Having disbanded in 1998, they reunited briefly in 2005 for a world tour and reformed in 2011, releasing a new album (Anastasis) and embarking on several tours.
Dead Can Dance formed in Melbourne, Australia in August 1981 with Paul Erikson on bass guitar, Lisa Gerrard (ex-Microfilm) on vocals, Simon Monroe (Marching Girls) on drums and Brendan Perry (also of Marching Girls) on vocals and guitar. Gerrard and Perry were a couple who met as members of Melbourne's little band scene. In May 1982, the band left Monroe in Australia and moved to London, England, where they signed with alternative rock label 4AD. With the duo, the initial United Kingdom line-up were Paul Erikson and Peter Ulrich.
The group's debut album, Dead Can Dance, was released in February 1984. The artwork, which depicts a ritual mask from New Guinea, "provide a visual reinterpretation of the meaning of the name Dead Can Dance", set in a faux Greek typeface. The album featured "drum-driven, ambient guitar music with chanting, singing and howling", and fit in with the ethereal wave style of label mates Cocteau Twins. They followed with a four-track extended play, Garden of the Arcane Delights in August. AllMusic described their early work as "as goth as it gets" (despite the group themselves rejecting the label), while the EP saw them "plunging into a wider range of music and style".
A shift in sound followed for the Spleen and Ideal album, with more emphasis on strings, brass and drones being used. A quasi spiritual element also emerged on this album, notably on the opening tracks "De Profundis" and "Ascension". Its worth noting that around this time Lisa and Brendan had been doing tours of European Cathedrals, absorbing the ambience which in turn was reflected in the work.
The highlights of the bands career followed with the genre defining album Within The Realm of a Dying Sun, featuring fan favorite "Cantara", which is where the bands Arabic and World music influences began to appear, and the double whammy of "Summoning of the Muse" and "Persephone (The Gathering of Flowers)." Critics at the time were undecided about the album, mainly due to the fact that the pieces were split according to the vocals. Brendan had the first side of the album, where Lisa took over for the latter half.
The Serpent's Egg was the next album and built on the premise set by the previous album, although the album is slightly uneven in quality and a short listen at around 40 minutes. The album is redeemed by the opening and closing pieces "The Host of Seraphim", and Perry's epic "Ullyses".
For the next album Aion, the band slipped back several centuries and recreated working medieval instruments such as the Sackbut, Viol and Hurdy Gurdy for the distinctly Medieval flavor. Included on the album is "Song of the sibyl" a text from 14th century Spain and now a live favorite. Another text appears in the song "Fortune Presents Gifts Not According To The Book".
Into the Labyrinth was the follow up album and was the album that saw Brendan mastering the use of samples and synthesizers and also the album that brought the band's music to American audiences selling over a million copies worldwide. The track "The Ubiquitous Mr Lovegrove" was played across on college radio and was instrumental in the albums success.
Spiritchaser was the seventh studio album for the band and brought about an abrupt upturn in musical style, instead of drawing on the historical past the band drew upon South American and African influences which gave the album a very rhythmic ambience. Considered by some to be the bands weakest album, it features highlights such as the percussive "Nierika" which was the most played track on American college radio for that year, and the epic 9 minute trance inducing "Indus".
A 3 CD retrospective simply called 1981-1998 was issued by 4AD and compiled a comprehensive overview of the bands career, and provided diehard fans with the only finished track from the Spiritchaser follow-up sessions called "The Lotus Eaters".
As a live band is probably where Dead Can Dance have gained their reputation. To put it simply, they were phenomenal. The concerts often featured many improvised pieces that to date have never been recorded in the studio. A live album entitled Toward the Within was released in 1994 and allowed fans unfortunate enough to have not attended concerts the chance to hear a few of these songs. A companion video/DVD of the concert was also released allowing people to see these highly ethereal concerts.
After Dead Can Dance ceased to be a functioning band both Perry and Gerrard embarked upon solo careers. To date, Brendan has released one solo album The Eye of the Hunter and has completed work on a new album, 'Ark', to be released in June 2010, whilst Lisa has been more prolific but with mixed results, releasing two solo albums The Mirror Pool and The Silver Tree. Lisa has also collaborated with other artists, namely Pieter Bourke of the band Soma and Irish composer Patrick Cassidy on the respective albums Duality and Immortal Memory. Lisa has also become a sought after soundtrack artist too after a wave of publicity for the Ridley Scott film Gladiator and continues to release work on a regular basis including soundtrack work on Ali, Layer Cake, and Whale Rider. Peter Ulrich, former percussionist of the band has also released two solo albums, Pathways and Dawns and more recently, Enter the Mysterium.
