David Sylvian S/D

Secrets Of The Beehive Gone To Earth (the first two sides - destroy the instrumental stuff) Brilliant Trees Dead Bees On A Cake

Destroy: Alchemy Most of the instrumental stuff except the Plight and Premonition. Sylvian/Fripp

not really necessary, but nice just the same : Dead Bees on a Cake, Secrets of the Beehive, Brilliant Trees, Plight and Premonition, Everything and Nothing

Destroy : Camphor

Though you will find many flaws...Brilliant Trees has tracks like Pulling Punches and Red Guitar, reminiscent of cheesy Japan tracks that were probably included to keep fans of that band satisfied...Gone to Earth,with the exception of needless Laughter and Forgetting occupying space, is flawless... Secrets of the Beehive includes a few too many songs in 6/8 time cuz Sylvo was in his serious Nick Drake psuedo folky phase, and this style only truly succeeds with the song Orpheus...Half of Dead Bees on a Cake is forgettable...

Alchemy is an enjoyable listening experience...Plight and Premonition is interesting , Flux and Mutability shows the improvisational path he would take with Rain Tree Crow (which were the guys from Japan, but it is so much better than anything they did)...Ember Glance is innocuous...

Sylvian / Fripp's THE FIRST DAY was definitely an important collaboration of the early nineties for both participants. Fripp kicks some much needed life into Sylvian and proves that he actually can be ballsy when he sets out to. the true stars of this album is the American rhythm section of Trey Gunn and Jerry Marotta, who groove so heavily throughout...the live album, DAMAGE, is easily the best live album from the nineties... Approaching Silence is a nice ambient piece that serves very well as either background listening or under close scrutiny... It's a shame that Fripp felt compelled to dredge up the old Crimson banner, cause his work with Sylvian was far superior.

i can't believe he left "wave" and "forbidden colors" off of "everything and nothing" and put some of the crappy stuff he did on there.

anyway right now I can't think of a better 40 minute album than the first half of "gone to earth". at the risk of sounding like Bimble or something, this thing really kicked my ass all week. probably twice a year I got back on Sylvian binges and it's always something different that stands out as his high point.

also, those ingrid chavez collaborations (the four songs from little girls with 99 lives) are pretty terrible (except for the one without her on it).

search: blemish, nine horses stuff, secrets of the beehive, gone to earth

destroy: dead bees on a cake

Oh no someone else besides me revived a David Sylvian thread. Oh my god. I could go on and on and on about Gone To Earth. Please don't get me started.

Also I recently tried the Damage album with Robert Fripp. I was actually pleasantly surprised, though I guess my expectations were low. There was an especially amazing song on that..."Every Colour You Are". I don't think I made it through the whole album, though. Not sure if I heard the last two songs or not.

So much music, so little time.

New David Sylvian album

http://www.davidsylvian.com/

13.03.09: David Sylvian ‘Manafon’

We’re preparing for the release of David’s new album ‘Manafon’. It’s a powerfully bold, uncompromising work featuring contributions from Evan Parker, John Tilbury, Keith Rowe, Christian Fennesz, Otomo Yoshihide, and many more. We’ll be sharing more information on the release shortly.

I've been listening to Smokey Robinson and thinking that he must have been on big influence on Sylvian's vocal style (the little waver in his voice). I suppose it was obvious because of the "I Second that Emotion" and "Ain't that Peculiar" covers...but for some reason I never made the connection in the actual style of singing.

this is the only good news i've had all week

This is gonna be chock a block with catchy tunes then...

tilbury and rowe together again. pretty excited here.

This sounds awesome - hopefully a followup to Blemish at last.

"tilbury and rowe together again. pretty excited here."

no, from what I know about these recordings, there were some made in Vienna (w/ Rowe, Fennesz, Stangl, others), some in Tokyo (w/ Otomo, Sachiko M, Toshimaru Nakamura, I think Tetuzi Akiyama?), and there must have been others made in London with Tilbury and Evan Parker and others (this is the first I'm hearing of this last part). anyway, Keith and John didn't play together, or I certainly would have heard about it.

and as this looks basically like a David and the Erstwhile All-Stars project, I'm pretty excited to hear the results. FWIW, the Tokyo and Vienna recordings were made quite some time ago, I believe, late 2005/maybe early 2006?

thanks for the info, jon. i didn't love blemish but i'm still excited to hear this.

i'm hoping it's more snow borne sorrow than blemish

just judging from the other musicians, I think it's going to be pretty new territory for him.

I heard that this will be both a CD and DVD, and that it may be out as soon as April (although that's a really quick turnaround, so let's see).

looks like I was part right:

"Manafon's release date is set for Sept 14th. Manafon will be available in two editions. A regular CD/digipak edition and a twin volume deluxe edition with CD and DVD featuring the film 'Amplified Gesture'."

http://samadhisound.com/

Sadly the title of the film makes me think of an even angrier flipping of the bird.

Wire cover story next month too, dunno who's doing it/did it.

That'll be just over ten years since dude's last cover story, then.

http://www.thewire.co.uk/images/artists/sylvian_david/COVER179.jpg

Press waffle sent out just now:

On Manafon, Sylvian pursues "a completely modern kind of chamber music. Intimate, dynamic, emotive, democratic, economical." In sessions in London, Vienna, and Tokyo, Sylvian assembled the world's leading improvisers and innovators, artists who explore free improvisation, space-specific performance, and live electronics. From Evan Parker and Keith Rowe, to Fennesz and members of Polwechsel, to Sachiko M and Otomo Yoshihide, the musicians provide both a backdrop and a counterweight to his own vocal performances - which, minus one instrumental, are nakedly the center of each piece.

Sylvian's voice has never been so dominant or so striking, and his resonant tenor and deliberate vibrato captivate the listener from the start of "Small Metal Gods." Its prominence would come off as egotistical - except that each performance is an exercise in self-exposure, and each character study is written in the third-person, to allow the maximum detachment.

"It's like a one-man monologue in which every change of light and backdrop is crucial to the carrying of the central performance. It's an ensemble work even though there is a central performance." Though the setlist is all ballads, romanticism is out, and no percussion provides a pulse. All the melody and rhythm rest in the voice. Aside from overdubs of acoustic guitar or John Tilbury's somber, Feldman-esque phrases on piano, Sylvian enhanced but did not reconfigure the improvisations, giving himself just the skeletons of songs to guide him.

When an instrument locks with the lyrics - as when Fennesz introduces a texture that clinches the disaster of "Snow White in Appalachia" - the moment is indescribable; when it dissolves, Sylvian doesn't pause. Neither a complement nor a Greek chorus, the instrumentalists maintain an ambiguous attitude to the singer, and what he's saying. When Sylvian's delivery implies sympathy or mockery on "The Greatest Living Englishman," the music is cantankerous but dry, and Otomo Yoshihide's abrupt snippets of classical vinyl may or may not share the joke.

The closing track, "Manafon," depicts the British poet R. S. Thomas. Sylvian explains that it is "a description of a man of faith, who struggles with that faith, who imposes an order on the external world in the hope of finding it internally. A man who embraces the morals and values of his faith and lives by them but who also struggles with the silence that burns inside his own heart and mind. God's silence. He's a man out of time who begins to look, on the surface, more like some tragicomic figure as time passes. While he seems to be an insufferable individual in many ways there's a quixotic element in his quest for knowledge, for upholding morals and values that even he struggles with when it comes to believing in their efficacy."

Manafon's contradictions lay at the heart of its excellence. It's driven not just by the tension between improvisation and composition, frontman and ensemble, or in Sylvian's words, "intimacy and solitude." Manafon captures the dilemma of a man who studies himself clincically, but cannot truly understand himself; who's disillusioned, but maybe laughably so. The most common sensation, which hangs in almost every note, is a feeling of suspense. The sole instrumental - to which Sylvian also contributes - sounds less like a performance, and more like a wellspring of possibilities.

The album ends simply on a phrase and a breath. But there's a happier ending in its other theme: Manafon also explores the creative process. Intuition drew Sylvian to these pieces and these players, and the surprises they bring: a cello visiting like a warm hand on a forehead, the unpredictable use of unadulterated sine waves, the brassy path of Evan Parker's soprano sax solo. Manafon has a forbidding core, but aesthetically, each piece is an engrossing discovery.

"Maybe I'm attracted to the stories of individuals who search for meaning on their own terms," says Sylvian. "But what I'm fascinated by is the devotion to a creative discipline. The meaning with which the work imbues the life regardless of its reception and, to a certain extent, its importance."

