Customer Reviews

Manafon

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I'm sure there will be more opinions in the negative with David Sylvian's new album " Manfon ". This is definitely not for every Sylvian fan . If you want David's melancholic lilting ballads, you've got " Secrets of the Beehive " or " Gone To Earth ". If you want glam, you've got Japan's " Obscure Alternative " and " Adolescent Sex ". If you want perfectly manicure pop, you've got " Tin Drum " and " Gentlemen take Polaroids ". But if you want an artist such as David Sylvian to mature and find new ways to keep themselves true....you've got " Blemish " and now " Manafon ". If I may make a comparison to Miles Davis, a man who searched and strove towards forging new ways of expression, new ways of rebellion, and at times wrestled with his artistic and personal demons. He continually struggled with himself and the public to make new music almost everytime. This artist NEVER stood still, and I'm sure lost and found listeners along the way. And in this day and age where music is manufactured in little plastic cases, all looking and sounding the same, safe as houses....with pop singers too afraid to say how they really feel ( or if they have anything to say at all ). Well I'm happy knowing that David Sylvian is in charge of his own creativity and is not afraid to show what he is feeling and communicating at this given time. At no point did I find this album a " smooth ride down the Nile on a hot summer's day ". Rather I was shocked in the same way it's sister album " Blemish " did a few years back. But with repeated listenings, I found a way to understand and appreciate the work. Music can either be a part of your furniture ( no real listening required ) or it can grab you attention forcing you to listen to it in different way. Manafon does this. So if you are up for charting unfamiliar waters, this album is for you. If not 1978's " Sometime's I feel so Low " beckons you !

There is no doubt that David Sylvian is one of the most creative musicians since the late nineties. His new album, "Manafon" bears out his rich imagination and daring pursuit of original experimentation. This time though his effort has not worked as expected. In spite of the huge talent of the musicians accompanying him, one does not get to feel that they do their best to deliver a good performance, and it seems that "improvising" turns out to be a license to make nonsense noise. No matter the content of Sylvian's lyrics, it does not seem that they cohere with the sounds created for the occasion. Hence my three stars, an expression of my mild dissapointment, something very unusual on my part when I engage Sylvian's works.

What's more difficult to swallow than this album is how seriously these guys take themselves. Alas, I am a completionist and purchased the deluxe edition for this album. What I got for my $70 was a couple of pictures and a 55 minute video of "intellects" pontificating about how important their services are to the musical community. Indeed my tastes are eclectic and my tolerance for the avante-garde greater than most, but for those of you who do not suffer from the "completionist gene" take some advice from someone who collects music, the effort put forth by these pimp artists is pathetic. Throughout the piece pompous grating is substituted for constructive ideas and esoteric dirge for thoughtful lyrics. Perhaps the ultimate insult comes in the form of David Sylvian's insistence to slap his name over this work when he himself claims the extent of his contribution was hash lyrics and vinyl static. But then again, he's probably doing his "collaborators" a favor.

Best Quotes (From Previous Reviews):

"it seems that "improvising" turns out to be a license to make nonsense noise" [Jose Artiles-Gil]

"just monotonous nasal ramblings over the sound of a hair dryer while a bassist tunes up" [James F. Mcdermott]

"quiet tracks are layered with pops and glitches and scratches - thus preventing the music from inhabiting its own space; This curtain of interference between the listener and the artist is, for me, off-putting" [Robert Carlberg] - and to think this album is offered in a $40 vinyl edition

This is incredibly beautiful.

Easy? Not on your life.

Challenging? Yes.

... but beautiful none the less.

For over 25 years I have hoped each time to hear something new--that I was not going to get anywhere else. It made me expect less and grow more.

Mark Hollis taught me long ago about the Importance of the silence between the notes.

David Sylvian has made a piece of art. You do not have to look it for it to be art. Because art is art regardless of the perceptions of those who view it.

There is maturity here. Creativity abounds. Sounds such as these do not fall out of a random sky. They are placed one after the other--years in the making--every note deliberate.

Sure--I love his pop. But I also love his ambience, his minimalism, his brush with all its strokes.

This only requires one be open to an experience of art. Because the only thing he has truly ever delivered is something that sounds like no other.

Beautiful more in all it's empty spaces.

