underground. Consequently, they incorporate a wide variety of styles, including Pop, Folk, Free Jazz, Neo-Prog, Punk and Heavy Metal into their work. They became one of the most successful (and influential) Belgian rock bands ever.
Past members
.]]Past members include Stef Kamil Carlens (bass), who left in 1996 to focus on his own band Zita Swoon (initially known as A Beatband and then Moondog Jr.), Rudy Trouvé (guitar), who since 1995 has pursued a career in music (Kiss My Jazz, Dead Man Ray) and art, Jules de Borgher (drums) until 2002, Danny Mommens (bass) who left in 2004 because of his other band Vive la Fête and Craig Ward (guitar) who left in 2004. Both Rudy Trouvé and Craig Ward play in The Love Substitutes along with Mauro Pawlowski.
Records
So far, Deus have released four studio albums: on Island Records,
Worst Case Scenario (1994),
In a Bar, Under the Sea (1996),
The Ideal Crash (1999) and on September 12th 2005 their long awaited album
Pocket Revolution was released on V2 Records. They have also released many singles, the experimental EP
My Sister=My Clock (1995) (originally intended for the Belgian audience and international fan order only but given a general release on Island Records due to popular demand) and a singles collection
No More Loud Music (released on PolyGram) with a companion DVD
No More Video (2001).
All the albums and singles before
The Ideal Crash have cover artwork by Rudy Trouvé.
Sabbatical
From 2000 to 2004, the band took an extended sabbatical to allow the individual members to pursue different interests, including a Barman-directed feature film entitled Any Way the Wind Blows. In June 2002 they did however play 6 concerts in Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium, supporting the then-recent CD and DVD release of their singles collection. In 2004 Tom Barman also released the debut album of Magnus, his dance-oriented project with techno producer CJ Bolland.
Current activities
In mid-2004 they began recording new material and playing live across Europe, and in August the download-only single
If You Don't Get What You Want was released. On September 12th, 2005 the new album Pocket Revolution was released. The release of the new album was supported by an extensive world tour of over 130 concerts. The final concert of the 2005/2006
Pocket Revolution tour took place on October 1st in the Deus hometown of Antwerp, Belgium. Deus performed that day as part of the 0110 Festival for Tolerance. This free entrance festival, an initiative of leadsinger Tom Barman, saw possibly the largest number of Belgian artists ever assembled perform that day in Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels and Charleroi in support of Tolerance and to oppose racism, extremism and pointless violence. After finishing their Pocket Revolution tour, the band began rehearsals for the writing and recording process of their next album. In 2007 Deus built their own studio, to continue work on the next album. The next Deus album can be expected in March 2008. The band will tour the world afterwards and will release another album in 2009.
Discography (albums and singles)
- Zea (EP, June 1993)
- Worst Case Scenario (October 1994)
- "Suds & Soda" (June 1994)
- "Via" (October 1994)
- "Hotellounge (Be the Death of Me)" (January 1995)
- My Sister = My Clock (EP, April 1995)
- In a Bar, Under the Sea (September 1996)
- "Theme From Turnpike" (June 1996)
- "Little Arithmetics" (October 1996)
- "Roses" (December 1996)
- "Fell Off The Floor, Man" (June 1997)
- The Ideal Crash (March 1999)
- "Instant Street" (February 1999)
- "Sister Dew" (May 1999)
- "The Ideal Crash" (October 1999)
- "Nothing Really Ends" (November 2001)
- "If You Don't Get What You Want" (download only, August 2004)
- Pocket Revolution (September 2005)
- "7 Days, 7 Weeks" (August 2005)
- "What We Talk About " (March 2006)
- "Bad Timing" (July 2006)
- "Pocket Revolution Burnt (2CD) (December 2006)"
Singles collection
- No More Loud Music (November 2001)
- "Nothing Really Ends" (November 2001)
External links
Alternative musical groupsBelgian rock music groupsBelgian musical groupsMusical groups established in 1989
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