Brendan Perry (ex-Dead Can Dance)
31/3/2010 20:00 - Singer and multi-instrumentalist Brendan Perry, the male half of the already legendary band Dead Can Dance, will perform on March 31 in Prague’s Archa Theatre. He will present his second solo album Ark, which will be released in the spring.
For sixteen years he sang with Lisa Gerrard as part of Dead Can Dance, which before it broke up in 1997 released a total of twelve albums and was known around the world for its ethereal electronic music with elements of world music, new age, medieval singing and Celtic melodies. Audiences at the Archa Theatre can look forward to a sound that is close to Dead Can Dance. On his website, Brendan Perry says: “The songs on Ark resemble much more what I wrote for this band than my first solo album Eye Of The Hunter.” The album even includes two songs which were originally for the reunion tour of Dead Can Dance in 2005. “The Archa Theatre will experience an extraordinary and magical concert as it did three years ago with Lisa Gerrard,” said Borek Jiřík of the Charm Music agency.
Brendan Perry - Lead Vocal / Guitar
Rachel Haden / Bass Vocal
Peter Sheridan / Lead Guitar / Keyboards
Olga Zoubkova / Keyboards / vocals
Dan Gresson / Drums
David Badrick / FOH Engineer
Ark features eight original songs, which examine the themes of identity, alienation, war, political corruption and intimidation, which form the environment of the human species. But the songs also express a sense of optimism and hope for a better world. Brendan wrote, recorded and produced the whole album himself. Ark is not a concept album in the traditional sense, more a series of observations and a commentary on humanity. “Like in my previous work I didn’t know ahead of time what my songs would be about. I let myself be guided by my instincts and ideas as they came,” explained Brendan.
Unlike his previous albums, Eye of the Hunter, where Perry uses live guitar, bass guitar and drums, practically all of the instruments on the new album come from samples and the synthesizer. “I had the idea to give the music a neutral electronic sound which would reflect our world, which is more and more dependent on machines. I used mainly mixing, vocals and choruses, which supplemented the synthetic musical area,” said Brendan. The recording also reflects the influence of the fact that Perry lives and works in relative isolation (Quivvy Church, Ireland) and that he spends most of his free time on the internet with friends or watching documentaries and the news.
Brendan Perry was born in 1959 in London. His parents soon left for New Zealand. Brendan does not have any formal music training; he taught himself to play the guitar in Catholic school. In 1977 he became a member of the punk rock band The Scavengers. Two years later, its members moved to Melbourne, Australia. In 1980 he left the band and embarked on a solo career. A year later, he founded with Lisa Gerrard and two other musicians Dead Can Dance. After moving to London, the band became a duo, which sold millions of records and became known all around the world for its characteristic meditative, electronic music. In 1997 the members separated to pursue solo projects. In 1999 Brendan released his first solo album Eye of the Hunter. With his brother in Ireland he conducted traditional African drum workshops. Perry also founded a samba band. In 2005, Brendan reunited with Lisa Gerrard and played several concerts as Dead Can Dance.
LINKS:
http://www.brendan-perry.com
Brendan Perry – Medusa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmq15GjsBW0
Brendan Perry: Ark – promo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKF20-EJVPE
Brendan Perry - Chase The Blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsOYj88A380
Dead Can Dance - The Host Of Seraphim: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJhVM930YXY
The concert is presented by Charm Music in cooperation with the Archa Theatre. More info at http://www.charm-music.cz
Tickets for CZK 820 (standing) and CZK 1,090 (seated) go on sale on February 8 at the Archa Theatre box office and at Ticketpro outlets for CZK 890/1,190 (including booking fee).
