David Sylvian - Manafon

[anortherncod]

im not from germany and wih the reference from his daughters the tagg i got from his forum ha ha

I'm not from Salford, but I live in Salford. As far as I know you live in Germany - I didn't say you were from there.

The way I see it there are two paths to follow here:

1. You think a little more carefully before hitting the 'send' button, and then people won't get so cross.

2. You carry on as you have been doing, and then get to make posts saying 'everyone hates me' with the effect that others post 'no, we don't hate you'. That looks very much like attention-seeking to me.

And it strikes me that with my responses I'm pandering to your attention-seeking; I was trying to give some CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, but the only two points of mine you've replied to are the ones I've quoted above - in a bit of a childish way if I'm brutally honest - so I think I'll just let you get on with it and save my fingers.

[Blemished]

Any more news on...ahem...MANAFON?!

Surely Samadhi must be getting ready to take pre-orders soon...hopefully that'll flush out some more details

And does anyone know when 'The Wire' with the DS interview is coming out?

[Adrian]

Yeah, what's with these weird Samadhi Sound people. I know time is relative and all that. But they did say soon and it's been nearly a month again since the last update and it's now nearly a month to the release date... Pre-orders would be nice. They do have the album in production don't they? So what's the problem. 'No news is good news' is not something that springs to mind. Why not tell us what's going on on their site? Only 5 minutes' work right?
anyway...
and the september issue of The Wire should be on sale the last week of August.

[Bern]

Seen as anortherncod brought it up and hopefully to draw a line under the subject I am sure we are all aware Sylvian has two daughter's and their names but any other discussion regarding his children bearing in mind their ages is in my opinion inappropriate and I hope not to see it on this forum, I wasn't going to post today I have a head full of beer and the Boro could only manage a goal less draw

[fletchertronics]

As a musician, The Drift or Blemish have always striked me as poet's records not musician's. A bit like the latest Iggy Pop rambling. I leave 'a fire in the forest' out of the lot, that song saved the record, that was the incentive to go through the previous songs...
Whatever the experimentation, music needs passion and some drama, it cannot be just sound processing, pings and pangs.
But I haven't heard Manafon yet, so I'll make my own judgement about this record later on.

Well, our perception of what constitutes "music" varies widely, which I guess is a relatively good thing - makes the world more interesting, and opens the way for debates such as those on this forum

I too am a musician, and to my ears those albums are extremely musical. "Passion and drama" are great, (although how these translate sonically is also subjective), but I would never proclaim what music 'needs' to actually qualify as music. There are many incredibly sparse recordings out there littered with what you would perhaps describe as "pings and pangs", that are equally passionate and musically rewarding... at least to those whose ears are attuned to such genres.

But, as I said above, I appreciate that music isn't a one-size-fits-all commodity, and the world is doubtless better for it being that way

[neonico]

i have a head full of beer

i think this is often the case

[missouriman]

I think me and Neonico should start our own semi-psychotic fan forum to enrage and piss off all and everybody who does not understand us. Whaddya say, Neon?

[neonico]

good idea

[VaporTrail]

I think that's the best idea I've heard from you two in a long time. I think you should do it.

[missouriman]

Vaportrail... "Do not make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I am angry." Free speech is FREE. Even your mumblings are respected if not always agreed with.

[jon abbey]

the september issue of The Wire should be on sale the last week of August.

it goes on sale August 13, according to the current issue.

[Adrian]

thanks Jon! That means the week after in Amsterdam I think so that's one week earlier than I thought...
plus: still really like 'contact' 2cd. Have you received the Polwechsel/Tilbury disc yet and if so did you like it?

[Bern]

Neo I resent your suggestion I regularly have a head full of beer, I could go on but its 12.20pm and the pub is open

[jon abbey]

still really like 'contact' 2cd.

thanks!

Have you received the Polwechsel/Tilbury disc yet and if so did you like it?

I did receive it, yep. I thought the first track was quite disappointing, and the second one was better, we'll see how I feel after a few more listens.

in general, I feel like I always have about Polwechsel, the Moser and Dafeldecker compositions drastically underutilize their incredible 'sidemen', like if you were coaching the US Olympic basketball team and had them just run set plays all the time. the one record they did for me was fully improvised (in collaboration with Fennesz), and I much prefer that one to their last three composed records.

[baht habit]

Have you received the Polwechsel/Tilbury disc yet and if so did you like it?

I did receive it, yep. I thought the first track was quite disappointing, and the second one was better, we'll see how I feel after a few more listens. the one record they did for me was fully improvised (in collaboration with Fennesz), and I much prefer that one to their last three composed records.

Polwechsel has released three recordings since 'Wrapped Islands"? I was only aware of "Archives of the North" from 2005 and now "Field", released this year. I must admit that I am surprised that 'Place/Replace/Represent' was a disappointment to you - I find it immensely engaging, especially since Tilbury's contributions are in greater abundance throughout that particular track. The compatibility between his piano and Butcher's saxophone encouraged me to pick up a copy of AMM's Trinity.

I'd also like to return to the comments from the reviewer in Uncut magazine and gratefully point out that German music journalist Michael Engelbrecht took the time to post a retort on that site:

"Manafon" is a terrific, beautiful record, for sure my record of the year. It exists in the same class as the late Talk Talk albums, or Scott Walker´s "The Drift". And may be it is a bit too much for mainstream rock journalists and those guys who never want to leave their comfort zones. (I´m a journo myself and not someone from the promotion agency, so be sure I´ve listened to this album a lot, and it will be a future classic, I´m sure.)
And Mulvey's reply:
Thanks Michael; suitably chastened, I'll skulk back to my mainstream rock comfort zone.

Engelbrecht has interviewed and interacted with Brian Eno on many occasions over the past two decades...He also picked Arve Henriksen's "Cartography" as his best of 2008. It appears to be a very good bet that "Manafon" will be his best of 2009...Engelbrecht is definitely tuned in to Sylvian's musical mindset. So basically, anyone here who may have allowed themselves to be even slightly concerned about any of the opinions expressed on Uncut should remember to always consider the source and be assured that Sylvian is not aiming to appeal to such pedestrian sensibilities.