Dead Can Dance unveils "The Invocation" music video

Lisa Gerrard, left, with Brendan Perry of Dead Can Dance.
Photo: Jay Brooks

Dead Can Dance is one of the most inspired and interesting artists of their time. Make sure to read my review of the duo's latest album 'Dionysus' (click here) that ran in November, and check out the new video for "The Invocation" here...

“As with all Dead Can Dance records, [Dionysus is] like an anthropological encyclopedia without any words: orchestral strings play obtuse melodies that split the difference between traditional Mediterranean and Middle Eastern music, percussion instruments stutter and shake in curious ways and both he and Gerrard tap into the most primal, Dionysian parts of their souls for stirring vocals they sing in languages they seem to have divined." - Rolling Stone “Dionysus is grand, not unlike its namesake, and it aims to break down the distinction we tend to make between studio music and the sounds our everyday environments and cultural rituals generate in the world around us.” - The A/V Club "a gorgeous, enigmatic, distinctive piece of work." - The Big Takeover "This is music of grandeur and grand humanity.” - Pitchfork

UNLEASH "THE INVOCATION" VIDEO new album DIONYSUS Out Now

Taken from the critically-hailed album DIONYSUS, the video for "The Invocation" by DEAD CAN DANCE was directed by the Bulgarian company Wonderswamp, who state:

 

“When we were contacted by Dead Can Dance we were very excited, as we had been fans of the

band for many years and this was a great opportunity to create something for an act we admire. When we heard ‘The Invocation’ the excitement grew as the song features motifs inspired by Bulgarian folklore music, and to see that our music and traditions can inspire them motivated us further. It was also an opportunity to create a narrative for a video based on ancient traditions that used to be practiced in our country and are still somehow preserved to the present day. The match between these peculiar rituals and the band’s music could not be better."

Released in November 2018, Dionysus is the duo’s first album in six years and consists of two acts across seven movements that represent the different facets of the Dionysus myth. Recorded with an array of folk instrumentation and field recordings, the recording takes the form of an oratorio with the voices used imagined as communities celebrating - in communion with each other at times via call and response, chanting, and often conveying emotion beyond the boundaries of language itself. With its musical inspiration still drawn from across the world, this new album shows that Dead Can  Dance continue to mine a rich creative and spiritual seam.

Dead Can Dance will embark on an extensive European tour throughout May and June 2019, celebrating their life and works from 1980 to the present day. See the announced tour dates for Dead Can Dance below:

TOUR DATES:

May 02: Le Liberte, Rennes, France
May 04 / 05: Eventim Apollo, London, UK
May 07 / 08: Cirque Royale, Brussels, Belgium
May 10 / 11: Grand Rex, Paris, France
May 13 / 14: Tivoli Vredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands
May 16 / 17: Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany
May 20 / 21: Barts, Barcelona, Spain
May 23 / 24: Aula Magna, Lisbon, Portugal
May 26 / 27: Teatro Degli Arcimboldi, Milan, Italy
June 16: Alte Oper, Frankfurt, Germany
June 18 / 19: Ruhrcongress, Bochum, Germany
June 21 / 22: Torwar Hall, Warsaw, Poland
June 24: Kongresove Centrum Praha, Prague, Czech Republic
June 26: Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportarena, Budapest, Hungary
June 28: Sava Centar, Belgrade, Serbia
June 30: Roman Theatre Of Philippopolis, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
July 01: Dassous Theatre, Thessaloniki, Greece
July 03: Herodion Theatre, Athens, Greece