Legendary vocalist Lisa Gerrard and composer Marcello De Francisci release emotive ‘Exaudia’ album
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- August 27, 2022
Legendary Dead Can Dance vocalist and highly acclaimed film composer Lisa Gerrard has released her latest collaboration with Los Angeles-based composer/ record producer Marcello De Francisci. Their stunning new album ‘Exaudia’ presents a vivid collection of epic and empowering compositions.
Earlier, the duo offered two tasters from this album – the atmospheric ambient track ‘When The Light Of Morning Comes’, released in July, and the gorgeous tapestry of ‘Until We Meet Again’, released in June. Each is accompanied by a euphoric and cinematic new video, adding powerful imagery to these gorgeous compositions.
‘Exaudia’ is the term used when a monarch grants a citizen of his kingdom an audience and, as a result, consents to a wish. A fitting title considering how regal this recording is. Working alongside a team of other musicians including Bahar Shah, Astrid Williamson, Daniela Arbizzi and Farhad Behroozi, ‘Exaudia’ combines the encompassing and euphoric textures of De Francisci’s production with Gerrard’s evocative and haunting vocals. A feminine embodiment of poetic expression, the record plays majestically with this narrative, inviting a rich and vivid texture within each offering.
Ms. Gerrard and Mr. De Francisci met many years ago through soundtrack work, their collaborative efforts including soundtrack scores and their first album ‘Departum‘. This recording follows Gerrard’s 2021 collaborative ‘Burn’ album with Dead Can Dance bandmate Jules Maxwell, produced by James Chapman (MAPS),
This full-length album captures the broad and ethereal majesty of their work together, highlighting a rich and soaring tone and conveying the bold and orchestral inspiration that has been tethered to their new studio album since its conception.
“I met Marcello while I was composing for a film called ‘Kings’. He had wonderful engineering skills and I liked him as a person. After a while, we decided to try composing together and went on to compose some film scores. This work was borne out of a desire to write something together during Covid, there is also the artistic desire to embrace the opportunity to unlock our unfulfilled visions. The album is very physical in its construction and sensibility, it is a deeply sensual work that enjoys a sense of empowered subtlety.”
Lisa Gerrard
Regarding his own inspiration behind this record, Marcello De Francisci notes, “For quite some time, I had been playing around with the idea of composing a brand new track to Lisa Gerrard’s vocals on ‘Diary for the Fallen’. I wanted a darker and more brooding version, which could be attributed to Hans Zimmer’s ‘Time’ from the ‘Inception’ soundtrack without plagiarising his work. I wondered what it would have sounded like if Lisa Gerrard had sung on something of this nature, in addition pushing the envelope even further by writing an aria towards the end of this piece including orchestra, choirs and percussion, which would result in one grand finale. It had to be something completely our own”.
Lisa Gerrard has established herself as one of the world’s most highly acclaimed film composers, winning a Golden Globe for her work on the score for ‘Gladiator’ with Hans Zimmer. Her film work also includes ‘Whale Rider’, which received an Academy Award nomination, and ‘Balibo’, which won the Screen Music Award for Best Feature Film Score. In 2018, she received a Grammy nomination for ‘Hiraeth’, alongside David Kuckhermann, and went on to become a featured vocalist on the score for ‘Dune’ before returning to Dead Can Dance to release ‘Dionysus’ and tour in 2022. Gerrard also performs as part of the ‘Gladiator Live’ concerts and ‘The World of Hans Zimmer’ tours.
De Francisci began his career as a visual artist while attending fine arts at an institution founded by the famed Baroque painter Bartolome Esteban Murillo in Seville, Spain. He furthered his education at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid. In 2006, he won the Best Soundtrack of the Year G.A.N.G. Award for his work on Sony Computer Entertainment’s ‘God of War’ game. He soon partnered with Lisa Gerrard, launching their trajectory of collaborating and co-writing motion picture soundtrack scores together.
The ‘Exaudia’ album is out now on vinyl and digitally via Atlantic Curve, a London-based label subsidiary of Schubert Music Europe GmbH. It can be found on Spotify, Apple Music and other platforms at https://orcd.co/exaudia
Listen to ‘Exaudia’ bt Lisa Gerrard and Marcello De Francisci on Spotify now:
CREDITS
Vocal melody composed and performed by Lisa Gerrard
Music composed, performed, produced, mixed and mastered by Marcello De Francisci
Record Label: Atlantic Curve Records
Vocal recording engineer for Lisa Gerrard: Simon Bowley
Executive Album Producer: Daryl Bamonte
Album mixed and mastered at 10,000 Watts of Iron | A Music Company (Los Angeles)
Video concept, direction, creation and edited by Marcello De Francisci
TRACK LIST
01 When The Light Of Morning Comes
02 Until We Meet Again
03 Fallen
04 Exaudia
05 Stories of Love Triumph & Misfortunes
06 Stay With Me
07 Exaudia Reprise
Keep up with Lisa Gerrard on her Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Readers can find more about Marcello De Francisci on his Website, IMDb, Soundcloud, YouTube and Twitter. Both can be found on all the major music streaming platforms. Get in touch with the IAMUR team for coverage, reviews and interviews here.
