Manafon - first thoughts...

[Blemished]

Wow...new website, new photos, samples, interviews...almost too much to take in...and then when the Samadhi site had lost my details I almost had a meltdown!!

As far as the music goes...very impressed, very relieved and quite inspired. The samples suggest to me that this is a much more successful version of what he tried with the Bailey tracks on Blemish. I couldn't really ever like those (until the remixes!) as they were so atonal and the voice seemed disconnected from the guitar.

Here everything works so much better - perhaps because the sounds are more abstract and the voice more melodic. The meshing between the two is much more successful. If there is a broad criticism it is that the vocal is mixed a little too high relative to the music think but that's a small gripe.

Already really like SMG and Manafon and most of the others sound incredibly promising; 'The Greatest Living Englishman' sounds like Scott Walker to me. It's a great sound - a SOTB style vocal with beautifully spacious abstract sounds layering behind. For me the weak tracks are The Rabbit Skinner (atonal - dreadful, sour vocal harmony PLUS a ridiculous T-shirt!) and Dead letters (no vocals, some earnest clanging, why bother?). But the rest are hinting at magnificence. It's nowhere near as "difficult" as some of the earlier threads/press reviews suggested. I think this is as cutting-edge as anything done by Scott Walker recently but far more engaging. It draws you in rather than stands aloof.

Just my two cents based on the snippets...

[Chet]

heard the snippets now maybe ten times each
and Small Metal Gods maybe ten times aswell
and what confusing me the most is that they gave us Jacqueline just two weeks ago.
why did they do that? Jacqueline is so different from the Manafon melodies and its concept.
Manafon is really very close to Blemish, just a peogressive development, wich is great.
i do think that the harmonic vocals David adds are very often not needed, and too often not very beautiful.
his voice is better than lately, but far too high mixed.
i adore the beautiful noises, but they are so hidden behind David that it almost feels like he's trying to make them disappear.
But don't get me wrong, I am very happy with what Manafon has made to me so far,
and the pleasure will be so much greater when I have it in my hand.
hope there will be a vinyl aswell. the Blemish vinyl is wonderful.
I do like the artwork. generous in colour, wich has never really been the case earlier.
will there be remixes again? I do hope so. Sweet Billy Pilgrim, Sakamoto, Steve Jansen, Takagi Masakatsu etc.
wow.
four more weeks to wait.
I already can say that Manafon is my favourite work of David from the last 18 years...

[sisterlondon]

I liked Jacqueline a lot better than the Manafon samples really...

*btw, I keep searching for a Jacqueline download...*

[Simonp]

The Department of Dead Letters is one of my favourite tracks from the small clip I've heard of it. I think the album will be fantastic. I like others do wish that the music wasnt so low down in the mix though. Sylvian's singing, while beautiful, does tend to dominate the proceedings.

Cant wait to listen to the album with my headphones on and take it all the sounds...

[camphorvan]

Hmmm...I can't hear the samples, but in a way I'm glad cos when I hear it it'll be surprise..ish...

Great website also - was amused by how it swept all the concerns away...lots of detail in there and new photos too, (I like Steve....everywhere - amusing).

Hmm.

CV

[Paperback Jack]

Hello again, Sylvian fans!

I've just found a goldmine of old radio broadcasts from Resonance. If you DO like what you're hearing on 'Manafon', all of the major players are heavily featured. There's even an 'Improv goes Pop' edition featuring a few Sylvian tracks:

http://www.auditionradio.info/audition_series_one_archive_1.html

Programme #55 might be a good place to start?

Cheers!

[Bridget]

I love Blemish and I will absolutely love Manafon even more. His voice is just beautiful.
But I shouldn't play it when I feel sad because then it's really too much.
The new website looks wonderful and as Chet wrote earlier, I hope there will be a vinyl too.
Anyway, Manafon sounds like another piece of jewelry to me.

[Pelle]

I'm very split in my first thoughts and imressions....actually I first regret that I ordered the deluxe version, but now I've decided to just waite for my copy and let it do the work.

I do like the more "up tempo" work better, like Nine Horses (abs brilliant). But, let's give David a chance...

[pradakid900]

Hmmm. Looks like David was (Pro) tooling around in the studio/shed out back and fell through a door into an enchanted land. Sort of like David meets Harry Potter. It's definitely not a look I was expecting, so it's right on queue. The rabbit skinning imagery is a little off-putting and contradictory to David's nature, however, I take it on a metaphorical level whilst also knowing anyone has freedom to either contradict themselves or change gears. And he does look a little Amish on the Wire...I hope he's still wearing Prada.

I do like how he tells the listener in the first line of the first song that this enitre work/approach to working marks new ground for him, like a word of caution for the more conservative fans. I, however, do hear in this a combination of elements from previous work: the smaller instrumental snippets from Rain Tree Crow, the dobro pieces from Dead Bees and then the entire Blemish album. Put these together with David's emotional weight as of recent and you will get Manafon...in general. Just tracing it's roots. I like the video for SMG but prefer the song without it as I like to envision the musicians creating the music (even though it was at different times and places - it's in my head so it doesn't really matter).

