Manafon (album)
Encyclopedia
Manafon is a 2009 album by David Sylvian
. It is an avant-garde work combining elements of free improvisation
, experimental rock
and chamber music
. It reached rank #6 in the The Wire
s list of best 2009 albums.
, Tokyo
and London
. Of the recording process, Sylvian said:
"There was nothing written when we went into the studio - this was very much free improvisation. So, the selection of the group of musicians for each improvisation was paramount. I recognized on the day which pieces could work for me. The process was that I took the material away and then wrote and recorded the vocal line over in a couple of hours. So I couldn't analyze my contribution and that in a way was my form of improvisation - and I enjoyed the rapidity of response."
"I take the sessions and work on them at a later time. I attempt to 'improvise' lyrics and melodies as I go, writing and recording all in a matter of hours. The basic tracks themselves undergo little or no editing as such. The structure pretty much remains as given from the original sessions. I might add an introduction or overdub other elements onto the original take. Here's a couple of examples: "Senseless Violence": Recorded in Vienna with Rowe/Polwechsel/Fennesz. I added guitar parts then layered Tilbury's piano into the track then added the vocal and an introduction. "Greatest Living Englishman: Initial take" suggested acoustic guitar overdubs which I requested of Otomo and Tetuzi on the spot. I later cut and pasted some interesting turntable activity from an alternate take onto this track. I also added an introduction by cutting and pasting elements from an earlier take. Tilbury was added to the coda. Melody and vocal added. "Rabbit Skinner": no editing. added acoustic guitar myself then vocals."
: lyrics often reflect the main themes written by the poet and the title of the album refers indeed to a Welsh namesake village in which Thomas lived for a while.
"Manafon is indeed a village in Wales, a village in which Thomas lived for sometime and served as rector to the parish. In this small village, Thomas had trouble filling the pews of a Sunday but in a sense it was something of an idyllic spot in which to raise a child (a strict, taciturn and somewhat indifferent parent), master his profession and write his poetry. So, the physically real village became for me a metaphor for the poetic imagination"
Available formats: CD, Japanese cd edition, Limited edition Box (including the documentary "Amplified Gesture") and LP.
Special thanks to:
Richard Chadwick, Yuka Fujii, Adrian Molloy, Chris Bigg, Sarah Humphries, Steve Jansen
, Noél Akchoté, Philipp Wachsmann and all the musicians who generously participated in this recording.
Cover artworks: Ruud Van Empel, study in green n° 1, 5, 8 (2003) study in green n° 16 (2004) courtesy Flatland Gallery, Utrecht
.
David Sylvian
David Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
. It is an avant-garde work combining elements of free improvisation
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
, experimental rock
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
and chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
. It reached rank #6 in the The Wire
The Wire (magazine)
The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...
s list of best 2009 albums.
Production
Manafon was recorded over a three-year period in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Of the recording process, Sylvian said:
"There was nothing written when we went into the studio - this was very much free improvisation. So, the selection of the group of musicians for each improvisation was paramount. I recognized on the day which pieces could work for me. The process was that I took the material away and then wrote and recorded the vocal line over in a couple of hours. So I couldn't analyze my contribution and that in a way was my form of improvisation - and I enjoyed the rapidity of response."
"I take the sessions and work on them at a later time. I attempt to 'improvise' lyrics and melodies as I go, writing and recording all in a matter of hours. The basic tracks themselves undergo little or no editing as such. The structure pretty much remains as given from the original sessions. I might add an introduction or overdub other elements onto the original take. Here's a couple of examples: "Senseless Violence": Recorded in Vienna with Rowe/Polwechsel/Fennesz. I added guitar parts then layered Tilbury's piano into the track then added the vocal and an introduction. "Greatest Living Englishman: Initial take" suggested acoustic guitar overdubs which I requested of Otomo and Tetuzi on the spot. I later cut and pasted some interesting turntable activity from an alternate take onto this track. I also added an introduction by cutting and pasting elements from an earlier take. Tilbury was added to the coda. Melody and vocal added. "Rabbit Skinner": no editing. added acoustic guitar myself then vocals."
Lyrical Inspiration
For the recording of Manafon, Sylvian was also inspired by the Welsh poet R. S. ThomasR. S. Thomas
Ronald Stuart Thomas was a Welsh poet and Anglican clergyman, noted for his nationalism, spirituality and deep dislike of the anglicisation of Wales...
: lyrics often reflect the main themes written by the poet and the title of the album refers indeed to a Welsh namesake village in which Thomas lived for a while.
