Track Listing

1. Small Metal Gods
2. Rabbit Skinner, The
3. Random Acts Of Senseless Violence
4. Greatest Living Englishman, The
5. 125 Spheres
6. Snow White In Appalachia
7. Emily Dickinson
8. Department Of Dead Letters, The
9. Manafon

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #777 in Music
• Released on: 2009-09-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .19 pounds

Customer Reviews

Mr. Sylvian has painted his masterpiece
Oh well, I can tell you what will happen when a lot of the reviews will have been published: there will be writers who will miss that "persona" of Sylvian who created albums like BRILLIANT TREES or DEAD BEES ON A CAKE; and there will be some writers (hopefully the majority!) who will love this song cycle (I'm quite sure the great Richard Williams will like this album very much, the man who has just released the fine book THE BLUE MOMENT about the groundbreaking atmosphere of Miles Davis' KIND OF BLUE and its long echoes). The reason for such controversial reactions: the voice is the only instrument that is carrying the melody.

There are no grooves, no classic harmonies that supply the perfomance (the flights) of the voice. The music comes from the free improv-scene (Evan Parker, Christian Fennesz a.o.) and creates strangely spidery textures you might never have heared before as a "background" or environment for a singer. Pop beyond Pop, modern chamber music with a touch of jazz and the Japanese art of playing sine waves and turntables...

The moods are exquisite, the lyrics enigmatic, and the singing has that kind of nakedness where artists risk a lot. This is music that belongs to the same class as the late Talk Talk albums and Scott Walker's TILT or THE DRIFT. It is a good thing that there are still some guys on the planet who are looking for new horizons and who are not so much interested in repeating a formula that will constantly please the conservative part of their audience.

When Sylvian recorded BLEMISH, he discovered new areas for his songwriting - MANAFON is the best continuation of that path you can imagine. Although this music is at times raw, violent, tender and melancolic, it has a rewarding impact on everybody who is ready to follow this rare combination of free playing and deep melodies. In his fine review in MOJO Mike Barnes writes about the fact how surprisingly well music and voice are moving around one another though they come out of totally different worlds.

By the way, the deluxe package contains Phil Hopkins' excellent black-and-white film AMPLIFIED GESTURE. I had the opportunity to see a pre-screening of it at the 5. PUNKTFESTIVAL in Kristiansand at the beginning of September. You do not hear Sylvian singing a single note in that film, but you listen to well-chosen instrumental passages of the music as well as to all the great stories of the pioneers of the free improv-scene from Japan, England, and Austria who made a living thing like MANAFON possible with their passion and love for a music without safety nets.

With all due respect - and knowing that some words are simply used too often in the description of music, this record is stunning, beautiful, heartbreaking and, yes, kind of blue. Nothing less.

Sylvian at his best
I didnt expect to like this album after Sylvian's last solo release Blemish. "bold" and "uncompromising" is how his record label described it pre release. Yes its not particularly commercial but that's now what Sylvian is about. On Manafon he worked with a number of leading experimental musicians to create a backdrop of sounds, moods and atmospheres to which he responded with his gorgeous vocals. Surprisingly its a lot more melodic than many would think. The opening Small Metal Gods is almost folk like in its delivery, the lyric describing Sylvian's loss of faith in the Hindu gods he once worshipped. I can't pinpoint a highlight on this record as it's all so damn good but if I had to nominate it would be the stunning Emily Dickinson with Evan Parker's beautiful solo at the end of the song. I'm glad Sylvian is still writing songs and he is prepared to take chances. There are very few artists today who have his focus and integrity. Manafon is the record of 2009...easily.

Sylvian scratches the edges of some dark surfaces
David Sylvian's career has spanned a thirty-year period, initially finding its way through the popular New Romantic movement with the band Japan. Sylvian subsequently went on to produce a quality body of mature solo work, his debut emerging in 1984 with Brilliant Trees. Going from strength to strength ever since, he's reinvented himself musically at various stages along the way.
His latest release, Manafon, is an unconventional work and perhaps one of the most diverse to date, and testament to his development. It sees Sylvian stripped bare of any lavish trimmings. The compositions reach out with naked hands, clinging to intelligent and sometimes complex observations and rigorous study of character.

Sylvian scratches the edges of some dark surfaces; however the centrefold is even more expressive with its hues of jaded normality - a conceptual status throughout.

Sylvian portrays deep insights with his lonely textured vocals, grasping the heart of the subject and shaping it in a way that only his own strength of voice could direct. Instrumentation is sparse yet effective and orchestrated in a unique way - the diverse sounds intervene at all the right moments integrating well with the mood. His haunting lullaby has a strong sense of purpose - pivoted centrally throughout the album against its dark fabric - the colours of which are all exceptionally responsive. With production that's crystal clear - every creek or stirring within the atmosphere can be heard - all reacting and responding with an immense sharpness.

"Maybe I'm attracted to the stories of individuals who search for meaning on their own terms," says Sylvian. "But what I'm fascinated by is the devotion to a creative discipline. The meaning with which the work imbues the life regardless of its reception and, to a certain extent, its importance."

Manafon isn't just a listening experience - it's a work that encompasses every nuance of explicit chamber instrumentation, melody and structure - the qualities of which become more engrained with every listen.