Manafon : questionable fidelity (the instrumental edition)

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Manafon : questionable fidelity (the instrumental edition)

Postby javier on Mon Sep 30, 2019 4:47 am

Interesting to have attended the borncreative festival in Tokyo last weekend to hear the new instrumental mix of Manafon.
https://www.borncreativefestival.com/davidsylvian

I certainly have a far greater appreciation of the details and nuances of the pieces after this experience. Some incredible sounds exist within the tracks, which until now I'd never noticed as they were obscured by the vocals. Or perhaps I hadn't noticed them before because my attention has always primarily been focussed on the vocals.

Whereas in the past my listening has been far more passive, this provoked a truly active listening experience.

It was a bit like the aural equivalent of entering a James Turrell light installation, in that I became aware not just of the sounds, but also of my own sense of hearing.

Not sure if it would be the same listening to a CD of it, as the act of attending this "performance" with other listeners in the venue did help enhance the experience.

There were about 5 rows of 10 chairs in the centre of a room, surrounded by a set of speakers. The lights were turned off and the sound played in the almost-darkness.
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Re: Manafon : questionable fidelity (the instrumental edition)

Postby Quiet Visitor on Mon Sep 30, 2019 2:01 pm

Although a different experience I think listening to the 5.1 surround version on the DVD is comparable to your experience. Listening to the CD was oké, but when I heard all those sounds on the DVD it grew on me a lot more.
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Re: Manafon : questionable fidelity (the instrumental edition)

Postby javier on Tue Oct 01, 2019 9:38 pm

Yes, 5.1 may well be similar. I only have a stereo system, so have never experienced the 5.1 mix.
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Re: Manafon : questionable fidelity (the instrumental edition)

Postby silentwings on Fri Oct 04, 2019 11:14 pm

Javier, thanks so much for sharing your experience of Born Creative. I had been wondering how the event had gone.

Your experience sounds similar to how I found my way in to Manafon, through listening to certain recordings of the musicians who appear on the cd. This helped to heighten my awareness of the sounds and space which underpin the tracks.

Like you, I’ve never been able to hear the 5.1 mix of the album itself.

Do you think the music was purely the album with vocals removed, or was there perhaps more reworking than that?

Thanks again.
“Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.” att to Jack Kerouac
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Re: Manafon : questionable fidelity (the instrumental edition)

Postby javier on Thu Oct 10, 2019 7:38 am

silentwings wrote:Do you think the music was purely the album with vocals removed, or was there perhaps more reworking than that?


Common sense makes me think that DS wouldn't simply rip out the vocals and send the remainder of the recording to the festival. The original album having been mixed with the vocals as a major element, removing the vocals I'm sure would mean the other sounds would need to be remixed in some way to bring about a new "balance".

Honestly, it's really hard for me to say though. As I mentioned, I've never paid so much attention to the depth of the sound before, so I certainly couldn't identify what (if anything) was remixed.
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Re: Manafon : questionable fidelity (the instrumental edition)

Postby silentwings on Fri Oct 11, 2019 12:25 pm

Thanks javier. I guess we will only really be able to know if we get the opportunity to listen to this new setting alongside the vocal one. Here's hoping that this might one day be possible...
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