This new one's killing it. Reminds me a touch of the start to Laughing Stock in its fragmentary/rough-edged feel, but maintained and developed in different directions throughout the album, while Sylvian's always a calm center.

often he's a calm centre to generally calm songs. nice to hear that there's a bit of a rough dynamic to this one.

He's certainly been playing around more with that over this decade but this is probably his most consistent work on that front. It's not the songs are explosive -- they're understated but very unsettled.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J2IkSNO2Bo
:O

Wow Ned, that sounds great! Can't wait.

That video alone... great, great stuff.

Looking forward to this a lot. Loved what the Polwechsel guys did with Dean Roberts (i.e. Autistic Daughters).

am i missing something? that video is just the live version of "a fire in the forest"

yes that's what i'm hearing.

psyched about this

Ah, thanks damo, didn't pick that up.

Actually I meant to post another video, but am at work. It's David talking about all the musicians he worked with for this album.

Finally something to look forward to.

I played that video and—what is it, a promo? it's hard to tell—I actually hope the album doesn't have too much of that granular, burbling Fennesz sound in it. It worked once, brilliantly, but the minute I started watching the video I caught myself thinking "that's a bit of a dated sound, eh?" Maybe I have absurdly high expectations here, but some of that melodic software improv stuff hasn't aged all that well to my ears.

Sachiko M, though, is basically the anti-Fennesz though so I'm sure it will all come out balanced. Pity Ami Yoshida—Sachiko M's old partner in the delightful Cosmos—isn't onboard. Her chirping and retching noises + Sachiko's hiss and crackle would have been a beautiful voice/electronic dual counterpoint to the Sylvian croon + the Fennesz syrup.

I'm going to go run around in the yard for a minute.

fields of salmon, that video was fanmade. No clips from the album have surfaced online as far as I know.

Search song: Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit – The Librarian (feat. David Sylvian) *aka* Nine Horses - The Librarian.

did anyone hear When Loud Weather Buffeted Naoshima from 2007? one long ambient piece made up of field recordings made at naoshima. based on the collaborators alone i'm guessing it's pretty good

gahhhh when will Manafon LEAK goddamnit :(

did anyone hear When Loud Weather Buffeted Naoshima from 2007? one long ambient piece made up of field recordings made at naoshima. based on the collaborators alone i'm guessing it's pretty good

― damo tsu tsuki (r1o natsume), Sunday, August 9, 2009 11:33 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

Love it! Haven't dound a copy of it myself, so have to do it with my illegal mp3. But it's great ~ stretching his common 'song' sound and length for an entire album. It's quite blissful.

dound=found

"Sachiko M, though, is basically the anti-Fennesz though so I'm sure it will all come out balanced. Pity Ami Yoshida—Sachiko M's old partner in the delightful Cosmos—isn't onboard. Her chirping and retching noises + Sachiko's hiss and crackle would have been a beautiful voice/electronic dual counterpoint to the Sylvian croon + the Fennesz syrup."

ha! someone should do a mashup of Ami's part of Soba to Bara with the Manafon backgrounds, Sobafon.

anyway, sadly for your plan, Sachiko and Fennesz don't overlap here. the individual personnel for each track are listed in a post at the link below, the only track Sachiko is on is the one I'm by far the most excited about, mostly for the personnel but also for the title:

the greatest living englishman (10:55)
music: akiyama/sachiko m/nakamura/yoshihide/sylvian
lyrics: sylvian
electric and acoustic guitar (left channel): tetuzi akiyama
no-input mixer: toshimaru nakamura
sine wave sampler: sachiko m.
turntables, acoustic guitar (right channel): otomo yoshihide
piano: john tilbury
vocals: david sylvian

http://www.japansylvian.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1671&start=30

that lineup is all kinds of amazing.

@ [email address removed] (r1o natsume)

Been trying to get back to you, but the ILX-mail robot continues to fail on me. Could you drop me an e-mail at [another mail removed] ?

Search song: Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit – The Librarian (feat. David Sylvian) *aka* Nine Horses - The Librarian.

I believe they're different versions, albeit not dramatically.

Sylvian's done some fantastic guest vocal appearances, search these recent ones:
Tweaker - Pure Genius
Fennesz - Transit
Blonde Redhead - Messenger
Takagi Masakatsu - Exit/Delete
Punkt - Angels
Arve Henriksen - Thermal

Also there's a recent Samadhi sampler called "The World Is Everything" with two great Sylvian tracks, "The World Is Everything" and "Sleepwalkers".

those two versions of the Librarian are actually pretty different, the one from Out in the Sticks has a much less straighforward rhythm, and the one on Nine Horses sounds more "normal". Although, the vocal track is identical in both.

world citizen is a really good track as well, although not exceptionally "challenging" like other recent sylvian songs.

http://www.thewire.co.uk/images/artists/sylvian_david/cover307.jpg

Gonna make a special point of buying the mag this month.

yeah me too - i haven't bought it for 3 years or so.

He looks like Sweeney Tood on that cover.

Todd, maybe.

or an RPG villain

yes definitely getting a sephiroth vibe from that cover. great photo

damo, saw my msg upthread? drop me a line

oh hey i just saw that thanks!

http://www.thewire.co.uk/files.php?file=1166&action=stream
small metal gods

I certainly didn't expect those harmonies at the end.

Awesome. Samples here (also awesome):

http://www.manafon.com/editions/

That deluxe edition looks beautiful, but oof, $85 + shipping!

I just watched/listened to "Small Metal Gods" and my conclusion is: "Please, not ANOTHER 'divorce album'!" David - I love you, man - but come oooon! That'll be three already: Nine Horses, Blemish, this one.

$85?? Pass.

Divorce album? I vaguely remember "Blemish" being ascribed to that period but I didn't realize Nine Horses was as well.

He looks like Momus again on the album sleeve.

For anyone who missed it, there's a good interview with Sylvian in the September edition of Mojo. The feature includes a cherishable mid-70s photo of David, Steve and Mick rehearsing in what looks to have been the Batts' living room.
It makes me sad that he now repudiates almost all his work with Japan. I for one still derive great pleasure from Gentlemen Take Polaroids and Tin Drum.

Totally agree.

In other news I listened to the Manafon samples on the website and found them really irritating. Something about it just wasn't working for me. I have a feeling this album is going to divide opinions pretty severely.

Yeah, it seems like all the good parts are in the background... kind of marred by his aleatoric melodic humming.

The vocals on Blemish sounded pretty tuneless to me at first, 'little metal gods' is sounding more and more memorable as I listen again

I admired Blemish a lot, and there are some v good tracks on the 80s albums, but no matter how I try, the only one I really, really connect with is the Rain Tree Crow alb.

The vocals on Blemish sounded pretty tuneless to me at first, 'little metal gods' is sounding more and more memorable as I listen again

Yeah. It seems like he sits down and writes songs like everyone else, but then he subtracts all the musical information and leaves us with this elaborate vocal melody... and we have no idea what it's supposed to refer to. My ear naturally tries to ground the melody somewhere but it can't, and I guess I find that frustrating. It's as if Sylvian likes being the only one who knows what the melody actually refers to, and it sets up kind of an unpleasant power dynamic with his audience, like he's deliberately withholding information.

Yes, of course this is meant to be "difficult" music (and I like difficult music) but sometimes difficult music just doesn't work.

Thanks for the link to the samples. I loved Blemish, and I get the feeling this is going to be at least as good.

can't stream the other tracks because i'm on mac, but Little Metal Gods got me real psyched for this. the vocals seem very upfront in the mix but what else would you expect? also the making of-video of this could be really interesting.

first listen -- vocals are awfully loud
second listen -- really like to hear this without the vocals
third listen -- great record, vocals are fine, not an eai/erstwhile record and you can't listen to it that way, it's its own thing, huge chunks of it are really beautiful

it helps that i like david sylvian's lyrics, singing, and approach quite a bit

anxious to hear what jon abbey thinks

the second half of this, starting with the fifth track, might be the place to start if you're hoping to enjoy this based on prior enjoyment of erstwhile type stuff (keith rowe, polwechsel, etc).

i've been absolutely loving this record.

:-)

"anxious to hear what jon abbey thinks"

well, one thing is that listening via MP3 exaggerates the balance between Sylvian and the musicians, so listening to the CD or a lossless rip is definitely preferable, especially if that balance is bothering you (a complaint I've seen a bunch already). beyond that, I need more listens, but I will comment on this:

"the second half of this, starting with the fifth track, might be the place to start if you're hoping to enjoy this based on prior enjoyment of erstwhile type stuff (keith rowe, polwechsel, etc)."

