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Voici une biographie
officielle de Dead Can Dance, écrite par le groupe lui-même.
Document extrait de la biographie du Word Tour Program 1996
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Since our formation
in 1981, we have refused to conform to the momentary passing of
musical trends choosing instead more demanding avenues of expression,
adopting diverse musical traditions and tailoring them to our own
needs. This has often caused consternation to those who would attempt
to classify our music. In the beginning we were berated for being
gothic two years too late, today we are applauded for being at the
vanguard of World Music. Whoever you believe we have always endeavoured
to remain true to our convictions, in the belief that our music
would eventually find its audience on its own merits and not by
way of slavishly pandering to the whims of an industry that continually
lacks imagination and is subservient to formula and greed. We would
like to thank everyone with our deepest Gratitude for the support
you have given us over the years to help us retain our Musical independence
and give meaning to our labours.
Brendan Perry, Marrakesh, 1996 |
Brendan Perry
I was born in Whitechapel, London in 1959 to Anglo-Irish
parents and subsequently raised and schooled in the East End of
London, until my family emigrated to Auckland, New Zealand, seeking
a new life and new opportunities. Having received no prior formal
musical education, I began to play the guitar under the guiding
influence of Maori and Polynesian muscians at the catholic school
I attended in Ponsonby. After half hearted attempts to become
a primary school teacher and then join the civil service, I drifted
through a series of jobs until I was asked to join The Scavengers
in 1977 . At first I played bass Guitar later taking on the duties
of lead vocalist when the original singer left the band. Apart
from a handful of original songs we would cover music from the
Stooges, New York Dolls, and the late 60's Psychadelia. After
two years of entertaining controversy, unable to secure a recording
deal or live dates (largely due to the media's sensationalist
attitude towards punk) We decided to move to Melbourne, Australia,
in 1979 and changed our name to the Marching Girls. In 1980 I
left the Marching Girls to pursue a more creative personal musical
odyssey, experimenting with tape loops, synthesis and alternative
forms of rhythm. In 1981 I formed Dead Can Dance with Simon Monroe
and Paul Erikson (both of whom were to leave within the year soon
after we had relocated to London) and of course Lisa Gerrard,
who was to become my fellow navigator and soul musical companion
for the next fifteen years. Today I live in Rural Ireland where
I can be found indulging myself in mythological and natural interests
such as Dragon Hunting.
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Lisa Gerrard
Please let me welcome you again or for the first
time to an evening with Dead Can Dance. It is with our pleasure
and gratitude that we are being given yet another opportunity
to embrace together the all important sense of community and common
ground that music is capable of providing for us. In preparation
for the work there is always an atmosphere of anticipation as
the co-ordinated properties both abstract and physical manifest
for the purpose of listening. In some ways it can be paralleled
with a sudden awareness that the wind has changed direction or
turned from cool to warm, within an instant the senses awaken
to a state of surrendered willingness, and so we travel without
resistance to where ever the work so desires to carry us. So here
we are! and there you are.
Good Journey
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Rónán
Ó Snodaigh
Rónán was born on the first of January 1970 and
grew up in an Irish speaking family in Dublin. He began playing
the Bodhrán at the age of twelve and has developed a variety
of musical expression since. He was an integral part of the "street
music scene" that erupted in Dublin in the late 80's and
has been a central member of the band "Kila" since they
formed in 1985. He was in the Dead Can Dance line up for the "Toward
The Within" Tour. He occasionally organises musicians to
perform and record his own songs under the name of "Tonnta
Ro" and has been involved in a wide variety of rhythm pageants,
brightly coloured processions, dance shows and performances.
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Lance
Hogan
Lance was Born in Ireland. He's a self taught musician who has
been playing and performing since he was eleven years old. After
leaving school he worked as a sound engineer in various studios
around Ireland, Then went on to study film at the Dunlaoire Collage
of Art and Design in Dublin. He now spends his time producing
soundtracks and albums, and is a member of "Kila" who
are in the process of completing their follow up album to "Mind
The Gap." Lance first began working with Dead Can Dance on
the "Toward The Within" Tour in 1993.
