First a roar steadily builds, then we hear the first piano tone of The Unknown – along with the voice of Dominique Dillon de Byington. There it is again, the unique timbre of the young Berlin-based artist who captivated the music press and arts critics alike with her 2011 debut album on BPitch Control This
First a roar steadily builds, then we hear the first piano tone of The Unknown – along with the voice of Dominique Dillon de Byington. There it is again, the unique timbre of the young Berlin-based artist who captivated the music press and arts critics alike with her 2011 debut album on BPitch Control This Silence Kills. With songs like “Tip Tapping”, “Thirteen Thirtyfive” and “You Are My Winter” Dillon, originally from Brazil, left an impression on more than just the indie scene. This Silence Kills was sweet and enticing enough to establish itself as a pop record with singer-songwriter passion and experimental enough to be taken seriously as an art project. It was described as chanson-pop, sensuous electronic music featuring a voice comparable to Feist, Björk or Joanna Newsom. There followed two sold-out tours and numerous festival gigs all over the world – a life on the road. For Dillon this was completely unexplored territory.
From the ballad-like lead single “A Matter of Time” to the chamber music style “Forward” – Dillon’s impressive voice comes even more to the fore on The Unknown. The piano is not only present on almost every song, it also conveys an incredible depth that complements the playful naivety of the debut album. Although the bass drum makes its presence felt as a silhouette on “Into The Deep” and the club-infused “Nowhere” develops this electronic substructure further, The Unknown is more puristic, more enigmatic and certainly not a dance album.
“I wrote poems. For me these are all poems I’m singing. The album is more like a book of spoken words and pictures than an album in the classical sense,” the 25-year-old says about The Unknown. It can all be so simple: a piano, a voice and a story – these elements alone suffice for Dillon to spread her magic. A magic that can create drama as well as lament, that can confidently put personal scars and doubting thoughts on display. The Unknown is a dense, compact work from an extraordinary artist whose journey has only just begun. Or, as Antoine De Saint-Exupery once said: Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
