24.11.14 / There's a light that enters...

[Chad]

All this moaning and insulting will change nothing... its a lost cause Chad

Maybe you're right but I miss the ole Sylvian. That guy is worth fighting for.

and Missouri Man...you need to grow a pair too.

[missouriman]

All this moaning and insulting will change nothing... its a lost cause Chad

Maybe you're right but I miss the ole Sylvian. That guy is worth fighting for.

and Missouri Man...you need to grow a pair too.

Well Chad if you had been paying even the slightest attention in class you'd be well aware that the "ole Sylvian" is dead and is not coming back. Name calling also negates every comment you make. Now hop off back into the shadows. There's a good chap.

[javier]

All this moaning and insulting will change nothing... its a lost cause Chad

Maybe you're right but I miss the ole Sylvian. That guy is worth fighting for.

and Missouri Man...you need to grow a pair too.

Well Chad if you had been paying even the slightest attention in class you'd be well aware that the "ole Sylvian" is dead and is not coming back. Name calling also negates every comment you make. Now hop off back into the shadows. There's a good chap.

Actually, I have to disagree. We still see traces of the "old" Sylvian, the melodic, heart-wrenching beautiful work:
Playground Martyrs, Do You Know Me Now, and others.

Chad makes a good point in that if absolutely nobody bought his more minimal work, maybe DS would veer a little more in the direction of the work which clearly has an audience.
I don't know for sure, of course, but I'd guess DS isn't in a position to kick back and release whatever he likes regardless of sales.

[svendutchmountains]

With regards to the "old Sylvian" (which I presume refers to his previous released work rather than his current age!) a month or so ago there was a question on his FB from a fan asking David whether he would go back to the more traditional form of music. The response back was that David did not foresee this and although he might use his voice during recordings it would not be in a "recognizable form".

Tried to find the actual post/reply just now but could not find it...

So I guess that`s the end of the line for the trolls! Ciao Chad! Guess you are better off listening to Billy Ray Cyrus "Achy Breaky Heart"!

[Foales Arishes]

Foales...You say that you "came to DS w Manafon"!? Meaning that was his first work you had heard?! Wow! I mean cool and everything, but you were so inspired by just that one album to join a forum? That just strikes me..like, I had no idea that there was a whole new generation of DS fans that view Manafon and post as his prime work...blows me away really.
Kind've like Depeche Mode fans saying they fell in love with Exciter or something. Weird.

Yes, this is the case... I was aware of DS and Japan, but did not know any of this work, bar some vauge memories of the better known stuff from the eighties. It was the article in Wire magazine (sept 2009) that interested me and gave me reason to listen to Manafon, and here I am, for my sins

Although I can't get in to his earlier output, though I have tried, does not mean I don't like his more recent melodic work such as 'I Should Not Dare' and 'Do You Know Me Now' as it lacks the slick, lounge jazziness of the older stuff, and contains something of the atmosphere of the new... I would love to hear an album of work like this.

I like his visual work too, and find this side of him as interesting as the music.

I can fully understand those who came to him early on, can't like the recent stuff, its a world away after all... but moaning constantly, and being rude about other forum members is not going to change what he does... Someone telling me to stop buying a release because they don't like it, and the consequent poor sales might make DS change direction, is beyond stupid, and frankly childish.... how about telling him what you think on his Facebook page instead?

[Tin Bird]

I don't know...I guess to me if it's a community dissenting voices will need to be tolerated, if not encouraged, doesn't bother me a bit.

All cool too about when you came on board w DS...like I said, just really struck me as something I hadn't previously considered that perhaps some young-uns just discovered DS over the past 10 yrs or so and so their take on him is much much different than mine.

Realize I started listening to DS in 86, so at the time Manafon was released I had been a fan for over 20 years...that's a long time to have been a listener and I think those of us that grew up w DS vs. some of the more recent fans may explain some of the divergence on this forum.

For an "old school" DS fan, it's a bit like a Paul McCartney fan saying he came on board with Tug of War and saying he doesn't care much for Revolver or Sgt. Pepper. Honestly, for us oldies it kind've beggars belief really....That said, I think it is really cool that his new directions have garnered new fans (who knew?) despite his willing diffidence.

I am of the mindset that DS has no idea where he is going next and neither do we, so to presume or predict is foolhardy and pointless. Let the man do his thing. Listen if you like, don't listen if you don't like.

[Blemished]

With regards to the "old Sylvian" (which I presume refers to his previous released work rather than his current age!) a month or so ago there was a question on his FB from a fan asking David whether he would go back to the more traditional form of music. The response back was that David did not foresee this and although he might use his voice during recordings it would not be in a "recognizable form".

That's really interesting Sven, hadn't seen that. Irrespective of what any of us would or wouldn't like David to do musically, I think this speaks to some deeper changes that have changed his trajectory.

