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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Song of the Disposessed
Dead Can Dance Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Daylight comes and I want to go home
Awoke this morning to find my people's tongues were tied
(Amen)
And in my dreams they were given books to poison their minds
(Amen)
How long before the other side
We are their mortar, their building bricks and their clay
(Amen)
Their gold teeth mirror both our joys and our pain
(Amen)
The river is deep and the ocean wide
Who will show us how to read the signs
The earth is our mother she taught us to embrace the light
(Amen)
Now the Lord is master She suffers an eternal night
(Amen)
I say
You blocked up my ears
You plucked out my eyes
You cut out my tongue
You fed me with lies, oh Lord
Oh Lord
Oh Lord
Oh Lord
Dead Can Dance's "Song of the Dispossessed" is a song that reflects on cultural displacement and the loss of identity that occurs when one's language and heritage are taken away. The metaphorical value that the river holds becomes a symbol of the uncertain future ahead for the singer. They are facing something so deep and wide that they cannot see the other side of it. The words "The river is deep and the mountain high, how long before the other side," indicate a call for the unknown future. They are homesick and want to return to the comfort of their community, but they are in a state of limbo, as indicated by the phrase "Daylight comes and I want to go home."
There is a sense of a bitter history shaping the singer's present condition. "Awoke this morning to find my people's tongues were tied" is a powerful image of cultural censorship, and the phrase "in my dreams, they were given books to poison their minds," reveals a possible link to various historical injustices that sought to silence non-Europeans in the colonial era at the expense of their heritage. The verses that follow touching on the theme of the displacement of indigenous people and the ruling classes' exploitation of them.
Line by Line Meaning
The river is deep and the road is long
The journey to a better life is difficult and treacherous.
Daylight comes and I want to go home
Despite the challenges faced, the desire for a place of comfort still lingers.
Awoke this morning to find my people's tongues were tied
Woke up and realized that the culture and traditions of my people have been suppressed.
(Amen)
Acknowledging the pain and sadness of the situation.
And in my dreams they were given books to poison their minds
The oppressors have infiltrated the minds of the people with falsehoods.
The river is deep and the mountain high
The challenges of overcoming the oppressive situation are great and imposing.
How long before the other side
Wondering when a better situation will come and if it is worth holding on to hope.
We are their mortar, their building bricks and their clay
The people are being used by the oppressors to build their own wealth and power.
Their gold teeth mirror both our joys and our pain
The wealthy and powerful display their wealth, while the people exist in suffering and poverty.
The river is deep and the ocean wide
The obstacles in the way of freedom and a better life are vast and seemingly insurmountable.
Who will show us how to read the signs
In the midst of confusion and uncertainty, guidance is needed to navigate forward.
The earth is our mother she taught us to embrace the light
The roots of the people are intimately tied to the land and its teachings of hope and positivity.
(Amen)
Affirming the power and influence of the earth, hope and positivity.
Now the Lord is master She suffers an eternal night
The situation has become so bleak that even divine guidance seems absent and cold.
I say
The singer has a message to convey.
You blocked up my ears
The oppressor has prevented the people from hearing the truth.
You plucked out my eyes
The oppressor has prevented the people from seeing the truth.
You cut out my tongue
The oppressor has prevented the people from speaking the truth.
You fed me with lies, oh Lord
The people have been misled and manipulated by those in power.
Oh Lord
Appealing to a higher authority for guidance and justice.
Oh Lord
Continuing to appeal to a higher authority for guidance and justice.
Oh Lord
Continuing to appeal to a higher authority for guidance and justice.
Contributed by Caden I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.