When even the dead dance

With a nostalgic tear in my eye I offer you a complete (and hopefully accurate) translation of one of my older blogs. Yes, nowadays many of its thoughts make me shake my head in disillusion and just wonder how I could let the form beat the content with such an ease, but it's my personal favourite, moreover, written with the greatest passion - and that's a good way to start my MOG life I think :-)

Dead Can Dance is from the very beginning defying any sort of categorization and enjoying a bumpy ride throughout an untouched territory full of sound variations and rhythmical turnabouts. In all their works, traditional musical principles and modern approaches are coexisting together in such a flashy and original way that an unprepared listener will be certainly astonished - to dive into their boundless sea of melodies means to jump in a train rushing it across various cultures and time periods with a speed at which all the logical boundaries are slowly wearing off.

The group came into being in 1981 in Australian city Melbourne and even though its line-up has changed many times, two names are sprawling through its history like a golden thread - Brendan Michael Perry, former singer and bassist of the punk band The Scavengers, and vocalist Lisa Gerrard. Hearth and soul of the group.

"The first piece we improvised together was called 'Frontier'. Something really magical happened that day," Lisa recalls. "We realised that what we had done separately was nothing like what took place in that piece. It unlocked something that neither of us were aware of. And we had to do it again, so we started to write together."

But as it often goes, beginnings were especially difficult. While earning some money in front of a sink in local restaurant Lebanese, Brendan and Lisa were hoping that one day they will save enough money to leave narrow-minded Melbourne musical scene and move to more permissive city of London. First complications appeared right away - that is, this risky move discouraged remaining members of a band (Paul Erikson and Simon Monroe) and so the original formation crumbled to pieces with a flight heading to England.

However, arrival to a rainy metropolis by the river Thames was by far not the end of all the troubles.

Couple found an accommodation in a ratty urban area Isle of Dogs, which was at the turn of the decades full of warehouses, workshops and cheap housing units, and first four years lived on social benefits. And there was still no real interest over their music, too individual and non-commercial. Initial enthusiasm turned to harsh reality.

Change of luck finally came in form of nowadays world-famous independent record studio 4AD. During its existence it produced groups like Cocteau Twins, Pixies or Throwing Muses and gained cult status.

"My strongest impression from the demo tape was of something really original, " recalls Watts-Russell, founder of 4AD. "'Frontier' in particular, with Lisa's incredible voice."

Dead Can Dance published their eponymous album at the 28th of February 1984.

The first record, called simply Dead Can Dance, provides a fleeting notion of their before unimagined and so far not completely developed potential. Songs are wobbling somewhere between at the time popular gothic punk and distinctive mix of exotic instruments and traditional melodies wrapped in up-to-date package. The group is not afraid to experiment, but is moving in a cutoff area without too much space to flight - in context of a development of a band it's one of their weaker albums, but the final impression is still superb.

Formal sequel to their debut is Spleen and Ideal recorded in 1985. Although attentive listener will be still able to catch an aftermaths of classical rock techniques and methods, all objections are immediately flushed away by an unchained flow of originality bursting forth whole album. Trombones, kettle-drums and delicate piano parts are walking hand in hand with constantly developing Lisa's and Brendan's singing and songs are flowing in slow, calm tempo. Dead Can Dance made a radical step forward, but the best is yet to come.

Within the Realm of a Dying Sun was a definitive good-bye to all unwritten laws and boundaries of the music scene. First half belongs to Brendan and his murky and dark, but still perfectly listenable music with poetic lyrics, whereas Lisa has stolen the second side and prepared us a fascinating mix of antique rhythms and oriental mystique. One of the highlights is without doubt Xavier, song with beautiful chorals and earthy Perry's performance, and ultimately Cantara, presstisimo in Indic style.

"I think that the relationship between them and producer John Rivers was at its peak with that record. It is probably my favourite record of theirs," reveals Ivo. "It pushed everything to a new world - it doesn't sound like anything else at all."

With their next record Dead Can Dance went even further and did it with ease and grace of their own - no lumpy attempt to be different, just authentic and clear sounds. And so whether you are listening to an opening track The Host of Seraphim, which could be heard in captivating document Baraka, bittersweet Severance or an ornamental odyssey Mother Tongue, you never have a feeling of being a victim of purposeless spoiling the individual genres. The Serpent's Egg record is truly a masterpiece.

Year 1990 brought us Aion, a collection of songs with the strongest medieval influence so far - listening to them is like travelling in time, back to colourful fairs and church services, back to the period where magic was as close in human mind as the Death herself. It is a mesmerizing musical experience, one which gets a very intense flavour of melancholy in our busy times.

Compilation A Passage In Time with two new bonus songs popularized the group also outside Europe - it was their first record set forth right in American market.

Early and middle phase is just behind us, last three albums to follow.

Into the Labyrinth suddenly sounds quite different. "It was a journey into a year of writing, very much focused on living in the countryside with rural people," says Perry, who at the time moved back to his homeland, county Cavan in Ireland, bought a local church Quivvy and turned it into a recording studio. It was this place where the new album was produced and thanks to it and its isolation from the rest of the world Into the Labyrinth has such an inimitable, reflective character - songs are refined to perfection and their lyrics are captivating, charming and bearing a lucid message.

The success of a previous record culminated in a huge concert tour across the whole United States and gave us a music collection consisting solely of live recordings. Not only is the listener able to hear some older pieces in attractive stage-display, but will be also introduced to brand new (and great) songs. Add a bunch of guest artists skilfully complementing Lisa playing on a chinese cymbal and Brendan on an acoustic guitar and you have another mind-blowing experience, this time called Toward the Within. Many fans actually consider this album as the peak of their career.

Spiritchaser recorded in 1996 is another twist and arouses various reactions throughout the world. Its eight songs grazed to the bone and cleared of all spare elements show us what is musical minimalism in practice. However, album is far away from being boring - it's a nourishing portion of traditional north american and african rhythms and also a grand farewell to all their fans.

Dead Can Dance broke up after two years while working on a next project.

Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry influenced the music as few. Their vision made us look back in the past with respect and realize who we really are - grains of sand in hourglass, drops in endless sea, equal and fleeting.