Peter Ulrich
Encyclopedia
Peter Ulrich is a multi-instrumentalist songwriter and recording artist.
A self-taught drummer, he began playing in blues/soul band Mischief on the East London pub and club circuit in the early 1980s.
In 1982 he met Brendan Perry
and Lisa Gerrard
in London and joined Dead Can Dance
on drums and percussion, and in 1983 was one of the members of DCD to sign to the 4AD
label.
He played on DCD's eponymous first album, the Garden of the Arcane Delights
EP, the albums Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
and Spiritchaser
, and the promo single "Sambatiki", and on both sessions recorded for the BBC Radio 1
John Peel
Show, as well as playing virtually all live dates with DCD from 1983 to 1990.
During the 1980s Ulrich also contributed a percussion piece called "At First, and Then" to the This Mortal Coil
album Filigree and Shadow, and made cameo appearances on albums by Wolfgang Press and Pieter Nooten & Michael Brook.
In 1990 he released his first solo recording - a double A-sided 12" vinyl single featuring his songs "Taqaharu's Leaving" and "Evocation" which has since become a rare collector's item.
His first solo album - Pathways and Dawns - which was largely arranged, recorded and produced by Brendan Perry
at DCD's studio in Ireland, was released on the Projekt label in 1999 and was dubbed 'the album the Beatles might have made had they signed with 4AD instead of Capitol' by Alternative Press.
His second solo album, Enter The Mysterium, was released in 2005 on City Canyons Records (licensed by Music and Words in Europe).
The song "The Scryer and the Shewstone" from the album was featured on John Barleycorn Reborn, a highly acclaimed album of dark British folk music released on Cold Spring Records in 2007.
In 2009 Ulrich made a guest appearance, together with Brendan Perry, on the Piano Magic
album Ovations playing percussion and hammered dulcimer.
Through 2008-2011 he has been working on a collaboration project of City Canyons with label head Trebor Lloyd and fellow artists including Sara Wendt, David Steele, Anemo and Jen Elliott, plus international guest artists including Saskia Dommisse of Poets to their Beloved, which has so far produced a series of digital single releases and will culminate in a full album.
Ulrich continues to be heavily influenced by folk, world and early musics, and draws many elements of these into his distinctive style of songwriting and arranging.
Biography
He was educated at Vaughan School in West Harrow, Cannon Lane School in Pinner, The John Lyon School in Harrow, and Hatfield Polytechnic from which he graduated in Humanities.A self-taught drummer, he began playing in blues/soul band Mischief on the East London pub and club circuit in the early 1980s.
In 1982 he met Brendan Perry
Brendan Perry
Brendan Michael Perry is a singer and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work as the male half of the duo Dead Can Dance with Lisa Gerrard.-Early life:...
and Lisa Gerrard
Lisa Gerrard
Lisa Gerrard is an Australian musician, singer, and composer who rose to prominence as part of the music group Dead Can Dance with former music partner Brendan Perry....
in London and joined Dead Can Dance
Dead Can Dance
Dead Can Dance are an ethereal neoclassical duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in August 1981, by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry. The band relocated to London in May 1982 and disbanded in 1998. Their 1996 album Spiritchaser reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top World Music Albums Chart...
on drums and percussion, and in 1983 was one of the members of DCD to sign to the 4AD
4AD
4AD is a British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, funded by Beggars Banquet Records, and is still active today...
label.
He played on DCD's eponymous first album, the Garden of the Arcane Delights
Garden of the Arcane Delights
Garden of the Arcane Delights was released by the group Dead Can Dance on 4AD. This was the only EP release by Dead Can Dance and it was originally released as a 12" record...
EP, the albums Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
Within the Realm of a Dying Sun is the third album recorded by Dead Can Dance, by now predominantly the duo Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry along with Peter Ulrich, after the departure of Scott Rodger and James Pinker in 1987....
and Spiritchaser
Spiritchaser
Spiritchaser is the seventh and last studio album by Dead Can Dance before Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard went their separate ways. It expands on its exploration of world music and like Into the Labyrinth, Spiritchaser was recorded at Quivvy Church, Perry's personal studio in Ireland.The track...
, and the promo single "Sambatiki", and on both sessions recorded for the BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
Show, as well as playing virtually all live dates with DCD from 1983 to 1990.
During the 1980s Ulrich also contributed a percussion piece called "At First, and Then" to the This Mortal Coil
This Mortal Coil
This Mortal Coil was a gothic dream pop supergroup led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were technically the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating cast of supporting artists, many of whom...
album Filigree and Shadow, and made cameo appearances on albums by Wolfgang Press and Pieter Nooten & Michael Brook.
In 1990 he released his first solo recording - a double A-sided 12" vinyl single featuring his songs "Taqaharu's Leaving" and "Evocation" which has since become a rare collector's item.
His first solo album - Pathways and Dawns - which was largely arranged, recorded and produced by Brendan Perry
Brendan Perry
Brendan Michael Perry is a singer and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work as the male half of the duo Dead Can Dance with Lisa Gerrard.-Early life:...
at DCD's studio in Ireland, was released on the Projekt label in 1999 and was dubbed 'the album the Beatles might have made had they signed with 4AD instead of Capitol' by Alternative Press.
His second solo album, Enter The Mysterium, was released in 2005 on City Canyons Records (licensed by Music and Words in Europe).
The song "The Scryer and the Shewstone" from the album was featured on John Barleycorn Reborn, a highly acclaimed album of dark British folk music released on Cold Spring Records in 2007.
In 2009 Ulrich made a guest appearance, together with Brendan Perry, on the Piano Magic
Piano Magic
Piano Magic is a musical collective formed in the summer of 1996 by Glen Johnson, Dominic Chennell, and Dick Rance in London, England. Their sound has been described as ambient pop, post-rock, indietronica, coldwave, dark wave and ghostrock...
album Ovations playing percussion and hammered dulcimer.
Through 2008-2011 he has been working on a collaboration project of City Canyons with label head Trebor Lloyd and fellow artists including Sara Wendt, David Steele, Anemo and Jen Elliott, plus international guest artists including Saskia Dommisse of Poets to their Beloved, which has so far produced a series of digital single releases and will culminate in a full album.
Ulrich continues to be heavily influenced by folk, world and early musics, and draws many elements of these into his distinctive style of songwriting and arranging.
Albums
- Pathways and Dawns (1999), Projekt
- Enter The Mysterium (2005), City Canyons
External links
- http://www.themysterium.info