A series of 31 reunion concerts took place in 2005 in both Europe and North America including two memorable sell out concerts at The Hollywood Bowl and Radio City accompanied by 40 piece orchestras. Many of these concerts were professionally recorded and released as a double CD.
In late 2011, the band announced a reunion World Tour, in order to promote their new album, fittingly titled Anastasis, as it was released on August 9, 2012, 16 years after the group's previous album. Anastasis was well received by critics and is also the first album of the band not released by 4AD Records.
The name "Dead Can Dance" is often misleading. Although this group is quite popular among the goth sub-culture with the name appearing to be inspired by the Danse macabre allegory, it should instead be interpreted as 'giving life to something that was previously inanimate' as Perry said:
"The album artwork [of our self titled first album], a ritual mask from New Guinea, attempted to provide a visual reintrepretation of the meaning of the name "Dead Can Dance." The mask, though once a living part of a tree is dead; nevertheless it has, through the artistry of its maker, been imbued with a life force of its own. To understand why we chose the name, think of the transformation of inanimacy to animacy.... Think of the processes concerning life from death and death into life. So many people missed the inherent symbolism, and assumed that we must be 'morbid gothic types,' a mistake we deplored and deplore...".
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Labour of Love
Dead Can Dance Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I arrive at your door
These gifts I bring to you
For your benefit alone
In anticipation
Of things to come
A labour
The sacrifice is made
To ensure our prosperity
A small price to pay
For the knowledge that we now own
In anticipation
Of things to come
A labour
A labour of love
So until we meet again
At some fixed point in time
Have faith in our ability
To realise the potential of our dreams
In anticipation
Of things to come
A labour
A labour of love
Origin of my dreams
Destiny so it seems
Origin of my dreams
Destiny so it seems
The opening lines of the Dead Can Dance song 'Labour of Love' indicate an urgency dictated by the singer's necessity, which leads them to arrive at the doorstep of the addressee. The purpose of the visit is to provide a gift that is not for mutual benefit but solely for the recipient. The song suggests that the gift is a precursor to imminent events, and the ultimate aim is for a 'labour of love' - an undertaking that adds to the depth of the affection between the singer and the gift recipient.
The second verse of the song expands upon the first, as the singer acknowledges the sacrifice they have made for the sake of prosperity. They contend that this is a small price to pay for the knowledge they now possess, further heightening the anticipation of events to come. At its crux, the song is driving towards the fulfilment of the singer's dreams, an aim that they are confident about realizing. So, until their next meeting at an appointed time, the singer exhorts the recipient to hold faith in their ability to translate the potential of their dreams into reality.
Line by Line Meaning
Forced by necessity
Due to unavoidable circumstances, I have come to your doorstep
I arrive at your door
I am here, seeking your attention and assistance
These gifts I bring to you
I am bringing offerings to you, hoping they will benefit you
For your benefit alone
I do this solely for your advantage and wellbeing
In anticipation
With a sense of excitement and expectation
Of things to come
About what the future holds
A labour
This hard work
A labour of love
Is accomplished with devotion and affection
The sacrifice is made
I have given up something important
To ensure our prosperity
To guarantee our future success
A small price to pay
What I have given up is of little consequence to me
For the knowledge that we now own
Because we have gained valuable information that will benefit us
So until we meet again
Till we see each other next time
At some fixed point in time
At a predetermined moment in the future
Have faith in our ability
Trust that we are capable
To realise the potential of our dreams
To actualize the possibilities of our aspirations
Origin of my dreams
The source of my aspirations
Destiny so it seems
It appears to be a predetermined fate
Origin of my dreams
The source of my aspirations
Destiny so it seems
It appears to be a predetermined fate
Contributed by Joseph D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Vera Bousiou
I heard this live the other day and it was a true gift. Brendan is so incredible.
B
Never stop finding 'new' great DCD songs
Patrícia Karashi
Que som,😍
nutkaefer
Magnifique, avec ça voix, qui perse les oreilles 🎶🎵❤️❤️❤️❤️🎵🎶☁️🤔 il transporte mon cœur
Kittie D
This makes me full of fireworks. And dizzy. And full of so many emotions. Then I cry
hshhs Martins
Adorei😻😻
Video Acc
Чудесная музыка.
Nicolas Vandewaele
Went to their concert in Paris without knowing a single track of their discography. I liked this one straight away and then came back to it on Youtube. For the rest of the setlist, I guess further listenings are required. Not the type of music you get to love straight away.
ABakanji
beautiful song!!!!!!
Canal Aleatório
Perfeito