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• Sweet Billy Pilgrim in support of The Who 30.3.10
  

  SBP will be supporting The Who (performing Quadrophenia) at the Royal Albert Hall, London on the 30th March 2010.
  This is part of the Teenage Cancer Trust series of charity concerts.
  To learn more about the charity visit: www.teenagecancertrust.org
  For ticket information visit: www.royalalberthall.com
  

  
  
  
• allaboutjazz.com - David Sylvian "Manafon"
  

  Singer David Sylvian has had such an unpredictable and diverse recording career that it is interesting to see what will come next. Over the years he has covered a lot of ground, from pop music to gentle, ambient soundscapes, prog rock and fiery, avant-garde experimentation. So it should come as no surprise that his eclectic muse has led him to a new sonic neighborhood with Manafon.

  This recording is what we have come to expect from Sylvian: creative splashes of sounds and unique stylings, where various patterns emerge, dissolve, fade and reappear, where the unexpected is always the norm. It is a rough terrain with burbling low frequencies, sometimes unidentifiable and haunting noises, and a sense of unease. It lurches from savage discordance to near silence. But the music is mostly in the background serving as a platform and even more as a challenge for Sylvian to stretch beyond previously settled patterns. His quiet, warm vocals add melodic subtlety and providing depth and drama without adding distraction.

  Manafon is a sister album to Blemish (Samadhi Sound, 2003), Sylvian's previous excursion into improvised music where he teamed up with guitaristDerek Bailey and pushed himself in another creative direction and plateau (a record also shadowed by a divorce and long term relationship break-up). On that record he used the immediacy of writing words over music improvised during a short time, both acts happening simultaneously. For this record he took the same approach as on Blemish but also gathered an impressive cast of various free-improv musicians. The musicians' unique music excursions can easily be compared to musical approximations of abstract art where each composition unfolds unpredictably. Their interactions add plenty of emotional depth.

  Manafon is a strange record where every detail, each fragment, each sensation within, is compelling. It leaves senses bristling with the shock of the new. As a record it sounds more like a theatre play rather than a musical piece with gaps in dynamics taking on the air of a dramatic pause. Sylvian's beautiful baritone floats around, at times seemingly diving deep. It sure invites loads of thinking and volumes of analysis. The title comes from the name of a village in Wales, a place where poet R.S. Thomas lived and worked and where he wrote his first three volumes of poetry.

  Manafon is not an easy record to listen to and many will be severely disappointed. It is not as accessible as many of his other records nor is it easy to warm up to, which means that many may dismiss it upon a single listen or two, never giving it the time it demands in order to be felt, not to mention understood. To get to that point, a lot of patience and spinning would be necessary. Sylvian inspires, scares, confuses, provokes, stirs up the senses and that's what true artists do. It seems that only those listeners that are dedicated to the artist will probably be patient enough to stay and decode it. This record is not an easy ride but a totally worthwhile one.

  NENAD GEORGIEVSKI

  
  view source article here

  
  
  
• Sweet Billy Pilgrim tour dates for Spring '10
  

  Sweet Billy Pilgrim will be touring this Spring with the award-winning Malian singer Rokia Traoré, who's been described as “the most adventurous African artist around”. Traoré specifically requested the presence of SBP on this tour due to the lasting impression they made when they shared the stage at the critically acclaimed, one-off performance, at London's Barbican of May 2009. This will be an evening of diverse but complimentary musical talents that shouldn't be missed.

  Tuesday 27 April - LONDON Koko*
  0870 432 5527 | www.koko.uk.com | www.ticketweb.co.uk | www.seetickets.com
  

  Wednesday 28 April - LIVERPOOL, Philharmonic Hall
  0151 709 3789 | www.liverpoolphil.com

  
  Friday 30 April - BRISTOL, Colston Hall
  0117 922 3686 | www.colstonhall.org

  
  Sunday 2 May - GATESHEAD, The Sage Gateshead
  0191 443 4661 | www.thesagegateshead.org

  
  Tuesday 4 May - EDINBURGH, Usher Hall
  0131 228 1155 | www.usherhall.co.uk

  
  Wednesday 5 May - MANCHESTER, Bridgewater Hall
  0161 907 9000 | www.bridgewater-hall.org

  
  Thursday 6 May - BRIGHTON FESTIVAL, Dome
  01273 709709 | www.brightondome.org

  
  Friday 7 May - COVENTRY
  024 7652 4524 | www.warwickartscentre.co.uk

  
  
  
• quebelleepoque.wordpress.com - David Sylvian "Manafon"
  

  As expected I’m way too skint to afford any new music with the backlog of albums on my wishlist, so I’m going to review a few that came to my attention at the end of last year.

  My Dad was never really much of a New Romantic so the work of Japan passed me by, its only through the recent collaborations with Christian Fennesz and Arve Henriksen (and noted positions on The Wire and Mapsadaisical’s end of year lists) that David Sylvian has come to my attention.

  I’ve been meaning to buy some of his music for a while, his contribution to the Fennesz track Transit from the album Venice is an incredibly captivating vocal emerging from the warm, creeping static.

  You could wax lyrical about Sylvian’s voice for some time, his smooth baritone compliments the sparse electronic arrangements of Fennesz perfectly. It is no surprise to hear that Fennesz was involved in Manafon.

  From the first track, which starts with some sparse guitar picking and hushed, distant murmurs, his voice washes straight over you, alarmingly close.  Whereas on TransitSylvian’s voice seems almost intertwined with Fennesz’ electronics, the texture of his voice echoing the textured guitar drones, here his voice floats above the music with occasional sharp plucks of guitar seemingly bouncing off his warm vocals. That’s not to say it isn’t cohesive; such is the strength of his voice the instruments are in constant reaction to it, the vocals providing the melody and binding the sparse strings, piano and electronics. This is perhaps best exemplified on The Greatest Living Englishman

  “Here we are then, here we are / notes from a suicide / And he will never ever be / The greatest living Englishman … His aspirations visited him nightly / And amounted to so little”

  Sylvian’s voice is so striking and used in such a melodic fashion it’s easy to just got lost in its tones and textures and forget it’s also communicating some information. One of the beauties of this record is the slow revealing of new layers of noise and lyrics on repeated listens. On The Greatest Living Englishman his lyrics are economically delivered, discussing the failed ambition of a man on his deathbed. His lyrics retain an ambiguity, only the first track on the album Small Metal Gods is written in first person, so the extent of autobiographical content is unclear. TGLE though doesn’t come across as a plea of self-importance, and retains a reticent delivery.

  “And he was never gonna be /The Greatest Living Englishman /He had ideas above his station / Minor virtues go unmentioned”.

  An absorbing listen, heartily recommended.

  A special mention to Ruud Van Empel’s beautiful cover art, which I think gives a great indication of the adventure to be embarked on as you explore the depths of the music on Manafon.

  
  view source article here

  
  
  
• Chicago Reader - David Sylvian "Manafon"
  

  For his latest album, veteran art-pop singer David Sylvian surrounded himself with a heavyweight crew of free improvisers and experimentalists—Christian Fennesz, Evan Parker, Otomo Yoshihide, Keith Rowe, Franz Hautzinger, Sachiko M, and John Tilbury among them. Within meticulously calibrated improvised settings he sings his elliptical lyrics with rhapsodic splendor, shaping grandiloquent melodies that contrast radically with the stark, spiky, sometimes even menacing music.

  PETER MARGASAK

  
  view source article here