Well even though the CD & book remains undelivered, the download has come to the rescue and I've been able to get initially acquainted with Manafon.I have to admit to a scary moment when I first played it and thought 'oh no, those samples were the easy bits - this is too hard to digest'! But that soon passed...so just some further impressions to add to the pile...
New sounds: I remain awestruck at DS's ability to gather together cutting-edge musicians and go off into uncharted waters. I wasn't aware of sine samplers and no-input mixing desks for example and this has opened up new avenues of music for me already. So much modern music is stale and limited; to my ears, this seems a really quite radical attempt to marry songs with modern, digitally-edited sound.
The voice: It may just be because I am listening on headphones, but I no longer find his voice intrusive or even too high in the mix. It seems to be sitting just right, acting as the link. In a perfect world, he might have mixed it ever so slightly lower, but I can now understand and appreciate why he has mixed it that way.
Hearing afresh: as others have remarked this is a great album for listening too in places with external sounds - in work, on trains etc. At times the combined effect has been mesmering. I find myself hearing the world differently too straight after listening to Manafon. Suddenly there is music in everything - in photocopiers whirring, keys jangling, muted voices...and as always with DS/Japan, there are such extraordinary details in the production to pick up on - my current favourites are the subtle echoes of vocals, awash with reverb and pushed right back in the mix...
Fennesz: This guy is surely the new Sakamoto. He is only nearly every track and his textures are a crucial thread of continuity in my view. He really makes Emily Dickinson such a special track for example. I really hope they can do more work together.
Blemish: Immediately on listening to Manafon I found myself also returning to Blemish with fresh ears and greater appreciation. The more direct emotional power is striking in contrast to the subtlety of Manafon - particularly on Blemish itself. The different instrumentation on the two also makes for a great contrast, albeit within a clearly consistent approach. I can see a merged running order (Blemafon!) of the best of the both emerging on the ipod any day now!
Negatives: Call me a lightweight, but I simply can't get anything out of The Rabbit Skinner or Greatest Living Englishman at the moment. They are the type of DS tracks I wish he could restrain from putting out, even though he probably thinks they are the best tracks. In my view, the second half of the album is the stronger.
All the best
Blemished