Lisa Gerrard - The Song of Venus

Talking with Lisa Gerrard is like being catapulted into another world. An elegant, calm world, where everything flows according to nature and nothing can disturb a life built around "normality". A gentlewoman like few others, in the clear, candid voice with which she answers every question - flaunting an almost British accent despite her Australian origins - she lets no trace slip of the magnificent voice with which she has enchanted anyone who lends an ear, even just for a minute, for years. Worlds away from the snobbery of many "niche" musicians, Gerrard doesn't shy away from making precise clarifications, seasoned too with a touch of irritation. A month after the release of "Anastasis" - the album that marked the reunion of Dead Can Dance - and a month before the only Italian date of her tour - which will see her alongside her partner in adventure Brendan Perry bewitch the audience at the Arcimboldi in Milan - she granted us this exclusive phone interview.

The first question can only be the most "burning" one: did you ever expect to find yourself here, now, starting a new adventure under the Dead Can Dance name?

Well, I'd be lying if I said no. Honestly, it was something we both wanted, something we'd felt for a long time we needed to do. We tried and tried again, more than once, over the years. We kept meeting up and working together, sharing impressions, advice, ideas. And from there, basically, the desire to get back together returned to us: for a couple of years we worked and wrote, with the idea firmly in mind of putting out an album. But then it all stopped because of one too many misunderstandings, and we decided the time still wasn't right. We wanted it to be something very "natural", something that would evolve on its own, without forcing anything or feeling obligated. So we found each other again after all that time, and put ourselves and our energy back on the line, this time undoubtedly with far more success.

Did you expect the kind of success that “Anastasis” is enjoying, both in sales and on tour, with every show sold out?

Absolutely not, it's an incredible surprise! When we decided to get back together to release “Anastasis”, all we wanted was simply to follow our instinct, our desire to make music together again. We didn't much care about the success we'd get or how people would receive our return: it was something born and grown by us and for us. Of course, seeing “Anastasis” now at the top of the charts, both genre charts and beyond, is something wonderful, a truly lovely surprise. And as for the tour, it's even more so - we're obviously thrilled to still have, after all these years, so many people interested in our music.

Sixteen years is a very long time. What, in particular, pushed you and Brendan to pick up a conversation that had been abandoned so long before?

Yes, sixteen years is a long time, but it feels as if not even a month had passed. As I said before, it was something very natural. It's as if we'd never really split up at all: after “Spiritchaser”, we simply realised we no longer had the rapport needed to keep working together. We could easily have carried on and made records we wouldn't have been remotely convinced by from the start. Instead it felt right to take a break, to devote ourselves to what each of us wanted to do individually in our lives, musically and otherwise. And as soon as we felt the moment had come to reunite, we did it without hesitation and without worrying too much about what might come of it. We knew it would be something we could be proud of regardless, and that was certainly the most important thing. It's as if some magnetic force had drawn us together, "forcing" us, in a sense, not to throw away the chance.

In 2005, while you were touring the world on one of the most anticipated and acclaimed tours of your history, were you already thinking about a possible reunion?

Honestly, yes, it was something we'd already decided back then. That very tour was meant to be a kind of dress rehearsal, so much so that we already had a couple of tracks ready (he's referring to “Babylon” and “Crescent”, which later ended up on Perry's solo album “Ark”) that we'd even rehearsed with some success. But then, as I already told you, a string of hesitations and disagreements temporarily halted the project: it seemed better to leave it on hold for a while, like a wine that needs time to mature to reach its best flavour. It would have been pointless to keep working when we couldn't even agree on which tracks to put on the record, or on the actual quality of what we'd produced up to that point.

Producing and recording an album sometimes calls for a genuine cohabitation, a partnership and human exchange that goes well beyond the purely artistic experience. We know that you and Brendan also had a romantic relationship, so there's certainly significant history between you. What was it like going back to sharing time and space with him? Did that weigh on things?

Honestly, no, not even a little. It's true, we had a relationship, but a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. And besides, we were so young, in some ways even immature. It would be wrong to trace our long hiatus back to that: it has nothing to do with it. The truth is we never really split up, we never stopped talking to each other: there's a bond of mutual trust between us that's probably far, far stronger than the relationship we once had. Each of us knows we can count on the other: if I need technical advice or a hand with something, I know for certain I can always rely on Brendan, and he on me. Our relationship carried on even after Dead Can Dance ended, we always stayed in touch, and getting back together was the most natural thing in the world.

Let's talk now about “Anastasis”: the meaning of the title opens the door to many interpretations. Resurrection as a concept to build a story around, as a reference, a “musical” resurrection (yours) or a human one (read more broadly). Which of these, or which combination, did you actually want to attribute to your album?

As you well know, “Anastasis” is a Greek word meaning resurrection. But actually the primary meaning we wanted to give it was that of a “new beginning”, a return. Let's say that without doubt one reading is the conceptual one, which we also tried to instil in the cover and the artwork, with these withered flowers ready to die off with winter and bloom again in spring. It's an optimistic album, one that certainly draws on and pays tribute to Greek tradition, something we've always done anyway. And generally speaking, yes, the title felt right also in reference to the resumption of our journey: it seemed fitting to be able to call it a "resurrection", it suited both contexts well.

In particular, some have wanted to trace the “resurrection” and the extensive use of the Greek idiom back to a possible reference to the country's current situation, especially given the political and social themes Brendan has tackled on his solo records. Personally I think that's a forced, fanciful interpretation: is that right, or is there actually something to it?

Exactly. I categorically deny it. Personally, I'm completely uninterested in anything political, I don't think I understand much about it. From that point of view, I admit I live somewhat outside today's logic: to me it's all marginal stuff, generally given far too much importance, so much so that it becomes the centre of our lives, which in the meantime drifts further and further away from its original nature. It's true that Brendan, on the other hand, is very interested in these subjects, so much so that he's actually addressed them in some of his solo tracks, one in particular where he attacked politicians quite openly ("The Bogus Man", ed.), but if there were even the slightest reference to anything of that sort, this wouldn't be an album of mine. And since it is, at least half of it, it has no connection to anything other than pure music and the heart it springs from.

More generally, what are the sources that inspired this record?

Well, that's a rather complex question given how we think about music. While it's true that we often draw quite openly on tradition, it's almost never to take cues from it or try to imitate it, but rather to pay homage to it. So Ancient Greece is certainly a source of inspiration in itself, and the whole album is dedicated to its tradition. Whenever we reference a culture in some way, it's always and only to celebrate it and pay it homage. The same thing happens here: our music never starts from a source, but directly from our heart, from our inspiration. When I write a song, it's only and exclusively my heart guiding it, carrying it one way rather than another: I never set out with the intention of drawing on a particular dimension, a style or a genre. I let myself be carried along, I let whatever's inside me take the reins. It's not an inward search, because it's something that's born and grows within me until it comes to life in the form of music. The "concept" is only a vehicle that has to adapt to that purity, because if you lose that, you've lost everything.

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