I'm into the strength, nakedness and vulnerability the vocals simultaneously possess, and I am glad about the musical decoration or the lack thereof, as I consider David's voice an instrument unto itself not really needing much else. To me, David is just doing what he is always doing: taking listeners where they might not have known they wanted to be taken (like he did so long ago when Brilliant Trees came out - talk about a departure for the fans!) Personally, I love 'music' that challenges any or all of my preconceived notions and tastes and ends up broadening my horizons. I also appreciate the things that take longer to get into feeling that they are that much more enduring and rewarding in the long run, and hopefully, this new work will prove to be of this nature, even though a teeny, tiny beat here or there might have been nice, or maybe I'm wrong. I just hope my neighbors are understanding considering how many times they'll be hearing it echoing out into the courtyard and into their windows.

And I must admit I am really wanting to hear what Ingrid has to say. Will she be responding to criticisms levied by David in so much of his recent work or will she issue her own of him? Will she do neither and go in a completely different direction lyrically, musically and/or vocally? She knows that we (David's fans) will be the most critical of her, so I can't wait to see what she has to bring to the turntable! (turntable sounds better than ipod or CD player, plus I'm ole skool)

[Pelle]

it's too much analyzing and words...just listen to the songs...either you like or not...it's very simple, really...

[Tin Bird]

Analyzing and talking about Sylvian is what this forum is all about! Also, for many of us, music is not "simple". There are subtleties and depth...many of us are trying to come to grips w this new work...trying to grasp and understand it...to give it time to infuse itself into our hearts and minds... Ordering a hamburger from McDonalds is simple. Appreciating David Sylvian truly is a complex task and one that I enjoy sharing w others.

[neonico]

Hmmm. Looks like David was (Pro) tooling around in the studio/shed out back and fell through a door into an enchanted land. Sort of like David meets Harry Potter. It's definitely not a look I was expecting, so it's right on queue. The rabbit skinning imagery is a little off-putting and contradictory to David's nature, however, I take it on a metaphorical level whilst also knowing anyone has freedom to either contradict themselves or change gears. And he does look a little Amish on the Wire...I hope he's still wearing Prada.

I do like how he tells the listener in the first line of the first song that this enitre work/approach to working marks new ground for him, like a word of caution for the more conservative fans. I, however, do hear in this a combination of elements from previous work: the smaller instrumental snippets from Rain Tree Crow, the dobro pieces from Dead Bees and then the entire Blemish album. Put these together with David's emotional weight as of recent and you will get Manafon...in general. Just tracing it's roots. I like the video for SMG but prefer the song without it as I like to envision the musicians creating the music (even though it was at different times and places - it's in my head so it doesn't really matter).

I'm into the strength, nakedness and vulnerability the vocals simultaneously possess, and I am glad about the musical decoration or the lack thereof, as I consider David's voice an instrument unto itself not really needing much else. To me, David is just doing what he is always doing: taking listeners where they might not have known they wanted to be taken (like he did so long ago when Brilliant Trees came out - talk about a departure for the fans!) Personally, I love 'music' that challenges any or all of my preconceived notions and tastes and ends up broadening my horizons. I also appreciate the things that take longer to get into feeling that they are that much more enduring and rewarding in the long run, and hopefully, this new work will prove to be of this nature, even though a teeny, tiny beat here or there might have been nice, or maybe I'm wrong. I just hope my neighbors are understanding considering how many times they'll be hearing it echoing out into the courtyard and into their windows.

And I must admit I am really wanting to hear what Ingrid has to say. Will she be responding to criticisms levied by David in so much of his recent work or will she issue her own of him? Will she do neither and go in a completely different direction lyrically, musically and/or vocally? She knows that we (David's fans) will be the most critical of her, so I can't wait to see what she has to bring to the turntable! (turntable sounds better than ipod or CD player, plus I'm ole skool)

i think its amazing that you put all your feelings in words carry on doing that :Blemished

[jon abbey]

I still haven't heard any of it, I'm waiting for the actual CD.

[missouriman]

I am not basing any opinion on snippets of work. I will wait for the cd and put on headphones in a dark, quiet room to hear it. It is unfair to throw your weight behind an opinion of something you have never heard all the way through. "Small Metal Gods" is wonderful however. I googled the guy who did the video and saw some of his other work. Whimsical and weird. Kind of like DS really. September is going to be a good month.

[jon abbey]

I don't know about this album (as I haven't heard it), but in general, electroacoustic improvisation works far better via speakers than headphones, like two dimensions versus three dimenstions. listen via speakers if at all possible to a CD-quality version (not MP3s) is my recommendation, and what I'll be doing myself.