Sylvie Simmons at The Freight

"Sylvie" - Sylvie Simmons' debut album - was released to universal acclaim. Devendra Banhart called it, "fragile, fearless, direct, poetic, timeless and absolutely beautiful.” Rosanne Cash called "Sylvie" "a punk Piaf.” Sylvie's songs are raw, tender, sensual and mesmerizing, played on a ukulele and sung in a voice that critics have compared with Hope Sandoval, Jane Birkin, Isobel Campbell and a young Marianne Faithfull - or in the Times' review, "reminiscent of a female Leonard Cohen." Rolling Stone wrote: "had this same album been issued in mono and credited to an obscure mid-‘60s flower child, the word 'legendary' might be used by more than a few writers who’d swear they’d purchased it back then. She’s not only good, she’s good.”

"Legendary" is a word that's been used to describe Sylvie before - not as a recording artist but as an iconic music journalist and the author of best-selling books that include biographies of Leonard Cohen, Serge Gainsbourg, Johnny Cash, Debbie Harry, and Neil Young. Born and raised in London, UK, where she sang and played instruments from childhood, Sylvie planned to spend her life in music. But paralyzed by stage fright in her teens, she abandoned the idea of being a singer in favor of writing about music instead. In 1977 she bought a one-way ticket to LA to start her new career. One of very few women included among the rock writing elite, her byline has appeared in nearly every major music magazine ever since.

Three decades later, now living in San Francisco, Sylvie has found herself writing songs again, just for herself, and this time on a ukulele. The first person to hear them was her friend, Howe Gelb of the Americana band Giant Sand. He urged her to let him record her, but Sylvie was still reluctant to perform publicly. Plus she was busy working with Leonard Cohen on his biography. "When I'm Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen" was released in 2012, Sylvie set off on a long, unorthodox book tour that took her around the world, talking about Cohen and singing his songs. Gradually the stage fright started to fade. When the tour was over, she went into a studio in Tucson, AZ with Gelb and Giant Sand bassist Thoger Lund and, live to tape, recorded her songs. "There's an unspoken rule among rock critics: don't release your own music", wrote The Guardian newspaper's critic. "Simmons shatters that rule to gripping effect with one of the most beautiful albums of the year." In 2020 Sylvie followed it with a second album, "Blue on Blue," as haunting and as well-received as her first. Like Popmatters said, "Breathtaking.”

You may also like the following
events from Freight & Salvage
:

• This Tuesday, 24th June, 06:30 pm, Leading In Music: A Conversation With Leaders of Bay Area Music Organizations in Berkeley
• This Wednesday, 25th June, 08:00 pm, Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience at The Freight in Berkeley
• This Thursday, 26th June, 08:00 pm, Old Blind Dogs at The Freight in Berkeley

Also check out other
Arts events in Berkeley
,
Music events in Berkeley
,
Literary Art events in Berkeley
.