Beggars Archive

Brendan Perry releases a new album (finally!)

It’s been an 11 year wait, but ex 4AD alumni Brendan Perry has finally scheduled a release for the follow-up album to ‘Eye Of The Hunter’. It’s being released by those fine folk at Cooking Vinyl and here’s what they have to say about it… (plus there’s a link to a free track download at the end).

Brendan Perry releases his second solo album, Ark, on Monday 7th June. As one half of Dead Can Dance for nearly three decades, Brendan’s music has been heard by fans around the world and Dead Can Dance remain the biggest selling artists to ever grace 4AD.

Recorded in his own studio in Ireland, ‘Ark’ is a truly solo album, Brendan playing every instrument, writing all the lyrics and being the sole creative force across the eight tracks. All of the instrumentation on ‘Ark’ is derived from samples and synthesisers and, in its creators own words, is predicated on a theory of creating ‘a neutral electronic soundscape which would in turn mirror a world that is becoming increasingly more dependent upon machines to perform tasks for us’. In its range of influences, the album encompasses music from all four corners of the globe to create a global soundtrack for global themes.

Babylon ~ The Bogus Man ~ Wintersun ~ Utopia ~ Inferno ~ This Boy ~ The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea ~ Crescent

Whilst ‘Ark’ is not a concept album in the original sense of the term, it combines themes which run throughout its eight tracks. The lyrics of opener ‘Babylon’ focus on the current conflicts within the Middle East and combine with ‘The Bogus Man’ and ‘This Boy’ to put a human face on those charged with waging war on behalf of politicians. Concurrently with the investigations of conflict and political corruption are considerations of the detrimental effects of human behavior on the natural world and the alienation caused by an increasingly machine driven world.

Whilst such dystopian themes could be seen to make for a very bleak experience, ‘Ark’ is shot through with an emotional warmth and a belief in the redemptive power of humanity from which the album title is derived, ‘Ark’ being not just the refuge of the world but a starting point for a better society and a more organic way of life.

To accompany ‘Ark’, Brendan Perry has announced a series of dates in the UK. These shows are the first solo Brendan Perry shows since 2000 and follow rapturously received concerts throughout mainland Europe earlier in the year.

June
Monday 7th Oxford, Academy 2
Tuesday 8th Glasgow, Oran Mor
Wednesday 9th Manchester, Deaf Institute
Thursday 10th London, Union Chapel

Tickets for all shows are available from usual outlets.

Full tour details plus a download of Utopia, a track from ‘Ark’ is currently available for a limited period from www.brendanperry.com

Record label – Cooking Vinyl

Comment

1. Are Dead Can Dance really the biggest selling group on 4AD…..I’m amazed. Bigger than The Pixies and Bauhaus ?
   WOW!!!!They must have a few quid/euros in the bank.

   — martin · Wednesday May 19, 2010 · #

2. Pixies have probably overtaken them now but certainly they sold way more around the world than Bauhaus / Cocteau Twins / Breeders and the 80’s/90’s bands. Cream rises to the top…

   — Back Cat · Thursday May 20, 2010 · #

3. Golly ,I stand corrected.

   — martin · Friday May 21, 2010 · #

4. The Cult is a big sellers too. Sonic Temple was a huge succes, no?

   And for Mr. Perry, I’m wondering why 4AD did not release the album? Brendan is part of the family no?

   — Le Zombie · Monday May 31, 2010 · #

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