While the album's overall ambience is consistently quiet, sensual, and dimly lit, there are subtle dynamic shifts among the individual compositions. The moodily acoustic "When Poets Dreamed of Angels" is countered by the hymn-like "Let the Happiness In," while the rhythmic pulse of "The Boy With the Gun" is followed by the almost abstract "Maria." The result is an album varied in texture yet unified in mood. Arguably Sylvian's finest effort, SECRETS OF THE BEEHIVE offers a haunting, sustained musical experience.
While the album's overall ambience is consistently quiet, sensual, and dimly lit, there are subtle dynamic shifts among the individual compositions. The moodily acoustic "When Poets Dreamed of Angels" is countered by the hymn-like "Let the Happiness In," while the rhythmic pulse of "The Boy With the Gun" is followed by the almost abstract "Maria." The result is an album varied in texture yet unified in mood. Arguably Sylvian's finest effort, SECRETS OF THE BEEHIVE offers a haunting, sustained musical experience.
Streamlining the muted, organic atmospheres of the previous Gone to Earth to forge a more cohesive listening experience, Secrets of the Beehive is arguably David Sylvian's most accessible record, a delicate, jazz-inflected work boasting elegant string arrangements courtesy of Ryuichi Sakamoto. Impeccably produced by Steve Nye, the songs are stripped to their bare essentials, making judicious use of the synths, tape loops, and treated pianos which bring them to life; Sylvian's evocative vocals are instead front and center, rendering standouts like "The Boy With the Gun" and the near-hit "Orpheus" - both among the most conventional yet penetrating songs he's ever written - with soothing strength and assurance.
While the album's overall ambience is consistently quiet, sensual, and dimly lit, there are subtle dynamic shifts among the individual compositions. The moodily acoustic "When Poets Dreamed of Angels" is countered by the hymn-like "Let the Happiness In," while the rhythmic pulse of "The Boy With the Gun" is followed by the almost abstract "Maria." The result is an album varied in texture yet unified in mood. Arguably Sylvian's finest effort, SECRETS OF THE BEEHIVE offers a haunting, sustained musical experience.
With his second solo album after his departure from art-rock outfit Japan, David Sylvian weaves a nebular, swirling world, nuanced by suspended piano strains, chiming guitars, synthesizer, organ, guitar loops, and tasteful orchestral arrangements. Meticulous attention to instrumentation, arrangement and production creates an almost pre-conscious timbre, while Sylvian's evocative lyrics and his whispering baritone, which hovers somewhere between the somber tones of Richard Thompson and Bryan Ferry's seductive croon, gives the whole its floating, mysterious feel.
DAVID SYLVIAN Weatherbox (Rare 1989 UK deluxe 5-CD box set spanning David's career and his many collaborations. Includes the releases: Brilliant Trees, Alchemy, Gone To Earth, Gone To Earth - Instrumental [Exclusive to this box set] and Secrets Of The Beehive. Also includes a 60 page booklet which documents each release and all the musicians involved plus fold-out poster. The artwork and design is by Russell Mills and Dave Coppenhall with sliding lid on the top of the box. The accompanyment by the likes of Bill Nelson, Sakamoto, Jansen/Barbierri/Karn, Russell Mills, Robert Fripp, Michael Brooks et al bears testimony to just how many TALENTED ARTISTS are influenced and eager to work w/ Mr. Sylvian.
For the past decade, Spirit of the beehive have honed an aesthetic like no other. They’ve chopped up samples, chewed them up, spit them back out again, baby birded it. Across four albums and a smattering of EPs, Zack Schwartz, Corey Wichlin, and Rivka Ravede have fully solidified their stance as some of rock’s weirdest and best deconstructionists. 2018’s Hypnic Jerks was a study in noise punk sampledelia. It was a breakthrough for the band. Frank Ocean became a fan, spinning “fell asleep with a vision,” on Blonded Radio. 2021’s Entertainment Death, was nasty dream pop by way of K-Mart realism and hitting the channel search setting on an old TV set.
For the past decade, Spirit of the beehive have honed an aesthetic like no other. They’ve chopped up samples, chewed them up, spit them back out again, baby birded it. Across four albums and a smattering of EPs, Zack Schwartz, Corey Wichlin, and Rivka Ravede have fully solidified their stance as some of rock’s weirdest and best deconstructionists. 2018’s Hypnic Jerks was a study in noise punk sampledelia. It was a breakthrough for the band. Frank Ocean became a fan, spinning “fell asleep with a vision,” on Blonded Radio. 2021’s Entertainment Death, was nasty dream pop by way of K-Mart realism and hitting the channel search setting on an old TV set.