Over a four-decade career, vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist
Lisa Gerrard has worked with an astonishing range of collaborators, from film composers
Hans Zimmer,
Ennio Morricone, and
Zbigniew Preisner to producer/musicians including
Klaus Schulze, Patrick Cassidy, and master percussionist
David Kuckhermann. Her work with keyboardist and composer
Jules Maxwell dates back to 2015, when he joined
Dead Can Dance as keyboardist for their reunion tour. In 2015,
Maxwell was also recruited to provide original music for women's choir
Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares and asked
Gerrard to collaborate with him. They composed and recorded numerous songs for the project, and their leftovers became the raw source material for
Burn.
Maxwell also recruited producer
James Chapman (aka
Maps) because of his expertise with electronic soundscapes and rhythms. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the trio worked in separate countries:
Gerrard in Australia,
Maxwell in England, and
Chapman in France.
Burn comprises seven emotionally resonant compositions that weave drama, dynamics, lush textures, and musical discovery into a sumptuous whole. Opener "Heleali" commences with droning keyboards, sampled strings, and seemingly breathing whooshes of electronic sound.
Gerrard's iconic, wordless vocals rise with benevolence atop her gauzy, mysterious backing before a drum kit and electric guitars majestically crash in. "Noyalain" weds staggered, primal chants from
Gerrard and
Maxwell atop roiling percussion, ambient washes, and ever-encroaching layers of echo and reverb. Piano and cymbals introduce strings, drum loops; the more formal instrumental architecture adds cinematic flair. "Deshta" could easily be a
DCD number. The relationship between
Gerrard's operatic vocal approach, layered electronics, and rhythm tracks is gothic and otherworldly. "Aldavyeem" is actually danceable. Its piano vamp frames an undulating electronic pulse as
Gerrard's delivery moves between a cooing, seductive croon and throaty passion. "Orion" sounds influenced by
Gerrard's profound 2018 performance of
Henryk Gorecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs with
Yordan Kamdzhalov's Genesis Orchestra and the Music Laboratory of the Man ensemble and choir. Though it transcends classical notions with forceful, hooky electronic and rock rhythms,
Gerrard's singing illustrates the tension between flesh, spirit, and the eternal. "Keson" offers
Gerrard's layered call-and response vocals amid bountiful reverb and droning keys before gated loops and beats buoy her dolorous contralto as it reaches for the ether. Closer "Do Yo Sol" commences as a folk song.
Gerrard's alto meets waves of kalimba, plucked electric guitars, organ, and drums in a hypnotically melodic round; it expands dynamically and texturally around a circular motif before ascending in rhythmic waves while her vocal governs it all.
Burn is less "orderly" than some of
Gerrard's collaborations.
Maxwell and
Chapman coaxed more unrestricted emotion from her; she goes deep by directly embodying her accompaniment even as she goes wide in soaring above it. The end result is as spiritually, sensually, and emotionally enveloping as it is captivating. ~ Thom Jurek