I'd actually just skip the first two tracks, track 4 is the one with the Tokyo crew, and probably the most interesting musically to me.

small metal gods irritated me and I'm hardly every irritated by sylvian, I'm a huge fan. I fell asleep after that though, so I'll have to give it another listen tonight.

My review for the OC Weekly:

http://www.ocweekly.com/2009-09-17/music/cd-review-david-sylvian/

^^ nice description of how his voice is sounding.

I wanted to like this, but ugh.

While not particularly disrespectful of the musicians involved, it IS a David Sylvian album and it makes me wish David weren't... in it.

His vocals sound uncomfortably tacked on, frequently jarring. It's almost like he's parodying himself singing one of his vibrato-ey big ballads --- only without any real melodic variety to speak of. It may be his attempt to add an ~*improv*~ edge to the music, but imo it fails & the (many) beautiful moments never really get their chance to shine because of this.

I demand an instrumental version. kthxbye

Meantime a couple of folks noted errors with my AMM mentions so that'll hopefully be updated today!

well, while it's not strictly accurate to describe as "the amm saxophonist" (if anyone cld be called that it wld be lou gare) he has played with AMM every now and then, and he was generally thought to be a pretty gd fit w/ the group

...describe evan parker...

I was reading the review of the New York Times of the new record today, where it makes a big deal about the opening line being something like, "I'm dumping all my childish things" etc etc...I was a huge fan in college of most Sylvian from Japan through Beehive, but I am wondering, what is his beef? doesn't it seem like he has been moping about unburdening himself since the mid-1980s? Did he have some horrible trauma that I missed? Not that he ever seemed to have a sense of humor, but I find his ponderous non-stop "moving on from misery" really oppressive and neverending...anyone know what I mean?

sorry, "in" The New York Times...

...but it's his most endearing quality! It's his shtick and he's good at it.

Seriously, though, I know he went through a bad divorce, and perhaps some other relationship-related trauma over the years.

He did 'Let The Happiness In' though...

don't get me wrong--i still love the older stuff and respect the new stuff but i am more just curious as to what the "ghosts" might be now, i guess the divorce

iago g, have you heard the nine horses album? it's great, and there are plenty of funny lyrical moments, albeit droll and urbane, not lol ha ha hah

I was reading the review of the New York Times of the new record today, where it makes a big deal about the opening line being something like, "I'm dumping all my childish things" etc etc...I was a huge fan in college of most Sylvian from Japan through Beehive, but I am wondering, what is his beef?

I wouldn't interpret any song lyric -- by anyone -- literally.

otm about how the mp3s make his vocals seem unusually loud. I haven't warmed to this at all.

I wouldn't interpret any song lyric -- by anyone -- literally.

― Little starbursts of joy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

I know, I know...but you know what i mean about the general vibe. doesn't he refuse to play older songs live now? not that he tours much anyway, but i saw him at town hall in like 1988 or 1989 and it was transplendent

Iago g, have you heard the nine horses album? it's great, and there are plenty of funny lyrical moments, albeit droll and urbane, not lol ha ha hah

― kamerad, S

I haven't actually--I haven't kept up all that much but I will give it a listen, thanks for the tip!

the nine horses album is excellent and anyone who doesn't like any of his later-period work (basically, anything post-beehive) should enjoy it, it's the most akin to Gone to Earth or Beehive, in my mind.

Yeah it would be a disservice to say his recent lyrics have all been downers -- this album is often quite fraught but a number of his one-offs on various other releases (Fennesz, Friedmann, etc.) often take different roads.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scBpZvXHP5g

Sylvian and Ingrid Chavez are releasing mini-record they did ages ago officially via Discipline Global Mobile. Buy it while you can.

Little Girls With 99 Lives by Ingrid Chavez

The four songs written and recorded by David Sylvian and Ingrid Chavez in the mid to late 90's, which were previously only available on the B-sides of various singles released by Virgin Records, are collected here for the first time. Available in a new digipak designed by Sylvian and, in keeping with some of the intimate themes addressed in the material, the artwork features images of Ingrid as a young girl. Each copy is signed and numbered by both Sylvian and Chavez and the pressing is strictly limited to 1000. There will be no reprinting of the edition once it has sold out

The edition is released on Ingrid's 10 Windows imprint and is available exclusively from the DGM Store.

note: I've heard these songs and didn't think a whole lot of them, but I bought one anyway.

I still cannot get into Manafon, but Blemish took me forever

manafon is indeed impenetrable to me as well.

But loads of people are way into it, see upthread

Yup.

Like Ned Raggett, for ex

Ned Raggett recorded himself reading pi at least once. What does he know? If only he had done in in a more sonorous baritone over broken atunal glitches. His hair does rival Sylvian's for sure.

And for that kind thought I thank you.

Manafon now good. Some kind of compilation out soon?

Yes, "Sleepwalker" will contain many of his collaborations from the last 10 years, and very good they are. A new track or two and some alternate mixes as well. Out next week.

Somehow I missed news of that compilation! But Jess didn't:

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14812-sleepwalkers/

I am definitely one of those Sylvian fans attracted to THE VOICE and therefore disagree with some of the characterizations of that review. He sounds great in "Money For All" and tstuff like "Ballad Of A Deadman" with Joan Wasser is really compelling!

it's okay; I long for another full-length album like the nine horses record though.

New Interview. Talks about the new compilation, Mick Karn...

David never seemed like a barrel of laughs but, man, is this guy severe nowadays or what?

What the! Yesterday I completely randomly picked that Japan best of DVD (the one with the Oil On Canvas gig) out of my pile because it's been waaaaaaay too long ago I've listened to them and now you revive a thread about Sylvian? Spooky.

Good read, this. It does seem to parallel his recent artistic work, for sure...

What is it about David Sylvian that turns interviewers into obtuse and verbose pseudo intellectual creeps...I know his work is 'highbrow' but my god its hard work reading an interview with him....

I realized why I have mixed feelings about finding this guy attractive. Crica "Quiet Life," he looks like my mom did in the '80s! -_-

http://img1.wantitall.co.za/images/ShowImage.aspx?ImageId=David-Sylvian-Died-in-the-Wool%7C514-YIPrJQL.jpg

http://www.davidsylvian.com/diedinthewool/information/

good

wish he'd do another nine horses album

Upon first listen, "Died In The Wool" has lived up to my expectations: the added strings and new interpretations has really opened up the "Manafon" material. This is much more in line with what I was expecting after the monumental "Blemish".

holy shit HOW good is Orpheus?? i know nothing else by him, what else is as good/ like this?

thanks Sylvian fans.

(just heard this track on the Soulwax 'BLUE' mix) http://vimeo.com/26049116

There's a new 2cd career overview out, "A Victim Of Stars", go pick that up. The new song on it, "Where's Your Gravity" is great too.

thanks, i'll Spotify.

wish he would tour in the states

Every time I listen to more than ten minutes of Sylvianmusic I get bored. "Orpheus" is gorgeous though.

You must find baseball boring, too. ;-)

Look, it's all about The Voice for me. I enjoy the music, especially the more recent weird stuff, but David could literally read the phone book and I'm in.

That's the thing -- I hear his voice and think of Scott Walker and Bryan Ferry; I hear his instrumentals and think Hassell-Eno.

They're all unique, tremendous voices and serve different purposes for me. I can understand your view but still, Scott Walker fronting Hassell-Eno sounds pretty great to me!

Yeah, like all-time

I own several albums, btw, even that two-disc comp. I probably like SOTB best.

well that is the best album so ok

He tells a joke in today's Guardian.

did anyone notice

He also talked about Viagra.

This has got to be one of the weirder pieces of Sylvian footage out there.
A 13-part (!) documentary on the making of 'Ember Glance' (with Russell Mills), filmed by Yuka Fuji.

Totally random, home movie feel to the parts I've seen. Certainly wasn't broadcast-able material.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLXqpw0p1Do

Speaking of David reading the phone book... His spoken words in "Uncommon Deities" really works for me, the spooky backing as well. Anyone else heard it?

I've been digging that one too! In retrospect, feels like he's been on a real roll since Blemish.

Manafon is his best album.

Only recently noticed this:

http://the-kilowatt-hour.com/

it bothers me somewhat that they chose that name when there was already a band called kilowatt hour (on temporary residence)

Due on November 24:

https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10644628_875306652489060_2918896652884881561_n.jpg

Bah, trying that again:

https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10644628_875306652489060_2918896652884881561_n.jpg?oh=f8534a34cb61e9ccba5819565c2e9a2f&oe=54AAF078

Oh, you have made my month, woo! His previous work with those men bodes well.

