Died In The Wool - thoughts on new album

[Simonp]

I take it most folk will have got hold of a copy of the new album by now. Just curious to know what you all think about it? I haven't really had a chance to listen to it properly and will give it a proper listen over the weekend but what i did listen to last night I thought was fantastic. Really beautiful sounds from Bang and Honore. Most folk seem to be raving about the more immediate "I Should Not Care" but for me the track that stands out so far is the wonderful title track. Incredible stuff. Dai's string arrangements are also a highlight. It amazes me that Sylvian is still making such wonderful music so far into his career. Everything he releases is new and exciting. Q Magazine once wrote of Sylvian "when will the world waken up to this remarkable man" - true words indeed,

Simon

[digimarsh]

I think the process of listening and then evaluating David's work takes a familiar path each time a new release lands into our palms.Initially you are drawn to the tracks with provocative melodies ,the ones that seem to have a greater emotional pull so to speak, and then over a period of time other tracks that were not so apparent at the begining start to raise their heads.I agree that what is now capturing my ears is the mystic of the whole thing,when hearing the album in full these moments continue to occur,i love what they have done to the greatest living... (wonderfull strings,remind me a bit of thomas feiner).
When will the world wake up indeed,,''remarkable' thats an understatement.

[javier]

After a few initial listenings, I've been playing the newly reworked album tracks back-to-back with the original Manafon versions.

For the most part my feeling is that although the strings and other additions seem to fill the spaces with "more stuff going on", and in many ways add a certain kind of cinematic atmosphere, in many cases this detracts from the stark power of the originals.

As a case in point, Snow White In Appalachia: the original is beautifully sparse, with that delicious and slightly menacing Fennesz buzz droning underneath. In the new version this is completely drowned out by all the jarring strings punctuating the calm.
Both as the drone enters, but particularly at the end as Sylvian sings "The radio falls silent, but for short bursts of static..." - in the original version there we are, with the silence, with the static. But in the new version there's a wash of strings over the top and a solo violin leaps in. Bad, really bad.

It seems to me that such additions have been made without much real sensitivity to the atmosphere and lyrics.

I could apply similar comments to other reworked tracks too.

That said, The Greatest Living Englishman reworking certainly softens the original's jarring impact.
And the new and more "conventional" songs - A Certain Slant Of Light, I Should Not Dare and Last Days Of December are definitely welcome additions - it is on these where I think a truly great marriage of the new instrumentation and Sylvian's voice occurs.

[baht habit]

Much like Javier, I am not thoroughly convinced regarding the merits of these re-interpretations. Just as I personally concluded that the Blemish remixes and Burnt Friedman's remixes of the material from Snow Borne Sorrow were entirely unnecessary, I feel that this exercise of fleshing out the Manafon tracks in some attempt of making them a bit more accessible in some manner was equally needless.

As for the new material, here are a few of the aspects I am most impressed by...
DIED IN THE WOOL : The melding and weaving of Kate Romano's clarinet and John Butcher's saxophone are eerily appropriate for creating the basis for this dark and foreboding track - which sets a sinister tone for the remainder of the new cuts. Sylvian's lyrics seem to focus on the scene of some odd homicide and the immediate aftermath. Being that the victim was wearing a wool coat, the usage of the pun 'Died' In The Wool is quite clever...yet obviously, clever in a macabre sort of way.

ANOMALY AT TAW HEAD : This track remains my personal favorite. Evidently it was created from random performances leftover from the three recording sessions for Manafon. To my ears, the result sounds somewhat close to a strong mixture of The Rabbit Skinner and The Department Of Dead Letters . The delicate interplay between Sylvian's acoustic guitar, Tilbury's piano, Mattos' cello and Parker's sax is holding steady as my own personal highlight of the disc.
(A HAUNTING) : I can't help but tend to feel that this alternate version may have benefitted from the excision of Sylvian's brief vocal part. The sound of the bass flute gently floating over the cushion of the string quartet is especially appealing.
Question - Does anyone else detect some type of conversation taking place far off in the background of this track, or am I simply hearing voices?

THE LAST DAYS OF DECEMBER : A beautiful yet simultaneously chilling piece of music...filled with pointed allusions dealing with a dark subject such as the mindset behind suicide and its subsequent effects. Sylvian's vocal melodies soar, dip and drop over a brilliant bed of strings. I personally find the overdubbed vocals on 'the cape and coast line' section to be nearly reminiscent of the background vocals on 9Horses songs like The Banality Of Evil or Atom And Cell, and that's a nice touch in itself. This one runs a close second to Anomaly at Taw Head as a favored track of mine.

