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...".
http://www.deadcandance.com
http://www.facebook.com/DeadCanDanceOfficial
https://twitter.com/DCDmusic
The ubiquitous Mr.Lovegrove
Dead Can Dance Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well you've seen it ten times before.
I thought that you had it down
With both your feet on the ground.
I love slow ... slow but deep.
Feigned affections wash over me.
Dream on my dear
And renounce temporal obligations.
It's a sleep from which you may not awaken.
You build me up then you knock me down.
You play the fool while I play the clown.
We keep time to the beat of an old slave drum.
You raise my hopes then you raise the odds
You tell me that I dream too much
Now I'm serving time in disillusionment.
I don't believe you anymore ... I don't believe you.
I thought that I knew it all
I'd seen all the signs before.
I thought that you were the one
In darkness my heart was won.
You build me up then you knock me down.
You play the fool while I play the clown.
We keep time to the beat of an old slave drum.
You raise my hopes then you raise the odds
You tell me that I dream too much
Now I'm serving time in a domestic graveyard.
I don't believe you anymore ... I don't believe you.
Never let it be said I was untrue
I never found a home inside of you.
Never let it be said I was untrue
I gave you all my time.
The lyrics to Dead Can Dance's song The Ubiquitous Mr Lovegrove seem to be a reflection on a relationship that has gone sour. The singer seems to have thought that they knew everything about their partner, as if they had seen this situation before. They had believed that they had the situation under control, with both feet on the ground. However, their partner's feigned affections have washed over them and left them with a feeling of disillusionment. The singer tells their partner to dream and renounce their temporal obligations, as it is a sleep from which they may not awaken. It seems as though the singer has lost faith in their partner and the relationship.
The lyrics describe the cycle of the partner building the singer up, then knocking them down again. They play the fool while the singer plays the clown, keeping time to the beat of an old slave drum. The partner tells the singer that they dream too much and raises their hopes only to raise the odds against them. The singer is left serving time in a domestic graveyard, trapped and disillusioned. They no longer believe their partner and never found a home inside of them. The singer gave their partner all their time but in the end, it seems as though it was all for nothing.
Line by Line Meaning
I thought that you knew it all
I believed that you had all the knowledge and experience.
Well you've seen it ten times before.
You have already witnessed this same issue multiple times.
I thought that you had it down
I assumed you had the situation under control.
With both your feet on the ground.
You are firmly grounded and can handle everything.
I love slow ... slow but deep.
I prefer intimacy that unfolds gradually and purposefully.
Feigned affections wash over me.
Your insincere displays of affection have no impact on me.
Dream on my dear
Keep dreaming, my love,
And renounce temporal obligations.
And release yourself from mundane responsibilities.
It's a sleep from which you may not awaken.
This could lead to an eternal dreamlike state.
You build me up then you knock me down.
You increase my expectations before dashing them to the ground.
You play the fool while I play the clown.
You act foolish while I am the one that looks ridiculous.
We keep time to the beat of an old slave drum.
Our actions are dictated by old habits and societal expectations.
You raise my hopes then you raise the odds.
You create false hope before increasing the amount of difficulty.
You tell me that I dream too much.
You criticize me for having ambitious goals.
Now I'm serving time in disillusionment.
Now I am stuck feeling disappointed and let down.
I don't believe you anymore ... I don't believe you.
I no longer have faith in you.
I thought that I knew it all.
I believed that I had everything figured out.
I'd seen all the signs before.
I had already noticed all of the warning signs.
I thought that you were the one.
I believed that you were the right person for me.
In darkness my heart was won.
I fell in love with you during a difficult time in my life.
Now I'm serving time in a domestic graveyard.
Now I feel trapped and stuck in a boring domestic life.
Never let it be said I was untrue.
Do not accuse me of being dishonest.
I never found a home inside of you.
I never felt like I belonged with you.
I gave you all my time.
I dedicated all of my time to you.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BRENDAN MICHAEL PERRY, LISA GERMAINE GERRARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ian Sheppard
"The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove"
I thought that you knew it all
Well you've seen it ten times before.
I thought that you had it down
With both your feet on the ground.
I love slow...slow but deep.
Feigned affections wash over me.
