Success on the periphery

Dunedin noise-rock trio Dead C formed in 1987 and over the past two decades has made more of a reputation outside of New Zealand music circles. They’re on the fringe, and they don’t plan to leave it. A pop group the Dead C are not, but for an ensemble made up of Bruce Russell, Michael Morley, and Robbie Yeats so ardently free-form and unmarketable, they’ve done nicely. “The irony is, we’ve done very well in commercial terms by being ‘uncommercial’,” Russell explained. “I don’t know many of our contemporaries in New Zealand who are in better career positions than us. We make money. We can make any kind of record we like.” Much of their international clout was forged in the nineties with the Siltbreeze label, run and recently revived by Tom Lax of Philadelphia, with whom they released some of their most acclaimed discs, including 1992’s Harsh ’70s Reality, 1995’s White House, and 1997’s Tusk. The Dead C has released over 20 albums and is cited as one of Sonic Youth’s favourite bands.