Can't whine about a new Sylvian record, looking forward to it!

'Manafon' is my fave record of his these days.
'When Loud Weather.." was super dope too. Feel like he's been on a good road since 'Blemish'.
Definitely in dire need of a left-turn by the time 'Dead Bees..' rolled around.

Can't wait to hear it! Don't know my Franz, but Fennesz and Tilbury are dudes.

Oh man this is the best news.

Looking forward to this. Manafon never really grew on me, although i loved Blemish.

Great news. Loved Manafon - IMO even better than Blemish.

Super digging this.

No Sylvian vocals (in case that wasn't clear), but that's ok with me.

Think: elements of 'Plight & Premonition', 'Blemish' and 'Manafon'.

Nice Tilbury tinklings throughout. A bit like Feldman, but with more frequent changes... and poetry and noises on top.

I'm sold.

No vocals?!

Not from Sylvian.

Plenty of Franz Wright reciting his poetry though.

Already leaked or is it streaming or promo or...?

Pre-ordered the deluxe and they sent the full download link right away.

fuck, there are some nice stretches on this. only 20 minutes in

Totally.

I didn't warm that much to Wandermude or Uncommon Deities, but this is really dope.

Quickly shaping up to be an album of the year contender.

If you ever enjoyed 'Plight' or 'Manafon', you should just grab this.

Pre-ordered the deluxe and they sent the full download link right away.

― mr.raffles, Tuesday, October 21, 2014 11:28 PM (4 days ago)

Where? (Sorry if stupid question)

Ah, the obvious place (it was a stupid question):

http://davidsylvian.com/theresalight/purchase.html

Having lived with this for a week and a half now, I can't say enough good about it.
Though it's not a new.vocal.studio.album, it's in no way a minor work.

One thing I find really fun is the (Morton) Feldman influence, which seems to grow larger with each year. Imperceptibly shifting, static-esque phrases... Tilbury tinkling away... etc... 'There's a Light...' even cops the 'Rothko Chapel' trick of wrapping things up with a simple, soaring, melodic movement, which isn't suggested by anything preceding it in the piece.

Goddamn, this record is good.

Btw, they already shipped the super deluxe. Pretty fun having something arrive a month earlier than expected!

i really dig this record (just got the regular, not the super deluxe) but it is a lot to take in alongside _soused_

Ha!
I had to put Soused (and some others) to the side for a bit. I can only handle so much at once.

i really like this record, though i'm put off by the remarkably pretentious title. you have to put up with that when it comes to sylvian.

btw has he had work done? he looks... weird... lately;

Interesting response from whoever posts to Sylvian's fb page to a comment about the wait being too long between vocal records:

"he may not sing again and if he does it may not be what you'd personally term 'melodic'. purchase only what you truly desire."

@amatuerist - is there a recent pic? or are you going by the post on his page about which editions are available and when?

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/33841229/David+Sylvian.jpg

wright's voice is less repellent than sylvian's with this sort of music, but i wish there was an alternate, vocal-less version of this.

Ahh... that's an old shot at this point, right? 2009 or so?
Have only seen a couple pics since... the one promoting 'abandon hope' in '13 and a shot with Joan as Policewoman on her fb page from '11.

Not that I keep track of these things. haha

wright's voice is less repellent than sylvian's with this sort of music, but i wish there was an alternate, vocal-less version of this.

At any rate, been listening to this a ton the last several days. It's very, very good. I wouldn't say it bears much resemblance to Plight insofar as Sylvian is no longer moored to drones ... this is a much more granular work. Which is one reason the Vaughn Williams-inspired conclusion is really an amazing way to wrap this up.

yeah, I mostly listen to music while showering (!?)

Sure, you can consider this a poetry piece, where the spoken words are of primary interest. but it also contains gorgeous music that could be satisfying/engaging without the spoken voice parts. I understand that they're meant to compliment each other. While Wright's poetry is interesting here, it takes me out of the enveloping musical environment.

His style/flow has enough detachedness and sort of ease about it, and the frequency of the spoken passages is such that it's easy to get lost in the parts without voice. Listening to it a lot today, it does have an engaging, story-like quality.. however fragmented it is. The music possesses an ineffable beauty throughout the hour-long duration.

kinda odd that John Tilbury's name is not "featured" on the album cover... his playing is the most prominent feature of the recording.

Wright passed away two weeks ago.

I was listening to this record again this morning, went to the Wiki page to read more about his work and...

Seems there's a new Sylvian coming in September on Confront Recordings!

Looks like Sylvo is doing some recording. Good news.

http://www.angharaddavies.com/

7 - 13 .12.15 Skogen
Recording with David Sylvian
Angharad Davies + Anna Lindal, violin
Leo Svensson Sander, cello; Magnus Granberg, piano;
Rhodri Davies, harpa; John Eriksson, vibrafon;
Henrik Olsson, percussion + glass; Erik Carlsson, percussion
Petter Wastberg, elektronik och objekt
Toshimaru Nakamura, no-input mixing board

Not dead, then.

Unmentioned above, but also search the two guest appearances on Mick Karn's Dreams Of Reason Produce Monsters, "Bouy" (also on the Everything and Nothing compilation) and "When Love Walks In" (which, AFAIK, appears nowhere else). If Rain Tree Crow doesn't quite hit the spot, these two recordings (with Steve Jansen on drums) are arguably the last Japan recordings.

http://goldenpages.jpehs.co.uk/2016/06/27/symposium-on-the-edge-improvisers-on-music-and-methods/

Who's going to Norway?
"David Sylvian has curated an ensemble for On the Edge: Keith Rowe, David Toop, Rhodri Davies, Rie Nakajima and Phil Durrant."

wish this guy would do another album and tour

My best-of list, with caveats.

Nothing from Blemish and beyond?

I knew he was going to withdraw from vocal work but he hasn't done anything since "There's A Light That Enters Houses With No Other House In Sight" (which was disappointing considering the great stuff he'd done with Fennesz before).

he did a single since then where he was just fucking around and making noise in an old schoolhouse. not recommended even for the most open of minds

I really wish he'd put out something new that he sang on. I love Blemish. I've grown to like Manafon as well.

but I can't quibble with Alfred's list there, those are all fantastic songs. I'd probably swap Darkest Dreaming for I Surrender though and added A Fire in the Forest.

just checked his site and he's got something new coming out that lists his contributions as "voice, vocal treatments, electronics", which leaves some hope but we all know it's going to be more like "there's a light" than "blemish": http://www.confrontrecordings.com/core-series

Super good new album w Wastell and Davies.

https://youtu.be/WyGjBJ6TpLQ

The storytelling nature of the material probably makes this more enjoyable to ppl than 'Playing the Schoolhouse'. Maybe even entertaining?

At this point, everybody realizes 'Manafon' is a classic, right?

Eh, I'm not convinced by "There's No Love". It's missing something for me that was found on "Uncommon Deities". Maybe it was the short form of each track that was the difference, or maybe I just want him to sing again!

The last time I listened to "Manafon" I liked it much more than previously, but I still prefer the reworked versions on "Died In The Wool".

" I still prefer the reworked versions on "Died In The Wool"."

me too

Sylvian drops a new country song on soundcloud out of the blue: https://soundcloud.com/user-516495290/beautiful-country-rough-mix

(this is one of the songs from a project with Joan as Policewoman that seems to have stalled or died or something)

Thanks for posting that, I'll take his scraps!

Them's pretty good scraps! Builds up a nice head of steam by the end too.

Wonder if this means more is on the way?

I hope so!

Gone, seemingly.

Good thing I downloaded it.

Argh, just getting to this now. Is anyone willing/able to share?

apparently there's another one that's still up? is this an unreleased track? https://soundcloud.com/user-516495290/modern-interior

That's from a compilation.

Whoever needs a copy email me geraldmcbb at h0tmail d0t c0m

it's still there, at least for me.

From the comments it looks like he took it down and then re-upped it.

That beautiful country remix is flowing nicely. I especially appreciate that his voice seems less affected than i remembered it.

Since I already posted my e-mail address, if anyone wants a giant ZIP of David's rarities (64 tracks), drop me a note.

E-mail sent! <3

another newish one he put up there that had slipped me by: https://soundcloud.com/user-516495290/jacqueline-demo

Both soundcloud tracks remind me how much I've missed his ambient pop work. Hopefully his willingness to post older tracks is based on some new creative drive.

We'll see, he said a few years back he was done with vocal work. Of course he wouldn't be the first artist to change their mind.

anyone know explicitly what his illness was? i saw something about his back at some point, but I thought maybe it was actually his lungs or something; perhaps he's lost his voice.

