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David Sylvian

David Sylvian, November 1982
Background information
Birth name David Alan Batt
Born (1958-02-23) 23 February 1958 (age 54)
Origin Beckenham, Kent, England
Genres New Wave, art rock, ambient, electronic, avant-garde, jazz, alternative rock, classical
Years active 1974–present
Labels Virgin Records
Samadhisound
Associated acts Japan
Nine Horses
Robert Fripp
Rain Tree Crow
Website David Sylvian.com

David Sylvian (born David Alan Batt, 23 February 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan. His subsequent solo work is described by critic Jason Ankeny[1] as "a far-ranging and esoteric career that encompassed not only solo projects but also a series of fascinating collaborative efforts." Sylvian's solo work has been influenced by a variety of musical styles and genres, including jazz, avant-garde, ambient, electronic, and progressive rock.

Contents

Biography [link]

Early years [link]

Sylvian was born in Beckenham, Kent, the son of a plasterer and a housewife. He was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London leaving at 16. As a youth, he listened to glam rock artists such as David Bowie and Roxy Music.[citation needed]

1970s-Early 1980s: Japan [link]

Japan in Toronto, 24 November 1979

The band Japan, whose other members included bassist Mick Karn, guitarist Rob Dean, keyboardist Richard Barbieri and Sylvian's brother Steve Jansen as drummer, began as a group of friends. As youngsters they played music as a means of escape, playing Sylvian's two-chord numbers – sometimes with Karn as the front man, sometimes with Sylvian at the fore.

They christened themselves Japan in 1974, signed a recording contract with Hansa, and became an alternative glam rock outfit in the mould of David Bowie, T.Rex, and The New York Dolls. Over a period of a few years their music became more sophisticated, drawing initially on the art rock stylings of Roxy Music. Their visual image also evolved and the band was tagged with the New Romantic label. Indeed, it could be argued[by whom?] that Japan was at the forefront of the entire New Romantic movement, even though the band never associated itself with it. Noting their distinction from the New Romantics, Sylvian stated: "I don't like to be associated with them. The attitudes are so very different." Of Japan's fashion sense, Sylvian said: "For them [New Romantics], fancy dress is a costume. But ours is a way of life. We look and dress this way every day."[2]

Japan recorded five studio albums between March 1978 and November 1981. In 1980, the band signed with Virgin Records, where Sylvian remained as a recording artist for the next twenty years. The band suffered from personal and creative clashes, particularly between Sylvian and Karn, with tensions springing from Sylvian's relationship with Yuka Fujii, a photographer, artist and designer, and Karn's former girlfriend.[3] Fujii quickly became an influential figure in Sylvian's life. She was the first person to introduce Sylvian seriously to jazz, which in turn inspired him to follow musical avenues not otherwise open to him.[citation needed] She also encouraged Sylvian to incorporate spiritual discipline into his daily routine. Throughout his solo career, Fujii maintained a large role in the design of artwork for his albums.[citation needed]

1980s–1990s: Solo career [link]

In 1982, Sylvian released his first solo collaborative effort with Ryuichi Sakamoto, entitled "Bamboo Houses/Bamboo Music". He also worked with Sakamoto on the UK Top 20 song "Forbidden Colours" for the 1983 Nagisa Oshima film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. Sakamoto's first contribution to Sylvian's work though was as co-writer of Taking Islands in Africa on the Japan-album 'Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980).

Sylvian's debut solo album, Brilliant Trees (1984), met with critical acclaim.[citation needed] The album included contributions from Ryuichi Sakamoto, trumpeter Jon Hassell, and former Can bassist Holger Czukay. It featured the UK Top 20 single Red Guitar.

In 1985, Sylvian released an instrumental mini-album Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities, in collaboration with Jansen, Hassell and Czukay, a recording that, when re-released in 2003, included the addition of Sylvian's Steel Cathedrals, the soundtrack to his video release of the same name.

The next release was the two-record set Gone to Earth (1986), which featured one record of atmospheric vocal tracks and a second record consisting of ambient instrumentals. The album contained significant contributions from noted guitarists Bill Nelson of Be-Bop Deluxe and Robert Fripp of King Crimson.

