NYC Taking a turn off 14th Street, amidst the hustle and noise, the striking union workers and wig shops, all the fast food and fluorescents and Urban Outfitters, into a studio four floors above the F train, dubbed The Embassy. This is where is all started. Richard spinning vinyl. He was the DJ that Saturday night. The sounds of the seventies or thirty years on. What year was it? 2000? 2001 A Space Odyssey. Does it matter? The beginning is always invisible.

(and then she heard the echo of the) BIG BANG

VivA

PURE POP FOR NOW PEOPLE

The debut album.

“This duo consists of Richard and Katy. Together they record truly cosmopolitan music. Opener "Viva" is a lush-sounding song that recalls an updated Grace Jones, all angular grace and danger. "Good Morning Midnight" sees Katy singing of nightclub ennui in a way Bryan Ferry would applaud. "Slow Motion" is breathlessly slow and sees Richard signing of a disjointed affair in a soft voice. "The Tragic Death Of A French Rock'n'Roll Star" is pithy and reminiscent of Serge Gainsbourg. "He was found naked, sprawled out on a fur rug, a cigarette dangling from his lips" they sing. I'm not sure if the image is meant to evoke the great songwriter's demise, but it sure seems that way. This record is as beautiful and oddly glacial as a supermodel. If you look closer, the human face, scars and foibles starts to peer out. By singing so much of glamour, Sylvarluxe both fascinate and alienate. They recall old Roxy Music in this way, and seem just as keen on the romance of the unobtainable, and just as capable of shedding tears that smudge the mascara."
Review by Anna Maria Stjämell of Luna Café 

Click on the album images to hear and purchase them on Bandcamp.

credits

released April 1, 2005
Katy - Chanteuse
Richard - Provocateur
Precious inadvertent advice from Sønje
Recorded at The Embassy NYC
Mixed & Mastered by Wayne Roquette

“With a mannequin in a gas mask we’re already informed that Sylvarluxe has left the night life of their first disc “Viva” and entered a more volatile aggressive arena. Sylvarluxe’s second disc is a potent blend of art pop experimentation and highly developed controlled danceable chaos. An overt sexuality always informs Sylvarluxe music but on this outing modern combustible politics mixes with the expressionist libidinous lyrics. The disc opens with caterwauling guitars and cacophonous drums as if Keith Levine of PIL paired up with Keith Moon on drums. At times the disc sounds like an updated soundtrack to Kubrick’s “2001 A Space Odyssey” and other times like a cocktail party gone horribly wrong. A sense of loss and regret pervades “And Then She Heard The Echo Of The Big Bang” and though the disc ends with resignation it does so in a stately grand manner.”

credits

released April 1, 2007
Katy - Chanteuse
Richard - Provocateur
Sønje & The Sylvarettes - Backing Vocals
Andy - Assault & Electronic Batterie
Mike (Mr. Fingers) - Piano Extraordinaire
Wendy - Winds
The Hornets - Horns
Recorded at The Embassy NYC
Mixed & Mastered by Wayne Roquette
All & Everything to Larry Logan

The third and what was to be the final release by Sylvarluxe that is in the process of being remastered for a new release coming soon. The album revolves around the desert of Las Vegas and the dream of 1,000 Elvis impersonators. It’s also a reflection of the end of the world.

Credits

released April 1, 2008

Katy - Chanteuse
Richard - Provocateur
Andy - Assault & Electronic Batterie
Mike (Mr. Fingers) - Piano Extraordinaire

Recorded at The Embassy NYC
Mixed & Mastered by Wayne Roquette