Sylvia Tosun is an inspirational talent who is making some serious waves in the music industry after her new single 'Underlying Feeling went straight into the MW Club Charts at number 2 last week and has topped numerous other charts worldwide.
It's a stylish piece of electronica with an ethereal vocal, musing on the true nature of love. The release comes with a killer set of remixes that have also seen it receive wide ranging DJ support and heavy radio play on the likes of Radio 1, KISS and Galaxy FM. Sylvia is undoubtedly talented, winning a scholarship to the world renowned Juilliard School of Music in New York and winning the coveted Songwriter's Hall of Fame Award for Excellence in Songwriting. She is different to most singer / songwriters in that her aim is to bridge the gap between classic songwriting and electronic music. Sylvia Tosun is an extremely interesting character. It was her who first met The Strokes when they came to New York, and in fact drove Albert Hammond Jr around the city finding him his first flat on the Lower East Side.
She did the interior design at Jimi Hendrix's Electric Lady studios, swapping her skills in return for 100 hours of studio time to record her first EP. She's great friends with The Blonds who styled her in the video for 'Underlying Feeling' and who were personally selected to style Madonna on her forthcoming Sticky & Sweet Tour. She's an avid skydiver, part Dervish, sings in 10 languages, performed on top of the Great Wall of China...there's an endless list of interesting facts! She found her current path after immersing herself in the New York club scene, where she realised that the energy, unity and euphoria of the dancefloor was a place where she could truly connect with her songwriting.
She soon hit the top 10 in the Billboard Dance Charts in the US with her tracks 'Sanctuary', 'Sleepless' and 'Head Over Heels'. She has a long history of collaboration and has been writing with New York producer Anton Bass, a partnership which produced 'Underlying Feeling', the track which is now huge on dancefloors in the UK and across Europe. Sylvia's success is even more amazing when you hear the adversity which she has had to overcome. Shortly after moving to New York to study at Juilliard she woke up one morning unable to move. She was diagnosed with Zero Negative Rheumatoid Arthritis, a rare form of joint swelling that inhibits physical movement.
A gruelling few years of steroids and chemotherapy followed, during which time Sylvia still managed to study at Juilliard but suffered severe side effects from her treatment including facial swelling and hair loss. She became a virtual recluse, avoiding public performances and retreated into her music, study and other passion, interior design.
When the months of suffering turned into years, and with her career on hold, Sylvia turned to a naturopathic doctor long known to her and her mother. He immediately took her off her diet of steroids and western medicine, instead treating her with his own mixture of tinctures and supplements.
The results were incredible and Sylvia quickly returned to full fitness. She had always been a believer in the power of natural medicine but now become a vocal advocate, seeking out knowledge and gaining a reputation as a healer in her own right. In short, in this world of plastic pop, Sylvia Tosun is a character with real depth.