View source for Dead Can Dance

{{short description|Australian music duo}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Dead Can Dance
| image           = Dead Can Dance10.jpg
| caption         = Dead Can Dance at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California, during the Anastasis tour in August 2012. Left to right: [[Brendan Perry]], [[Lisa Gerrard]]
| landscape       = Yes
| origin          = [[Melbourne]], Australia
| genre           = {{hlist|[[Neoclassical dark wave]]|[[world music|world]]|[[art&nbsp;rock]]|[[avant-garde]]|[[gothic&nbsp;rock]] (early)|{{nowrap|[[post-punk]]}}<ref>{{cite book|author=James Hannaham|date=1997|quotation=Bela Lugosi's Dead and I Don't Feel So Good Either|title=Goth and the Glorification of Suffering in Rock Music|publisher=MIT Press|location=[[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]|pages=91–119}}</ref> (early)}}
| years_active    = 1981–1998, 2005, 2011–present
| label           = [[4AD]], [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]], [[Rhino Records|Rhino]]/[[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]], [[Rykodisc Records|Rykodisc]], [[PIAS Recordings|PIAS]]
| associated_acts = [[The Scavengers]], [[The Marching Girls]], Junk Logic, [[Microfilm]], [[Heavenly Bodies (band)|Heavenly Bodies]], [[Pieter Bourke]]
| website         = {{URL|http://deadcandance.com/}}
| current_members = [[Lisa Gerrard]]<br />[[Brendan Perry]]
| past_members    = Paul Erikson<br />Simon Monroe<br />James Pinker<br />Scott Rodger<br />Richard Yale<br />[[Peter Ulrich]]
}}

'''Dead Can Dance''' is an Australian music duo from [[Melbourne]]. Currently composed of [[Lisa Gerrard]] and [[Brendan Perry]], the group formed in 1981 and relocated to London the following year. Australian music historian [[Ian McFarlane]] described Dead Can Dance's style as "constructed soundscapes of mesmerising grandeur and solemn beauty; [[Music of Africa|African]] [[polyrhythm]]s, [[Celtic music|Gaelic folk]], [[Gregorian chant]], [[Middle Eastern music]], [[mantra]]s, and [[art rock]]."<ref name="McF">{{cite book |last=McFarlane |first=Ian |author-link=Ian McFarlane |year=1999 |title=[[Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop]] |chapter=Encyclopedia entry for 'Dead Can Dance (DCD)' |chapter-url=http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=261 |publisher=[[Allen & Unwin]] |location=[[St Leonards, New South Wales|St Leonards, NSW]] |isbn=1-86508-072-1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040628015739/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=261 |access-date=14 April 2013|archive-date=28 June 2004 }}</ref>

Having disbanded in 1998, they reunited briefly in 2005 for a world tour and reformed in 2011 when they released and toured a new album, ''[[Anastasis (album)|Anastasis]]''. They released a new album in 2018 called ''[[Dionysus (album)|Dionysus]]'' and are touring again as of mid-2019.

==Career==
===Formation and early years===
Dead Can Dance was formed in Melbourne, Australia, in August 1981 with Paul Erikson on bass guitar, [[Lisa Gerrard]] (ex-Microfilm) on vocals and percussion, Simon Monroe ([[The Scavengers|Marching Girls]]) on drums and [[Brendan Perry]] (also of Marching Girls) on vocals and guitar.<ref name="McF"/> Gerrard and Perry were a couple who met as members of Melbourne's [[Little Band scene]]. In May 1982, the band left Melbourne in Australia and moved to London, England, where they signed with alternative rock label 4AD.<ref>{{cite book |last=Strong |first=Martin C. |year=2000 |title=The Great Rock Discography |edition=5th |publisher=Mojo Books |location=[[Edinburgh]] |page=248 |isbn= 1-84195-017-3}}</ref> With the duo, the initial United Kingdom line-up were Paul Erikson and [[Peter Ulrich]].<ref name="McF"/>