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Paskaal
Japhet
Paskaal from Madagascar, comes from a family of musicians. He
played in various bands from Africa, Senegal, Guinea and Mali
as a traditional drummer. He has worked in the jazz-world with
Sylvin Marc, and has been involved in various film projects. He
has toured with Malagasy Artists, Justin Vali, D'Gary, and Tao
Ravao. His first solo album "Razana" produced by Paddy
Bush was recorded in 1994 and released by Night and Day. He has
been touring Madagascar for the last year, where he played with
Tirke, Rossy and Backom Rasta. Paskaal is an exceptional musician
who brings together the hypnotic rhythms of the Indian Ocean and
the energy of Africa's West coast.
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John Bonnar
John studied composition and conducting at the University of
Wales. John's relationship with Lisa and Brendan of Dead Can Dance
began when he invited them to be involved in an orchestra-based
work structure called "Echoes of the Cross" which John
founded in 1987. During this time, he worked with both Roger and
Brian Eno, Michael Brook and John Foxx. John worked together with
Lisa for four months arranging for orchestra the orchestral works
for "The Mirror Pool." John also conducted the live
orhestral recordings of these works. John is a composer in his
own right, having written numerous works for orchestra, voices
and chamber groups.
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Pieter
Bourke
Pieter is a self-taught percussionist and keyboard player whose
interest in rhythm and sound began at an early age. Like drummers
the world over, he found rhythm in everyday objects as a child.
Beginning with a small electronic drum at age twelve, he has built
up a varied collection of percussion instruments from around the
globe. His favourites are the Near Eastern Tar (a circular frame
drum with a deep resonating sound) and the Egyptian Darabukka
(a pear-shaped drum with a fish or synthetic skin stretched on
it for a fast, snappy sound). Pieter worked in a variety of musical
settings since beginning with the Australian group Eden in 1994.
He has worked with Snog and completed a number of remixes for
other artists. Pieter began working with Lisa Gerrard in 1994
performing on "The Mirror Pool" recordings and tour.
He is currently a member of the group Soma in which he combines
an interest in rhythm and sound manipulation, both acoustic and
electronic..
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Nigel Flegg
Nigel Flegg was born in Dublin in 1970 and began playing drums
at the age of twelve. He started off playing in rock and pop outfits
before developing an interest in jazz and ethnic music. Most recently
fuelled by an increasing passion for Latin and Afro-Cuban music,
he concentrates on percussion, in particular, congas. He has previously
studied drums and percussion in Dublin and in Madrid during the
time he was living there. Most recently, in 1995, he went to the
national school of art in Havana, Cuba, where he studied with
Jose "Changuito" Quintana and Roberto Vizcaino among
others. At the moment Nigel is based in Dublin where he works
with Latin-Jazz group Saoco Brava. He also works with a variety
of other Jazz and Funk groups, and teaches percussion and drums
in Newpark Music Centre. This is the first time he has worked
with Dead Can Dance.
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Robert
Perry
Robert grew up in New Zealand, England and Ireland and spent
the last three years in Spain, where he has been gathering ideas
for a future solo record. He has worked with Dead Can Dance since
1987 and is currently working with Kila, an Irish traditional
group from Dublin. He now lives in County Cavan, where he produces
flutes, drums and percussive instruments in his workshop resulting
in hybrids from designs found during travels through South America,
Spain, and Ireland. "I am happy to say that this is my tenth
year touring with Dead Can Dance and I am looking forward to playing
with the new line up."
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Quivvy Church
This is a 150-year-old church in Belturbet, Ireland, where Brendan
Perry resides. The village of Belturbet is about 70 miles north
of Dublin in the county of Cavan. The surroundings are rural land
and pasture with flocks of sheep here and there. This is the place
Dead Can Dance record their albums.
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