Real name: Kathrine Shepard

Effective period / Period of releases: 2014 - 2022

SYLVAINE aka Kathrine Shepard is almost the sole member of the project for the studio recordings, but she will be joined by other musicians to bring the music from her albums alive on stage.

Kathrine was born in 1991, in San Diego, California, in the United States of America, just like her father was, many years before. Her father had met her mother on a European tour and just a few years after her birth, her parents decided to move back to Norway, Kathrine's mother’s homeland, which became the place that would partially shape her as the person she is today.

For the Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Kathrine Shepard it was never a question of what she wanted to do in life. Music was always a fundamental part of her, something she could not live without, which made her choice of path clear. After many years of playing music, studying music and working in the music business, Kathrine Shepard felt the need to create a more personal project, were she was completely free to express profound feelings and troubles from within. In 2013, Kathrine Shepard finally decided that it was the perfect time to start a new chapter of her musical journey, something that eventually led to the release of her debut album 'Silent Chamber, Noisy Heart' (2014) released under the name Sylvaine.

Ambient wall-of-sound landscapes, with a focus on beautiful melodies, lingering guitar riffs and atmospheres are underlined by a solid groove. Kathrine's music and lyrics are inspired by life seen as a constant conflict with oneself, haunted by numerous emotions that seemingly will never be laid to rest. Melancholic tones colour the auditory side as well as the visual side of the project, revealing the eternal longing for something more residing within the music.

The project/band name Sylvaine is the artist's outlet for all this and serves as an emotional catharsis, leading her on a quest to explore profound sensations and concerns within herself – sometimes dealing with questions where the answers seem vague, empty or absent.

Serving as the composer, recording engineer, producer and musician of almost all instruments herself, Kathrine created her critically acclaimed debut 'Silent Chamber, Noisy Heart' only with the aid of British mixing engineer Nick Terry and Ray Staff for mastering at Air Studios. Her father Stephen Shepard played drums on the album. Her successful self-release scored not only excellent reviews, interviews and worldwide features in the music press but also landed Sylvaine (2) on a support slot of shoegazers Alcest in South America in September 2014.

Kathrine currently (2018/2019) lives in France, because her live band "Sylvaine" is French, but she maintains a house in Oslo, Norway.