The group's debut album, ''[[Dead Can Dance (album)|Dead Can Dance]]'', was released in February 1984.<ref name="ARDb">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007163504/http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/d/deadcandance.html |url=http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/d/deadcandance.html |title=Dead Can Dance |last=Holmgren |first=Magnus |publisher=[[Australian Rock Database]]. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren) | archive-date=7 October 2012 |access-date=12 February 2014 }}</ref> The artwork, which depicts a [[ritual mask]] from [[New Guinea]], "provide[s] a visual reinterpretation of the meaning of the name Dead Can Dance",<ref name="dead-can-dance.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.dead-can-dance.com/disco/dcd/dcd/deadcandance.htm |title=dead-can-dance.com |access-date=14 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927123918/http://www.dead-can-dance.com/disco/dcd/dcd/deadcandance.htm |archive-date=27 September 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dcdwithin.com/dcd.pl?caduceus=labyrinthpresskit |title=Dead Can Dance Within – Lisa Gerrard, Brendan Perry, 4AD Records |work=dcdwithin.com |access-date=14 April 2013}}</ref> set in a faux Greek typeface. The album featured "drum-driven, ambient guitar music with chanting, singing and howling",<ref name="McF"/> 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.<ref name="McF"/> [[AllMusic]] described their early work as "as [[gothic rock|goth]] as it gets"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/dead-can-dance-mw0000821472 |title=''Dead Can Dance'' – Dead Can Dance |last=Raggett |first=Ned |publisher=[[AllMusic]]access-date=14 April 2013}}</ref> (despite the group themselves rejecting the label<ref name="dead-can-dance.com"/>), while the EP saw them "plunging into a wider range of music and style".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/garden-of-the-arcane-delights-mw0000788233 |title=''Garden of the Arcane Delights'' – Dead Can Dance |last=Raggett |first=Ned |publisher=[[AllMusic]]access-date=14 April 2013}}</ref>

For their second album, ''[[Spleen and Ideal]]'', the group comprised the core duo of Gerrard and Perry with cello, trombone and [[tympani]] added in by session musicians.<ref name="McF"/> Released in November 1985, it was co-produced by the duo and John A. Rivers.<ref name="ARDb"/> Raggett describes it as "a consciously medieval European sound [...] like it was recorded in an immense cathedral".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/spleen-and-ideal-mw0000193492 |title=''Spleen and Ideal'' – Dead Can Dance |last=Raggett |first=Ned |publisher=[[AllMusic]]access-date=14 April 2013}}</ref> The group built a following in Europe, and the album reached No.&nbsp;2 on the UK indie charts.<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/dead-can-dance-mn0000225948 |title=Dead Can Dance – Music Biography, Credits and Discography |last=Bogdanov |first=Vladimir |publisher=[[AllMusic]]access-date=14 April 2013}}</ref> In 1989, Gerrard and Perry separated domestically – Gerrard moved to Barcelona before returning to Australia and Perry moved to Ireland – but still wrote, recorded and performed as Dead Can Dance.

===Success===
[[File:Brendan-and-lisa014 14177761344 o.jpg|thumb|Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard 1989.]]
Dead Can Dance's albums were not widely available until the early 1990s, when 4AD made a distribution deal with [[Warner Bros. Records]]. Later, 4AD allied itself with the [[Beggars Banquet Records|Beggars Banquet Records Group]], which included that eponymous label and XL Recordings in the US, but the band's recordings remained distributed through Warner Bros. Subsequent releases, however, were licensed to [[Rhino Entertainment Company|Rhino]]/[[Atlantic Records]], a sister label within [[Warner Music Group|Warner Music]]. Its 1991 compilation ''[[A Passage in Time (Dead Can Dance album)|A Passage in Time]]'' remains with 4AD independently of the Rhino and Warner Bros. deals; it was initially only released in the US.<ref name="AllMusic"/>

The duo's sixth studio album, ''[[Into the Labyrinth (Dead Can Dance album)|Into the Labyrinth]]'', was issued in September 1993 and dispensed with guest musicians entirely; it sold 500,000 copies worldwide and appeared in the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].<ref name="AllMusic charts">{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/dead-can-dance-mn0000225948/awards |title=Dead Can Dance – Awards |publisher=[[AllMusic]]access-date=14 April 2013}}</ref> The band became 4AD's highest-selling act.<ref name="McF"/> They followed with a world tour in 1994 and recorded a live performance in [[California]] which was released as ''[[Toward the Within]]'', with video versions on [[Laserdisc]] and [[VHS]] (later on DVD). Many unofficial bootlegs of concerts spanning its career exist, containing several rare songs that were only performed live. ''Toward the Within'' is the duo's first official [[live album]], which reached the ''Billboard'' 200 and was followed by ''[[In Concert (Dead Can Dance album)|In Concert]]'' 19 years later.<ref name="AllMusic charts"/> Gerrard released her debut solo recording, ''[[The Mirror Pool]]'', and reunited with Perry on the Dead Can Dance studio album ''[[Spiritchaser]]'' in 1996.<ref name="McF"/> The album also charted on ''Billboard'' 200 and reached No.&nbsp;1 on the Top World Music Albums Chart.<ref name="AllMusic charts"/>