First, he's lost the studio - that wonderful barn - that gave him the space to produce Blemish, 9H and Manafon etc. 9H, for example, was born from Steve living with him in NH and exploring the new studio over an extended period of time. I don't see that world coming back anytime soon. Even before that, there was the attic studio in Minneapolis. TALTE was produced on a laptop and I imagine that will be his way of working now. Of course you can do incredible things working that way - look at Fennesz - but it is a very different way of doing things and less likely to result in traditional work and certainly harder for a vocalist without a good space and the right equipment (microphone, valve compressors etc). Yes, he could pay for studio time, but he hasn't had to work that way for a long time.

Second, I'm not sure his voice is what it was. To my ears, his voice on 'You don't know me know' was very, very different. Pure speculation, but maybe he's less comfortable with it now. Maybe his health has affected it? I can't see why he would suggest not using it directly without good reason. Certainly he seemed to be limbering up for something more traditional, but has now gone in a very different direction.

[Tin Bird]

Your comments about studio space are well taken...certainly access to equipment, quality equipment. or lack thereof, could be a problem.
As for his voice, I think DS has had a tumultuous relationship with being a "singer" his entire career. I can remember interviews in the past where he noted that he never "practices" his singing, doesn't sing at home except to his kids, and often prefers instrumental music...
I thought his voice sounded great on Do You Know Me Now? It sounded close-mic'd with very little reverb which i think allowed the grains to come through....very different from, say, Gone to Earth with it's large room reverbs and fx laden Frippertronics. Different kettle of fish entirely.

[Blemished]

I thought his voice sounded great on Do You Know Me Now? It sounded close-mic'd with very little reverb which i think allowed the grains to come through....very different from, say, Gone to Earth with it's large room reverbs and fx laden Frippertronics. Different kettle of fish entirely.

Yes, I thought it was great too. Certainly suited that track. But struck me as tonally different. All the 9H stuff was recorded very dry, yet his voice sounded deeper, more powerful. Maybe he approached DYKMN differently to suit its context? I don't know - maybe I'm completely wrong. The 'Land' track was more like the older style. I just felt a bit shocked when I first heard his voice on that track and that facebook comment makes me wonder.

[missouriman]

There is an elephant in the room that some people know about and most people do not know about concerning David and if you know about the elephant then you'll know why he says you won't hear him sing like the old Sylvian. And I'll leave it at that. It explains why the Joan Wasser project was shelved. I guess the elephant needs to be explained by David himself some day.

[Tin Bird]

You got me there...? I am aware of past drug use and of problems w depression and a recent back problem. That's all I know. Can you enlighten at all? How do you have this inside info?

[Foales Arishes]

There is an elephant in the room that some people know about and most people do not know about concerning David and if you know about the elephant then you'll know why he says you won't hear him sing like the old Sylvian. And I'll leave it at that. It explains why the Joan Wasser project was shelved. I guess the elephant needs to be explained by David himself some day.

I wish you would expand on that, or someone else who has an idea as to what you are referring... I certainly am not sure what this means, but it doesn't sound good.

I love David's voice in DYKMN... its grainy and emotional; there's and intimacy and rawness that gets to me every time I listen. Sadly I don't own the track, and the only way to do so in the UK is via iTunes, which I don't wish to sign-up to, unless anyone knows different?... you can dl from Amazon in the US but it won't let me do it from here.



Working on a laptop is fine, and you can do an amazing amount of work with very minimal gear these days, but for someone like DS I would have thought a proper, private, creative space would be essential... somewhere to soak in the process and innovate; but thats just me projecting. Where does he reside since selling his home and studio, does anyone know?

And Tin, of course dissenting voices need to be tolerated, and there is nothing wrong with taking a view, positive or negative, regarding what DS is doing, or has done... However, banging out the same comments time and time again and telling us we are stupid for supporting his current work, is not debate; but, that is enough on that matter BTW I may have arrived late to DS but I ain't no young-un.. sadly

[Tin Bird]

[depeon]

There is an elephant in the room that some people know about and most people do not know about concerning David and if you know about the elephant then you'll know why he says you won't hear him sing like the old Sylvian. And I'll leave it at that.

My mother used to have a saying "Its bad when it stops at the mouth".

[Tin Bird]

NK: Your singing has also undergone a transformation. What is your relationship with your voice? How did it change over the years?
DS: I find it impossible to discuss my voice. Possibly detrimental, certainly undesirable.
NK: "Manafon" is cutting; it's the words of a man who is either done for and is about to flip a switch, or has purposely dismantled his reality. Were you trying to sing yourself out of that mindset, is the audible pain a productive suffering, a black and bitter but fertile soil? Or is "not leaving a trace" an earnest goal?
DS: I thought it was an album best released posthumously.

That last sentence is haunting is it not? Oh how I can relate...but oh how I wish I could remind David how much joy and light and beauty he has brought to this world with his voice and his music. His life has had worth and impact. He is loved, truly loved by so many...would be a shame if he did not know this.