Dream Affair
Circa 2011-2013

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This was the official website for Dream Affair which showcased  the 2011 release of the band’s debut album, Endless Days.
Content is from the site's 2011 -2013 archived pages, as well as from other outside sources.

 

Dream Affair - Lucid

 

Formed: 2009, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Currently: Brooklyn, NY, United States

Members
Hayden Payne: (guitar, electronics, vocals), Abby Echiverri (synthesizer, violin), Frank Deserto (bass)

 

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2011 PRESS

 

Weird hosting Dream Affair record release party

 By BrooklynVegan Staff August 31, 2011
by Bill Pearis

Local trio Dream Affair are playing tonight’s (8/31) Wierd party at Home Sweet Home. It’s a record release party for the band’s debut, Endless Days, which is out now on Avant! Records. If you like you coldwave/postpunk with a little Wax!Trax!-style clanging beats, definitely check ’em out.

Endless Days (official music video) - Dream Affair.

 

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2011 POSTS

 

Reviews for "Endless Days"

Dream Affair were also the opening band for some American gigs from Chameleons Vox and even if some tracks like "405" or "Lucid" have a touching pop feel (with Asylum Party being the big reference), you can definitely hear that this group is in love with the melancholic wavesongs that were penned down by Mark Burgess or Adrian Borland. Anyway, it was the type of retro-sound that could convince Italian label Avant!-Records to release their debut and it's one of the wavepop highlights of this year, just like Veil Veil Vanish were last year. Available on vinyl and cd. Excellent.

-Peek-A-Boo

Dream Affair are taking the cold wave introspective atmosphere and mixed it with drum machine upbeat tempos adding post punk dry guitar riffs, flanger bass guitar plus synth pads / leads here and there. Male / Female vocal alternation help giving to the whole album a great sound and just check "Lucid" and "Drifting" to realize how cool is that. No matter if you preferred 4AD bands, new wave of post punk, because Dream Affair have them all and they deserve your attention... now!

-Chain D.L.K.

More a part of whatever rebirth it is that's happening, I'd like to imagine that Dream Affair know that instead of waiting under the umbrella for the rain to stop, they are dragging the thing behind them, leaving a sense that the ghosts in the walls they're referencing aren't going anywhere, so why not create something with mood and space that elegantly cites their heroes while also creating something mysterious enough to surprise and please whoever it is that flips the disc around to find a date stamp not of 1984, but of 2011.

-Mishka

 

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RELEASES

 

Dream Affair - Over And Over -February 26, 2013

Digital Release Date: February 26, 2013
Vinyl Release Date: April 9, 2013
Dream Affair - From Now On 12" EP
Artificial Records 1 - AR-001

 

ABORTED STATE C20 - NOSTILEVO - SEPTEMBER 2012

off the C20 cassette "Aborted State" from Nostilevo this September 2012

 

OUTSIDE - DEATH DISCO VOL. II - JUNE 8 2012

IN VAIN - PAWS COMPILATION - NOVEMBER 2011

DREAM AFFAIR - DRIFTING 2011

DREAM AFFAIR - DRIFTING 2011

 

ENDLESS DAYS LP - AVANT! RECORDS - JUNE 27 2011

ALL I WANT EP - SELF RELEASED - AUGUST 2010

 

Label: Not On Label
Catalog #: DRM001
Format: CD, Mini-Album, EP
Country: US
Released: 2010
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: New Wave, Darkwave

Limited to 100 hand numbered copies.
© All songs Dream Affair, 2010.

 

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2013 POSTS

 

"Caught them at their Jammer Lounge gig and the room was packed with fans. Their sound is BIG for so few players! I hung around after the initial show and talked with a guy who was clearly a Dream Affair maven. He was getting plastered using a 510 vape pen battery and was selling 510 cartridges to anyone who asked. Didn't think that was too cool, but who am I to judge. These 510 portable devices are tiny now and I'm guessing that's one of the main selling points - kids can sneak them into class and vape in the room without anyone noticing! About an hour later, the group decided to start up claiming they were just rehearsing, but it sounded great - they were doing some new songs. The violin is such a great addition to a guitar/synth sound and these guys really know how to milk it. No one ever falls asleep listening to these tracks!" Roger Morton for Cake Walk

 

"Hung out with them after an energy infused set at The Dinky where I also chatted with Blind Duck drummer Headley. I've been following the Dream around for a while and have seen evidence of a strong following. I was mentioning this band to the owner of of a Batman t shirt superstore, and she suggested I convince the band members to wear Batman shirts at gigs, and gave me a bunch to give them. The band members modeled and really seemed to like them, and promised to give them a try at their next gig. So if you spot the D-A in Batman gear, I'm the reason." Patrick Willard

 

December 11, 2013

"The Alliance" is a 60-minute cassette compilation displaying a vast reach of modern American electronics representing the label’s past and future, and is a partnership between Nostilevo and the wonderful folks at Vacation Vinyl. 