So 21 people downloaded the odds and sods comp I made. Any thoughts, favorite bits, etc? For me, I'm surprised and pleased how good 5 hours off (mostly) collaborations flows, David's voice really makes the songs his own.

It's taken me awhile but I'm finally appreciating David's later collaborations, which are also captured on Sleepwalkers, as much as his earlier ones. (If anything, it's the Dead Bees era that I now find the least interesting.) And yeah, his voice def brings a cohesiveness to this collection.

I haven't done an A/B comparison, but I think many of the tracks on "Sleepwalkers" are remixed to some extent.

yes they are

Oh hey Gerald I dropped a line re this collection -- did you get it?

It was in my junk folder. ;-) Replied.

Thanks!

In a fb post about his Weinstein tweets (that he's since deleted), DS said he considers himself "retired".

https://www.facebook.com/tim.wilderspin.3/posts/10213528185735010

i'm going to past that in case it gets deleted or for people not on facebook:

For those that are interested, yesterday was a big day for fans of the highly-influential and unique band Japan. Their manager, Simon Napier-Bell, posted about his time with the band, trotting out his side of the story of their split in 1982. Suddenly, David Sylvian - their somewhat reclusive singer - came on the thread with a massive rebuttal directly aimed at his old manager, claiming he ripped them off and also talking about how he was kept from his dying friend Mick Karn's bedside. Almost as soon as Sylvian posted - as is his wont - he deleted it. Luckily, quick-acting fans copied and pasted it. If you're into the group, it makes for compelling reading. See below...
SNB: 35 YEARS AGO THIS MONTH…
Japan were in the middle of their last tour. At the end of it they would break up, which seemed insane. It had taken six years for them to move from being unknowns to Britain’s most influential rock group.
I’d signed them in 1976 after I’d auditioned David Batt at Wigmore Hall Studios. He turned up in hippy sandals and jeans with long blonde hair down to his waist and an acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder. In the studio he eyed me disdainfully, as if he were doing the auditioning, not me. It wasn’t just his looks that won me over, it was his voice and his rambling songs with their strange lyrics, “She keeps her love in a carrier bag”.
With him came a group. On drums was Dave's brother, Steve, only 16 and a dead ringer for young Elvis. The bass player was “Mick” Michaelides, their best friend, with down-to-the-waist hair to match David's, but orange. On keyboards was Richard Barbieri, thicker-set and more cautious than the other three, but like the others from the same school in Lewisham. And on guitar was Rob Dean, from North London, acquired through an ad in Melody Maker.
I put the group into a recording studio, got some examples of their best songs, then sent them off to a photo session. When I had the perfect picture I put together a smart-looking package and sent it to every A&R man in London. It wasn't the first time my enthusiasm had blinded me to the realities of the music business. In the 60s I'd got much the same reaction when I first sent out tapes of Marc Bolan. I should have remembered that A&R men immediately turn down anything that doesn't sound exactly like the current best-selling artist. They have no understanding of being prepared for the next change in style or the next development.
Among the stack of depressing rejection letters were two which stood out. One was from someone at RCA: 'If you change the group's bass-player and find someone who knows how to play, I might be prepared to listen again’. The other was from an A&R man at CBS. “This group has potential. Unfortunately, we are not in the potential business.” (Presumably the reason for them hiring an A&R man who had none.)
It was a bad start but I persevered more than I’d ever persevered before. David changed his surname to Sylvian, his brother to Jansen, and Mick to Karn. It took a year to get a record deal, two years to get their first record released, three years to play the first UK gig that broke even, four years to be taken seriously.
But after five years Japan were one of the most influential groups in Britain. David’s new bouffant hairstyle had been stolen by Duran Duran. The sound of Mick’s fretless bass had become the backbone of Paul Young’s hits. Richard’s flowing synth lines were heard in every emerging group. As were Steve’s drum syncopations. And when their new album Tin Drum came out it was the successes of the year, setting them up to break America.
Then things went wrong...
Mick had a Japanese girlfriend to whom he was devoted - he was learning Japanese and had settled down domestically. But one day he came home to find she'd left him for David. The group came to me and said they were breaking up. It was apparent there was no point trying to persuade them otherwise, but I told them, “For the sake of your future solo careers, don't announce it yet. That way you'll continue to have the status of being part of a top group while you each sort out what you want to do with yourselves. Meanwhile I'll tell the press Japan are working on their next album.”
During that year we released three Japan singles, all of them big hits – Ghosts, Cantonese Boy, and I Second that Emotion. I was playing for time and I hoped to keep them together. After three months I persuaded them to play a final tour starting in a further four months time. When the tickets were put on sale they sold out at once. It was a long wait, but on the first night I held my breath - going on tour again, being onstage, receiving rapturous applause – surely it would bring them back together again.
But the answer was “No!”
On the first night, billing and cooing in the dressing-room with David, was Mick's ex-girlfriend. Mick refused to go in. And from there on it was inevitable.
After a British finale of six consecutive nights at Hammersmith Odeon, the group went on to Hong Kong, Thailand and Japan. Even till the last day I thought, “This band just CANNOT be breaking up.” But after the last gig in Nagoya, they did.
Inconceivable really that they could play so tightly, appear so cohesive, yet still walk off stage and separate, just like that. I felt there had to be more to it than just the domestic relocation of Mick’s girlfriend, and in due course I realised there was.
Maybe one day I should write the book.

DS : '"simon, come on, this is utter BS. have you forgotten the dinner prior to your hearing Tin Drum in which you told me to break up the band? That you'd been talking mick into believing he was ready for a solo career and I should be thinking along the same lines? You were still playing puppet master. 'You're in danger of becoming a band that everyone's heard of but no one's actually heard' . I insisted we'd recorded our strongest album, you doubted this. Hedging your bets you said 'Of course, if you're right I'll be persuading you to stay together'. I spoke with mick and he said you'd been whispering in his ear about a solo career and that he wanted to go for it (he'd been telling yuka the same but with no animosity aimed at me as there was none between us. She said he only ever spoke respectfully. He just wanted to find his own voice) but would like to keep the band together (as a safety net). I asked him to choose one over the other and he claimed he couldn't, so I chose for him. If everyone was pulling together for the band it made no sense to have someone hold back and start writing for themselves, not at that stage in our development when the songwriting was beginning to open up. It was you who sowed the seeds of discontent because I'd stopped listening to your 'advice'. You only enjoyed management when it was like a game of chess, moving pieces on a board. To place yuka, who has never publicly defended herself, never will, in the middle of all this, upsets me greatly as she remains my dearest friend (she was never anywhere near the Tin Drum tour. These deviations from the truth seem like simple fabrication for the sake of after dinner chatter but it has actually impacted all of our lives). After trying to work on his sculpture and music, and without okaying it with me, mick said he couldn't work with yuka around and asked her to 'go over to david's house' (as you know, we all lived in the same Square). yuka didn't wish to intrude so she'd walk around London, window shopping, until it got dark and too cold for her. She then asked me if she could kill a couple of hours until she could go home (6pm being the set time). Mick sent her to my home repeatedly after that, again, without ever speaking to me about the inconvenience or otherwise. yuka did her best to stay away until the November cold got to her then she'd perch on my couch and drink tea whilst I worked. Eventually, mick ask her to move out permanently. She came to me in tears and I said 'stay'. It was that simple, but it's been made into a drama when, anyone who knew mick knows this was, or became, his modus operandi. Ask his partners to leave and, once gone, claim them back. It got him into some deep water over the years. I could offer a lot more on the subject of mick's mental state, for example, his intolerance for one member of the band whom he fought to have removed from day one until the last sessions of Tin Drum, but that's not my place. He very rapidly moved onto working on his solo career just as you'd advised him. ("mick will be a star because he'll do all the things you refuse to you. Saturday morning kids shows, page 3, etc. And, regrettably, he took your advice"). Some members of the public feel the need to take sides on the matter of my friendship with mick but it's no one's business but our own and those who, for many years, stirred the pot behind the scenes. The last time I saw mick alive was just prior to my mixing RTC. Must've been 90/91. He asked to meet for coffee. I remember it well. The Dome, which used to stand on a corner of King's Rd, a short walk from my place in Chelsea. During that conversation he told me three things I'll never forget. 'You did a great job producing RTC (no one had acknowledged I'd done any such thing until that moment)/You bring out the best in me/would you consider producing my next album?' .. I was flattered and happy to be asked and said 'absolutely'. I never saw him again and was denied a place at his deathbed due to the interventions of others (one message apparently reached him before he passed, that I'd referred to him in an interview as my brother as, despite everything that'd gone down between us, he was. I was told this was well received). This is my story, my truth if you will. It's something I've not shared until now (I'll not tell the true stories behind the making of the band as it'd hurt too many people. Knowing this has encouraged others to fabricate all manner of 'truths'). You did ask me to keep the break up of the band from the press for one year until a final tour in '82. I agreed based on your explanation that the band would need an influx of cash to help them get on their feet after we (publicly) broke up. That you took your percentage from the gross income from the tour and not the net denied the band from having any earnings to speak of once the tour was over. I confronted you on this matter and you said, as ever, with a smile, that it wasn't your concern how much we spent on lighting and set design and you were within your rights to skim from the top. I disagreed with you then and do to this day. It was immoral of you to go back on your word. So much to be said, and yet I'm told I've already given my side of the story. I obviously haven't. But hearing this nonsense touted as truth, allowing it to stand in for the facts, wears me down. You walked away with money one way or another. Because of the way I'm made, I hold no grudge, but that's an easier position for me to take than for others for obvious reasons. You're a storyteller, it's what you now do (and of course you know full well why we could simply walk away from one another come the tour's end, you'd orchestrated the break). But you've been fucking around with the real lives of others, you've impacted them positively but also profoundly negatively. You have to own that before you too take your leave. We don't need more books on the subject as they're so far from the reality as lived. Let's leave things be and not perpetuate yet more erroneous myths."