"Manafon is indeed a village in Wales, a village in which Thomas lived for sometime and served as rector to the parish. In this small village, Thomas had trouble filling the pews of a Sunday but in a sense it was something of an idyllic spot in which to raise a child (a strict, taciturn and somewhat indifferent parent), master his profession and write his poetry. So, the physically real village became for me a metaphor for the poetic imagination"
Track listing
All lyrics written by David Sylvian.- "Small Metal Gods" 5:49
- "The Rabbit Skinner" 4:41
- "Random Acts of Senseless Violence" 7:06
- "The Greatest Living Englishman" 10:55
- "125 Spheres" 0:29
- "Snow White In Appalachia" 6:35
- "Emily DickinsonEmily DickinsonEmily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
" 6:25 - "The Department of Dead Letters" 2:25
- "Manafon" 5:23
- "Random Acts of Senseless Violence (Remixed by Dai Fujikura)"
- Bonus track on the japanese edition and the lp edition.
Available formats: CD, Japanese cd edition, Limited edition Box (including the documentary "Amplified Gesture") and LP.
Personnel
- David SylvianDavid SylvianDavid Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
- vocals (all tracks except 8), acoustic guitar (2), keyboards (3, 6), electronics (5, 7, 8), art direction, engineering, production, mixing. - Burkhard StanglBurkhard StanglBurkhard Stangl is a composer and musician, currently of Vienna, Austria. Using primarily guitar and electronics, he is a prolific performer in the world of electro-acoustic improvisation, having participated on over 50 recordings. One of his most noted recordings is schnee, a duet with Cristof...
- guitar (1, 5) - Werner Dafeldecker - acoustic bass (1, 3, 5, 6, 9)
- Michael Moser - cello (1, 3, 6, 9)
- Christian FenneszChristian FenneszChristian Fennesz is an Austrian guitarist active in electronic music, often credited on albums simply as Fennesz....
- laptop, guitar (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) - Toshimaru NakamuraToshimaru NakamuraToshimaru Nakamura is a Japanese musician, active in free improvisation and Japanese onkyo.He began his career playing rock and roll guitar, but gradually explored other types of music, even abandoning guitar and started working on circuit bending...
- no input mixer (1, 4) - Otomo Yoshihide - turntables (1, 3, 4), acoustic guitar (right channel) (4)
- John TilburyJohn TilburyJohn Tilbury is a British pianist. He is considered one of the foremost interpreters of Morton Feldman's music, and since 1980 has been a member of the free improvisation group AMM.- Early life and education :...
- piano (2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8) - Evan ParkerEvan ParkerEvan Shaw Parker is a British free-improvising saxophone player from the European free jazz scene.Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free jazz and free improvisation, and has pioneered or substantially expanded...
- saxophone (2, 7, 8) - Marcio Mattos - cello (2, 8)
- Joel Ryan - tape signal processing (2, 7, 8)
- Franz Hautzinger - trumpet (3, 9)
- Keith RoweKeith RoweKeith Rowe is an English free improvisation tabletop guitarist and painter. Rowe is a founding member of both the hugely influential AMM in the mid-1960s and M.I.M.E.O. Having trained as a visual artist, Rowe's paintings have been featured on most of his own albums...
- guitar (3, 6, 9) - Tetuzi AkiyamaTetuzi AkiyamaTetuzi Akiyama is a Japanese guitarist, violinist, and instrument-maker.Akiyama formed the improvisation group Madhar in 1987, and the classical ensemble Hikyo String Quintet in 1994 . In 1995, Akiyama and Sugimoto formed a guitar duo, and played at venues in New York City, Chicago, and Detroit...
- electric and acoustic guitar (left channel) (4) - Sachiko MSachiko MSachiko Matsubara, who usually records as Sachiko M, is a Japanese musician, but she considers herself to be a "non-musician".She was a member of Otomo Yoshihide's Ground Zero from 1994 to 1997, where she used a sampler. More recently, she has concentrated on music made from sine waves...
. - sine waves (4) - Chris Bigg - design
- Atsushi Fukui - David Sylvian portrait and related drawings
- Yuka Fujii - art direction
Additional personnel
Additional engineering:- Vienna: Christoph Amann
- Tokyo: Toshihiko Kasai
- London: Sebastian Lexer, Neil Tucker
Special thanks to:
Richard Chadwick, Yuka Fujii, Adrian Molloy, Chris Bigg, Sarah Humphries, Steve Jansen
Steve Jansen
Steve Jansen is an English drummer, percussionist, singer and composer. He was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London, where he failed academically, leaving at 16....
, Noél Akchoté, Philipp Wachsmann and all the musicians who generously participated in this recording.
Cover artworks: Ruud Van Empel, study in green n° 1, 5, 8 (2003) study in green n° 16 (2004) courtesy Flatland Gallery, Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
.