EXCLUSIVE After quite a great deal of hype in the press and genuine anticipation on the part of fans, Lisa Gerrard and Jules Maxwell, best known for their work as part of the legendary band Dead Can Dance, have released their collaborative long-player, called ‘Burn’, produced by the talented James Chapman (MAPS). The record, which was put out by Atlantic Curve (part of the growing Schubert Music Europe group of companies), represents the culmination of seven years of collaboration between Gerrard and Irish theatre composer Jules Maxwell. Apart from both being part of Dead Can Dance, they also previously collaborated when Maxwell began writing songs for ‘The Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices (Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares)’.
With Chapman joining the duo as producer, ideas generated freely and over time, a distinct sound for their work began to emerge. Their focus was to create something that was both euphoric and compelling; more inventive than what they had worked on separately in the past. From gentle beginnings, each track builds and intensifies, creating a hypnotic experience to listen to from start to finish. With Lisa remaining in Australia, Jules adding his keys and percussion from France, and James bringing new light to the sound from England, the three were literally worlds apart, but those worlds fused in this music.
Today we present the full album for your listening pleasure, and also a commentary from each of them about the song ‘Adalvyeem (A Time To Dance)’.
“Aldavyeem is a gentle trance which wakes up the sleeper,” says Lisa Gerrard.
“This song dances around intertwining elements. The 7/8 feel keeps it on its toes,” adds Jules Maxwell. ““Burn’ was never planned to be an album. Like many joyous things in life, it grew slowly and unexpectedly. One song at a time. The seeds had been planted by Lisa and I whilst we were working on songs for another album, but didn’t begin to flower until months, years later. Without Daryl Bamonte’s tenacious encouragement and James Chapman’s sonic vision it would not have come to fruition at all. Lisa Gerrard is in my opinion one of the most important singers of her generation and it continues to be an enormous privilege for me to be working with her. What we have created still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up from time to time. Listen to it in one go from beginning to end if you can.”
“This song is one of my favourites on the album. The 7/8 time signature really creates the feeling that the rhythm is constantly evolving, but it also has a groove that connects with the soul,” says James Chapman. “It was such a huge honour for me to work with Lisa and Jules in making this album, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process. My role was really to build on the ideas, and it was a pleasure to work with such rich and exciting material. I was very grateful to be given the freedom to explore the production, there was a real trust between everyone from the beginning, which made things very exciting for me. Having such freedom from the start enabled me to be more confident in the ideas, which in turn created more possibilities with the choices that were made. When I listen to the album now, I feel that freedom and excitement within each track.”
‘Burn’ is more than an audio collection. It’s also a visual exploration. Seven films have been commissioned for the songs on this album, two of which have been released thus far. The latest video for ‘Deshta (Forever)’ was directed by cinematographer Michal Sosna, following one for the title track ‘Noyalain (Burn)’ by Polish director Jacob Chelkowski, proving more than a little provocative in these days of Covid as it portrays the simple, traumatic act of touching.
If this wasn’t enough to keep the artists busy, Jules Maxwell also partnered with newly-formed London label Archangelo Recordings.to release his sophomore solo album ‘Nocturnes’, a calming and poignant gathering of instrumental bliss. Having written and recorded this body over the past four years, this music was also rooted in Maxwell’s collaboration with the acclaimed UK-based Vincent Dance Theatre.
The ‘Burn’ album is out now digitally across online platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify. Alas, can you now order it on vinyl, CD and digitally via https://orcd.co/lisajulesburn
Lisa Gerrard
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Jules Maxwell
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