Just... wow.

Can anyone find David's statement regarding Mick's death? I recall it was touching but can't find it online.

Dammmmn

SNB's reply. supposedly DS deleted his own original statement.

Hi David Sylvian - I love that you wrote that reply to my piece. I value your viewpoint and your memories of the situation. You're right I'm a storyteller; I enjoy nothing more than good raconteuring but try always to keep to the truth. Truths, of course, can differ from person to person but we should all do our best to write with honesty. In the course of managing a band many things are said to the individuals involved - to comfort, to cajole, to calm, to inspire - but in the end the manager's principal job is to keep the band productively together as long as possible, and if that fails then to try and help each of them on a path to a solo career. I thought I did pretty well at the first thing, not so good at the second. I'm sure your memories are correct for you, you have too much integrity for them not to be, and mine are correct for me. I remember only good times managing Japan, and much good humour.

Richard Barbieri's captured but also deleted comment on that thread is also worth reading.

his comment on the original post by SNB, that is.

where could that be read?

https://i.imgur.com/IjPPK8g.jpg

thankyou

Japan are like the last band I expected to have lots of drama kicked up years later on facebook.

Barbieri has always come across like a really good guy btw. I read an interesting interview with him recently. He sounds pretty broke considering he was in two fairly huge bands (Japan and Porcupine Tree) but also not at all bitter about things.

SNB never lets accuracy get in the way of a good story - but he can be very entertaining.

More music managers should follow his example of posting reviews of their most memorable meals:
http://www.simonnapierbell.com/restaurants.htm

Wow that was illumanating..,Sylvian seems to be quite confessional of late like he’s unburdening himself...maybe it comes as you get older...finally got round to listening to the tracks Gerald sent me...had most of them but a few gaps...the new tracks that appeared on his soundcloud account are great particularly ‘Modern Interior’ but ‘Blue Of Noon’ is sounding lovely especially this time of year...wish he release a new album of song based material...the one offs he’s released (If you think you know me now, I should not dare, A certain slant of light) are among his best work in years...

Barbieri has always come across like a really good guy btw. I read an interesting interview with him recently.

Don't suppose you have a link to that?
There's so much tension apparent Japan's best material. I had always assumed that it was because Sylvian was a harsh taskmaster, but the dysfunction described above throws a whole new light on the band's dynamics.

guessing this was the interview

Japan are like the last band I expected to have lots of drama kicked up years later on facebook.

You're kidding me, right!? Out of all of the bands of that era, Japan and Bauhaus would be top of the list.

Oh yeah

BTW to tide us all over while we we wait for another release, I just came upon this incredible song from his 2003-4 Fire in the Forest tour that is otherwise unreleased:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9vybTMXsFg&feature=youtu.be

It’s an amazing performance – and seemingly a really raw take on his divorce. Among my favorite things he’s done post-Blemish.

I'm getting an error with that link. What is the track/performance?

Just a random anecdote: A few weeks ago I was in a bar in Roppongi that seemed to be dedicated to and frequented by people who enjoyed early 80's music. The bartender decided to throw on something decidedly not early 80's: 'Adolescent Sex' by Japan. When I expressed my delight that I was actually hearing ANYONE EVER playing and enjoying this album in public, we sat and listened to the whole thing on a fantastic sound system. Such a wonderful little moment of life.

This this:

https://youtu.be/I9vybTMXsFg

It’s Wasn’t I Joe.

is that Ryoji Ikeda?

Masakatsu Takagi on live video projections. It was just DS and Steve Jansen playing the music.

Wasn't I Joe is a total classic.

His best unreleased track?

If not, it's damn close.

It's terrific. I'm still holding out some hope that one day we'll get to hear Sylvian's "watery, slowed-down" version of Propaganda's "Duel" that may or may not only exist in Paul Morley's head. (During PM's brief attempt to get Sylvian to produce them; he wrote the essence of p-Machinery, played on it, but that was about it).

Holy cow, new unheard Sylvian from one of my favorite periods! Thanks for posting this, any other unreleased gems floating around the ether?

Also, where's the sample from?

a beckett play, Eh Joe

yes, this is absolutely one of his best unreleased songs (though I guess that DVD of the performance was an official release? dunno. no idea if a studio version of this was ever attempted). It's also the most incredibly sad and depressing thing Sylvian ever recorded

why is The Healing Place from Gone to Earth the most listened to David Sylvian track on Spotify? was it in a movie or a tv show?

Inclusion on a Spotify playlist.
I think there are a couple of chill instrumentals w disproportionate play counts in his top 10, right?

yes, i wondered about that. I've only just started using spotify so i'm not sure how all of that works.

Silver Moon Over Sleeping Steeple has even more plays in the US. And I was asking myself just the same question this morning.

Happy 60th, Sylvo!

the RSD reissue of Dead Bees on a Cake with tracks he put on Everything and Nothing goes a long way toward redefining that album IMO, though it's weird he chose a photo of him an Ingrid for the cover; I know it's their 'love' album but given how awful the divorce sounded on Blemish...maybe he's feeling nostalgic. Anyway, the E&N tracks were so strong they really balance out the duffers here like "Krishna Blue". And let no one ever say the man doesn't know how to end an album: Darkest Dreaming is one of his very best songs.

Dead Bees on a Cake is one of the worst album title I've ever heard.

s

well true but the album is better than the title

they really balance out the duffers here like "Krishna Blue"

Totally disagree there. I'm a massive fan of everything Sylvian did & rank Krishna Blue as one of his very best songs.

I too think KB is one of his best, but really, not much sense in personal taste battles anyway. A good album is a good album. You may like one song more than another, but if you’ve lived long enough with it, one song leads to another there, so all will be good in the end.

I love the title, I think it’s terrific and suits the music to a T, pretty much as is always the case with Sylvian. He explained why he chose it well enough in period interviews some 20 years ago.
When the cd first came out, I was sorely disappointed - it took years to come around on it. I remember back then I thought the title and the original cover were the best things about it, and that they deserved better music.

Darkest Dreaming is one of his very best songs.

― akm,

Nice to see you single out Darkest Dreaming. Sometimes I think it might be my favourite song he's ever recorded, including Japan.

one thing to note though is that this RSD pressing is fucked, there are no fill issues on many of them (including my side 2). don't know if universal will take them back or not, but considering I paid thirtyfive pounds for it I hope so.

I remember back then I thought the title and the original cover were the best things about it, and that they deserved better music.

It's a constant ongoing argument I have with myself what I think David Sylvian's best is. The choice always changes, but the three things that are always in consideration are: Secrets of the Beehive, Rain Tree Crow, and Dead Bees on a Cake.

beehive vs gone to earth has been the eternal internal argument for me

i think "a fire in the forest" out-darkest-dreamings "darkest dreaming" for me

I sometimes think of Rain Tree Crow as Sylvian's attempt to make Laughing Stock.

"i think "a fire in the forest" out-darkest-dreamings "darkest dreaming" for me"

yeah those are the two closers I was thinking of. sublime.

I sometimes think of Rain Tree Crow as Sylvian's attempt to make Laughing Stock.

