Sylvaine: A wonder from Norwegian
Interview conducted on Jan. 12, 2020
by Dan Locke
A balance between the beautiful and the harsh, serenity and chaos, between an outside and an inner world, between our human life and the spiritual origins. Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Sylvaine’s music deals with the extreme range of emotions this human existence has to offer, as a result of being in constant conflict with oneself and struggling to adapt to this place we call our own. The project serves as an emotional catharsis for the artist, revealing the eternal longing for something more residing within its melodies, capturing the feeling of being trapped and restraint by the human form.
Dan Locke: You were born in San Diego, CA moved to the other side of the world. How did that happen?
Sylvaine: My father is from California and met my Norwegian mother while on tour in Scandinavia back in the 80s. After having lived in the US for quite some time, and after I was born over there, they decided to move back to Norway when I was very young, seeing as life, in general, is easier and more protected over here.
Tell me about your upbringing? Since both your parents were involved with music, you must have a lot of music in your life?
It’s always been a huge part of my life, ever since I can remember actually. My father was a professional musician for over 30 years, while my mother worked on the business side of the music industry (record labels, festival/concert promoter, etc.), so music was always a natural part of every day in our household. I have memories of going with my dad to rehearsal and playing at the drums from the age of 5 or something. It wasn’t before my teenage years that I really discovered that music was an expression form I seriously needed in my life though and started my journey to find my own voice, so to speak. I guess you could say it’s been a lifelong interest of mine, even if it took me quite some time to find the strength to make music on my own with Sylvaine.
How did you come up with the name Sylvaine?
After many years of being indifferent bands and artistic groups, when I finally decided to start a solo project, I wanted the name of the project to reflect the duality I wanted to express in the music itself. Sylvaine was a mash-up of the French poet “Verlaine”, one of my favorite poets, and the word “sylvan”, meaning something along the lines of a being pertaining to the forest or something of the forest. These two words represented nature vs urbanity in my mind, and resulted in the name “Sylvaine”. I later discovered it’s also a French name, as well as a butterfly. A happy accident, I suppose…
How did you get your first guitar? And do you still have it?
My very first guitar was an acoustic Takamine, that I got to borrow a long term from my uncle (who also was a musician). He eventually took the guitar back for a record of some sort, so I don’t have it anymore. My first electric guitar was an Agile, Les Paul-type guitar, featuring a semi-hollow body, which I sold to buy my beloved Fender Jaguar a few years later. Never clicked with that Agile to be honest, which might be why I didn’t really start playing guitar before I got my Jaguar in 2013.
What is your favorite guitar now (make and model) and does it have a name?
I have 3 guitars now, all of which I really love, but my favorite must be my Fender Classic Player Jaguar, from 2011. This guitar is just incredible. For being a Jaguar, it even has pretty good sustain, which is unusual! As soon as I bought this guitar back in 2013, it inspired me. None of my albums would have been the same without this little guy, that I named Charles at some point, after Baudelaire and Bukowski. I have to say I also love my Fender Toronado from 1998 too though, which I use on stage these days. I have never played a easier going guitar than this one. Overall, I am a huge fan of the offset Fender guitars. I would love to own a Jazzmaster one day.
What was the first and last concert you went to?
My first real concert was probably Toto in Oslo, sometime during the mid-90s and the last one I went to was Kælan Mikla in Paris in November last year.
How did you pick your label?
After releasing my debut album “Silent Chamber, Noisy Heart” on my own back in 2014, I decided I would try to find a reliable partner to work with for my next releases. At the time, I was in touch with 5 different, interesting labels about the release of my second album “Wistful” and Season of Mist happened to be the one I felt to be most fitting. They offered me a good contract, along with a great contact network and distribution network, making it a very fruitful collaboration. I’m very grateful to have worked with them for both “Wistful” and “Atoms Aligned, Coming Undone”.
How did you get your debut album “Silent Chamber, Noisy Heart” out? Did you create pretty much the whole album yourself?
“Silent Chamber, Noisy Heart” was a completely self-produced record, besides the mix and master, where I had Nick Terry and Ray Staff to help me along the way. After having finished the composition of the album back in 2013, I decided to try to record everything on my own and also produce the record myself, except for the drum tracks, which my father, Stephen Shepard, helped me out with. When it came time to release the album, I opted for a self-release, creating my own label for the occasion, even if I did have some interest from a couple of labels. This experience was so valuable, on so many different levels, teaching me a whole lot for my second and even third album. I’m very glad to have gone through all of those steps on my own for this first album. It helped me grow.
Back in 2016, you made it onto the Women of Extreme Music video collection as one of the women to watch out for. How did that feel that you made the list?