===Disbandment and reunions===
In 1998, Dead Can Dance began recording a follow-up album to ''Spiritchaser'', which was due to be released in early 1999 followed by a planned world tour. However, they separated before it was completed and canceled the tour.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://members.aol.com/midevlman/dcdindex.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990428040746/http://members.aol.com/midevlman/dcdindex.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 April 1999|title=The Ultimate Dead Can Dance Page|date=28 April 1999}}</ref> One song from the recording sessions, "The Lotus Eaters", was eventually released on the box set ''[[Dead Can Dance (1981-1998)]]'' and on the two-disc compilation ''[[Wake (Dead Can Dance album)|Wake]]'' (2003). Gerrard teamed with [[Pieter Bourke]] ([[Snog]], Soma) to issue ''[[Duality (Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke album)|Duality]]'' in April 1998. Perry released ''[[Eye of the Hunter]]'' in October 1999.<ref name="McF"/>

[[File:Dean Can Dance4.jpg|thumb|alt= An ensemble are performing on-stage, three musicians are seated at extreme left behind musical instruments. Lisa Gerrard is behind a lectern near mid-stage with a microphone. At the right is Brendan Perry holding a microphone with his left hand. His right hand is alongside his thigh and holding an instrument. The background includes a long stage curtain with another musician seated at rear right, who is obscured behind a keyboard.| Dead Can Dance, 2005: Gerrard at centre right; Perry at extreme right]]

Dead Can Dance reunited in 2005 and released limited-edition recordings of thirteen shows from its European tour and eight recordings from the subsequent North American tour, as well as a compilation titled ''Selections from Europe 2005''. These concerts were recorded and released on The Show record label. In 2005, the song "Nierika" became part of the opening titles for Mexican television station TV [[Azteca (TV network)|Azteca]]'s soap opera ''La Chacala''.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Cecilia Gonzales |date=26 October 2012 |title=Nierika (La Chacala) - Dead Can Dance |medium=Television production |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRAOf_BgME0 |access-date=3 August 2020 |location=Mexico |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>

On 12 May 2011 Brendan Perry announced on his official web forum that Dead Can Dance would record a new album and then embark on two-month world tour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forum.brendan-perry.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=765 |title=Dead Can Dance New Album and Tour for 2012 – Brendan Perry Forum |last=Perry |first=Brendan |author-link=Brendan Perry |date=11 May 2011 |work=brendan-perry.com |access-date=14 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318151340/http://forum.brendan-perry.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=765 |archive-date=18 March 2012}}</ref> The band made a formal announcement about its world tour and new album, ''Anastasis'', for a release date of 13 August 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/news/46455-dead-can-dance-detail-new-album-tour/ |title=Dead Can Dance Detail New Album, Tour |last=Pelly |first=Jenn |date=11 May 2012 |work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|access-date=14 April 2013}}</ref>

On 30 September 2011, Dead Can Dance announced the release of a four track EP entitled ''Live Happenings – Part 1'' available for free download from their website. Since December, the EP ''Live Happenings – Part 2'' replaced the first EP. Both EPs contain songs from their 2005 Tour. Since 31 January 2012, the EP available was ''Live Happenings – Part 3'', to be replaced by ''Live Happenings – Part IV'' on 20 March 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://coma-online.com/?p=7426 |title=Download: Dead Can Dance Offer Live Happenings – Part 1 Free! |date=30 September 2011 |work=coma-online.com |access-date=14 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904083627/http://coma-online.com/?p=7426 |archive-date=4 September 2012}}</ref>

