Nyles Lannon

小簡介
這年頭玩電子民謠已經(jīng)不是什么新鮮事了，從英國的Ben Christophers、Faultline，西班牙的Emak Bakia，到美國芝加哥的Sea and Cake等前輩篳路藍(lán)縷的開墾，這個樂種也培養(yǎng)了一群死忠的樂迷。而如何在前人打下的根基上繼續(xù)玩出新的意思，往更美好的聲音國度邁進(jìn)，就看后繼者如何發(fā)揮巧思和創(chuàng)意，突破這類樂種本身的局限。 而Nyles Lannon是個讓人眼睛一亮的新名字。簡稱為n.Lannon的他，正職是舊金山樂團(tuán)Film School的主唱兼吉他手，2004年中於Badman廠下推出了首張個人專輯Chemical Friends。你會想，如果這不過是又一張普通的電子民謠專輯，有何吸引人之處呢？第一，這張專輯一點也不普通，再來，它并沒有那么的電子，民謠的部份反而多了一點點。 Chemical Friends吸引人的地方在於這些旋律的編寫實在太美妙了，不論把它放在哪個領(lǐng)域來衡量，它都可以站得直挺挺的大口呼氣。充滿巧思的合音，簡直把Simon & Garfunkel的絕招全部學(xué)來；很多歌曲轉(zhuǎn)折的片段，也會讓人想起Nick Drake或Elliott Smith的神韻。聽著專輯里的十一首歌是再愉悅不過的享受，每首歌就如同掛在墻上的一幅畫，我們從不同的角度觀看時，畫里的光影和線條也隨著時空旋轉(zhuǎn)擺蕩。 空心民謠吉他仍是舞臺上的主角，而電子合成器和鼓機(jī)總是在最適當(dāng)?shù)臅r機(jī)出場，所有樂器恰如其分地扮演自己的角色。它們烘托的只有一個主題，就是這美好無匹的醉人之音。想像少一點電的Postal Service和Magnetic Fields的結(jié)合，n.Lannon就是有這般神奇的魔力。如果前方是一片凜冽的冰場，Chemical Friends就是帶我們穿越寒冷的暖流，在凝結(jié)的空氣中
Nyles Lannon is a San Francisco based musician. He grew up in the area and has lived there all his life except when he lived in Philadelphia ’91 to ’98.
Although he has been playing guitar all his life, he did not start writing his own music seriously until he was in his late 20s, after realizing that a life of office jobs was seriously depressing him. In what would turn out to be a major life crossroads, Lannon was laid off in 2001, and took that opportunity to give music a serious go. He put all his energy towards honing his song writing and production skills, living cheap and doing odd jobs, egged on by his family, friends, and churning existential anxiety.
? Around this time he started playing in a local band called Film School. He cowrote a series of songs and produced the EP AlwaysNever, which was released by Scott Kannberg (Ex-Pavement) on a small label he was running at the time called Amazing Grease. Film School was gradually picking up momentum in San Francisco, becoming a powerful live band and packing shows regularly. Lannon played guitar and sang backups. Film School would do small tours here and there but was having a hard time getting noticed outside of San Francisco.
Meanwhile, Lannon was writing more and more. He was heavily influenced by electronic music at the time, enchanted with what was possible with a computer. As he learned the ropes of production at a fevered pace, Lannon had a growing collection of songs - instrumental, adventurous electronic songs - he called Astronomy for Children. The album was promptly released in the UK by the label Highpoint Lowlife, and Lannon toured with his laptop in the UK, Germany, Slovakia, Austria, France and Italy. Astronomy for Children was touted by Grooves Magazine as one of the best CDs of the year and 'Album of the Week' from the BBC. Lannon had proved himself as an excellent electronic producer right out of the gate.
Soon after returning from tour, Lannon completed his second solo album, but this one was a little different. Still feeling the raw emotions of a long breakup, Lannon wrote an album of emotionally charged acoustic folk songs, enhanced with electronics and dreamy ambient textures. The album was entitled Chemical Friends. Badman Recording Company, a local SF label that was putting out great music by Mark Kozelek, My Morning Jacket, Hayden and others, snatched it up and released it in 2004 to a shower of praise. Chemical Friends became a local favorite, earning 'Best Album of the Year' from the SF Bay Guardian, 'Best Folktronica Artist' from SF Weekly, consecutive weeks in the number one spot on KUSF and live performances on Live 105 and Seattle’s KEXP. Lannon toured the US and went back to Europe for some shows in the UK, Germany, and Belgium.
But tours for Chemical Friends were cut short. Film School, now with a manager and a lot of momentum, signed to Beggars Banquet after a performance at SXSW in 2005. They completed their self-titled debut and released it in the fall, and began touring Europe and the US extensively. Meanwhile, Chemical Friends became an underground favorite, touted as a ‘folktronic’ masterpiece and one of the best albums of 2004. It was clear that Lannon was on to something special.
As 2006 wore on, Lannon found all the touring with Film School exhausting and wanted to change gears. He quit the band in mid-2006 and focused on writing picking up where he left off with his solo music. By 2007, his 3rd album, Pressure, was completed.
From the start Lannon wanted to do something different on Pressure, something he hadn’t done yet on his own or with Film School. The album constantly shifts and redefines itself, its catchy melodies suspended in a myriad of different styles, ricocheting from soulful, bluesy rock to spacey acoustic adventures and psychedelic benders. Haunting vocals, electronic whispers, birds, crickets, stomps, vintage synthesizers, layers of organic percussion and fuzzy electronic touches blur together into a pulsing, hypnotic, evolving whole. Lannon wanted to use real drums and percussion on the album, so his friend Donny Newenhouse (ex-Film School) added his drum work to a number of songs, and helped Lannon remix the album in his studio Center of the Mile.
Pressure quickly made waves and received excellent press, but as it would turn out, 2008 would be a big year of change for Lannon. High gas prices and a fickle industry made it tough to tour in support of Pressure. In his personal life, he married on New Years and had a son on June 3rd. He also found a new career in music composing for TV and film, which he really enjoys. But even so, Lannon put together a great band, did a series of tours in the US, played at the Noisepop Festival and got out to SXSW in Austin for a bunch of showcases.
He recently wrote a new song for the movie American Teen (Paramount Vantage), the soundtrack of which was released on Columbia Records, and is currently working on a number of new projects as well as another solo album for late 2008.
Lannon is often thrown in with the singer/songwriter camp, but one need only listen to a few of his songs to realize his music jumps around from subdued electronic pop to bluesy psyche rock, from glitchy beats and drones to dreamy country and delicate fingerpicked acoustic ballads. Organic meets inorganic. New meets old. Styles merge. Lannon holds the bar high as one of the most exciting song writers today.