"Silvia" is a song performed by Swedish
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...
band
Miike Snow
Miike Snow (pronounced "Mike Snow") is a Swedish indie pop band formed in 2007. The band consists of producing team Bloodshy & Avant and American singer Andrew Wyatt. The band is often represented by a silhouette image of a jackalope. In their ...
. Written and produced by the band, it is a six-minute
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
piano ballad
A ballade (from French '' ballade'', , and German ''Ballade'', , both being words for "ballad"), in classical music since the late 18th century, refers to a setting of a literary ballad, a narrative poem, in the musical tradition of the , or to a o ...
that features drum and synthesizer instrumentation and
electro house
Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 130 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including Benny Benassi, Skrillex, Steve Aok ...
beats. Lyrically, it speaks of longing and lead singer
Andrew Wyatt
Andrew Wyatt Blakemore is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Manhattan, New York, he began his career playing in New York bands such as The A.M. and Black Beetle. He gained wider notability as the frontman ...
's vocals are edited with
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances.
Auto-Tu ...
. "Silvia" served as the third and final single from the band's 2009
self-titled debut album.
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
first
digitally released it as a remix
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. (EP) on 22 January 2010. Band members
Christian Karlsson and
Pontus Winnberg
Bloodshy & Avant are a Swedish songwriting and production duo consisting of Christian "Bloodshy" Karlsson and Pontus "Avant" Winnberg. They have worked with many prominent artists, including Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Ms. Dynamite, Madonna, ...
contributed their own remix to the release, using the alias Robotberget.
Critical reception of "Silvia" was generally positive; many critics deemed it the album's centerpiece and criticized its early placement as the third track on ''Miike Snow''. The single achieved minor chart success in the United Kingdom; it became the band's second entry on the
UK Dance Chart
The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record ...
, peaking at number 16. However, it missed the top 100 of the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
as it only reached number 154. The accompanying
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
was directed by
Marcus Söderlund Marcus Söderlund is a Swedish music video, Television advertisement, commercial and documentary director. He has directed music videos for several Swedish artists such as Yung Lean, The Tough Alliance, jj (band), jj, Fibes, Oh Fibes!, Jens Lekman ...
and plays out in a post-apocalyptic setting.
Background
"Silvia" was written and produced by
Miike Snow
Miike Snow (pronounced "Mike Snow") is a Swedish indie pop band formed in 2007. The band consists of producing team Bloodshy & Avant and American singer Andrew Wyatt. The band is often represented by a silhouette image of a jackalope. In their ...
's three members,
Christian Karlsson,
Pontus Winnberg
Bloodshy & Avant are a Swedish songwriting and production duo consisting of Christian "Bloodshy" Karlsson and Pontus "Avant" Winnberg. They have worked with many prominent artists, including Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Ms. Dynamite, Madonna, ...
and
Andrew Wyatt
Andrew Wyatt Blakemore is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Manhattan, New York, he began his career playing in New York bands such as The A.M. and Black Beetle. He gained wider notability as the frontman ...
.
It was recorded at Robotberget, the band's own studio in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Sweden.
The band
mixed it with Anders Hvenare and
mastering was handled by
Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''.
Biography
Ted ...
.
Wyatt explained during an interview for ''
The Aquarian Weekly
''The Aquarian Weekly'' is a regional alternative weekly newspaper based in New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1969, its focus is rock music and related events in the New Jersey/New York City/Eastern Pennsylvania region. From 1986 to 1992, it ...
'' that "Silvia" is likely "the most autobiographical song" on the band's 2009
self-titled debut album as it was inspired by a real event of a stripper Wyatt dated who "straightened out" and quit.
According to Wyatt, the band especially liked the song because it shares names with
Queen Silvia of Sweden
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...
.
Music magazine ''
Clash'' announced on 10 December 2009 that "Silvia" had been selected as the third single from the album.
The announcement revealed it would coincide with a United Kingdom concert tour from January through February 2010.
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
released the single on 22 January 2010, as a
digital
Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits.
