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Manafon [VINYL]

David Sylvian Vinyl
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)

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Biography

The David Sylvian that fronted new wave pop band Japan wore luminescent hair and glam make-up; on the cover of his solo debut, 1984's Brilliant Trees, he was stylish and refined, a gentleman popster. But the illustration that introduces 2003's Blemish sends a different message: he's bedraggled and unshaven, his far-off expression turned haunted. The new millennium has seen a more ... Read more in Amazon's David Sylvian Store

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Product details

  • Vinyl (26 July 2010)
  • Number of Discs: 2
  • Label: samadhisound
  • ASIN: B003TWA5PQ
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 256,036 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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

Product Description

BBC Review

Anyone who still harbours dreams of David Sylvian’s return to the faux-Ferry new romantic stylings of yore, leave the room, now. Describing a career arc that’s elegantly swooped through coffee table ambience towards a “devotion to creative discipline”, he now inhabits (like Scott Walker) that most rarefied of zones where artistic credibility eschews commercialism in any form. Ironically, the result of such a determinedly stoic path meant that 2005’s Nine Horses project seemed almost disappointingly mainstream. Manafon is, by no means, such an easy listen. 

Almost constructing music in reverse, his last major solo release, Blemish (2003), was stripped bare of just about everything except Sylvian’s voice and the late Derek Bailey’s rattling guitar strings. Only when Sylvian turned the work over to the remixers on The Good Son Vs The Only Daughter did anything really resembling songs emerge.

Superficially this is the same minimal fare. Manafon ploughs a confrontational furrow. Sylvian’s current modus operandi begins with him capturing his voice, bravely naked and unadorned except by pitch-shifted harmonising. He then invites collaborators across the globe to add layers of meaning.

Here the sparse chittering of Bailey is replaced with a richer cast of notables, including the free jazz of Evan Parker’s saxophone, John Tilbury’s questioning piano, Werner Dafeldecker’s earthy double bass and the dusty, ambient scratch of Otomo Yoshihide’s turntables. And as if this cast didn’t suitably underline Sylvian’s place as pop star reborn as cutting-edge experimentalist, he replaces the angular prod of Bailey’s guitar with AMM legend Keith Rowe, as well as Blemish’s other notable player, Christian Fennesz.

Close listening reveals more intricacy, intimating a stronger ensemble vibe while still leaving the door ajar for chance and accident. And while, lyrically, it still relies on a third-person recital of loss and denial, Sylvian does manage to pack some humour and self-effacement into the narrative. 

Above all, the album’s autobiographical bent describes a man who may seem wilfully puritanical and harsh, but whose methods yield immense beauty for the listener. The title track – based on the village where the poet RS Thomas lived – is an analogy for a figure with whom Sylvian indentifies when he describes him as “an insufferable individual” who is “upholding morals and values that even he struggles with when it comes to believing in their efficacy”.

Manafon is a brave, disconcerting and terrible document. If only all so-called artists could display such courage. --Chris Jones

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CD Description

Manafon is a new album from David Sylvian. Following on from 2004's Blemish, Manafon is a dark, brooding and emotional album, recorded in partnership with leading international musicians in London, Vienna, and Tokyo.

Collaborators range from Evan Parker and Keith Rowe, to Fennesz and members of Polwechsel, to Sachiko M and Otomo Yoshihide.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Self Indulgent 6 Feb 2013
Format:Audio CD
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.
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49 of 58 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Sylvian has painted his masterpiece 9 Aug 2009
By song_x
Format:Audio CD
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.
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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Sylvian at his best 16 Sep 2009
Format:Audio CD
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars Boring, repetitive and bland
Manafon is a work that not only bored and tired but that one comes to think that this album is not a work of music but rather a series of semi spoken word accompanied by some... Read more
Published 7 days ago by jododo
4.0 out of 5 stars A Film Bleached of Colour Yet Still with a Leading Role
Maddy Costa in `The Guardian' described this album as "a forbidding proposition", but then went on to say that with the right approach it "becomes mesmerising". Read more
Published 15 months ago by Nicholas Casley
1.0 out of 5 stars 1 star for the album cover
I like David Sylvian's music,songs,lyrics & albums and have enjoyed the 3 concerts I've been to but this album - Oh Dear !!
To me anyway .
Very disappointing !!
Published 21 months ago by Jonathan Attle
5.0 out of 5 stars The most beautiful CD in the world.
For me, this CD probably sets the benchmark for beautifully crafted / innovative / melodic / inspirational audio compositions.
Packaged beautifully, a work of pure genius. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Hutch
1.0 out of 5 stars Wake me when it finishes
I first bought Secrets of the Beehive over 20 years ago and have been a fan since. Unfortunately I find this CD unlistenable at best. Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2011 by Gavesson
3.0 out of 5 stars Improves with more listening
I've been a Sylvian fan since 1982 and admire most of his output. I don't think this is his best album by far, but it does improve with listening. Read more
Published on 11 Oct 2010 by Lazydrake
4.0 out of 5 stars Into the darkness..
If you like Blemish you will like this. Sylvian realises there is no point standing still. This recording rewards thoughtful listening and an open mind. Read more
Published on 29 July 2010 by Christopher Hunter
2.0 out of 5 stars manafon.....why?
Manfon is a strange creation. I wonder how and why it came about, as I must admit, although some will love this album, the vast majority of Sylvian fans, including myself, will be... Read more
Published on 12 May 2010 by Michael O'Grady
3.0 out of 5 stars Difficult and almost impenetrable
David Sylvian continues his retreat from the mainstream with his latest album. Entitled Manafon, which is a parish in Wales, the music within is unconventional to say the least. Read more
Published on 24 April 2010 by klaher
5.0 out of 5 stars PUREST EMOTIONAL BLISS AVANTE GARDE ABSTRACT ELECTRONICS
This is david's deepest exploration the emotion in the songwriting here is totally mastered abstraction,from the fith or sixth listen it has really embedded itself into my psyche,I... Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2010 by Adelita C. Rubio
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