By the way, if or when you hear or read some naysayer making the blatant claim that DITW lacks melody, feel free to brand them tone deaf. Just as it was the case on Manafon, Sylvian takes great liberties with his melodies --- as he has been afforded a greater opportunity by the sparseness of these intriguing arrangements. Surely, he is creating just as many if not more memorable melodic vocal lines than he was able to do when presented with the densely filled music of 9Horses. I still marvel at how some cannot recognize the depth of melodic content on these releases.

I have yet to give a concentrated listen to the lengthy When We Return You Won't Recognise Us, as I have only had it playing while getting things together at the shore house. I know that it will need a greater attention to fully appreciate it.

[inkinthewell]

Having to wait the usual 2/3 months before I get my pre-ordered copy from Samadhi ( ), I still can't afford to have any thoughts on the new album yet.
Just a thought on what baht said about remixes/reinterpretations (

Much like Javier, I am not thoroughly convinced regarding the merits of these re-interpretations. Just as I felt that the Blemish remixes and Burnt Friedman's remixes of the 9Horses material were entirely unnecessary, I feel that the entire exercise in some attempt of making Manafon accessible in some way or another is needless.

): Sylvian's songs/compositions, are musically complex and richly arranged, so, to my ears, any detour from the original will always be a disappointment, as if something was lacking.
That said, I'm looking forward to hear it.

[Six One Cynic]

I love the new record.

There's perhaps alot that can be said of it and Manafon, so I've found a nice quote to sustain you from my lengthy gushing of the new music:

"Your ears cease to hear the common elements and then focus in on the uncommon. The brain of the listener becomes the composer."

Brian Eno~

[baht habit]

I love the new record.
There's perhaps alot that can be said of it and Manafon, so I've found a nice quote to sustain you from my lengthy gushing of the new music:
"Your ears cease to hear the common elements and then focus in on the uncommon. The brain of the listener becomes the composer."
Brian Eno~

C'mon Six, gush at length...I don't wish to be the only one.

Check this out:
"DIED IN THE WOOL One summer evening in 1942 Flossie Kubrick, MP, one of the most formidable women in New Zealand, goes to her husband's wool shed to rehearse a patriotic speech - and disappears. Three weeks later she turns up at an auction - packed inside one of her own bales of wool and very, very dead!"

[untitled]

I am not convinced by the re-interpretations of the Manafon tracks either. As with many of the Blemish remixes, these versions are a little too respectful of the originals, which make me think “why bother...?”

I've never been one of Bhat's naysayers. I think there is plenty of melody to be found in the recent work (I often sing-a-long-a-Manafon!). If nothing else, I think the remixes help highlight just how much melody there is in the vocal.

The only remix that really interests me is “Snow White”. This was my favourite track on Manafon. It was perfect and required no tweaking - so I was not expecting to like the reworked version. However, I do like that they took the track by the scruff of the neck and went for it. The way the strings mimic/echo Fennesz's static and drone makes me smile. The beautiful subtlety of the track is clearly lost, but this version is growing on me.

I have an unexpected love for the title track Died in the Wool. The lyric is beautifully dark and very well done. “The lightening sky in the darkening blue”...you can just see the pale blue wool coat darkening as it absorbs the rain in the cold dawn. Beautiful stuff.

I Should Not Dare...it just makes me wish Emily Dickinson wrote longer poems! Sylvian and Fennesz....the more they work together, the better they get. I'm very nearly speechless

Anomaly at Taw Head. I am not overly enamoured by either version at the moment. I think my problem stems from the fact it is so much weaker lyrically than other tracks - it feels half finished. Listening to “A Haunting” for the first time, I went into the other room to see if I had left the TV on...so I'm hoping there is a muffled conversation going on in the track!

The Last Days of December has that same dark beauty about it as DITW. It takes the emotions on a roller-coaster ride....an amazing view, but stomach churning at the same time. The strings are pretty much perfect here. The only negative I have about this track is with the phrase “Could you not see another way out” it reminds me so much of the way he sings on “For the Love of Life” that it jars every time I hear it. I'm sure that will fade with time.

