Over a year ago, I received an email with an MP3 attachment and a simple message - "Have a listen and tell me what you think". The song was called Cold, an original composition by Sylvan Borg, an artist I had first come across when he fronted fledgling local indie band Sputnik Sweetheart at the Hard Rock Café Battle of the Bands. I had never before heard of them, which is pretty understandable since they had only been together for a couple of months at most. Of course I hadn't been aware of this basic fact at the time, but it was one of the many facts that surfaced when I recently met Sylvan for a tête-à-tête about his ongoing solo project.
We're sitting in Sylvan's bedroom, which also doubles as his creative space, his home studio. It actually consists of a none-too-complicated PC set-up, a small amp, guitar effects in the corner and his beloved Stagg guitars. He picks up the newest of these, a semi-acoustic beauty on which he begins to perform a handful of his songs. These include Walk and Leaving Home, which, along with Cold are the three songs Sylvan has released as radio singles to date. "They didn't fare too well" he tells me. "For some reason the songs only received minimal airplay on local radios. I did however make it onto Toni Sant's podcasts", he smiles.
Positivity is something you can read all over Sylvan's face, and it's a quality that has helped him keep his musical inclination intact against all odds. "It hasn't been all peachy", he tells me, "when my first band Sputnik Sweetheart placed second in a Battle of the Bands contest, the recording we won never materialised". It's something that still irks him, but it has also given him the extra will to push himself as a solo artist. "The story behind that band is quite funny actually. We only recruited a drummer to complete our line-up one hour before we auditioned for an earlier contest, but still managed to get chosen for the competition. I felt we did quite well given the circumstances, but lost out to Elite Cookie Mode".
When the Sputniks split up over musical and band-related differences, Sylvan barely had time to contemplate what to do next, and found himself switching to bass guitar and joining the ranks of much-lauded indie band Stilair. "It was overall a pleasant experience playing in Stilair. Sure, there were hiccups, but the one thing I learnt from them was that it was possible to do this alone". In fact, the band's open use of backing tracks and loops was an essential factor in triggering Sylvan's solo venture once the band faded away. "It's strange – we never officially called it a day. We decided on a break after completing the recording of the album (which has never been released) and we simply haven't got round to calling each other since, so I guess we're all partly to blame for it, I suppose", he promptly points out.
It's quite a shame really, as all of Stilair's releases showed a great deal of potential. The sluggishness to reconvene the band, however, didn't deter Sylvan from taking his next step. If anything, it motivated him even more towards embracing his newlyfound familiarity with technology and how this could be applied to his songwriting. He set about recording his own compositions on his PC, occasionally invoking some intervention from Elton Zarb at Freetime Studios. The results, which can be heard at Sylvan's MySpace, speak for themselves. Cold hints at a more electronic lean, but this isn't definitive of Sylvan's direction. The other two songs, Walk and Leaving Home, in fact reveal a stronger balance between brooding synth backdrops, warm guitar and Sylvan's own deadpan vocal delivery. The sum of all parts remains steadfastly minimalistic yet with a dominant melodic and intrinsically alternative strain.
"I have always been drawn to melody, so it's only natural that my songs contain such a prominent dose of it. I can understand that not all the songs have the kind of appeal local radios may look for. This is also why I decided to look elsewhere for a reaction to my music". A few months ago, Sylvan sent off some demos to various UK contacts, primarily to gauge his work by their response to his songs. As is often the case with any budding artist, it's often advisable to expect the worst, yet while some didn't reply, and probably never will, two particular replies more than compensated for the ones that didn't bother to respond.
"Yes, I'm quite chuffed actually", his smile obviously preparing me for the good news. "I was offered a slot at two London venues that I'm quite looking forward to". Any disappointment stemming form the fact that local commercial radios practically ignored his work is distant, if not annihilated, by this significant endorsement of his music by booking agents who probably sift through tons of demos sent in by hopefuls. "I will be performing at the Hope & Anchor, a legendary venue that has welcomed the likes of Madness, The Stranglers and Elvis Costello upon its stage, on August 13 and at the Dublin Castle , another venue of repute, four days later". The dates are still far off, so there's time enough he explains, to "try and secure one, maybe two more gigs before I actually fly there".
Being a solo artist, his performances will obviously require some back-up, which is where his stint with Stilair pays off. "I've played a few gigs here already, using backing tracks while singing and playing guitar live. This is one way I have found gives a new dimension to the songs. Playing with a band is obviously more fun, but it has to be a band that puts in the same amount of commitment as I do into the project". For the time being however, he is sticking to a one-man show, using the experience he gains to develop his songwriting and live performances. Needless to say, the London gigs will be a huge stepping stone towards his goal, but as he puts it, "there's still a lot of work to be done".