Hyper-detailed electronic jazz that feels like a cold winter night in a glass-walled apartment. Precise, soulful, and deeply melancholic art rock.
Nine Horses sounds like the intersection of clinical precision and raw human vulnerability. It is music that occupies the quiet, frozen spaces of the modern world, blending Burnt Friedman's intricate, jittery electronic rhythms with David Sylvian's rich, world-weary baritone. The sound is immaculately clean, yet it carries a heavy emotional weight, like a high-resolution photograph of a lonely city street at dawn.
What makes the project distinctive is the friction between the 'machine-scientist' approach to rhythm and the organic, improvisational contributions from jazz luminaries. You will hear muted trumpets that sound like distant sirens and piano chords that hang in the air like frost, all anchored by percussion that feels both alien and perfectly placed. It is a sophisticated evolution of the art-pop and fourth-world experiments of the 1980s, updated for a digital age.
Start with the album Snow Borne Sorrow. It is the definitive statement of the trio's aesthetic, offering a cohesive journey through jazz-inflected downtempo and existential songwriting. It is the perfect companion for those moments when you want to feel the beauty in isolation.
Nine Horses was a musical collaboration between singer/instrumentalist David Sylvian, his brother and drummer Steve Jansen, and electronic composer/remixer Burnt Friedman. They released the album Snow Borne Sorrow in October 2005, which featured several guest contributors including Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen, Swedish vocalist Stina Nordenstam, and Ryuichi Sakamoto on piano. January 2007 (December 2006 in Japan) saw the release of the Money for All EP, which featured three new tracks, "Money for All", "Get the Hell Out" and "Birds Sing for Their Lives", alongside remixes and interpretations by Friedman of various tracks from Snow Borne Sorrow.
Shares melancholic, contemplative, brooding (moods); downtempo, ambient techno (subgenres)
Shares melancholic, contemplative, brooding (moods); downtempo, ambient techno (subgenres)
Shares melancholic, contemplative, brooding (moods); downtempo, art rock, ambient techno (subgenres)
Shares melancholic, contemplative, mysterious (moods); downtempo, ambient techno (subgenres)
Shares downtempo, nu jazz, ambient techno (subgenres); melancholic, contemplative, mysterious (moods)
Shares downtempo, nu jazz, ambient techno (subgenres); melancholic, contemplative, brooding (moods)
Shares downtempo, art rock, ambient techno (subgenres); baritone, breathy, crooning (vocal style)
Shares downtempo, nu jazz, ambient techno (subgenres); contemplative, melancholic, wistful (moods)
Shares digital clarity, layered dense, minimalist (production style); contemplative, brooding, wistful (moods)
Shares downtempo, nu jazz, ambient techno (subgenres); digital clarity, layered dense, hi fi (production style)
Shares winter, whispered, electronics/laptop, downtempo (signature)
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