Sybarite

Xian Hawkins, operating as the producer and multi-instrumentalist behind Sybarite, fuses electronic textures with acoustic instrumentation to produce dynamic, evocative results. In the mid-1990s he performed and toured with Silver Apples, appearing on Beacon and Decatur, before launching the Sybarite project in 1999. Emanate Records issued his debut EP, Meusic, that year, while Temporary Residence followed in 2000 with the Otonomy EP and Musicforafilm, the latter serving as the score for Kill Me Tomorrow. A single on Zealectronic Orange appeared in 2001 ahead of Nonument, Sybarite’s first album, which 4AD released in 2002; its prominent brass and vocal layers ranked among Hawkins’ most elaborate works to date. He extended that approach on the Scene of the Crime EP, which featured Elysian Fields singer Jennifer Charles. After returning with the 2006 compilation Cut Out Shape, Hawkins placed the project on extended hiatus to pursue soundtrack and freelance assignments. He also teamed with Jenny Owen Youngs in the dream pop duo Bell Horses, whose album This Loves Last Time came out in 2009, and issued a cassette under his own name in 2012. Sybarite resumed in 2016 with Waver the Absolute, which juxtaposed danceable material against more experimental pieces.