Click on the link to see a brand new video from David Sylvian. The track is called "Small Metal Gods".

Small Metal Gods

You can also see a trailer for the "Amplified Gesture" film directed by Phil Hopkins, which will be included in the deluxe edition of "Manafon".

Amplified Gesture Trailer

The new David Sylvian album will be out on Samadhisound on September 14th.

Tracklist

1. Small Metal Gods (5:49)

music: dafeldecker/fennesz/moser/stangl/sylvian
lyrics: sylvianguitar: burkard stangl
acoustic bass: werner dafeldecker
cello: michael moser
laptop, guitar: christian fennesz
no-input mixer: toshimaru nakamura
turntables: otomo yoshihide
vocals: david sylvian

2. The Rabbit Skinner (4:42)

music: fennesz/mattos/parker/ryan/sylvian/tilbury
lyrics: sylvian
piano: john tilbury
saxophone: evan parker
cello: marcio mattos
laptop guitar: christian fennesz
live signal processing: joel ryan
vocals, acoustic guitar: david sylvian

3. Random Acts Of Senseless Violence * (7:06)

music: dafeldecker/fennesz/moser/rowe/sylvian
lyrics: sylvian
guitar: keith rowe
piano: john tilbury
acoustic bass: werner dafeldecker
cello: michael moser
laptop, guitar: christian fennesz
turntables: otomo yoshihide
trumpet: franz hautzinger
vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar: david sylvian

4. The Greatest Living Englishman (10:55)

music: akiyama/sachiko m/nakamura/yoshihide/sylvian
lyrics: sylvian
electric and acoustic guitar (left channel): tetuzi akiyama
no-input mixer: toshimaru nakamura
sine wave sampler: sachiko m.
turntables, acoustic guitar (right channel): otomo yoshihide
piano: john tilbury
vocals: david sylvian

5. 125 Spheres (0:29)

music: dafeldecker/fennesz/stangl/sylvian
lyrics: sylvian
guitar: burkard stangl
acoustic bass: werner dafeldecker
laptop, guitar: christian fennesz
vocals, electronics: david sylvian

6. Snow White In Appalachia * (6:36)

music: dafeldecker/fennesz/moser/rowe/sylvian
lyrics: sylvian
guitar: keith rowe
piano: john tilbury
acoustic bass: werner dafeldecker
cello: michael moser
laptop, guitar: christian fennesz
vocals, keyboards: david sylvian

7. Emily Dickinson (6:25)

music: fennesz/parker/sylvian/tilbury
lyrics: sylvian
piano: john tilbury
saxophone: evan parker
laptop guitar: christian fennesz
signal processing: joel ryan
vocals, electronics: david sylvian

8. The Department Of Dead Letters (2:26)

music: fennesz/mattos/parker/sylvian/tilbury
piano: john tilbury
saxophone: evan parker
cello: marcio mattos
laptop guitar: christian fennesz
live signal processing: joel ryan
electronics: david sylvian

9. Manafon * (5:23)

music: dafeldecker/fennesz/moser/rowe/sylvian
lyrics: sylvian
guitar: keith rowe
acoustic bass: werner dafeldecker
cello: michael moser
laptop, guitar: christian fennesz
trumpet: franz hautzinger
vocals: david sylvian


Official press release:

David Sylvian is a man apart. In a thirty-year career that spans the New Romantic movement, ambient works and progressive rock, and mature and esoteric pop, Sylvian has tested popular styles and bent them to his own vision. But the ‘00s have seen a more extreme side of his work. While 2003’s Blemish startled long-time fans with its emotional rigour, Sylvian has taken the next step with Manafon – a work of nuance and stern musicality, that is also intriguing, suspenseful, and horribly beautiful.

On Manafon, Sylvian pursues “a completely modern kind of chamber music. Intimate, dynamic, emotive, democratic, economical.” In sessions in London, Vienna, and Tokyo, Sylvian assembled the world’s leading improvisers and innovators, artists who explore free improvisation, space-specific performance, and live electronics. From Evan Parker and Keith Rowe, to Fennesz and members of Polwechsel, to Sachiko M and Otomo Yoshihide, the musicians provide both a backdrop and a counterweight to his own vocal performances – which, minus one instrumental, are nakedly the center of each piece.