It was released a few months before Laughing Stock though. I think of it as more DS bringing his improv/chance approach from the Czukay sessions into his old band and seeing where that went. With a few gorgeous, conventionally constructed songs in there too.

to me it sounds much more like music in between ambient and world in the vein of what eno, byrne, gabriel, hassell etc. were doing in the 80s. "laughing stock" is a completely different beast i think. it has got this holy & spiritual vibe which i do not feel in "rain tree crow".

Huh. I bought RTC on release but only got into LS a few years later - shows what I know!
And yeah I remember the press and the liner notes being big on the improvised nature of the sessions. A pretty interesting way to reform a band, can't think of anyone else who did it that way.
And agreed, Alex, LS is the vision of a seer, whereas RTC is more abstract musings. Sylvian has always been exquisitely emotionally guarded, part of the allure I guess.

Still think the albums are in the same sonic territory, albeit polished for RTC and raw for LS.

https://www.groenland.com/product/david-sylvian-holger-czukay-plight-premonition-flux-mutability-2lp/

He's been doing his first interviews since 2012 or so lately for the Czukay reissue.
A long three-pager was just posted in a Japan facebook group from Electronic Sound mag. Plus, something in this month's Uncut too.

Also, his website's GDPR email could possibly refer to new music this year, if you're feeling especially optimistic. Just as likely it means nothing though!

"After what has been a brief break davidsylvian.com is once again updated and fully functional. There’ll be exciting news coming from the site throughout the year.
We would like to stay in touch with you regarding all new releases/rereleases, news and publications by, or concerning, David Sylvian."

His Twitter feed is intriguing.

i am excite

there was somethign posted to the japan/sylvian FB group this morning and then swifly deleted, didn't catch what it was but it was a red image with something about news coming about something this year?

Yeah. The red image is from the email that went out today. Text is in my post above.

His twitter feed is great. How else would you find out he's buddies with Anton Newcombe!

Found a pristine copy of the reissued Alchemy CD at Half-Price books yesterday, score. Based on the person upthread who hates it also hating the instrumental sides of Gone to Earth, which are my all-time favorite Sylvian sides, I'm guessing I'm going to like it!

You're in for a treat.

yeah that is good stuff

I'd rank most of Sylvian's instrumentals in the interesting-to-pleasant range, the exceptional ones are on Gone to Earth (and Japan records). They're a mostly more retiring than I prefer.

The few instrumentals on rain tree crow are pinnacle stuff IMO

"Red Earth" is a nice one on that record, a little more outgoing than the others.

So I've been listening to Alchemy the past couple of days and really enjoying it, but couldn't figure out why Words with the Shaman sounded so wacky... then I looked at the liner notes and oh, it's Jon Hassell! Should have guessed.

My fav tracks (predictably) are the Stigma of Childhood and Steel Cathedrals, it'd be worth the price for Stigma of Childhood alone.

By "wacky" you mean "awesome", right?

haha more like "I know this isn't David Sylvian or like Fripp or Nelson, who is doing this? (checks liner notes) ah of course, this is some Fourth World noises"

Twinkle3 ft David Sylvian and Kazuko Hohki - Upon This Fleeting Dream

https://cortizona.bandcamp.com/album/upon-this-fleeting-dream

I can't find the link now, but there's a Sylvian interview on Mary Anne Hobbs' show on 6 Music on 27/10/22.

^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001d5w7

Thanks, I hope the interview is available outside the UK.

I've been on a real Sylvian kick recently, especially Brilliant Trees and Gone to Earth. I've owned both for about 20 years and they still sound as fresh as the day I first heard then.

I have Secrets of the Beehive coming in the mail. Great album. (I've been on a real binge of buying cheap CDs on Discogs since vinyl prices have become ridiculous. Some great stuff out there. It was only a few bucks for the Sylvian CD and similar for the Dead Can Dance debut.)

Thanks, StanM. The link works but for some reason there's no info there. Maybe that's because I'm outside the UK. Anyway, more importantly, I'm looking forward to hearing it.

Weird - maybe this will work? -> This is the one preview track: https://cortizona.bandcamp.com/track/if-i-leave-no-trace ( https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=1015719844/size=large/linkcol=0084B4/notracklist=true/twittercard=true/ )

And the info/blurb there:

On ‘Upon This Fleeting Dream’ Clive Bell’s Twinkle3 embraces medieval and 16th century Japanese poems and haiku about death and saying farewell. Bell and Twnkle3, consisting of Dave Ross and Richard Scott, expand their sonic borders to unknown territory: bringing these pithy epigrams to a new Fourth World where electro-acoustic sounds glitches into an hypnagogic, if not unconscious level of fragile beauty.

The distinctive voice of David Sylvian, who reads the English version of the poems and created field recordings and the artwork for this album blends in the most organic way with the shakuhachi,Thai reed flutes and mouth organs played by Clive Bell.

The narrative voices of David Sylvian and Kazuko Hohki’s (Frank Chickens, Kahondo Style…) velvet timbre are the cornerstones of this compelling journey while the tangling and abstract rhythms transcending from Dave Ross’ modular synths and Richard Scott’s sampler and analogue electronics, unravel and unfold a mesmerizing universe with unknown dimensions and frequencies of a fleeting dream.

credits
releases October 28, 2022

Clive Bell: Shakuhachi flute, pi saw and khene mouth organ
Dave Ross: Droscillator, modular synths, various wind and string instruments
Richard Scott: Sampler, modular synths and analogue electronics
David Sylvian: Vocals, field recordings and artwork/photography
Kazuko Hohki: Japanese voice

Mastered by Gert Van Hoof at Cochlea Mastering
Cut by Dubplates & Mastering Berlin

Sleeve design and lay out by Jef Cuypers
Executive production by Philippe Cortens

No, I was referring to the BBC link.

I listened to the Hohki track. Thanks.

oops, haha - I'm not in the UK either & it says the audio should be available after Oct 27th. (I can listen to older episodes too)

Yes that's all I can see too.

Some more information about the BBC6 show via the Quietus:

Mary Anne Hobbs has announced that David Sylvian will take part in a special show on BBC 6 Music later this month, the musician's first major engagement with the media in fifteen years.

Speaking on her show today (11 October), Hobbs said: "David Sylvian has been comfortable in his own silence for the best part of 15 years, but of course there’s also a great joy in an artist surfacing after such an extended period of time to share some of their thoughts and ideas."

She revealed that Sylvian has recorded an audio diary from his home in rural New Hampshire, which will be broadcast as part of a special show titled 'Spirit Of Sylvian' on 27 October.

In addition, Hobbs said, "you'll hear artists who've influenced David, contemporary musicians that he's inspired, his own collaborations and solo work, and also some music that I would like to play to David."

Meanwhile, just to add to the air of mystery, DS handed over his Twitter account to a third party a few days ago, who then pointed out that DS hasn't lived in NH for a decade, but didn't say where he lives now. :)

"David hasn't lived in NH since 2012. Since that time he's lived in London, the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland, Berlin, and traveled all over the States as documented in his book 'ERR'. A minor detail but he's far from NH now, however, he does remain in seclusion."

I didn't know about his book.

I remember seeing pictures of the New Hampshire house and recording studio when it was being sold.

That book sold out fairly quickly. As did the limited edition print set he just did with Lance Austin Olsen and another artist.

He mentioned on Twitter to not buy the Twinkle3 or Isabelle Adjani records coming out on his account, as he wasn't that involved in either:
"if I don't post something related to a release on my timeline it's because i'm not comfortable (mis)directing ppl to projects I've barely any involvement in. all news isn't newsworthy though some think otherwise. an album stands on its own merits irrespective of my involvement"

Very much looking forward to Hobbs show!

i imagine he still maintains his instagram, or has been, which has been a lot of yuka fuji photos from the past, and a lot of photos of his daughter, which look more recent.

Interview available now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb2_Cdeqb-M

Thanks!

wow he has quite the American accent these days huh

he looks like a lesbian colleague

First new singing vocal from the man in a decade or so (recorded in Jan/Feb 2022)... AND a lil video trailer (by Yuka Fuji - recorded last week apparently) to boot!

https://twitter.com/davidsylvian58/status/1597804506552487936

Missed this fella.

Would really love to see this but Twitter is restricting access. Hopefully it'll be shared on another platform.

He also shared it on Facebook... https://fb.watch/hadz_wwDzu/

lol thanks raffles. you're doing your best.

(am lol'ing at my situation as i have access to neither facebook, nor twitter. ah well. we'll hear it soon enough.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfiliu6-6ZA

Seems like the trailer he posted isn't up on YouTube (yet).

