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Lisa Gerrard

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Lisa Gerrard

Lisa Gerrard (born April 12, 1961) is an Australian musician, singer and composer who gained international renown as part of the music group Dead Can Dance with Irish former partner Brendan Perry. Her career spans from 1981 to the present, and she has been involved in a wide range of projects. Gerrard received a Golden Globe award and her score for the 2000 film Gladiator received an Academy Award nomination. She both sings and is instrumentalist for much of her work, most prolifically using the Yangqin (a Chinese hammered dulcimer).

Early life

Born April 12, 1961 in Melbourne, Lisa Gerrard grew up in the multi-ethnic suburb of Prahran with her Irish immigrant parents, where she was exposed to Greek, Turkish, Italian, Irish and Arab cultures. Her upbringing in this diverse suburb had a large influence on her music, particularly on later Dead Can Dance albums and in her solo and collaborative work.

Career

Dead Can Dance

Main article: Dead Can Dance

Dead Can Dance originally formed as a quartet in 1981 in Melbourne, but in 1982 moved to London with members Brendan Perry, Lisa Gerrard and bass player Paul Erikson. The latter would shortly after fly back to Australia, leaving the band as a duo. Dead Can Dance recorded eight albums on the 4AD Records recording label beginning with the 1984 LP, Dead Can Dance. The band split in 1998, but reunited in 2005 for a world tour.

Solo and collaborative career

In 1995 she recorded and released her first solo album, titled The Mirror Pool. After the release of this album, she continued to work with Dead Can Dance, releasing their final album, Spiritchaser, in 1996. Following this, in 1998 she recorded Duality in collaboration with Pieter Bourke. This would mark an extensive collaboration together for a number of film scores, including The Insider and Ali.

In 2004 Lisa Gerrard would begin a new collaboration with Patrick Cassidy, marked by the release of Immortal Memory. Again, this collaboration was furthered in film work, including Salem's Lot.

In 2006, Sanctuary, a documentary about the life and work of Lisa Gerrard, was recorded and was released in September 2006. It is the work of multi-skilled producer / director Clive Collier and features extensive interviews with Lisa Gerrard and also various people who have collaborated and work with her in the past including Michael Mann, Russell Crowe, Hans Zimmer and Niki Caro. It will be released on DVD by Milan Entertainment on April 24, 2007.

In the same year, Lisa Gerrard released her second solo album, titled The Silver Tree. This album was markedly different from her previous work and was also her first album released outside of 4AD. The album was first released on iTunes, with a wider physical release planned at a future date. The album was nominated for the Australian Music Prize for 2006. It is currently shortlisted as one out of nine of the best Australian albums.

In 2007, a retrospective album, entitled The Best of Lisa Gerrard, was released covering her career in Dead Can Dance, solo work and film work. A total of 15 songs were compiled. A future tour is also planned beginning in April in Melbourne, Australia. This tour will mark the first time Lisa Gerrard has toured in Australia, with a performance in three cities. This tour will be followed by performances in Europe and North America. Shows already announced are Melbourne (april 2), Sydney (april 4), Brisbane (april 5), Barcelona (april 11), Milan (april 13), Paris (april 15), Brussels (april 17), Duisburg (april 18), The Hague (april 20), Hamburg (april 22), Berlin (april 23), Warsaw (april 25), Prague (april 27) and London (april 29) (see details). The shows in North America are Atlanta (may 3), Philadelphia (may 5), Alexandria (may 7), New York (may 9), Montreal (may 11), Toronto (may 13), Chicago (may 15), Minneapolis (may 17), Denver (may 19), Vancouver (may 22), Seattle (may 24), San Francisco (may 26), Los Angeles (may 29), San Diego (may 30) (see details).

Film career

Lisa Gerrard's first experience in composing music for a film, came with the 1989 Spanish film El Niño de la Luna, directed by Agustín Villaronga. The film score was composed by Dead Can Dance and the film featured Lisa Gerrard in her first acting role. El Niño de la Luna describes the story of a young orphan with special powers, David, escaping an institution with the help of a fellow institute inmate, Georgina, played by Lisa Gerrard.

Lisa participated in a number of scores but came to fame as a film composer after recording The Insider in 1999, with Pieter Bourke, and Gladiator in 2000, with Hans Zimmer.

In 2005 she collaborated with Ennio Morricone for Fateless.

Discography

Dead Can Dance

Further information: Dead Can Dance

Career after Dead Can Dance

  • Miscellaneous
    • MICROFILM: Centerfold 7" ("Centerfold" & "Window" )1981
    • Compilation entitled "From Belgrave with love" ("Mossaic" by Lisa Gerrard & "Summer house" by Microfilm)1981
    • The Future Sound of London sample her vocals from the song Dawn of the Iconoclast for their 1992 hit single Papua New Guinea 1992
    • French promo CD-single "La bas" & "Lament"
    • Compilation entitled "These wings without feathers" ("Dreamsong" & "Untitled") 1996
    • "The wings of a film - the music of Hans Zimmer" ( "Now we are free" live)
    • With Orbital: "One Perfect Sunrise" on the album The Blue Album 2004
    • Orbital featuring Lisa Gerrard: One perfect sunrise (radio mix) CD single
    • Orbital featuring Lisa Gerrard: One perfect sunrise (Phil Hartnoll mix) CD single
    • With Denez Prigent: "J'Attends - Gortoz A Ran" with Denez Prigent on the Album "Irvi"
    • "An Hini a Garan" with Denez Prigent on the Album "Sara'c"
    • "Mantras of a lost archetype" (unreleased solo album)
    • The Ashes and Snow art exhibit by Gregory Colbert, (with Patrick Cassidy and Michael Brook ,"Devota" ,"Vespers" ,"Womb" ,"Wisdom")

Movie score composing/contribution

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