Multi-instrumentalist Brendan Perry and classically trained singer Lisa Gerrard are both of Anglo-Irish heritage. They first met halfway around the world, however, in Melbourne, Australia, in 1981. There, they made their first recording and established their signature ethereal style. Soon after,...
[more]Multi-instrumentalist Brendan Perry and classically trained singer Lisa Gerrard are both of Anglo-Irish heritage. They first met halfway around the world, however, in Melbourne, Australia, in 1981. There, they made their first recording and established their signature ethereal style. Soon after, they moved to London to begin their musical careers in earnest.
Their output from this early period focuses on ancient European music styles, featuring lyrics about myth, symbolism, and gothic themes. The music melds disparate elements like Gregorian chants, maypole dances, and swirling strings with modern instruments like sequencers and synthesizers. But the most notable feature is Lisa Gerrard's haunting vocal theatrics. Folk instruments like the hurdy-gurdy, flute, and bagpipe give her shimmering voice both an ancient and a futuristic feel.
Over the course of their next few albums, they experimented with more contemporary influences like Irish ballads, non-Western sounds, and exotic percussion. Perry and Gerrard also collaborated with This Mortal Coil and took part in some 4AD compilations. It wasn't until 1988's full-length album "Serpent's Egg" that critics began to grumble that Dead Can Dance were growing tiresome between Perry's overarching ambition and Gerrard's obscure singing. Plowing forward with "Aion" in 1990, the band instead focused their attention on the early Renaissance with authentic arrangements and primitive instrumentation.
Next, Gerrard and Perry pursued independent projects; Gerrard scored a production of "Oedipus Rex" while Perry continued his inward journey. They returned with a full band on the live album and video "Toward the Within." Rather than simply offer live interpretations of previous singles, they chose instead to showcase Perry's new songs on 11 of the album's 15 tracks. According to the duo, much of the set was completely improvised so it would be fresh for both the audience and participating musicians.
On the song "Rakim," Gerrard began with a skeletal cascade of yang ch'in (Chinese dulcimer) scales followed by Arabic exhortations by Perry. The five additional musicians filled in the lush songs with whistles, bouzouki, uillean pipes, and layers of textured keyboards. Perry also experimented with a more stripped-down approach on three mainly acoustic songs, "I Can See Now," "American Dreaming," and "Don't Fade Away." He dabbled with pastoral folk and displayed his increasing enthusiasm for his own Celtic roots with a cover of Sinead O'Connor's "I Am Stretched on Your Grave."
These days Gerrard and Perry live on opposite ends of the world: Gerrard resides near Australia's Snowy River while Perry calls a river island in Ireland home. Gerrard has also released full-length solo albums that highlight her ethereal vocals with full orchestral arrangements. But regardless of the distance between them, Dead Can Dance have no intention of leaving this mortal coil any time soon.
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