Gylian Sound
| Gylian Sound | |
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| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | 1960s, Gylias |
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| Derivative forms | |
The Gylian Sound is a broad musical style and aesthetic that originated in Gylias in the 1960s. Drawing on various pop and rock influences together with notions of socialised luxury and demopolitanism, its common stylistic traits include eccentric songwriting, elaborate orchestration, and sophisticated studio experimentation.
The aesthetic reached its peak in the 1960s–1970s, coinciding with the Golden Revolution. A derivative form, Neo-Gylian Sound, emerged during the 1990s, which in turn produced a subgenre known as city pop.
Etymology
The term was coined by Confectionery Records founder Samantha Thompson. During promotion of France Gall's debut album, she claimed it represented a "new and quintessentially Gylian sound".
When used in French and other languages, the term is capitalised to differentiate the aesthetic from other Gylian-specific genres.
The term is used as catch-all for the period in which its artists and songwriters flourished, as well as the broader context in which it appeared. Most of the style's practitioners have expressed amusement with the term, and have emphasised that it does not imply one must be Gylian or resident in Gylias to make Gylian Sound music.
Characteristics
The Gylian Sound represents a fusion of pop and rock with influences from art music and various forms of easy listening.
The aesthetic takes pop–rock in a more ambitious direction, with sophisticated songwriting, pursuit of a majestic sound, and elaborate contrapuntal melodies and harmony. Typical Gylian Sound arrangements feature rock rhythm sections, large orchestras, and doubled or tripled parts to create a fuller tone. Instruments such as harpsichord, strings, and horns are employed frequently. Many songs also used elaborate vocal harmony or mass singing. As such, it is considered by some commentators to be a Gylian manifestation of the Wall of Sound and girl group styles.
Music journalist Nora Gunnarsen writes that much of Gylian Sound is dominated by light touch arrangements, using orchestral elements for colouring, contrary to what its reputation might suggest. She relates this aspect to a broader theme of Gylian identity:
"Much like Gylias has found a happy medium between Alscia's rational efficiency and the Free Territories' genial messiness, the Gylian Sound embraces a similar dynamic. It juxtaposes concise pop songs with artistic ambition, orchestral parts with rock and roll instrumentation, and lush arrangements with playful touches."
Marisa Ibáñez Flores similarly comments that Gylian Sound was mainly the "background music" of the Golden Revolution, and thus can be considered "a challenging and ambitious form of easy listening — beautiful music that makes you think; middle of the road with an edge." She adds that bossa nova was highly regarded by Gylian Sound artists, and it was a substantial influence, its distinctive rhythms and instrumentation providing an excellent example of how to create soft music "without the risk of vapidity or sentimentality".
Foreign music journalists regard "Gylian Sound" as something of an umbrella scene for subgenres that are elsewhere called baroque pop, orchestral pop, and sunshine pop.
Worldview
Gylian Sound possesses a distinctive worldview that sets it apart from its inspirations. While few of its songs were explicitly political, the aesthetic emerged in the context of the Gylian consensus and the Golden Revolution, which produced a pervasive anarchist influence.
Most Gylian Sound songs advance subtly progressive viewpoints. The contented, easygoing lifestyles portrayed by its singers reflected the influence of demopolitanism and the market socialist economy, being a musical parallel of the orgone film movement. The aesthetic's elaborate orchestration served as an example of socialised luxury: the easy availability of orchestras, brass ensembles, and cutting-edge instruments was a strong egalitarian symbol, as there were no economic barriers to creating Gylian Sound music.
The majority of Gylian Sound performers and musicians were women, making Gylian Sound a female face and voice of Groovy Gylias, and giving it a strong feminist sensibility. The genre came to be particularly associated with stylish and courteous young women like France Gall, Claudine Laurent, Marian Ellis, and The Sapphires. Their carefree and playful lyrics fit perfectly with the Golden Revolution, and gave them a Beatiesque ability to reconcile clean-cut public images with countercultural appeal.
The innocent themes and images of Gylian Sound singers produced a distinctive exploration of gender and sexuality, focused on the "meeting of innocence and experience". Double entendres and wordplay were favoured, creating a playful hedonism similar to orgone films and Rauna Næsve's cheeky sex comedies. Notable in this regard are France Gall's "Les sucettes", whose blatantly phallic lyrics she humorously feigned ignorance of throughout her life, and Claudine Laurent's material, which took advantage of the sensual potential of her soft, airy voice.