In late 2011, the band announced a reunion world tour, including 12 US cities, to be accompanied by the release of a live album on a new label.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://deadcandance.com/ |title=Preorder <nowiki>| Dead Can Dance |</nowiki> ''In Concert'' |work=deadcandance.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130401135832/http://www.deadcandance.com/ |archive-date=1 April 2013 |access-date=14 April 2013}}</ref> The tour was scheduled to begin on 9 August 2012 in [[Canada]] and continue until 19 September 2012 in [[Turkey]], 21 and 23 September in [[Greece]], 13 October in [[Russia]], then 28 October 2012 in [[Ireland]], then [[Mexico]] and [[South America]] and then in Lebanon and finally [[Australia]] in February 2013. On 15 November 2012 it was announced that the band would be returning to Europe to continue its tour, starting on 28 May 2013 in [[Portugal]]. The final show of the Anastasis World Tour was in Santiago, Chile, on 13 July 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.deadcandance.com/main/chile-date-announced/ |title=Date for the final show of the Anastasis World Tour |publisher=DeadCanDance.com |access-date=9 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904175744/http://www.deadcandance.com/main/chile-date-announced/ |archive-date=4 September 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 8 September 2015, the band announced the sale of Brendan Perry's Quivvy Church Studio.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.deadcandance.com/main/quivvy-church-studio/ |title=Quivvy Church Studio |website=Deadcandance.com |date=8 September 2015 |access-date=28 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412094824/http://www.deadcandance.com/main/quivvy-church-studio/ |archive-date=12 April 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> When asked what this decision meant for the future of Dead Can Dance, Perry responded on the band's official Facebook page that the band has relocated to France and that they are in the process of fabricating a new recording and rehearsal studio.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.897454233678927.1073741825.122128404544851&type=3&comment_id=897530427004641&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R0%22%7D |title=Quivvy Church Studio |via=[[Facebook]] |access-date=28 September 2016}}{{Primary source inline|date=December 2020}}</ref>
[[File:Dead Can Dance, Istanbul, September 19, 20120.jpg|thumb|Dead Can Dance at Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theatre, Istanbul, 19 September 2012]]

On 21 April 2018, Perry announced mastering of a new album would be commencing at Abbey Road Studios.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.post-punk.com/dead-can-dance-set-to-release-new-album-their-first-in-6-years/ |title=Dead Can Dance set to Release New Album—Their First in 6 Years |website=post-punk.com/ |date=21 April 2018 |access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref> The new album, ''[[Dionysus (album)|Dionysus]]'', was released on 2 November 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deadcandance.com/|title=Welcome|website=Dead Can Dance|language=en-US|access-date=5 September 2018}}</ref>

In September 2018, their website announced "A Celebration – Life & Works 1980-2019" tour with dates in Europe in May and June 2019. In contrast to previous tours, the setlist drew heavily from the band's older catalogue, featuring some songs the band had never before played live. In October 2019, the band announced a second leg of the tour with dates in North America, Mexico and South America.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2019/10/07/dead-can-dance-north-america-tour-dates-2020/|title=Dead Can Dance announces 'A Celebration — Life & Works 1980-2020' tour of North America|website=Slicingupeyeballs.com|date=7 October 2019|access-date=1 October 2020}}</ref> However, the tour was postponed to Spring 2021 due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].

==Discography==
{{Main|Dead Can Dance discography}}

===Studio albums===
* ''[[Dead Can Dance (album)|Dead Can Dance]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Spleen and Ideal]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Within the Realm of a Dying Sun]]'' (1987)
* ''[[The Serpent's Egg (album)|The Serpent's Egg]]'' (1988)
* ''[[Aion (Dead Can Dance album)|Aion]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Into the Labyrinth (Dead Can Dance album)|Into the Labyrinth]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Spiritchaser]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Anastasis (album)|Anastasis]]'' (2012)
* ''[[Dionysus (album)|Dionysus]]'' (2018)

==Awards and nominations==
===Australian Music Prize===
The [[Australian Music Prize]] (the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The commenced in 2005.
{{awards table}}
|-
| 2018<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.australianmusicprize.com.au/shortlists/2018/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=7 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407065003/https://www.australianmusicprize.com.au/shortlists/2018/ |archive-date=7 April 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/gurrumul-wins-australian-music-prize-20190307-p512hm.html|title=Gurrumul wins Australian music prize|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|year=2018|access-date=22 August 2020}}</ref>
| ''Hope Downs''
| Australian Music Prize
| {{nom}}
|-
{{end}}

==See also==
*[[List of ambient music artists]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Dead Can Dance}}
* {{Official website|http://www.deadcandance.com/}}
* [http://www.echoes.org/onlinegerrard.html Dead Can Dance interviews] from the Echoes public radio show
* {{Discogs artist|Dead Can Dance}}
* {{MusicBrainz artist|id=ccda046a-2674-4f7d-97e6-f23d6c156432|name=Dead Can Dance}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:4AD artists]]
[[Category:PIAS Recordings artists]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1981]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1998]]
[[Category:Victoria (Australia) musical groups]]
[[Category:Australian musical duos]]
[[Category:Australian world music groups]]
[[Category:Australian post-punk groups]]
[[Category:Dream pop musical groups]]
[[Category:Neoclassical dark wave musical groups]]
[[Category:Neofolk music groups]]