Richard BodinTwenty-some years ago, as a young music lover, I remember going to many concerts, meeting many people, and discovering many new bands. I took a particular liking to one of them. One of my friends invited me to join him in seeing one of his friends play live in some underground room below a pub in Paris. It was their second live gig. « You’ll like them » he said… « think Robert Wyatt, Nick Drake, and Grandaddy… and the name is Syd Matters ». As a Pink Floyd fan, he knew he would get my attention with the name alone.
So here I was, watching this hairy hipster along with two other musicians fighting a precarious sound system and a temperamental beatbox. The music was impressive — balancing folk and electronic vibes— and his universe quite fantastic and magical… I was hooked. Not long after that small gig, Syd Matters released their first EP Fever in Winter, Shiver in June, which earned Jonathan Morali the ‘Discovery Award’ from Les Inrockuptibles. A few months later came his debut album A Whisper and a Sigh — and I found myself covering my tracks with stickers and posters to help promote it.
From Home Studio to Hidden Gem
Syd Matters started off with Johnathan Morali, young French singer songwriter, working alone from his home-studio. He recorded his first demo —on a digital eight-track— which he distributed widely around him to get attention… Beyond his natural skills as a songwriter, Morali also has a natural instinct when it comes to producing his arrangements himself. Ultimately, his demo material was already good enough to use as base to release his debut EP, without much to add. The process for the album didn’t change much from there. He pre-recorded most of it at home before taking it to the recording studio for the final touches.
The result is a touching album between folk songwriting and lo-fi electronica, imbued with intimacy and nostalgia. The lyrics invite us in a magical world filled with fairies, stone men and boneless creatures, filled with poetry. This feeling is reinforced by the artwork designed by JM Tixier —budding designer at the time.
A Whisper and a Sigh: Sound and Spirit
The opener, “Automatic,” sets the tone perfectly — gentle electronics chime and drone beneath looping vocals and strummed folk guitar, all propelled by a subtle beatbox rhythm. Every layer intertwines with ease, drawing us into Syd Matters’ dreamy world.
It’s followed by “Black & White Eyes,” a pure gem of a ballad and the only holdover from the earlier EP Fever in Winter, Shiver in June. With its blend of chiming xylophone, acoustic guitars, and lo-fi textures, it’s a masterclass in understated arrangement. Morali’s raspy voice adds warmth and vulnerability. “Battle of Olympus,” my personal favourite, shares that same spirit, reaching its emotional peak in a soaring bridge that floats above flickering electronics.
From Folk Roots to Dreamscapes
Similarly, tracks like “Bones” and “Love & Sleep” continue to explore the meeting point of folk and electronica with disarming simplicity. Meanwhile, “End & Start Again” and “Dead Machine” lean more into experimental territory — hints of Radiohead surface in the droning bassline, textured guitars and experimental electronics. Elsewhere “Morpheus” begins as a stripped-back folk tune before dissolving into a dreamy electronic reverie.
The album closes on “Tired Young Man,” a fitting conclusion that merges warmth and melancholy. Then, a hidden reprise of “Morpheus” emerges, uniting the record’s two halves — acoustic and electronic — into one last whisper.
What makes A Whisper and a Sigh remarkable is its quiet assurance. For a debut largely crafted in a home studio, it feels fully formed — a gentle, genuine album that lingers long after it ends. Its warmth, honesty, and autumnal melancholy make it a perfect companion for this season.
Why Syd Still Matters
The name Syd Matters was, of course, a nod to Syd Barrett — the visionary heart of early Pink Floyd whose fragile genius still haunts so much of modern music. For Jonathan Morali, that choice was more than a tribute; it was a statement of intent. As he once told me, Barrett mattered not only for his sensitivity and imagination, but also for his absence — an absence that left a Barrett-shaped imprint on so many later Floyd albums, from Wish You Were Here to The Wall.
In his own way, Morali built on that legacy — crafting a music of reflection and wonder, where silence and fragility speak as loudly as melody. Two decades later, A Whisper and a Sigh still whispers… and yes, Syd Matters still matters.