It’s always an incredible honor to find yourself on these types of lists, especially knowing just how many incredible artists are around in the music business today. I still find that sort of thing quite surreal, to be honest, having slight issues with self-confidence when it comes to music. I’m extremely grateful for all the reviews, lists and press features the media has given Sylvaine through the years though, helping me spread my music to more and more people around the world. That’s simply incredible.
You just released the Live Session Paris 2019. Why did you do your video in three parts?
We wanted this live session to be somewhere in between an actual live session, like the ones you can witness at KEXP, Audio Tree, etc., a concert and a rehearsal, letting our audience into a different side of the Sylvaine live universe. We wanted to not only showcase the music, but also the interaction between all the members and the intimacy a setting like that creates. Making the session in 3 separate parts was a natural choice for us, to make it more accessible for everyone. It was my lovely drummer who pitched me the idea after we spoke about embarking on some sort of future video project together. We are really happy with the outcome of this session and totally overwhelmed by the kind response from our fans…. They once again proved that they are the best.
Your EP gets released this month tell me about it?
Unrequited contacted me early last year, about potentially doing some sort of collaboration together. At the time, I was trying to make my own EP, which would consist of a more stripped-down version of my usual Sylvaine style, to explore a more direct, naked expression. When I got this message from Unrequited, I figured it might be the perfect occasion to make a split EP together and use the tracks I had been working on already. It was really cool to explore a slightly different side of Sylvaine and also to get back in touch with the piano, which used to be my main instrument of the composition back in the day. I don’t rule out continuing to explore further material in that type of style in the future.
Since you are stated your career in Norway, I am going to name some bands from that part of the world. I would like you to say something about each if you can.
Aurora – Original, Norwegian pop artist, with the typical icy sound you often find in Nordic pop acts. I love the fact that she’s an odd character, going against a lot of the typical pop artist of today. We need more people like that in this scene. The music itself is more challenging than the usual pop material, yet you find plenty of strong hooks.
Sigrid – One of the newer pop sensations here in Norway. I actually really like her, and think she’s a pretty decent role model for the younger generations. Not only does she make very catchy pop songs, with strong melodies, but she’s also always been super down to earth and not overly focused on appearance/non-musical stuff. Very good!
Ane Brun – An extremely distinctive voice that you could recognize anywhere. I was never that much into Ane Brun, to be honest, but I do appreciate her originality.
Astrid S. – Along with Aurora and Sigrid, one of the biggest pop stars in Norway these days. Even if she seems a bit more like the traditional female pop artist, I remember seeing her on some sort of talent show over here, and she’s definitely an artistic young woman, both performance and compositional wise. Also liking her positive vibe on social media and the kind things she’s known for doing for her fans.
A-ha – Obviously a very important band to us in Norway, and one of the biggest exports we had musically, along with all the black metal bands of the 90s. Their music consisted of lots of simple, catchy melodies, but still using some interesting arrangements, especially with synthesizers (thanks to Magne Furuholmen).
Susanne Sundfør – She has always been a very unique pop artist in the Norwegian scene, following her own specific expression and often using unusual key changes and arrangements in her songs. Once again I have to come back to that icy, cold sound, which I feel is super present in her music, with a good example being one of her biggest hits “White Foxes”. I love that track. Her voice is very special, very beautiful and melancholic.
Sløtface – Very cool, modern style punk/pop-punk band, making catchy, yet very raw and direct music. One of the bands showcasing that we’ve actually had some cool punk oriented acts coming out of Norway (along with the older ones, such as Kjøtt, Wannskrækk, Liliedugg, etc.)
Mayhem – One of the really dark black metal bands from the golden age here in Norway. Like everyone, I love De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, a truly remarkable black metal release, in it’s incredibly strong, dark atmosphere. Still one of the best one’s today!
Dimmu Borgir – Never been my favorite from the Black metal scene truth be told. The overly theatrical side of the project just never touched me. I much prefer the symphonic side of a band like Emperor for example. The earlier records have some good stuff, but not my cup of tea in general.
Mari Boine –Wonderful, original artist, showcasing the very best of Lappish music. I have so much respect for her, not only as an artist but also as an advocate for Lappish culture in Norway. Thru her beautiful music and endless of projects with other artists in Norway, she brought attention to people that unfortunately have been suppressed greatly within our country. I always find some sort of ancient wisdom in her music, kind of like with a band like Dead Can Dance, but in a more profound way somehow.
Anything in closing?
Thank you ever so much for letting me speak a bit to the readers of UnRated Magazine. It has been a pleasure! I truly hope to make it over to North America sometime soon, as I would love to finally meet the fans over there. The amount of support and beautiful messages I get from this territory warms my heart, so we definitely need to make some shows happen! Until then, thanks again and wishing all of you out there the very best for this new year – may it bring lots of positivity all around.
You must be logged in to post a comment.