Sylvian’s voice has never been so dominant or so striking, and his resonant tenor and deliberate vibrato captivate the listener from the start of “Small Metal Gods.” Its prominence would come off as egotistical – except that each performance is an exercise in self-exposure, and each character study is written in the third-person, to allow the maximum detachment.

“It’s like a one-man monologue in which every change of light and backdrop is crucial to the carrying of the central performance. It’s an ensemble work even though there is a central performance.” Though the setlist is all ballads, romanticism is out, and no percussion provides a pulse. All the melody and rhythm rest in the voice. Aside from overdubs of acoustic guitar or John Tilbury’s somber, Feldman-esque phrases on piano, Sylvian enhanced but did not reconfigure the improvisations, giving himself just the skeletons of songs to guide him.

When an instrument locks with the lyrics – as when Fennesz introduces a texture that clinches the disaster of “Snow White in Appalachia” – the moment is indescribable; when it dissolves Sylvian doesn’t pause. Neither a complement nor a Greek chorus, the instrumentalists maintain an ambiguous attitude to the singer, and what he’s saying. When Sylvian’s delivery implies sympathy or mockery on “The Greatest Living Englishman,” the music is cantankerous but dry, and Otomo Yoshihide’s abrupt snippets of classical vinyl may or may not share the joke.

The closing track, “Manafon,” depicts the British poet R. S. Thomas. Sylvian explains that it is “a description of a man of faith, who struggles with that faith, who imposes an order on the external world in the hope of finding it internally. A man who embraces the morals and values of his faith and lives by them but who also struggles with the silence that burns inside his own heart and mind. God’s silence. He’s a man out of time who begins to look, on the surface, more like some tragicomic figure as time passes. While he seems to be an insufferable individual in many ways there’s a quixotic element in his quest for knowledge, for upholding morals and values that even he struggles with when it comes to believing in their efficacy.”

Manafon’s contradictions lay at the heart of its excellence. It’s driven not just by the tension between improvisation and composition,
frontman and ensemble, or in Sylvian’s words, “intimacy and solitude.” Manafon captures the dilemma of a man who studies himself clincically, but cannot truly understand himself; who’s disillusioned, but maybe laughably so. The most common sensation, which hangs in almost every note, is a feeling of suspense. The sole instrumental – to which Sylvian also contributes – sounds less like a performance, and more like a wellspring of possibilities.

The album ends simply on a phrase and a breath. But there’s a happier ending in its other theme: Manafon also explores the creative process. Intuition drew Sylvian to these pieces and these players, and the surprises they bring: a cello visiting like a warm hand on a forehead, the unpredictable use of unadulterated sine waves, the brassy path of Evan Parker’s soprano sax solo. Manafon has a forbidding core, but aesthetically, each piece is an engrossing discovery.

“Maybe I’m attracted to the stories of individuals who search for meaning on their own terms,” says Sylvian. “But what I’m fascinated by is the devotion to a creative discipline. The meaning with which the work imbues the life regardless of its reception and, to a certain extent, its importance.” Sylvian’s search is endless, and maybe quixotic. The fruits of the journey are unknowably rich.

Presented as ever in a beautiful digipak featuring exquisite artwork from Ruud Van Empel and designed by Chris Bigg.

Hi everybody -

some time ago I asked Keith Lowe (bassist extraordinaire for David Sylvian, Bill Frisell, Fiona Apple and many other people you might know) to do an interview for this space, and he kindly accepted. So read what he has to say regarding his career, his experience with Sylvian, the upcoming tour and more.

KEITH LOWE INTERVIEW - By Marco Machera

1. Hi Keith. How long have you been playing bass? What did bring you to choose this instrument?

I've been playing bass for 35 years. I come from a musical family, and all us kids (I'm the youngest of 5) started playing music at a very early age. I originally wanted to play the trombone, but was told my arms were too short (I think they had enough trombone players in school already!). So my next choice was acoustic bass. Not sure what the attraction was, other than it looked cool.. might have something to do with my last name being Lowe!