It's well established that human beings are pattern-loving creatures, even able to convince themselves that they find patterns in instances where patterns emphatically do not occur (constellations, easy; this music, no need). As many of the negative reviews here attest, the utter absence of traditional musical patterns can prove quite disorienting -- even disconcerting -- for many, especially when the listener's purpose is simply reduced to one of fulfilling his or her pre-existing, subjectively preferential expectations. And, given how predictable and familiar most music already is, driven as it is into formulaic, narrow stylistic genres with the sole purpose of guaranteeing the commercial acceptance of artificially described and descried niche audiences, the time to move on surely arrived a while ago. After all, there are now some countless millions of readily recognizable songs and recordings available, meaning that Sylvian poses absolutely no threat to conventional music-making. Though he does offer much more promise.

With "Manafon", Sylvian takes many more steps into the directions set by immersions in sound and improvisation mapped out by "Blemish" and "Naoshima". His recent collaboration on "Cartography " by Arve Henriksen includes a few pieces that revealed some of these techniques within more conventional musical settings. But "Manafon" goes on to more radical ends, with a heritage that must acknowledge the highly staged "Orpheus, The Lowdown" by Peter Blegvad and Andy Partridge and the remarkable body of work assembled by Bryan Day and his "Shelf Life", "Eloine" and other improvising units. Less concrete than "Orpheus", and far more emotive than the "Shelf Life" recordings, Sylvian clearly aims at forcibly dragging the form -- and listeners along with him -- into a broader soundstage. And the soundstage is remarkable. Both an artistic and technical achievement, the sheer sonic presence offered by this recording is profoundly ear-opening. Set within the context of Sylvian's sense of conscience and consciousness, "Manafon" is not the first example of reconsidered improvisation, but it certainly opens newer ways of perceiving the open-ended and transient experience of music.

So, even if you find this work intolerable, give it another listen every few months. If you're still unable to orient yourself outside the boundaries knocked down by "Manafon", Sylvian at least deserves your respect for his honesty in continuing to question his own work and his own methods -- rather than simply, reliably, predictably, commercially and tediously repeating them.

I have just listened to Manafon the 5.1 version for the 4th time today and find the whole thing mesmerizing....incredibly poetic....its quite brutally beautiful.This sort of Artistic expression brings up the subject of Artist producing his/her vision without any regard for audience expectations.....its up to the listener to keep up or adapt...not for the Artist to produce what the audience expects etc.....most definitely challenging but highly compelling

Listening to David Sylvian's album is like looking at a painting, maybe a Lowie or Munch, painting. You cannot run away from the effect it leaves on your senses. At first you run away, you have to come back, you have to listen. This is not music to entertain, it's music to listen , feel. Take the time to feel this masterpiece.

This could probably be a double review of both Manafon and Blemish. Oddly, there's more to like on Died in the Wool as it has a denser, richer musical presentation. Both albums are essentially spoken prose poetry over post-modern instrumental interludes. It was very reminiscent of Rain Tree Crow without the wonderfully crafted melodies and rhythms. Too often Mr. Sylvian relies on the double-tracked, overlaid vocals of all his past work. Instead of adding beauty and texture to the pieces, they seem cliched and unnecessary. And I am really tired of his lyrics being laden with the pronoun "she" - it's a subject matter that he's used so much in the past. I've tried to keep up with Mr. Sylvian and his progressive works, but these albums are just self-indulgent to me. Time for him to break free of this musical eddy.

Is this a fully realized album? Does it sound a bit like a demo? Or like someone is spending a lot of time at home? Is it the anti-album?
This is low-hi mysterious. That deer on the cover...remember the Harry Potter sequence where he is in a time warp and sees himself across a pond at night...but sees a deer instead? Anyone ever talk about that? It's a great image in that film. This cover...is about a moment. Time stands still.
My favorite album of David's is Brilliant Trees, and of course, it is completely stunning. A magical concoction...a rare recording. His recent, but not that well distributed Nine Horses is THE album you are looking for. Very atractive full fledged, just perfect follow up to brilliant trees...But THIS album...It's Headphones, baby. Think of this as a love letter to Bjork. He really has a great voice...but this will not be an album for cruising....more for meditating and needing some space. Listening to the samples here on amazon is nuts because they take so long to get going, the sample is over. So, support David. You just do that with this calibre of artist. And then get the stunning Nine Horses, and then Brilliant Trees.
Oh, by the way, the score to Angel, by Anja Garbarek, is really wonderful...fresh, cool, and new. And brilliant arranging. thedre sez...check it out...

I've tried..tried listening in an altered state of conciousness, while driving, while walking on the beach alone..but this album does not settle well. I've been the biggest Sylvian fan since I was teen, even writing a paper about him as part of a college entrance exam. Unfortunately, 20 years later, I am lost with this album. I'm admittedly one of the few (or many) that just don't get it.