Aion (Dead Can Dance album)

For other uses, see Aion (disambiguation).

Aion
Studio album by
Dead Can Dance
Released11 June 1990 (1990-06-11)
8 February 1994 (USA)
GenreNeoclassical dark wave, medieval music
Length36:11
Label4AD
4AD/Warner Bros. Records
45575 United States
Dead Can Dance chronology
The Serpent's Egg
(1988) 		Aion
(1990) 		A Passage in Time
(1991)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[2]
Los Angeles Times[3]
Q[4]
Select4/5[5]

Aion is the fifth studio album by the Australian band Dead Can Dance, released on 11 June 1990 by 4AD. The first album Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry wrote after the end of their romantic partnership, it was recorded at Perry's new estate, Quivvy Church in Ireland, with additional recording on "The Arrival and the Reunion" and "The End of Words" taking place at Woodbine Street Recording Studios in Leamington Spa.[1]

On this album, Dead Can Dance explored early music to a greater degree, including medieval music and Renaissance music, as Perry noted, "synonymous with the Bosch period"; this included pieces like the 14th-century Italian dance instrumental ("Saltarello") and 16th-century Catalan ballad ("The Song of the Sibyl"), lyrics from 17th-century Spanish baroque poet Luis de Góngora ("Fortune Presents Gifts Not According to the Book"), and instrumentation such as hurdy-gurdy and viols.[6][7] The male soprano David Navarro Sust contributed vocals to tracks 1 and 7.[citation needed]

The album cover shows a detail from the Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch's triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights (specifically, its central "Earth" panel).

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."The Arrival and the Reunion"1:38
2."Saltarello"2:33
3."Mephisto"0:54
4."The Song of the Sibyl"3:45
5."Fortune Presents Gifts Not According to the Book"6:03
6."As the Bell Rings the Maypole Spins"5:16
7."The End of Words"2:05
8."Black Sun"4:56
9."Wilderness"1:24
10."The Promised Womb"3:22
11."The Garden of Zephirus"1:20
12."Radharc"2:48

Personnel

Personnel adapted from Aion liner notes.

Dead Can Dance

  • Lisa Gerrard – vocals, instrumentation, production
  • Brendan Perry – vocals, instrumentation, production, design

Additional personnel

  • David Navarro Sust – vocals (tracks 1 and 7)
  • John Bonnar – keyboards (track 5), co-arrangements (tracks 2 and 5)
  • Robert Perry – bagpipes (tracks 2 and 6)
  • Andrew Robinson – bass viol (track 10)
  • Anne Robinson – bass viol (track 10)
  • Honor Carmody – tenor viol (track 10)
  • Lucy Robinson – tenor viol (track 10)
  • Luis de Góngora – words (track 5)

Charts

Chart performance for Aion
Chart (1990) Peak
position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 64

References

  1. ^ a b Raggett, Ned. "Aion – Dead Can Dance". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  2. ^ Popson, Tom (21 September 1990). "The Cure Meets The Banshees In The Glove". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  3. ^ Cromelin, Richard (29 September 1990). "In the Underground, Dead Can Dance". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  4. ^ Kay, Graeme (September 1990). "Dead Can Dance: Aion". Q. No. 48.
  5. ^ Terry, Nick (July 1990). "Slavs to the Rhythm". Select. No. 1. p. 90.
  6. ^ "Dead Can Dance". Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Medievalism and Exoticism in the Music of Dead Can Dance - Medievalists.net". 6 December 2015. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Dead Can Dance – Aion" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 August 2023.