这年头玩电子民谣已经不是什么新鲜事了，从英国的Ben Christophers、Faultline，西班牙的Emak Bakia，到美国芝加哥的Sea and Cake等前辈筚路蓝缕的开垦，这个乐种也培养了一群死忠的乐迷。而如何在前人打下的根基上继续玩出新的意思，往更美好的声音国度迈进，就看后继者如何发挥巧思和创意，突破这类乐种本身的局限。 而Nyles Lannon是个让人眼睛一亮的新名字。简称为n.Lannon的他，正职是旧金山乐团Film School的主唱兼吉他手，2004年中於Badman厂下推出了首张个人专辑Chemical Friends。你会想，如果这不过是又一张普通的电子民谣专辑，有何吸引人之处呢？第一，这张专辑一点也不普通，再来，它并没有那么的电子，民谣的部份反而多了一点点。 Chemical Friends吸引人的地方在於这些旋律的编写实在太美妙了，不论把它放在哪个领域来衡量，它都可以站得直挺挺的大口呼气。充满巧思的合音，简直把Simon & Garfunkel的绝招全部学来；很多歌曲转折的片段，也会让人想起Nick Drake或Elliott Smith的神韵。听着专辑里的十一首歌是再愉悦不过的享受，每首歌就如同挂在墙上的一幅画，我们从不同的角度观看时，画里的光影和线条也随着时空旋转摆荡。 空心民谣吉他仍是舞台上的主角，而电子合成器和鼓机总是在最适当的时机出场，所有乐器恰如其分地扮演自己的角色。它们烘托的只有一个主题，就是这美好无匹的醉人之音。想像少一点电的Postal Service和Magnetic Fields的结合，n.Lannon就是有这般神奇的魔力。如果前方是一片凛冽的冰场，Chemical Friends就是带我们穿越寒冷的暖流，在凝结的空气中 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.