Recorded at Mooncalf Studio with producer Nick Beere, Vox Populi sees the band navigating the fog of populist rhetoric as they enter the second half of this most nightmarish of decades.
In the age of the oligarch, where the rapid development of A.I. and deepfakery is upending reality, and ‘straight-talking’ chancers who claim to represent the majority are stoking the smouldering embers of fascism, it feels at times as if Deadlight Dance are canvassing for compassion as humanity gears up to vote for the collapse of civilised society.
“It’s dark,” agrees Nick Fletcher, one half of the duo. “But there is hope there. You don’t talk about these things unless you want to do something about it.”
“Light and shade,” says his partner in sound, Tim Emery. “Hopefully there’s something for
everyone. For some people, everything will be for them.”
The album, which features an array of electric and acoustic instruments, contains eight original songs that speak of algorithmic existences; gaslighting by the elite; the exploitative nature of the cosmetics industry; the paradox of ‘humane’ food production; identities and the preconceptions that can shape them; the corporatisation of the military… and gardening.
“There are some important horticultural and botanical references,” says Nick, reassuringly.
The record also contains two cover songs, Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams and Prince’s When You Were Mine, both of which feature guest vocalist Sian (“an amazing voice,” says Tim) and drummer Mike Dymond, who first played with Nick and Tim when they were at sixth form.
The roots of Deadlight Dance stretch back to that era, when the post-punk wave of artists who birthed goth inspired these fledgling musicians to form a band of their own. Thirty years later, in the midst of a global pandemic and a growing whirlwind of social and political chaos, Nick and Tim felt that the time was right to continue that journey. You can see their point.
Fusing six decades of influence, the music of Deadlight Dance serves up empathy, poetic rage and a celebration of otherness – a recipe that has so far enticed listeners in more than 75 countries and grown a catalogue of releases including debut album …Beyond Reverence (2023), their acoustic covers album The Wiltshire Gothic (2024), an apocalyptic single titled Black Glass (2024), and the literature-themed EP Chapter & Verse (2024). Their YouTube channel contains a host of videos made with their visual collaborator Haunting The Atom.
In these dark times, in the uneven terrain of popular culture, Deadlight Dance walk with proud purpose towards the setting sun, proffering refuge in the long shadows that they cast. And when the sky fades to black, they’ll burn a torch to guide your lost soul home.
Vox Populi is released worldwide to stream, and own as a CD, vinyl LP and download, through Ray Records on Friday 20th March.
For more info or interview requests email info.deadlightdance@gmail.com or message the band through Facebook or Instagram.