Dead Leaves Rising is one of the earliest musical projects of Jon DeRosa, better known for his later ambient work as Aarktica, and also for composing orchestral pop music under his own name (Jon DeRosa). DeRosa was already recording and releasing music in the early 1990's (while barely in high school) under the moniker Fade. These cassette releases can best be described as lo-fi, acoustic goth, and were very influenced by DeRosa's classical guitar training. In 1996, DeRosa began recording under the name Dead Leaves Rising, taking a turn to a darker, moodier folk sound, adding additional collaborators in both the studio and on stage. The two albums DeRosa released as Dead Leaves Rising (Shadow Complex and Waking Up On The Wrong Side of No One), marked the beginning of a signature sound for him that he would adapt and evolve with his future projects Pale Horse and Rider, Aarktica and under his own name. With both Fade and Dead Leaves Rising, the teenage DeRosa found a niche in the East Coast goth scene, and regularly performed with Projekt Records artists like Black Tape For A Blue Girl, Eden, Attrition, Love Spirals Downwards, Lovesliescrushing, and other touring dark pop bands of the era.