Tyan Sylvester

Ferris and Sylvester release their debut album Superhuman, a body of work highlighting the very best of the duo’s timeless songwriting. The twelve track album holds ten never before heard songs and takes the listener on a journey through the duo’s world where genres intertwine and emotions are stripped down to the core.

When the self-described "disco queen" known as Sylvester stepped on a New York stage opening for Chaka Khan, the local press was entranced. One newspaper approvingly noted that he made "David Bowie look like Lawrence Welk." Nothing was too outrageous for Sylvester. But at his core, he was serious about music and about breaking down the walls of identity. In appearance and demeanor, the unapologetically gay San Francisco star challenged the gender binary long before such discussions were in the mainstream, going far beyond androgyny to create a striking persona all his own.

When the self-described "disco queen" known as Sylvester stepped on a New York stage opening for Chaka Khan, the local press was entranced. One newspaper approvingly noted that he made "David Bowie look like Lawrence Welk." Nothing was too outrageous for Sylvester. But at his core, he was serious about music and about breaking down the walls of identity. In appearance and demeanor, the unapologetically gay San Francisco star challenged the gender binary long before such discussions were in the mainstream, going far beyond androgyny to create a striking persona all his own.

A disco and queer icon who was openly gay throughout his career, Sylvester possessed a supremely expressive high tenor voice unlike any other singer before or since him. He started recording in the early '70s with the rock-oriented Hot Band, releasing two albums before resurfacing later that decade as a solo R&B and disco artist. Recording for the Fantasy label, his singles regularly scaled the upper reaches of Billboard's club chart, truly breaking through with the ecstatic Top 40 crossover hits "Dance (Disco Heat)" and "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)," both of which drove the 1978 album Step II to a gold certification. Sylvester continued to blaze paths after Disco Demolition Night, most significantly teaming with producer Patrick Cowley in 1982 for the Top Five club hit "Do Ya Wanna Funk," an early Hi-NRG classic. Born Sylvester James, Jr. in Los Angeles' Watts neighborhood, Sylvester was introduced to music at an early age by his grandmother, Julia Morgan, who was a traveling jazz singer.

A disco and queer icon who was openly gay throughout his career, Sylvester possessed a supremely expressive high tenor voice unlike any other singer before or since him. He started recording in the early '70s with the rock-oriented Hot Band, releasing two albums before resurfacing later that decade as a solo R&B and disco artist. Recording for the Fantasy label, his singles regularly scaled the upper reaches of Billboard's club chart, truly breaking through with the ecstatic Top 40 crossover hits "Dance (Disco Heat)" and "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)," both of which drove the 1978 album Step II to a gold certification. Sylvester continued to blaze paths after Disco Demolition Night, most significantly teaming with producer Patrick Cowley in 1982 for the Top Five club hit "Do Ya Wanna Funk," an early Hi-NRG classic. Born Sylvester James, Jr. in Los Angeles' Watts neighborhood, Sylvester was introduced to music at an early age by his grandmother, Julia Morgan, who was a traveling jazz singer.

A disco and queer icon who was openly gay throughout his career, Sylvester possessed a supremely expressive high tenor voice unlike any other singer before or since him. He started recording in the early '70s with the rock-oriented Hot Band, releasing two albums before resurfacing later that decade as a solo R&B and disco artist. Recording for the Fantasy label, his singles regularly scaled the upper reaches of Billboard's club chart, truly breaking through with the ecstatic Top 40 crossover hits "Dance (Disco Heat)" and "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)," both of which drove the 1978 album Step II to a gold certification. Sylvester continued to blaze paths after Disco Demolition Night, most significantly teaming with producer Patrick Cowley in 1982 for the Top Five club hit "Do Ya Wanna Funk," an early Hi-NRG classic.

A disco and queer icon who was openly gay throughout his career, Sylvester possessed a supremely expressive high tenor voice unlike any other singer before or since him. He started recording in the early '70s with the rock-oriented Hot Band, releasing two albums before resurfacing later that decade as a solo R&B and disco artist. Recording for the Fantasy label, his singles regularly scaled the upper reaches of Billboard's club chart, truly breaking through with the ecstatic Top 40 crossover hits "Dance (Disco Heat)" and "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)," both of which drove the 1978 album Step II to a gold certification. Sylvester continued to blaze paths after Disco Demolition Night, most significantly teaming with producer Patrick Cowley in 1982 for the Top Five club hit "Do Ya Wanna Funk," an early Hi-NRG classic.

A disco and queer icon who was openly gay throughout his career, Sylvester possessed a supremely expressive high tenor voice unlike any other singer before or since him. He started recording in the early '70s with the rock-oriented Hot Band, releasing two albums before resurfacing later that decade as a solo R&B and disco artist. Recording for the Fantasy label, his singles regularly scaled the upper reaches of Billboard's club chart, truly breaking through with the ecstatic Top 40 crossover hits "Dance (Disco Heat)" and "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)," both of which drove the 1978 album Step II to a gold certification. Sylvester continued to blaze paths after Disco Demolition Night, most significantly teaming with producer Patrick Cowley in 1982 for the Top Five club hit "Do Ya Wanna Funk," an early Hi-NRG classic.

The 1987 film Three O'Clock High is a favorite among Gen X, while the soundtrack from score legends Tangerine Dream (Risky Business, Firestarter) remains as strong as anything they created in their 1980s heyday. 35th Anniversary reissue includes an insert of the original film poster drawn by legendary artist Drew Struzan (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Blade Runner) and features new liner notes and a printer inner sleeve.

Live At the Opera House is the first-ever full release of Sylvester’s iconic 1979 concert at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, previously available only as heavily edited excerpts. The album features 13 unedited songs from the performance, plus a recording of the mid-concert ceremony where Sylvester was awarded the key to San Francisco, culminating in over an hour of previously unreleased music and a total runtime of over 2 hours.