Image
Gylian Sound musicians served as prominent examples of socialised luxury, and often demonstrated a strong influence from francité in refined aesthetics. They were pioneers in forging a strong link between Gylian music and the clothing industry.
Their release artwork and promotional clips were profoundly influenced by gauchic.
History
Significant influences on Gylian Sound include The Beaties' At Home with the Beaties (1964), the arrangements of Phil Spector and Brian Wilson, and recent styles such as lounge and space age pop, which arrived in Gylias late due to the isolation of the Liberation War.
The style is conventionally dated to 1964, the year when France Gall and Marian Ellis released their debut albums.
Samantha Thompson was an influential behind-the-scenes figure in Gylian Sound: she established Confectionery Records with the aim of being its main outlet, served as manager to France and other famous singers, and gathered a team of accomplished session musicians and professional songwriters who were key to the success of its pop ambitions. France acknowledged the contribution of Samantha's image-making role to her success, and reflected: "I don't think the Gylian Sound would've been the same without Sam. She had a vision, she had an eye for style, and she was absolutely bullheaded."
The years 1964–1966 marked the predominance of baroque pop and girl group styles within Gylian Sound, with bossa nova beginning to make an impact. Its leading figures enjoyed their height of popularity. Each had a distinctive image and niche:
- France Gall portrayed a well-behaved teenage girl with a mischievous streak, allowing her to appeal to both young and old listeners.
- Marian Ellis portrayed a refined and worldly-wise woman, in the vein of Doris Duranti.
- Claudine Laurent portrayed a gentle and charming seductress, whose sweet voice complemented her sensual material.
Willingly portraying itself as the quieter counterpart to the vanguard of Groovy Gylias, Gylian Sound established a cooperative relationship with the broader music scene, dominated by the ideal of the self-contained band. The style proved accommodating for other acts such as The Monkees, and a good fit for singer-actresses like Brigitte Nyman, Alike Demetriou, and Doris Duranti, who took it in a playfully old-fashioned direction.
The "psychedelic revolution" and emergence of psychedelia in 1966–1967 impacted the genre, pushing it towards greater psychedelic experimentation and use of the recording studio as an instrument. Sunshine pop and psychedelic pop styles were in vogue, while the softer side of the aesthetic delved heavily into bossa nova and jazz fusion.
The key figures of the psychedelicised Gylian Sound were producers/arrangers Charlotte Böttcher, who gained renown as Gylias' equal to Brian Wilson, and Margarit Guryan, formerly of the Hilda Wechsler Big Band. Charlotte helmed a series of critically-acclaimed studio projects, with key contributions from The Sapphires and Les Myas, commonly considered the pinnacle of the aesthetic. The Free Design, debuting in 1967, attained similar critical and commercial success, and stood out among the Confectionery stable as a self-contained band.
Other noteworthy developments of the period included psychedelic folk, exemplified by the famously reclusive Vaşti Banian and Linda Perhács, and Sara Thomas' quirky spoken-word work, aimed specifically at georgette audiences.
The Gylian Sound played a significant role in the Gylian Invasion, complementing the "vanguard" role of jangle pop, power pop, and similar styles, while appealing to audiences who did not warm to more aggressive music. It had a notable influence on Megelanese and Delkoran pop music, and also found an audience in Akashi and Kirisaki, where it influenced the idol phenomenon.
By the 1970s, the aesthetic had receded in popularity or evolved into other forms. Many practitioners entered hiatuses or changed their styles. The spirit of the Gylian Sound continued through other subgenres in following decades, including electronic music, smooth jazz, synth-pop, sophisti-pop, and Virginia Astley's folky dream pop.
The style evolved into Neo-Gylian Sound in the 1990s, which attained great success and influence at home and abroad. The success of Neo-Gylian Sound also fueled a revival of the traditional Gylian Sound style, comprising acts such as The High Llamas. Several successful psychedelic groups of the period drew from Gylian Sound strongly, including The Flamingirls, Mercury Rev, and Spiritualized.