A perfect marriage between Gerrard’s haunting and mesmerizing vocals and Maxwell’s anthemic, cinematic music.
Lisa Gerrard and Jules Maxwell, best known for their work as part of the legendary band Dead Can Dance, present the fourth track from their new studio album 'Burn', 'Aldavyeem (A Time To Dance)', with the accompanying video directed by David Daniels.
"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.
In his turn, producer James Chapman comments that 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".
'Burn' began its journey more than seven years ago, when Lisa met Irish theatre composer Jules Maxwell before working together for the first time. Things really took root when Gerrard and Maxwell began writing songs for their earlier collaboration for 'The Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices (Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares)'. After being introduced to Chapman, they asked him to produce this album, which is a stunning departure for all three of them.
Jules Maxwell explains: “‘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... What we have created still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up from time to time.”
With Chapman joining 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.
“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,” says James Chapman.
Also of note is that Jules Maxwell has partnered with newly-formed London label Archangelo Recordings to release his sophomore solo album 'Nocturnes’, a calming and poignant gathering of instrumental bliss. Written and recorded over the past four years, this music is also rooted in Maxwell's collaboration with the acclaimed UK-based Vincent Dance Theatre.
The ‘Burn’ album, released on May 7, is available digitally across online platforms and can be ordered on vinyl, CD and digitally here. On June 1 (at 4pm UK time), the album will be released as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT), making it among the first commercial music works available as an NFT via the eco-friendly platform Hic Et Nunc.
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