When We Return – I've only listened carefully a couple of times. It made me want to listen to When Loud Weather Buffeted Naoshima – whether that's just because it's more familiar, or whether it's better - couldn't say yet. WLWBN has the benefit of being able to unfold over 70 minutes, whereas this is only a segment of a longer piece, maybe that's the problem. I've just re-read that it is inspired by genetics research and the idea of cultural heritage....closer listening definitely required!

[javier]

Reading the above comments made me realize how many of the lyrics of the new songs I'd missed.

This is undoubtedly one reason I feel the new arrangements of the old tracks don't do them justice - clearly the music is distracting me from the lyrics. As I am familiar with Manafon I didn't notice this issue so much on those tracks, but the new pieces are a different story entirely. The poetry is simply not so apparent.

The album has a wonderfully cinematic musical quality, the experience of which I've been enjoying immensely, but at the cost of Sylvian's lyrical content.

[zen42]

So far all I can say is, that I really love the album. My favorites so far are, I should not dare, a certain slant of light, the last days of december. I really love the remixes of small metal gods, snow white and manafon. Personally, I think this the best remix album I have ever listened to so far, and I think that the other musicians lift this album unto another level.

It certainly makes the album a little bit more accessible. Depending on ones mood you either can listen to manafon or to the manafon variations. Although from the same stock this feels really like two albums not like a album and its remixes if you understand what I mean.

However, I have to continue listening to the music, there is so much going on! I will need much more time!

[Sweetie]

I’m ashamed to say that I’ve only just recently started adding to what was a very limited DS collection. I guess you could say I’m not a hardcore fan, and there is some of his work I don’t like and just can’t get into no matter how many times I listen, but there is also a lot I do like.

I wasn’t sure about DITW because of the Manafon variations (you guessed it, not a fan of Manafon). I’m not a big fan of re-mixes either, no matter who the artist is, and I don’t really get why some artists feel they have to re-mix their work. To be honest I even feel a little bit cheated when an album is half full of re-mixes. I suspect time (and money) may play a large part in this decision but I’d much prefer to wait for an album of entirely new work (no matter how long it takes.) But, hey, what do I know!

That said, I’m not keen on DITW, I find it too melancholy, but the string arrangements are beautiful, the vocals are as to be expected and the lyrics are just as unique.
I Should Not Dare and A Certain Slant of Light are the only two tracks that’ve made it onto my playlist so far. The Last Days Of December is a beautiful piece admittedly, and the lyrics are deeply poignant, but its all a bit dark and depressing for me.

So, not one of my favorite DS works I’m afraid

[barryinstockholm]

iTunes USA has Small Metal Gods and When We Return mislabeled.
Oops.

[Blemished]

It'd be nice if the thing turned up...reading your comments is making me jealous.

I always order from Samadhi as I assume it will benefit David the most but this is getting silly - pre-ordered on announcement and still not here in the UK. Yet they have managed to supply shops and amazon etc. Ridiculous.

Anyone else still waiting?

[missouriman]

I downloaded Died in the Wool off Amazon yesterday and my physical copy is in transit. You really do need to hear this music through some decent speakers or it suffers. I heard things today I cannot describe. It was an emotional trip. Dark and light, happiness and sadness and the feeling that I need to educate myself more.

I love the strings. Dai F really understands David. It is a great match of talents.

[baht habit]

I love the strings. Dai F really understands David. It is a great match of talents.

Agreed. It all sort of fell into place quite smoothly, didn't it? While promoting Manafon, Sylvian declared that he was attempting to create 'a completely modern kind of chamber music'. And the progression appears to be ironic in that he now has moved on to work with a more "traditional" chamber ensemble -- in the form of a string quartet -- yet still maintaining an experimental edge due to the comparable nature of contemporary orchestral music. Sylvian had already been introduced to Dai at the time he had made the statement, so perhaps he knew that he had gained a worthy facilitator to assist in moving forward.

Even though I am not convinced that the arrangement that Fujikura created for his reinterpretation of Snow White In Appalachia works all that well for that particular song, I sure do enjoy the choppy staccato string parts. For their collaborative project, I'd really like to hear the two create an entirely new piece with what Fujikura had written for that or at least a similar arrangement in that style. I would tend to believe that Sylvian could compose something quite special for a string arrangement along those lines. One can only do so much with drones and whole notes.

Here is a link to a fine review of DITW from the excellent site All About Jazz:
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=39607