Featuring new material from: 

• Avellan Cross
• Blue Krishna (Alex Jarson of Body of Light)
• Craow
• David Allen
• Desire XXVII
• Fairlight Empress (Greh Holger of Pure Ground)
• Hand to God
• Liable & Nepoštovanje I Glupo
• Mammal
• Phase Fatale (Hayden Payne of Dream Affair)
• Ritual Howls
• Siobhan
• Scorpio and Glass

These will be available on Friday 29 Nov 13 at Vacation Vinyl's storefront and the upcoming Thanks for Nothing event at Complex, both in Los Angeles, CA. and also available online in the weeks to follow via Vacation’s webstore.  

http://nostilevo.bandcamp.com/album/the-alliance

 

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February 15, 2013

Our new EP titled From Now On comes out on digital February 26 and vinyl 12” April 9 via Artificial Records. Preorder here: www.handdrawndracula.com/store/h3

Tracklist:
1. From Now On
2. All I Want
3. Torn Apart
4. The Porter
5. Over And Over
6. Jasper

 

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More Background On Dream-Affair.com

 

Between roughly 2011 and 2013, Dream-Affair.com functioned as the central digital home for Dream Affair, a band that emerged from the fertile overlap of post-punk revivalism, minimal electronics, and the international cold-wave underground. Though the site is no longer active in a contemporary sense, its archived pages provide an unusually vivid time capsule of how independent musicians of the period communicated, organized tours, framed their aesthetics, and cultivated community.

The website was not flashy. It did not rely on elaborate interactive design or corporate branding language. Instead, it reflected the band’s ethos: stark, romantic, slightly mysterious, and devoted to mood. Through tour announcements, press clippings, release information, and personal notes, the platform captured the moment when Dream Affair moved from DIY obscurity toward global recognition within a network of tastemakers, boutique labels, and devoted niche audiences.

Understanding Dream-Affair.com means understanding a broader cultural shift that was happening at the time. Vinyl was resurging. Small European labels were rediscovering analog textures. Younger musicians were reinterpreting the emotional architecture of the 1980s without irony. Dream Affair stood right in that current.

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Origins of the Band

Dream Affair formed in 2009 in Philadelphia before relocating to Brooklyn, New York. The move placed them in proximity to an already active scene of synth-driven acts, warehouse venues, and labels devoted to dark electronic pop. Brooklyn at the turn of the decade was a crossroads: legacy post-punk influences met internet-accelerated discovery.

The lineup most prominently associated with the Dream-Affair.com era included:

• Hayden Payne – guitar, electronics, vocals

• Abby Echiverri – synthesizer, violin

• Frank Deserto – bass

This configuration allowed the group to bridge mechanical rhythm structures with expressive melodic elements. The addition of violin in particular became a defining trait, separating them from many peers who relied solely on drum machines and synthesizers.

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Aesthetic Identity and Sound

Writers frequently used terms like cold wave, post-punk, darkwave, and industrial-tinged new wave when describing Dream Affair. References to classic acts such as The Cure, Depeche Mode, and artists from the 4AD or Wax Trax! universes appeared again and again in press commentary.

Yet Dream Affair were not merely revivalists. What critics heard was an understanding of atmosphere: the tension between detachment and vulnerability. Guitars shimmered but rarely exploded. Vocals carried romance yet seemed wrapped in distance. Drum programming supplied propulsion without overwhelming intimacy.

Dream-Affair.com presented this balance elegantly. Language on the site emphasized emotional contradiction—bleakness versus longing, isolation versus connection. It framed the band as self-aware inheritors of a tradition rather than imitators.

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Endless Days and the Breakthrough Moment

The gravitational center of the website was the 2011 debut full-length album Endless Days, released by the Italian imprint Avant! Records. Nearly every page radiated outward from this milestone: music video premieres, reviews, tour dates, digital availability, vinyl announcements.

The record represented more than a collection of songs. It was proof that a transatlantic infrastructure existed for underground music. A Brooklyn-based band could partner with a European label, tour Germany and France, and receive coverage from international blogs—all while maintaining DIY credibility.

Critics highlighted tracks such as “Lucid,” “Drifting,” and “405,” praising their mixture of pop accessibility and shadowy atmosphere. The album’s reception positioned Dream Affair among the most discussed names in the contemporary wave resurgence.

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Press Coverage and Critical Reception

Dream-Affair.com carefully curated excerpts from reviews and news items. These endorsements mattered enormously in the ecosystem of the time; they signaled authenticity to potential listeners.

A notable example came from BrooklynVegan, which announced the band’s record release show connected with the Wierd party at Home Sweet Home. The description aligned Dream Affair with a lineage of underground electronic events that helped define New York nightlife for devotees of minimal synth and dark dance music.

European outlets also responded enthusiastically. Writers compared the emotional tone of the band to heroes of melancholic post-punk, while emphasizing the freshness of hearing those moods reframed by a new generation.

The accumulation of such quotes on the site created a narrative: Dream Affair were rising, respected, and part of something bigger.

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Live Performance Culture

If the album gave Dream Affair credibility, touring gave them life. The website documented an ambitious schedule: Germany, France, repeat visits to Berlin, New York showcases, and later West Coast appearances including San Francisco and Los Angeles.

