Mark Hollis: A Perfect Silence

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The band began at first as part of the popular synth-pop movement of the 80s but garnered more art-house influences as they experimented and improvised with a range of diverse styles and instrumentation. In't Veld, Holger; Stefan Weber (trans.). "Mark Hollis Interview: The path over the burnt bridge". Subadio. Archived from the original on 27 April 2016 . Retrieved 25 September 2013. Everything begins with Hollis’ older brother, Ed Hollis – a Dj, producer, manager, and manic inspirator. Ed was many things to many people, but most importantly, Ed’s love and knowledge of music and his eclectic music collection would be the spark that fired up Hollis. Growing up amid the Punk movement, Hollis would take their modus operandi of DIY to heart, follow the sounds in his head, and form Talk Talk in 1981. His cousin-in-law tweeted: “RIP Mark Hollis. Cousin-in-law. Wonderful husband and father. Fascinating and principled man. Retired from the music business 20 years ago but an indefinable musical icon.” Later, he thanked what he described as a “lovely response” from Hollis’“many fans” on social media. Talk Talk I Believe In You https://t.co/NZ2pRmNDkf Mark Hollis, one of my most favourite songs ever. The most enigmatic, elusive and brilliant songwriter, singer and musician. A huge loss ?

I always wanted to meet Mark Hollis & say thank you for his music. Hope he knew how much he meant to so many of us. RIP ? After Talk Talk disbanded in 1991, Hollis returned to music in 1998 with a self-titled solo album, which continued the direction of Talk Talk's sound but in a more minimal, sparse, acoustic style. Following the release of his only solo album, Hollis largely retired from the recording industry. He died, aged 64, in February 2019. [6] Biography [ edit ] Early life (1955–1977) [ edit ]

Mark Hollis: A Perfect Silence

From 1981 to 1992 Hollis fronted Talk Talk and achieved commercial success with their experimental synth-pop hits like ‘Talk Talk’, ‘It’s My Life’ and ‘Such a Shame’. The band would go on to record five full-length studio albums during their active years with Hollis himself releasing a solo record in 1998 before retiring.

He took his own advice, embracing silence. Everything he struggled to communicate verbally was there, is there, in the music. Happiness, desire, hope, belief. He walked away to a quiet(er) life in South-West London because “I choose my family.” The family of musicians remains indebted to his short but stunning period of industry. He was once asked his favourite musician. “Kate Bush,” he said. Kate Bush was then asked hers. "Mark Hollis," she said. In the absence of any direct communication from the man himself his admirers sought answers to these riddles and intrigues in his opaque, quasi-mystical lyrics or in interviews he’d given years before. But every music writer who set off “in search of Mark Hollis” soon reached a dead end – or rather slammed into the high protective wall he’d built around his life and work. What led Hollis to reject fame in favour of music so esoteric and fastidious? And is Creation Records founder Alan McGee’s claim that Hollis’ is a “story of one man against the system in a bid to maintain creative control” accurate, or is his actually a tale of artistic indulgence, summarised in unusually candid fashion by former manager Keith Aspden’s remark in 2011 that “Mark had his cake and ate it all himself”? It’s unlikely we’ll ever know. Like Ditcham says: “Unanswered mysteries always have legs!” Goodbye Mark Hollis,We owe you so much ,I cant overstate the influence on us three as musicians and us as a band. #markhollis #talktalkTalk Talk – and, in particular, Hollis – were always enigmatic figures, not least for what Depeche Mode’s Alan Wilder once called “a career in reverse”, with the distinct schism between the band’s first hit albums and final neglected two bridged by The Colour Of Spring’s international accomplishments.

Marks music has haunted me from the second I heard the first notes and his completely unique voice, until this very day forty years later. There's something indefinable in it that always grabs me and never lets go. I'm heart broken by his too early passing. Hollis died from cancer [50] in February 2019, [a] aged 64. [6] Initial reports of his death included a tweet from his cousin-in-law, the paediatrician Anthony Costello, [51] and a tribute by Talk Talk's bassist Paul Webb, [6] before his former manager, Keith Aspden, confirmed Hollis's death to the media on 26 February. [52]

Mark Hollis: A Perfect Silence (Classic Edition)

Mark Hollis spoke about making music that didn’t instantly point to the time it was made in. I hope somewhere he knows that he did just that.

As much as so many of us would have loved to hear more music from him, the truth is, an artist does not owe us anything ever, he said more in the work he gave us than many who produced three or four times as much as he did. He chose not to go wearily into working from expectation, but to leave this perfectly formed opus of work to any unsuspecting musical trespasser. For that reason, among many, he will go on to inspire. I’m not big on hero worship, despite how all this may read, but there are people who make you feel a lot, who open your mind, your heart, and your ears, opening doors as the journey goes on. He could capture moments of perfection (‘It’s getting late in the evening’). He explored his own possibilities, so many more can explore theirs. Music was to be made only from the desire to record and perform it and no other reason.

February 2019

I then wrote to Hollis personally so that he would understand what was driving me, that I was interested in the music, the approach, the spirit, not in his personality or his private life, not in making a biopic. He replied very kindly, but asked me to respect his position: ‘I would be wholly against a film being made in connection to these albums, since I prefer that they be allowed to stand alone and exist in their own right.’” There was always a link with prog. That early show with Genesis may have been something of a nightmare on the day, the atrocious weather fuelling the disgruntlement of an audience who took it out on the support act, but there’s a discernible bittersweet, happy-sad element shared by Gabriel’s more subtle slow numbers, Genesis’ melancholy moments like Entangled, and the emotion Hollis would display on something like April 5th, the song named after his wife’s birthday on The Colour Of Spring. When I began the feature I wrote about Mark Hollis for The Wire 167 in 1998 with the words, “Thrill is gone”, it was not just that a case of the November blues had appeared to hang like a pall over our encounter. It was also intended to capture something of the sense of enervation and despair I thought I heard in the solo album he was there unwillingly to promote; a feeling that much of his music occupied a numb emotional lacuna between – to use the prelapsarian imagery he also favoured – the Fall and the expulsion from the Garden. There are, too, more than a few hints of bitterness from those who feel their contributions were undervalued, especially those who believe they were due songwriting cuts – “[Manager] Keith and Mark are both ruthless,” Brown told me – and one can’t help wondering whether the silence around Hollis has roots in people’s determination not to get involved in debates about his demeanour. In 2004, Hollis resurfaced briefly to receive a Broadcast Music Inc. Award for having written "It's My Life". [40] In 2012, a piece of specially commissioned music by Hollis titled "ARB Section 1", was used in the television series Boss. [41] Collaborations [ edit ]