New and not so. As you can easily deduct from its title, “Died In The Wool” are variations on David Sylvian’s 2009 release “Manafon” including collaborations with acclaimed composer Dai Fujikura, producers Jan Bang and Erik Honoré and a stellar roster of contemporary musicians and improvisers. The 50 minutes of the original “Manfon” weren’t an easy listening and “Died In The Wool” are another intercourse in the outer limits of avant-garde and experimental music, a dark and strange trip into the abstract reflections of the reality. You can listen the album at Sylvian’s official site HERE .
I was a huge fan of Japan back in the 80s and I followed Sylvian since, he never disappointing me even when he gave us some hard peaces to chew with our ears, but most, with our souls and minds. Food for thoughts, some may say, but also, food for the spirit.
At age of 53, David Alan Batt still have the spirit of the explorer, pathfinder. “Died In The Wool” have a sparking avant-garde jazz shine, it’s filled with strange noises and dark grooves, open another dimension for this compositions. It’s gloomy, but still, beautiful, sometimes scary, but exciting. The string quartet added by Fujikura to these songs are awesome, gives new shades of color, offers kind of release.
On Disc Two we’ve got the 18.15 minutes long “when we return you won’t recognise us†— for the first time, a stereo mix of David Sylvian’s audio installation. First commissioned for the Biennial of Canaries 2008-2009, the work was inspired by a 2003 genetics research article focusing on the Canary Islands, which discovered that despite Spanish colonization and the slave trade, fully half to three-quarters of the population retains its aboriginal genetic lineage.
Deep lyrics and messages dressed in the tuxedo of contemporary music, classy and experimental simultaneously and absolutely David Sylvian.
Disc One
Small Metal Gods
Died In The Wool
I Should Not Dare
Random Acts Of Senseless Violence
A Certain Slant Of Light
Anomaly At Taw Head
Snow White In Appalachia
Emily Dickinson
The Greatest Living Englishman (Coda)
Anomaly At Taw Head (A Haunting)
Manafon
The Last Days of December
Disc Two
When We Return You Won’t Recognise Us
“Under yellow light
Comes the face of tomorrow
Lights the fuse
Gives meaning to
All that was previously hollow
To a soundtrack of sirens
And mute aspiration
The express train to Heathrow
First of the morning
Is leaving the station
Our reckless sun rises
On the tip of the iceberg
Hidden in plain sight
Still alive and full of surprises
A generation gone soft
Over new acquisitions, that can’t take the edge off
I’ve put away my childish things
Abandoned my silence too
For the future will contain
Random acts of senseless violence
The target’s hit will be non-specific
We’ll roll the numbers play with chance
All suitable locations unplanned in advance
Someone’s back kitchen, stacked like a factory
With improvised devices, there’s bound to injuries
With improvised devices…
No phone-ins, no courtesy, no kindness
And the future will contain
Random acts of senseless violence
And it’s not just the boredom
It’s something endemic
It’s the fear of disorder
Stretched to its limits
And the safety of numbers is just a contrivance
For the future will contain
Random acts of senseless violence
Democracy is very…
Democracy is very, very… ” (Random Acts of Senseless Violence)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiqwcP_RJm8&w=500&h=305]