Dream on my dear
And renounce temporal obligations.
Dream on my dear
It's a sleep from which you may not awaken.
You build me up then you knock me down.
You play the fool while I play the clown.
We keep time to the beat of an old slave drum.
You raise my hopes then you raise the odds
You tell me that I dream too much
Now I'm serving time in disillusionment.
I don't believe you anymore...I don't believe you.
I thought that I knew it all
I'd seen all the signs before.
I thought that you were the one
In darkness my heart was won.
You build me up then you knock me down.
You play the fool while I play the clown.
We keep time to the beat of an old slave drum.
You raise my hopes then you raise the odds
You tell me that I dream too much
Now I'm serving time in a domestic graveyard.
I don't believe you anymore...I don't believe you.
Never let it be said I was untrue
I never found a home inside of you.
Never let it be said I was untrue
I gave you all my time.
Pedro Miguel Azevedo
thought that you knew it all
Well you've seen it ten times before.
I thought that you had it down
With both your feet on the ground.
I love slow ... slow but deep.
Feigned affections wash over me.
Dream on my dear
And renounce temporal obligations.
Dream on my dear
It's a sleep from which you may not awaken.
You build me up then you knock me down.
You play the fool while I play the clown.
We keep time to the beat of an old slave drum.
You raise my hopes then you raise the odds
You tell me that I dream too much
Now I'm serving time in disillusionment.
I don't believe you anymore ... I don't believe you.
I thought that I knew it all
I'd seen all the signs before.
I thought that you were the one
In darkness my heart was won.
You build me up then you knock me down.
You play the fool while I play the clown.
We keep time to the beat of an old slave drum.
You raise my hopes then you raise the odds
You tell me that I dream too much
Now I'm serving time in a domestic graveyard.
I don't believe you anymore ... I don't believe you.
Never let it be said I was untrue
I never found a home inside of you.
Never let it be said I was untrue
I gave you all my time.
Marie Van Gompel
What to say. Its recognizable. You know it but its so rooted; a survivalmechanism that cant be seen, walking with eyes wide shut in it all over again and again.'Its the seed where you may not from awaken'. Total surrender, the only weapon i knew/know but before you trew me a rope it was the only thing i could hold on to.'
It is uglyness altough you know it is programmated and conditionned; It has to do something with fightingdivorces and other shit.
Im always so fascinated by Lisa and your instruments. Mostly i cant even place them. I saw you in BX at the Royal circus on the first line, wow what a reveleation, absolutely amazing. When i studied fashionschool i made a collection based on 'the Celts, Tibet, drunken dervishes and an inipi on the song RAKIM.
A few years ago i saw Brendan and another female singer in Liege in a litlle hall. To be honest i was abit dissapointed because to me it sounded like a kind of salsa.
Did you received my litlle card? I gave it to somebody who went in the backstage.
I lookin forward to see u again.
Thanku for the enlightment uplifting healing of the Morphogenetic field of humanity and the healing of the kosmic soul.
The world would not be the same without ur music, its CULT ICONIC REVOLUTIONARY, an example for millions of musiciens.
I was a fan, i am a fan and i always will stay a fan.
CY
XMJ
Madcow
One of the best composed and tracked songs I've ever heard in my lifetime. The sounds, beats and vocal artistry are just unmatched in todays music. Incredible.
Tom Burwell
We need to push it to 1M views ☺️
Sam Selk
I couldn't agree more
Chris Taylor
I was but 19 years old when I heard this and it blew my mind. I was a staunch Slayer dude (still am to this day), and I had just started working at Tower Records at the tail end of 1993. This album was released that week and it was in constant rotation. Perfect record. Brings me back to crisp, cloudy October days, and being exposed to so many different types of music and people. Best times.
DoctorCreepy
Was it the Tower in Philly by chance?
Chris Taylor
@DoctorCreepy Boston
alen Parra
I miss Tower - RIP
T E
Good stuff, we would have been friends at one point.
Michael Angztek
What I would call the "Greta Garbo Goths" used to listen to this.
Johnny_roots
Listening to this on a warm night in my swimming pool, no one around but me and my dogs and the sound of crickets. Lighted up a joint and watched as the light reflected on the surface of the water, dancing to the rythm of this song.