1. Prog Rock, German band<… Read Full Bio ↴Note: There are three artists with this name.
1. Prog Rock, German band
2. 60's female pop singer.
3. Low-Fi Dublin Band
1.
In the spring of 1990, Kay Söhl, the two keyboarders Volker Söhl and Matthias Harder, founded the band TEMPORAL TEMPTATION. By that summer the band had already played its first gig - the first live performance of the core founding members of the band. In a way it was also Sylvan's birth. At this time the band played hard rock music and sang in German. Only a small part of their music was progressive rock.
In Autumn 1990, the band changed its name to CHAMELEON, a symbol of changeability, representing the long instrumental parts in their music. The cover artwork had a likeness to early MARILLION covers and has never been issued. In summer 1991 Marko Heisig joined Chameleon as the lead singer and bassist. Between 1992 and 1994 the band had a gloomy and aggressive tonality to them and in this they were very different from the more rocky sounds of the previous years. In 1992 the first official demo tape of Chameleon was released. With Matthias Koops as lead singer, the second official demo tape was recorded. The title was 'Slaves' and its tracklist was 'Time', 'Slaves', 'Mirror of a Lifetime' and 'Childhood Dreams'. (By the way, 'Slaves' was the old title of a version of today's song 'Deliverance' after which Sylvan's first album was named!).
In winter 1995 one of the band's dreams was fulfilled: Marco Glühmann, an old friend who played many years before with Chameleon, joined the band. Within the same year the third and last official demo tape was recorded. The tracklist was 'Beren and Luthien', 'Golden Cage' and 'Outro'. All of these songs have merged into Sylvan's first studio album in one way or another.
In 1997 the last live concert took place under the name Chameleon. Marko Heisig left the band and the bass was taken over by Patrick Münster. The band changed its name to Sylvan. Their first cd was recorded in 1998 and the second was released in 2000. (Adapted from text on the official history website). The music of the band is progressive rock with some hard rock moments, and some spacey melodic pop-rock elements, probably lingering from earlier in their career. Also there are some Art-prog elements, but really not enough to call this music Art-rock as such. Other apparent influences include psychedelic rock, a little PINK FLOYD in the spacey elements, and surely MARILLION and GENESIS.
2. 60's female pop singer. In 2006 her record "We Don't Belong" first recorded in 1965, was featured on a Rhino Records compilation set "The Hatbox collection" "Girl Groups Lost and Found" which gained two Grammy Award nominations in January 2007. Now a successful photographer living in London. www.sylvanmason.com In 1965 Sylvan became the first and only Stowaway on Radio Caroline's Mi Amigo Pirate Ship. She spent the weekend with Tony Blackburn, Roger Gale and Mike Allen promoting her record "We Don't Belong" which had recently been banned by the BBC; helping the dj's with their quiz shows and making jingles whilst the headlines in newspapers screamed "Beautiful blonde Marooned with 15 men". Unlike the new film "The Boat That Rocked" which is based on Radio Caroline, it was cold, uncomfortable and a bit smelly says Sylvan but the boys were very sweet and well behaved.
3. Irish band Sylvan are a five-piece low-fi Dublin-based group, originally formed in 2000 by band members Colin Russell-Conway (drums), Paul Clynes (vox & lead guitar), and Adam McCormack (vox & guitar). Adam left the group in 2004, to move to Denmark and is now recording & gigging with his new band, Imagine I Had Hands. At this point Kieron (Beardy) joined the band to replace Adam on vox & guitar. And Fergus Russell-Conway was also recruited to join the band on bass & backing vox. The band have released 3 full-length albums to date. Their first album "The Ugly Lemon" was recorded in Chicago with Steve Albini in 2003. They then recorded their second album My Marble Eye themselves in Dublin in January 2005. Sylvan have just released their third album "We Are Lying to you through song" in September 2007, and are currently touring this album in Ireland and Europe. http://www.myspace.com/sylvan1
Fearless
Sylvan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I got to keep cool and then unwind
I got to stay sane and take a breath
I got to slow down and just relax
I try to persuade myself for real
I try to keep control of all my fears
I try to switch off and eventually turn aside
Run away … run away
Need it - Do I - Try it - Will I - here
Want it - Can I - Got it …
Rejoice like others do
I want to let go and be just like you
I want to hang around while I think of nothing else
I want to be sun and not the rain
I cannot just stop this masquerade
I cannot accept that it's too late
I cannot lose my anxiety
But I try to find a place where I used to be me
I try to break out but I cannot succeed
I have to be strong but again I'm too weak
My senses are frail - so defenseless within
But though I'm afraid I will never give in
Coalitions of viciousness fade away and take up
All my weird sensations - wish I could just wake up
From my known improvised life to make up
My mind inside - will I just capitulate and give up?