These tours reveal how globalized the underground had become. Small clubs—Elfer Music Club, King Kong Klub, La Mécanique Ondulatoire—formed a circuit where artists, promoters, DJs, and fans intersected. Attendance at one show often led directly to invitations elsewhere.

A particularly important anchor in New York was the Wierd party, whose reputation drew international visitors seeking contemporary interpretations of classic dark sounds. Playing those stages effectively validated a band within the subculture.

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Visual Presentation

Another dimension highlighted on Dream-Affair.com was collaboration with visual artists. Artwork for releases involved painter Danilo Quo Vadis, while filmmaker Justin Anderson contributed to the “Endless Days” video.

These partnerships underscored the multimedia nature of the scene. Music did not exist alone; it intertwined with fashion, photography, and design. Posters, limited vinyl packaging, and video aesthetics reinforced a shared sensibility rooted in drama and restraint.

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Discography Beyond the Debut

Although Endless Days dominated early attention, the site also charted subsequent activity:

• All I Want EP (2010), self-released in a hand-numbered run of 100 copies.

• Contributions to compilations, including tracks tied to charitable causes such as Japan earthquake relief.

• Appearances on Nostilevo releases.

• The 2013 EP From Now On, issued by Artificial Records, with both digital and vinyl formats.

• The single “Over And Over,” which helped bridge earlier minimalism with a slightly broader, more polished approach.

Each entry reinforced Dream Affair’s productivity and their continued relevance as tastes evolved.

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Community, Personality, and Fan Interaction

One of the most fascinating aspects of Dream-Affair.com is how informal some of the posts felt. Messages signed simply “DA” spoke directly to listeners: come to the show, follow us on Facebook, download the track, see you soon.

This conversational style mirrored how bands built loyalty before algorithmic promotion dominated discovery. Fans did not just stream music; they attended, purchased limited physical copies, and followed tour diaries.

Testimonials appearing on the site—whether earnest praise or slightly chaotic anecdotes—show how intensely personal the connection could become. Admirers described packed rooms, powerful sound despite minimal personnel, and the striking role of violin in the live mix.

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Relationship with Labels

Avant! Records played a critical role in Dream Affair’s ascent. Based in Italy, the label became synonymous with high-quality releases within the cold-wave renaissance. Their endorsement signaled curatorial approval; collectors trusted the brand.

Later partnerships, such as with Artificial Records, indicated that Dream Affair had become mobile within the network of respected independents. They were no longer merely hopeful newcomers but established participants.

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Geography and Mobility

The movement from Philadelphia to Brooklyn placed the band within reach of media outlets, record stores, and touring infrastructure. At the same time, European enthusiasm meant that Berlin and Paris were nearly as important as New York.

Dream-Affair.com frequently announced overseas plans, suggesting that continental audiences were particularly receptive. This mirrored a long history in which European listeners maintained strong dedication to post-punk traditions sometimes overlooked in the United States.

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Cultural Significance

Why does a relatively brief website life matter today? Because it documents a hinge moment.

Dream Affair belonged to a generation that bridged analog nostalgia and digital immediacy. They pressed vinyl yet relied on Bandcamp. They toured internationally while maintaining direct, personal communication with fans online. Their work illustrated how subcultures survive by adapting tools without surrendering identity.

For researchers of music history, the site is evidence of how revival movements organize themselves: through small labels, passionate blogs, and relentless touring.

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Audience

The typical Dream Affair listener during this period might have been a record collector, a club regular, a musician inspired by earlier waves of experimental pop, or a younger fan discovering those sounds anew. Fashion often intersected—black attire, vintage references, handmade aesthetics.

Dream-Affair.com catered to that demographic by being informative without being corporate. It felt like it belonged to insiders.

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Media and Extended Presence

Outside the band’s own announcements, journalists and bloggers amplified their reputation. Mentions of opening for respected legacy acts helped situate Dream Affair within an intergenerational continuum. The implication was clear: they were not merely borrowing history; they were contributing to its continuation.

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Archival Afterlife

Today, the site’s survival largely depends on web archives. That fragility is common for independent art communities whose digital homes were never built for permanence. Yet the preserved pages allow contemporary readers to reconstruct networks of friendship, influence, and ambition.

They also remind us that many movements are best understood not only through finished recordings but through everyday communication: a tour date, a thank-you note, excitement about vinyl arriving.

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Legacy

Members of Dream Affair continued into other projects, collaborations, and scenes. The reverberations of their work can be heard in subsequent artists who blend romantic vocals with austere electronics. Even for those who encountered the band later, the mythology of the early 2010s—crowded rooms, European tours, limited cassettes—remains compelling.

Dream-Affair.com captured that mythology while it was still present tense.

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Dream-Affair.com was more than a promotional page. It was a living diary of a band navigating opportunity, geography, and artistic lineage at a pivotal cultural moment. Through it we witness how underground music communities validate themselves, support each other, and transmit emotion across borders.

In revisiting the site, readers do not simply learn about Dream Affair; they encounter the mechanics of an era when dedication, taste, and physical presence mattered profoundly. The echoes of that period continue to shape independent music today.

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