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
Pane of Truth
Sylvan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Overloaded sceneries – living side by side
Voices from this mouth of screams tempted me with thousand faces
Waiting in this room of fears hope to fall asleep
[Refrain]
Once in times so long ago when I heard the breeze of laughter
Innocence so warm and neat like sunbeams through the pane of glass and
Wonder if this light was just a dream …
Starring through the open hole, paralyzed and full of anger
All the people that I see since the world has changed
Visions of distorted lust – travesty of human nature
While this window silently suffocates my screams …
[Refrain]
Pieces cut out elementary – Paranoia fades out gently
… fade out, you lied – fade out and die …
Looking at the flattened walls – thought I saw a trace of something
Lying in my room of dark, windowless but safe
Once in times so long ago when I heard the breeze of laughter
Innocence so warm and neat like sunbeams through the pane of glass and
Now that all those years gone by – fading light replaced by darkness
Wonder if this light was just a dream …
The lyrics to Sylvan's song Pane of Truth are a poetic representation of the experience of losing innocence and being haunted by past traumas. The first verse describes the singer's state of mind as lying in bed, haunted by sorrow and overwhelmed by a flood of memories and emotions, all of which converge to create a sense of fear and despair. The second verse further emphasizes the sense of disorientation and loss of control that the singer feels, as they are confronted with visions of a decayed and twisted world that they no longer recognize. The refrain is the most poignant part of the song, where the singer nostalgically recalls a time when they were innocent and full of joy, represented by the warm and neat "sunbeams through the pane of glass". The repetition of the lines "now that all those years gone by – fading light replaced by sorrow" connects the refrains to the verses, conveying a sense of longing for the past and despair about the present.
Overall, the song is an evocative portrayal of the experience of losing one's innocence, and the overwhelming sense of grief and despair that can come with it. The singer's sense of isolation and helplessness in the face of their own trauma is palpable, as is their deep longing for a time that they can never return to.
Line by Line Meaning
Lying in my bed of tears, haunted by the eye of sorrow
Feeling overwhelmed with sadness and grief, unable to escape the presence of sadness.
Overloaded sceneries – living side by side
Being completely surrounded by different things, unable to focus on any one thing in particular.
Voices from this mouth of screams tempted me with thousand faces
Hearing overwhelming and distressing thoughts in one's own mind, causing confusion and temptation to give in to negativity.
Waiting in this room of fears hope to fall asleep
Feeling trapped and helpless in a state of fear, hoping for some escape through sleep.
Once in times so long ago when I heard the breeze of laughter
Remembering a time in the past when joy and positivity were more present and easier to find.
Innocence so warm and neat like sunbeams through the pane of glass
Feeling a sense of purity and warmth, like the feeling of sunbeams shining through a window.
And now that all those years gone by – fading light replaced by sorrow
Reflecting on how time has passed and how the positivity and warmth of the past have been replaced with sadness and negativity.
Wonder if this light was just a dream …
Questioning if the positive memories of the past were even real or just a figment of imagination.
Starring through the open hole, paralyzed and full of anger
Feeling trapped and unable to escape negative thoughts and emotions, leading to a sense of frustration and anger.
All the people that I see since the world has changed
Noticing how the world and the people in it have changed over time, potentially leading to feelings of isolation and alienation.
Visions of distorted lust – travesty of human nature
Seeing humanity in a negative light, witnessing a distorted and inappropriate view of sexuality.
While this window silently suffocates my screams …
Feeling unheard and suppressed, being unable to express oneself fully despite having a view of the world outside.
Pieces cut out elementary – Paranoia fades out gently
Simplistic and fundamental parts of life coming into focus, leading to a reduction in paranoia and anxiety.
... fade out, you lied – fade out and die …
Addressing someone or something that has caused harm or negativity, wishing for it to disappear and die out.
Looking at the flattened walls – thought I saw a trace of something
Feeling trapped and confined in a space with no escape, but still holding onto hope for something positive to appear.
Lying in my room of dark, windowless but safe
Feeling protected and secure in a space that is isolated from the outside world, even in the absence of natural light.
Contributed by Dylan J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
2511pixel
sylvan is simply the best prog band from Germany.
PH
You are a boss for uploading a high quality version of this. One of the most sad and incredible songs ever written.
TheDVTproject9
Just recently discovered this amazing album...thanks for uploading. It´s a beautiful song!
MANU 10
Esta canción me tiene enganchado me caguen deuuu!!!
Nadia Velazquez
Me encanta!
MANU 10
Bestial eh!!!!
Luis LR
Gusté
Rastario74
The art!
sw15god
love it
Rozelyn Roux
So reminiscent of Pink Floyd's sex and magic, but with a twist, and a blend of sugar and spice. If music was food, I imagine this song would taste exquisite.