Sylvian Wang (born Yubo Wang, but also known as Hollow Shadow) was born in Inner Mongolia of Northern China, but has moved around frequently since his teen years. Sensitive and nostalgic, he has described feeling as though there is a veil separating him from the world around him, with music being “the only thing that helps him to connect with others.” This sense of yearning is apparent in his music, and is also the driving force for his creative expression. Untethered to any one scene or academic pursuit, Sylvian has sought inspiration from a variety of contexts, and is always striving to learn, adapt, and evolve.
For ten years, Sylvian was writing, performing, and touring all over China as the lead member of bands of different genres, ranging from Post Punk to Trip-Hop, before pursuing an Undergraduate degree in Music at University College Cork, Ireland. During this time, he developed artistically, and released eight albums, while also working as a session musician and arranger for other musicians. During his undergraduate studies in UCC, he composed music for piano, orchestra, and mixed media (such as field recordings and installation) and won an exchange scholarship to study at Wesleyan University, Connecticut, USA. He also received the Quercus Scholarship for Creative and Performance Arts from UCC in 2018, and graduated with the first class honours in 2019.
Sylvian’s first film score for Wrath of Silence became his international debut as a composer, for which he was awarded the 13th Chinese Young Generation Film Forum Award for Best Original Score in 2018.
Expressing a rich emotional subtext woven into his music, Sylvian’s compositions evoke a soulful and even magical experience for the listener.
Session Musician 2005
- Formed psychedelic rock band Silie (Inner Mongolia, 2005) and post-punk and gothic rock band IDH (Beijing, 2007)
- Released album What’s Time (Psychedelic Music, Inner Mongolia, 2006)
- Released album IDH (Post-punk Music, Beijing, 2009)
- Released Music Video The Road Behind Me (Post-punk, Beijing, 2010)
- Released DVD Dance with the Dark Delights (Post-punk Music, Beijing, 2010)
- Played guitar, bass, drum and keyboards for post-rock band Lotus Through Heart (Beijing, 2006-2013)
- Played drum for singer/songwriter Chan Chan (Beijing, 2009-2011)
- Wrote songs and played bass, synthesizers and percussions for Trip-hop band Lilisay (Beijing, 2013-2014)
- Played guitar and synthesizers for singer/songwriter lingmu Xuan (Beijing, 2013-2014)
- Recorded album for singer/songwriter The Horse in the Dark, released same title album in Beijing, 2016
- Wrote songs for and recorded the album Beijing 1986 for singer/songwriter Fengling Zhou (Beijing, 2017)
- Play synths and guitar for P.K. 14 (The Public Kingdom for Teens) (Beijing, 2023 - ongoing)
Solo Musician (Hollow Shadow) 2011 - ongoing
- Released album Isolated Perspections (Neo-Folk Music, Beijing, 2011)
- Released album This Side of Elapse (New Wave Music, Beijing, 2012)
- Released digital album Year Book 2003-2013 which includes eleven albums (Beijing, 2015)
Solo Composer (Yubo Wang/Sylvian Wang) 2016 - ongoing
- Composed music for Thriller/Crime film Wrath of Silence (China, 2017)
- Composed music for short film Life Tells Lies (Norway, 2017)
- Field Recording Music for This Sad World (Ireland, 2017)
- Video Installation Disconnected (Ireland, 2017)
- Composed Symphony The Silent Memories (Ireland, 2018)
- Won the 13th Chinese Young Generation Film Forum Award for Best Original Score (China, 2018)
- Composed Piano Album Fragments (Ireland, 2019)
- Composed conceptualize music And Death Shall Have No Dominion (Ireland, 2019)
- Composed music for short film Romance in Silence (China, 2019)
- Composed narrated music album Spring Drown in Faded Imagination (China, 2020)
- Composed music for short film Double Helix (China, 2020)
- Composed music for contemporary dance Entropy (China, February 2021)
- Composed music for short film Twin Sisters (Hong Kong, 2021)
- Composed music for film The Peony Pavillion (Taiwan, 2021)
- Composed music for contemporary dance T - I - M - E (China, 2021)
- Released album Spring Drown in Faded Imagination (China, 2021)
- Composed music for short film Tutu (China, 2021)
- Composed music for contemporary dance Timeless (Germany, 2022)
- Composed music for clay stop motion animation Pet Paradise (China, 2022)
- Composed music for video art No Man’s Land (China, 2022)
- Released Single As It Was (China, 2022)
- Composed music for short film Mom Sleeps (China, 2022)
- Composed music for film Winter Olympics Documentary (China, 2022)
- Composed music for drama The Bird Wings Runner (China, 2023)
- Composed music for darma Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On (China, 2023)
- Released Neo-Classical album As the Quiet Crow Flies (China, 2023)
- Composed music for contemporary dance When I Am Facing U (Biennale Danza College, Venice, 2023)
- Composed music for contemporary dance Horizon (Opera National de Paris, Paris, 2023)
- Composed music for film The Wig (China, 2024)
- Composed music for TV series Biography of Tang Dynasty Poets (China, 2024)
- Composed music for contemporary dance The Broken Sense of Beauty (Germany, 2024)
- Released Neo-Classical album Cicada’s Cry (China, 2024)