2. What do you think is more important to be a good bass player?

There are so many things! But, if I had to boil it down into a tiny paragraph of things i personally find important, I would say a strong sense of time, large ears (figuratively!), confidence, strength, flow, and not feeling the need to fill up too much space. For one to play well with others, it's important to leave them somewhere to play! These are the things I try to focus on the most.

3. Is it true that guitarists hate bass players? :D

Maybe THAT'S why none of them are returning my calls!!

4. You collaborated with a lot of great artists (Bill Frisell, David Sylvian, Fiona Apple, Wayne Horvitz... just to name a few). Is it natural for you to "switch" between all these different kinds of music?

I just see it all as music, and so 'switching' isn't really an issue. I love playing all sorts of music. Not only does it keep me busy, but it also keeps me artistically happy, and opens up a lot of opportunities that wouldn't otherwise be there. As an example, my interest in playing old country music is one of the main reasons I got the opportunity to play with Bill Frisell (who is a big country fan), which happily brings us to the next question....

5. How did you get to play with David Sylvian?

As you probably know, Bill Frisell has worked some with David. When David was gearing up for his Everything and Nothing tour back in 2000, he asked Bill who he would recommend that could play both acoustic and electric bass and was up for the job. Thankfully Bill gave him my name and number. Thanks Bill!

6. You're scheduled for a tour with David in September. Are you going to play as "Nine Horses", or is it a solo tour for David?

If you don't mind, I'll respectfully pass on that question and let David announce those details himself. I hope you all understand.

7. How was touring with David Sylvian in 2001, for the "Everything & Nothing" tour?

It was a complete pleasure. Not only do I love David's music and have the upmost respect for him artistically, but he is also a dear soul who I am happy to call a friend.

8. Do you have any funny memories about touring that you'd like to share with us?

Well, there was there was this one time at band camp .. um, never mind. :-)

9. When it comes to record a bassline for a song, does David give you particular instructions, or you're free to create your own part?

It depends... sometimes David has an idea of what he'd like to hear, but he is very interested in your personal interpretation of that idea. If I may be so bold as to speak for David, he's not interested in some robotic replay, and is much more interested in hearing what an outside entity will bring to the process. On the tune Wonderful World, I seem to remember him playing the track for me with no instruction, and I just started playing along with it, and the line I came up with is pretty much what you hear on the recording. So it varies.... whatever serves the song best!

10. In which projects you're currently involved in?

The latest recording I did was with a producer/guitar player from Canada by the name of Steve Dawson. I work with him on a lot on projects; artists he produces for his label, and people we both play with like Jim Byrnes (who is a fantastic roots singer/guitar player/actor)... but I am getting away from the question! The last recording was Steve's next solo album. It's a two parter, one disc is modern acoustic folk/blues/hawaiian music with some sonic experimentation thrown in. The 2nd one is kind of mellow, moody instrumentals composed on and for the pedal steel guitar. Should be a nice recording. Also, Wayne Horvitz is planning another recording this winter which I am very much looking forward to.
Since you've got me talking, aside from music, I'm a bit of a book binder in my spare time. In the future I plan on publishing limited edition, hand made books on my own, as well as with another publishing company called Ouroboros Press. Ideas on subject matter and design are still being bantered about.
It's an exciting time!

11. Have you ever thought about doing a solo album?

Yes! Since I am fairly busy working with other people, I unfortunately work a bit slowly when it comes to my own projects, but something is in the works. I'm looking forward to collaborating with some very talented people. Thank you for asking!

12. I've read on your website that you're a keen collector, of various kinds of items. Can you tell us something about this passion?

Not only did I come from a musical family, I also came from a family of pack rats! The topic of why people collect could take up a lot of time and space here and would no doubt bore people to tears! I'll just say I like to surround myself with things that give me joy and speak to me on some level. It's very comforting to me. The focus of my collecting shifts over time and right now it's old books illustrated by Arthur Rackham, limited edition books by Heavenly Monkey, and etchings and books by an artist named Charles Van Sandwyk.

Well, that's about it. Thanks for asking me to participate. I look forward to the tour very much and hope to see you all out there!