1 post tagged “sylvian”

As a teenager in the 80's  I was a fan of the British synth pop band Japan. I even bought the two first solo albums of Japan's lead figure, David Sylvian. As the years went by, I forgot about him and when a friend invited be to his concert here in Oslo, I was quite surprised to hear that he is still touring and recording.

Sylvian is still very much a synth artist although now he is definitely a jazz artist and not in the pop or rock genre. Some of the songs were more than a little experimental. Not being much of a jazz fan myself, I still enjoyed the concert a lot. Here's why:

The mesmerizing voice
David Sylvian has an absolutely wonderful voice. It is like dark velvet -- soft and smooth and brilliant. I could

listen to him sing for hours and hours. Since the Japan days, his voice has matured and seemingly without effort he paints detailed, sombre, fascinating pictures with his song.

The mood
David Sylvian is melancholic. This is no secret, no surprise. Most of his songs are blue. He carries this mood without apology or ironiy and without self pity. He lyrics are mostly meditative, introspective, and he performs them with a lot of heart. I repect that and I cherished the pensive, tender mood that I brought with me from the concert.