Subtitled, ‘Manafon Variations‘, this album takes tracks from David Sylvian’s last album and combines them with new ones. The songs are restructured from the voice upwards using two different approaches. For some of the songs, the composer Dai Fujikura has developed string pieces. Working with a string quartet, but using treatments and microtonal layers together with electronic glitches, the result is a beautiful and ethereal sound. Other tracks are developed by Jan Bang and Erik Honore. The individual tracks were constructed in different parts of the world. And yet, there is an underlying coherence to the album which tugs away at the listener, clawing at the unconscious.
David Sylvian has been working out on these minimalist reaches of the sound universe since his ‘blemish’ album. This set of variations brings a fractured coherence to the experiment which generates a whole new experience. This is not a remix album – typically they are derivative of the original. Instead, using the original source material a completely new mood piece is created. Impressive.
I’ve been listening to Sylvian’s music since the mid-70s when I first heard ‘Quiet Life’ by Japan. What an immense journey to reach the point of this album. And it’s a journey I have thoroughly enjoyed following with him.
It is fantastic to hear a musician who continues to explore and push out the boundaries.
“And the radio falls silent
But for short bursts of static
And she sleeps in a house
That once too had a name”
