FluxEuropa - dark music and more

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DEAD CAN DANCE

DEAD CAN DANCE combine the talents of Lisa Gerrard, who lives in Australia, and Brendan Perry, who lives in Ireland.

The duo were a seminal influence on the development of my own musical taste, and, along with Laibach, Miranda Sex Garden and Sol Invitus, an original defining parameter of FluxEuropa's musical coverage.

With Laibach, DCD remain a yardstick of the gothic-industrial genre, and I cannot fault their technical competence or ability to meet the expectations of their audience, but perhaps that is the problem. For while Laibach continues to innovate and surprise, the last DCD release just offered the same only more so.

Spiritchaser (1996 CAD 6008 CD) and its booklet notes also exude a politically correct multiculturalism naked in its self-consciousness, and such a grounding for artistic expression is as dubious and contrived as any product driven by notions of 'cultural purity'.

The artistic appeal of multiculturalism, surely, depends on the dynamic tension engendered by the juxtapositioning of identifiable and contrasting elements. Add too many elements and stew them all together, and you just end up with a naff variety show.

Along with many other fans, I found this last album a disappointment.

Rik - 18 January 1998

DEAD CAN DANCE
http://www.dcdwithin.com