I’m excited about this too, though I am assuming maybe this means Sakamoto doesn’t have a lot of time left? That would be incredibly depressing.

A Xmas present from David: a Nine Horses demo from 2004

https://on.soundcloud.com/yawsmWhjyuyXqVZWA

I'm kicking myself for not relistening to Nine Horses earlier when I was revisiting his solo discography. It's far from a side project. I guess the complex genesis of the record explains why it was released under a moniker. The jazz-folk-trip-hop spectrum, the incorporation of electronic and other elements not his own, and the band feel create a wonderful balance. I love how his music breathes, how he uses trumpet, and generally his careful carving of sound that makes you think of wood, glass, water, thread and such. I also like the idea of receiving demo tapes, editing out Jaki Liebezeit, and replacing him with another drummer. Perfect for the season.

otm, do love the nine horses material. i also quote "the banality of evil" pretty often: right you are!

don't sleep on the ep of extras they did. very satisfying when you've played out the full length.

Nine Horses is basically two projects -- one with Burnt Friedman and another with Steve Jansen. And agree, it's very good -- probably his best "song"-ish material since he went in the less accessible (but amazing) Blemish/Manafon direction.

yeah i didn't properly 'receive' nine horses for quite awhile, now i really love it

Deluxe cd box set on the horizon apparently. Best news ever!

https://twitter.com/davidsylvian58/status/1615898013200965632

For those not following him... here's the text:
"the Grönland release ‘Sleepwalkers’ features the track ‘do you know me now?’ which is also the title of a Universal / samadhisound deluxe CD box set to be released later this year. more info on the latter will be announced shortly"

wonder what that box will include? I assume just the Samadhi Sound albums, I'm sure there will be a bunch of additional stuff that will make it a necessary purchase. Hope Nine Horses slips out on vinyl as part of this.

I'm sure this has been posted here somewhere in the past but... here's something to help your Sunday go down lovely. Fretless bass haters are forewarned!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JHKNFjsERE

10 CD, post Virgin Records set on the way!

https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/david-sylvian-samadhisound-2003-2014-do-you-know-me-now

Does he do anything anymore but stuff his old records in fancier and fancier boxes?

He sometimes reissues albums on vinyl with ugly new covers.

He kind of fascinates me as a person. Isn’t he really into gurus and new age stuff like Carlos Santana?

The lead track on Manofon, "Small Metal Gods", suggested that he had grown disenchanted with his spiritual practice.

if instagram is anything to go by, it looks like he and Lucrecia Dalt are in a relationship.

Lucrecia My Reflection

Had not heard of her, I must admit, but to judge by the Wiki page, she sound intersting...?

her new album ‎¡Ay! is wonderful

If things go south with her, he's got a readymade cover version at hand with Blood, Sweat and Tears' "Lucretia Mac Evil" to fit on his next version of blemish.

xpost

Cool, will check it out

i'd love it if they collaborated on some music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5vSkWXu-Qo

For those of us that don’t speak Japanese or have time to listen to 45 minutes, what is that?

It’s Sylvian on a Japanese radio show in 1984 playing some of his favourite music.

Apologies, throughout the 1980s (and perhaps after idk) Ryuichi Sakamoto had a radio show called Sound Street, this is Sylvian guesting on the show with Peter Barakan acting as a translator.

He kind of fascinates me as a person. Isn’t he really into gurus and new age stuff like Carlos Santana?

― beamish13, Thursday, June 22, 2023 5:50 PM (six months ago) bookmarkflaglink

I do spend a curious amount of time wondering what his living room looks like. (Apologies if I've mentioned this before).

probably not someone who eats cheetos on a white sofa while playing xbox but you never know

I imagine a real but somehow *arty* fire. Not clutter. A large artwork - could be a painting, maybe a photograph - that might be construed as "slightly rude" but which he explains as an appreciation of "the female form"?

A couple of years back (before Ryuichi S. passed) I said something on the occasion of his birthday about how given his current wizard look I imagined him living in snowy Japanese mountains somewhere, occasionally sending Sakamoto messages via wild foxes.

i'm sorry but i'm dying at "a real but somehow 'arty' fire"

I can't believe that there's not more speculation about Sylvian's lounge.

I’m assuming beamish meant Carlos Castaneda?? Can see Sylvian appreciating some Santana tho (and I can hear his vocal on “smooth”)

beamish was referring to Carlos Santana being a big follower of Sri Chinmoy

LOL @ Sylvian in place of Thomas on "Smooth"--it's true, the hook melody would unfortunately work for him (but only if "or else forget about it" is followed by some tasteful shred-glitching c/o add'l guest cameo by Christian Fennesz)

idk if anyone needs this, but here's one of my og attempts at what i call a 'breakdance ballad'―――
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3vc0uR86yI

david sylvian ― "a fire in the forest (readymade fc vs austintayeshus)"

essentially just a blend recorded in real time using a turntable and one of those progenitor pitch-bending cdj players from the early 2000s.

raining in london, getting colder, that time of year where i can listen to Beehive again in a world that seems fit for it

A good album is a good album. You may like one song more than another, but if you’ve lived long enough with it, one song leads to another there, so all will be good in the end.

I love this.

What I meant to post before getting carried away reading old messages is, Manafon is one of my favorite records of all time. Seems to get darker and more beautiful with every listen.

Manafon rules. Random Acts of Senseless Violence, Emily Dickinson and Snow White in Appalachia are absolutely top tier Sylvian.
They feel like places he'd been moving toward his whole career (whether you wanted him to move there in the first place is another story...). Love it.

New track from the Sylvian-Dalts:

https://lucreciadalt.bandcamp.com/album/cosa-rara

Good stuff. Not a million miles removed from what you might expect from either... and I'm not gonna complain about that!

Nice, he sounds like William Shatner..
fwiw, the TBA b-sides can be read on the cover of the 7": Mabe Fratti – cosa rara (en la playa) and Matias Aguayo – cosa rara (dopamine dub), looking forward to those

good song, not really because of his contribution though. they seem to be happy together which is really nice.

Mabe Fratti rules.

I think Sylvo's contribution is cool as hell. Appears he also does some very very faint bvs on the track in addition to the recitation and guitar.
Vibe very much in keeping with his current broken desert loner vibe. I'd happily take more of that.

this new track from him and Lucrecia Dalt is so good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6_bC6gV0zI

whoops, posted already a few msgs above, mods delete

I like song with Dalt and Fratti

I like song with Dalt and Fratti

I like song with Dalt and Fratti

I like song with Dalt and Fratti

I like song with Dalt and Fratti

I like song with Dalt and Fratti

How do we feel about the version w Fratti?

I like it!

Oops. Tech issues

Tech issues with Dalt and Fratti

really excited for the new Lucrecia Dalt album, all the pre-release tracks have been stellar

she definitely warrants a thread of her own imo

but do you like the song with dalt and fratti

Ballad of a Deadman! Fantastic!

Really enjoying Sylvian at the moment - more the first disc of Victim of Stars than anything (I think of myself as more of a fan of disc two). No obvious reason for it.

Last year I rediscovered Gone to Earth after several decades of ignoring it. I know the other 80s albums well but for some reason that one never stuck with me back in the day... now it's by far my favorite.

It was my introduction to Sylvian and remains my sentimental favorite of his 80s work. The sidemen here—Wheeler, Fripp and Nelson in particular—are terrific.

wish he'd do another nine horses album

― akm, Tuesday, May 3, 2011 11:22 AM (fourteen years ago) bookmarkflaglink

Last year I rediscovered Gone to Earth after several decades of ignoring it. I know the other 80s albums well but for some reason that one never stuck with me back in the day... now it's by far my favorite.

― Kim Kimberly, Friday, January 2, 2026

One of my writing and before-bed albums.

Yeah it's kind of a 'hmm, something from Sylvian...that'll always do' album for me.

Sides 3/4 of Gone to Earth is easily one of the top five ambient albums ever made

Surprisingly, my introduction to Sylvian was seeing the Silver Moon video on VH1

It actually played?!

I recently dug out an ITV documentary on Now That's What I Call Music which I remembered from 2013, but what I didn't remember was Timmy Mallett, Dermot O'Leary and Dom Joly being made to listen to - and express bafflement at the inclusion of - "Red Guitar" at the end of Now 3, the given consummate example of 'obscure artsy fanbase-oriented top 30 hit included to recoup production losses that no one is going to remember today'. It's all over for you David, the voice of "Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Back Seat" only "vaguely" remembers you.

It did! I also saw it often.