Manafon [VINYL]

I loved Japan without reservations, and Sylvian with some reservations. Sylvian is a world unto himself in music, capable of brilliance and soaring beauty. But but but he can also drift off and produce an irritating scratchy irrelevance such as this. This is actually the worst record I've ever heard by an artist I love, and by a huge margin. It defies listening, and after several attempts, I've still not found the urge to hear it all the way through.
A strong recommendation is to try to listen to it on you-tube before spending money, as this is (as the other reviews show) very much a love-it-or-hate-it album.

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.

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.