Insufficiently wise and I don't know when I'll grow up
Myself compromised and the cracks now show up
In my own crystallized side to blow up
To vaporize but I'll never give up …
Within our heads so deep inside, within our depths - that's where they hide
And in our heads they're buried deep; and with these shades we have to live
The song Fearless by Sylvan is about the internal struggles of a person who is trying to overcome their fears and anxiety. The lyrics emphasize the need for calmness and relaxation to prevent overwhelming emotions. The singer tries to persuade himself to keep control of his fears and not to waste his time trying to avoid them. However, he cannot stop the masquerade and accepts that he cannot just break out of his inner turmoil. He wants to be like others who are carefree and want to let go of their anxiety.
The singer's senses are weak and fragile, but he is afraid, yet he will try never to give in. However, he wonders if he will ever grow up and be wise enough to overcome his anxiety. The internal struggles are deep within our heads, and we have to live with them, according to the lyrics. But, despite the cracks that show within the singer's crystallized side, he will not give up.
Overall, the lyrics emphasize the theme of fear and anxiety and the need to stay calm and relaxed to overcome them.
Line by Line Meaning
Calm down and take my time
I need to relax and proceed with caution
I got to keep cool and then unwind
I must approach things calmly and then release my tension
I got to stay sane and take a breath
I must keep my mental health in check and take a moment to breathe
I got to slow down and just relax
I must slow down and simply let go
I try to persuade myself for real
I am attempting to convince myself of the truth
I try to keep control of all my fears
I am struggling to maintain control of my anxieties
I try to switch off and eventually turn aside
I am attempting to ignore my problems in hopes they go away
And I try but I know it's a waste of my time
I know that avoiding my problems is not a solution
Run away … run away
I have the urge to runaway from my issues
Need it - Do I - Try it - Will I - here
I question whether I need to face my challenges, try and will I make an attempt to overcome them
Want it - Can I - Got it …
I want to overcome my obstacles, but question if I have the ability to succeed
Rejoice like others do
I want to experience happiness like others
I want to let go and be just like you
I want to release my worries and be carefree like others
I want to hang around while I think of nothing else
I want to be fully present in the moment and forget my troubles
I want to be sun and not the rain
I want to radiate positivity instead of negativity
I cannot just stop this masquerade
I cannot simply stop pretending I am okay when I am not
I cannot accept that it's too late
I cannot allow myself to believe there is no hope for improvement
I cannot lose my anxiety
I cannot completely rid myself of my worries
But I try to find a place where I used to be me
I try to return to a time when I felt like myself
I try to break out but I cannot succeed
I try to free myself, but it always ends in failure
I have to be strong but again I'm too weak
I must be resilient, but I lack the strength to do so
My senses are frail - so defenseless within
I am vulnerable as my emotions are easily affected by my surroundings
But though I'm afraid I will never give in
Despite my fear, I will never surrender
Coalitions of viciousness fade away and take up
Negative associations lose their power and disappear
All my weird sensations - wish I could just wake up
Strange feelings hope to be easily resolved
From my known improvised life to make up
I must re-create myself and my future
My mind inside - will I just capitulate and give up?
I question whether I will give in or fight to conquer my struggles
Insufficiently wise and I don't know when I'll grow up
I lack the knowledge to make better choices and grow as an individual
Myself compromised and the cracks now show up
My emotional state is becoming too much as cracks in my facade begin to appear
In my own crystallized side to blow up
I fear my own emotions may become explosive
To vaporize but I'll never give up …
I wish to release my problems but remain persistent in finding a solution
Within our heads so deep inside, within our depths - that's where they hide
Our deepest insecurities are buried within our own minds
And in our heads they're buried deep; and with these shades we have to live
We must confront our innermost fears and bear the burden of them
Contributed by Brody E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.