Technology and computing Hardware
*Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals
**Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. (EP) containing remixes made by
Emalkay
Martin Knowles, better known by his stage name Emalkay, is an English dubstep producer and DJ from Birmingham. He is best known for his 2009 single "When I Look at You", described by '' Clash'' as a "monster", which was released on Caspa's ...
,
Felix da Housecat
Felix da Housecat (born Felix Stallings Jr., August 25, 1971) is an American DJ and record producer, mostly known for house music and electro. Felix is regarded as a member of the second wave of Chicago house
Musical career Early life
Stall ...
, Hugg & Pepp and
Sinden.
Karlsson and Winnberg also contributed their own remix to the release, using the alias Robotberget.
Columbia issued a
12" vinyl
The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...
, featuring the aforementioned remixes, in the United Kingdom on 8 February 2010.
Progressive house musicians
Sebastian Ingrosso
Sebastian Carmine Ingrosso (; born 20 April 1983) is a Swedish DJ and record producer. He is also a member of the Swedish House Mafia, together with friends Axwell and Steve Angello.
Career 1999–2007: Career Beginnings
Sebastian Ingrosso ent ...
and
Dirty South released their own remix of "Silvia" on 2 April 2010, licensed to Ingrosso's label Refune Music.
Composition
"Silvia" is a six-minute
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
piano ballad
A ballade (from French '' ballade'', , and German ''Ballade'', , both being words for "ballad"), in classical music since the late 18th century, refers to a setting of a literary ballad, a narrative poem, in the musical tradition of the , or to a o ...
with
electro house
Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 130 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including Benny Benassi, Skrillex, Steve Aok ...
beats.
Instrumentation is provided by drums, a piano and
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
s.
John Fortunato of ''The Aquarian Weekly'' likened it to works by German electronic band
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...
,
and Martin Turenne of ''
The Georgia Straight
''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools, ...
'' felt it held a "blissful groove of '90s-era piano-led
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
".
According to sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by
Alfred Publishing
Alfred may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series
* ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne
* ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák
*"Alfred (Interlu ...
, the song is written in the time signature of
common time
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
with a moderate beat rate of 125
beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ( ...
. It is written in the
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
of
E♭ major
E-flat major (or the key of E-flat) is a major scale based on E♭ (musical note), E, consisting of the pitches E, F (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A♭ (musical note), A, B♭ (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, and D (musical note), ...
and Wyatt's vocal range spans the notes of
E4 to
E6. It follows a sequence of Gm–B–E as its
chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
.
"Silvia" begins as a ballad and transforms into a "psychedelic, danceable" piece as the
synth pads
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...
accelerate.
Wyatt's vocals are echoed and edited with
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances.
Auto-Tu ...
.
Elliott Townsend of ''
URB'' deemed the singer's vocals "emotionally transparent". The piece lyrically speaks of longing,
and Alex Young of ''
Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
'' described it as a "boy-done-wrong ode to the titular woman".
Reception
"Silvia" received positive reviews from music critics; a writer for ''
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' considered it a "standout" on ''Miike Snow''.
Staff reviewer Rudy Klapper of
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...
deemed it the "undeniable centerpiece" of ''Miike Snow'', "It's the kind of climactic tune that makes everything after it seem lesser."
He regarded its placement as the third track on the album as "odd".
Similarly, ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' critic John Bergstrom also described "Silvia" as the album's centerpiece, referring it to as "stunning".
Naming it a "lost
Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
classic", Bergstrom wrote, "It's so thrilling, you'll forgive the overzealous Auto-Tune."
The single achieved minor commercial success on charts in the United Kingdom. It entered the
UK Dance Chart
The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record ...
at number 39 in the issue dated 23 January 2010. The following week, it rose to number 32, before acquiring its peak position of number 16 in its third week.
"Silvia" spent four weeks on the chart; its last appearance was in the issue dated 13 February 2010 at number 23. The single missed the top 100 of the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, peaking at number 154 in the issue dated 6 February 2010.
