Thursday 29 November 2012

Albums for Life: 90: Nine Horses: Snow Bourne Sorrow

It's a day full of dreams
It's a dream of a day

One of the benefits of David Sylvian having so many side projects is that I can pick this and also have one of his solo albums in my list. 
Sylvian described Nine Horses as  "a disembodied band". 
The album was made in 2005 with his brother Steve Jansen (ex Japan), the excellently named electronica guru Burnt Friedman, and featured guest appearances from Ryuichi Sakamoto, singer Stina Nordenstam and trumpeter Arve Henriksen. 

With 'Snow Bourne Sorrow', all of the usual Sylvian signposts apply: 'haunting beauty' 'ground breaking', 'style fusing', yet there's a warmth to the production and fat jazz chords that makes it one of his most accessible works; particularly relevant as the project was shelved in deference to Sylvian's quirky, spartan, borderline bonkers 'Blemish'.
This can be a challenging album too, if you want to really concentrate on it. Alternatively you can switch off and just wallow in its wonderful warmth.












1 comment:

  1. I love this one - it is as if he suddenly remembered that you can be experimental and progressive and have gorgeous melodies as well!

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