The New Deal is a Canadian three-piece electronic band formed in 1998 in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada. With a drummer (Davide Direnzo), bass guitarist (Dan Kurtz, now playing with

Dragonette Dragonette is the stage name of Canadian singer-songwriter Martina Sorbara. Originally an electronic music band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2005, the band consisted of Sorbara with her then husband Dan Kurtz as bassist and producer (also i ...

), and

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

player ( Jamie Shields), the music incorporates many elements of modern

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

, which they have branded live progressive breakbeat

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

History

The band formed in 1998 after an impromptu jam session they had at the Toronto venue the Comfort Zone. Upon listening to a recording of the show, they were transfixed by how much it sounded like a DJ mix. They subsequently released the jam session as their first album, ''This Is Live.'' The band was without a name prior to the release of ''This Is Live''. Jamie Shields, whose previous band One Step Beyond had wrapped up recently, indicated that the band hadn't settled on a name. At one point, they were calling themselves "Reprise". "The New Deal" stuck shortly afterwards. Originally billing themselves as an

acid jazz Acid jazz (also known as club jazz, psychedelic jazz, or groove jazz) is a music genre that combines elements of funk, soul music, soul, and hip hop music, hip hop, as well as jazz and disco. Acid jazz originated in clubs in London during the 1 ...

group, they soon found themselves swept up into the emerging musical genre of

livetronica A jam band is a musical group whose concerts and live albums substantially feature improvisational " jamming". Typically, jam bands will play variations of pre-existing songs, extending them to improvise over chord patterns or rhythmic groo ...

. The drumming of Shearer often resembles the simplicity of a

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

, while still tastefully complementing the accompanying music. Shields never loops a keyboard track and always plays everything live, even if a pattern is to be repeated. Thanks to the widespread sharing of bootleg versions of their early live shows, a national buzz ensued and within two years, and they signed a major label contract with Jive Electro. The promotion with Jive proved disappointing, and the band fell short of a highly anticipated crossover. Nonetheless, they continued to tour, developing their fanbase, including a performance in Toronto at the Palais Royale in 2001. They released several more live shows on a label they created, Sound+Light Records, and produced two studio releases in 2003: ''Please Be Seated'' and ''Gone Gone Gone''. In 2004, after a year-long hiatus, The New Deal toured several cities, often playing to crowds of 800 or more demonstrating the continued devotion of their fans. The band continued to tour, and over 200 recorded shows have been made available at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

and

etree etree, or electronic tree, is a music community created in the summer of 1998 for the online trading of live concert recordings. etree pioneered the standards for distributing lossless audio on the net and only permits its users to distribute t ...

for downloading. In recent years, seeing the band live has been difficult as concerts have become sporadic. Only a few recent concerts have been made available because of difficulties accommodating "tapers" and obtaining

soundboard recording A soundboard recording is a sound recording of a concert taken from a direct connection to the soundboard at the venue. Soundboard recordings are considered to be among the highest quality bootleg recordings of live performances though some sound ...

s. On April 8, 2011, an e-mail was sent out stating The New Deal would be breaking up in 2011. According to the e-mail, the band feels "We have come to a point where the time and commitment that it takes to maintain our band at its best is no longer possible.". A summer and fall tour took place throughout North America to end off the 12-year career. In April 2014, the band resurrected their website with the text, "The New Deal is Back – Summer 2014". Joel Stouffer was brought on board as a new drummer in 2014. According to Shields, original drummer Darren Shearer left the music business after the group originally parted ways. On March 20, 2019, the band announced on Facebook that they are coming back together for a short summer run of four shows with Davide Di Renzo as a new drummer, going on to say "With Davide it’s a bit like ‘coming back home’ as he was the drummer that inspired our original direction back in 1998 when the three of us played our first impromptu gig together in Guelph, Ontario. Each of the band's drummers has brought something unique to theNEWDEAL, and with Davide we’re reaching back to move forward with the organic-infused improvisation that has long-inspired a big part of theNEWDEAL sound." In August of that year they announced a tour schedule through the following February with Di Renzo.

Recordings

*''THIS IS LIVE'' (1999) *''

The New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression, which had started in 1929. Roosevel ...

'' (2001) *''Receiver'' (2001) *''LIVE:NYC O5.31.02 / 06.01.02'' (2002) *''LIVE:PORTLAND ME 12.17.99 / GUELPH ON 04.05.00 (REISSUE)'' (2002) *''Gone Gone Gone'' (2003) *''Please Be Seated'' EP (2003) *''Live: Late Night 8.27.05'' (2006) *''Live: Toronto 7.16.09'' (2009) *''Mercury Switch'' (2016) *''Phoenix'' (2019) *''Age of Discovery'' (2020)

References

External links

Official SiteThe New Deal collection
at the

's live music archive
Interview with Darren Shearer on TheWaster.comJamie sits down with Ira Haberman of The Sound Podcast for a feature interviewTour Announcement for Fall 2019 and Winter 2020
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Deal Canadian electronic music groups Musical groups from Toronto Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Livetronica music groups 1998 establishments in Ontario 2011 disestablishments in Ontario