Music video
Marcus Söderlund Marcus Söderlund is a Swedish music video, Television advertisement, commercial and documentary director. He has directed music videos for several Swedish artists such as Yung Lean, The Tough Alliance, jj (band), jj, Fibes, Oh Fibes!, Jens Lekman ...
directed the accompanying
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for "Silvia". It premiered exclusively on ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' website in December 2009.
A writer for ''Complex'' commented, "The vid is kind of dramatic and hard to make sense of, but what do you expect from a band like this?"
The video plays out in a post-apocalyptic world.
It begins with the band's three members waking up from sleeping in the middle of a street, appearing to be homeless. The men then walk way in the woods while shots of homeless people are interspersed. Several people are seen carrying torches in the woods and are soon joined by the band. They then set fire to a large wooden version of a
jackalope
The jackalope is a mythical animal of North American folklore described as a jackrabbit with antelope horns. The word ''jackalope'' is a portmanteau of ''jackrabbit'' and ''antelope''. Many jackalope taxidermy mounts, including the original, ...
and the video ends as it bursts into flames.
Formats and track listings
*12" vinyl
#"Silvia" (
Sinden remix) – 5:35
#"Silvia" (
Robotberget remix) – 7:57
#"Silvia" (Hugg & Pepp remix) – 5:51
#"Silvia" (
Emalkay
Martin Knowles, better known by his stage name Emalkay, is an English dubstep producer and DJ from Birmingham. He is best known for his 2009 single "When I Look at You", described by '' Clash'' as a "monster", which was released on Caspa's ...
remix) – 5:02
#"Silvia" (
Felix da Housecat
Felix da Housecat (born Felix Stallings Jr., August 25, 1971) is an American DJ and record producer, mostly known for house music and electro. Felix is regarded as a member of the second wave of Chicago house
Musical career Early life
Stall ...
remix) – 5:49
*Digital EP
#"Silvia" (Hugg & Pepp remix) – 5:51
#"Silvia" (Robotberget remix) – 7:57
#"Silvia" (Emalkay remix) – 5:02
#"Silvia" (Felix da Housecat remix) – 5:49
*Digital iTunes EP
#"Silvia" (Hugg & Pepp remix) – 5:50
#"Silvia" (Robotberget remix) – 7:58
#"Silvia" (Emalkay remix) – 5:02
#"Silvia" (Felix da Housecat remix) – 5:50
#"Silvia" (Sinden remix) – 5:35
*Digital download — Sebastian Ingrosso & Dirty South Remix
#"Silvia" (
Sebastian Ingrosso
Sebastian Carmine Ingrosso (; born 20 April 1983) is a Swedish DJ and record producer. He is also a member of the Swedish House Mafia, together with friends Axwell and Steve Angello.
Career 1999–2007: Career Beginnings
Sebastian Ingrosso ent ...
&
Dirty South remix) – 7:12
Credits and personnel
*Songwriting –
Christian Karlsson,
Pontus Winnberg
Bloodshy & Avant are a Swedish songwriting and production duo consisting of Christian "Bloodshy" Karlsson and Pontus "Avant" Winnberg. They have worked with many prominent artists, including Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Ms. Dynamite, Madonna, ...
,
Andrew Wyatt
Andrew Wyatt Blakemore is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Manhattan, New York, he began his career playing in New York bands such as The A.M. and Black Beetle. He gained wider notability as the frontman ...
*Production –
Miike Snow
Miike Snow (pronounced "Mike Snow") is a Swedish indie pop band formed in 2007. The band consists of producing team Bloodshy & Avant and American singer Andrew Wyatt. The band is often represented by a silhouette image of a jackalope. In their ...
*Mixing – Anders Hvenare, Miike Snow
*Mastering –
Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''.
Biography
Ted ...
Credits are adapted from the ''Miike Snow'' liner notes.
Charts
Release history
References
External links
*
{{Miike Snow
2000s ballads
2010 singles
Miike Snow songs
Electronic songs
Songs written by Christian Karlsson (DJ)
Songs written by Pontus Winnberg
Songs written by Andrew Wyatt
2009 songs
Columbia Records singles