Dead Souls

Dead Souls

Dead Souls is an Austrian new wave group associated with the 1980s. The band is credited with having started as a Joy Division cover act before moving on to its own material. Its early live work includes performances under the Dead Souls name playing Joy Division songs, followed by a transition to original writing and performance.

Development and releases

The group closes its cover-band chapter after a run of shows and begins writing original songs. It plays a series of try-out concerts before releasing its debut album, Cognac and Coffee, on the ZEAL label. The band also has a later album project titled The Coma Sessions.

Line-up and related projects

Dead Souls starts as a four-piece. Bernie plays with DR.NO, an experimental bass-and-drums duo, and with ALMANZA, described as a dirty power trio from Tienen. Yves and Flip are part of AMBER 2, a 1990s space-pop band, and also work together as the ZEN FOR BIRDS duo. Yves is additionally involved with MANGENERATED, LONGING FOR STORK and TIN FOIL STAR, and also plays with WONDY AND CASY and FIELDINGS, as well as performing solo under different names. Koen plays with GRIM, which performs post-rock versions of classical music by composers including Erik Satie and Arvo Pärt. The line-up also includes Tom Poppe, who joins to strengthen the live sound and also plays with An Apple from Tienen.

Live history

The band gains wider exposure after being taken on tour by MONZA, led by Stijn Meuris. After around 40 gigs, it plays a final show as a cover band at STUK in Leuven. Earlier in its development, the group also performs a number of shows in 2003 before committing to original material.