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
Overture
Sylvan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A deed that lay beyond their needs,
Although you could yet feel,
Although it was so near…
And no-one knew the consequence
…who should have known?
The mess of regularity
It forced her unpredictably
Departure was so near
Announcement never vocalised
…who should have known?
The lyrics in Sylvan's song Overture are a poignant commentary on taking risks and defying the constraints of regularity to achieve something greater. The opening lines, "No-one ever dared believe, A deed that lay beyond their needs," suggest that people often limit themselves to what is comfortable and familiar, and are hesitant to pursue anything beyond those boundaries. However, the song goes on to highlight the fact that there are those who "could yet feel" the potential for greatness, despite the fear and uncertainty that comes with breaking free from the norm.
The lyrics also touch on the idea that taking risks often comes with consequences, which "no-one knew" but "who should have known?" The reference to "mess of regularity" implies that more often than not, people prioritize stability and routine over embracing uncertainty and possibility. As a result, when someone does take a chance and steps out of their comfort zone, they may face unforeseen challenges that force them to adapt quickly and unpredictably.
Line by Line Meaning
No-one ever dared believe-
Nobody had the courage to believe in the possibility of something magnificent.
A deed that lay beyond their needs,
An act that appeared to be unnecessary was out of reach for them.
Although you could yet feel,
Despite the lack of evidence, there was still a sense of impending achievement.
Although it was so near…
Even though the goal was within reach, no one seemed to recognize it.
And no-one knew the consequence
Nobody realized what would happen as a result of their inaction.
…who should have known?
Could someone have anticipated the consequences better?
The mess of regularity
The chaos that ensued when things became too predictable.
It forced her unpredictably
The situation compelled her to act in unpredictable ways.
Although she could yet feel
Despite the denial, she felt that something was about to happen.
Departure was so near
Leaving the present situation and reaching for something better seemed so close.
Announcement never vocalised
Nothing was ever officially stated, leaving everyone with doubts.
…who should have known?
Who had the responsibility to share the news openly?
Contributed by Aaliyah C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.