Secrets of the Beehive (1987) made greater use of acoustic instruments and was musically oriented towards sombre, emotive ballads laced with shimmering string arrangements by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Brian Gascoigne. The album yielded one of Sylvian's most well-received songs, "Orpheus", and was later supported by his first solo tour, 1988's 'In Praise of Shamans.'

Never one to conform to commercial expectations, Sylvian then collaborated with Holger Czukay. Plight and Premonition, issued in 1988, and Flux and Mutability, recorded and released the following year, also included contributions from Can members Jaki Liebezeit and Michael Karoli.

Virgin decided to close out the 1980s with the release of Weatherbox, an elaborate boxed-set compilation consisting of Sylvian's four previous solo albums.

In 1990, Sylvian collaborated with artists Russell Mills and Ian Walton on the elaborate multi-media installation using sculpture, sound and light titled Ember Glance – The Permanence of Memory. The exhibition was staged at the temporary museum 'Space FGO-Soko' on Tokyo Bay, Shinagawa, Tokyo.[4]

1990s: Rain Tree Crow [link]

Also in 1990, Sylvian reunited with the former members of Japan for a new project. Unlike their past work, Sylvian decided to use methods of improvisation like those he explored in his work with Holger Czukay.[citation needed]

Ingrid Chavez, an artist signed to Prince's Paisley Park Records, sent Sylvian a copy of her first album. He liked what he heard and thought her voice would fit well with some material that both Ryuichi Sakamoto and he were working on for a new Sakamoto release. Chavez and Sylvian quickly developed a bond and decided to travel together throughout the UK and the US, where they eventually settled after marrying in 1992 (they divorced twelve years later).[citation needed]

1993: With Robert Fripp [link]

In the early 1990s, guitarist Robert Fripp invited Sylvian to sing with progressive rock stalwarts King Crimson. Sylvian declined the invitation, but he and Fripp recorded the album The First Day released in July 1993. Something of a departure for Sylvian, the album melded Sylvian's philosophical lyrics to funk workouts and aggressive rock stylings very much in the mould of Fripp's King Crimson. To capitalise on the album's success, the musicians went back out on the road in the autumn of 1993. A live recording, called Damage and released in 1994, was culled from the final shows of the tour.

Sylvian and Fripp's final collaboration was the installation Redemption – Approaching Silence. The exhibition was held at the P3 Art and Environment centre in Shinjuku, Tokyo, and ran from 30 August to 18 September 1994. The accompanying music was composed by Sylvian, with text written and recited by Fripp.

In the late summer of 1995, Sylvian undertook a one-man solo tour which he called 'Slow Fire – A Personal Retrospective'.

A period of relative musical inactivity followed, during which Sylvian and Ingrid Chavez moved from Minnesota to the Napa Valley. Chavez had given birth to two daughters, Ameera-Daya (born 1993) and Isobel (born 1997), and pursued her interest in photography and music. Sylvian and Chavez are now divorced.

1999 to present [link]

In 1999, Sylvian released Dead Bees on a Cake, his first solo album proper since Secrets of the Beehive twelve years earlier. The disc gathered together the most eclectic influences of all his recordings, ranging from soul music to jazz fusion to blues to Eastern-inflected spiritual chants, and most of the songs' lyrics reflected the now 41-year-old Sylvian's inner peace resulting from his marriage, family, and beliefs. Guest musicians included long-time friend Ryuichi Sakamoto, classically-trained tabla player Talvin Singh, avant-garde guitarist Marc Ribot, jazz trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, and contemporary jazz guitarist Bill Frisell. In 2010 Sylvian said, "Since the early ’80s I’ve been interested in deconstructing the familiar forms of popular song, in retaining the structure but removing the pillars of support. My work continually returns to this question: how much of the framework can you remove while still being able to identify what is, after all, a familiar form?"[5]

Following Dead Bees, Sylvian released a pair of compilation albums through Virgin, a two-disc retrospective, Everything and Nothing, and an instrumental collection, Camphor. Both albums contained previously released material, some remixes, and several new or previously unreleased tracks which Sylvian finished especially for the projects.

Sylvian parted ways with Virgin and launched his own independent label, Samadhi Sound. He released the album Blemish. A fusion of styles, including jazz and electronica, the tour enabled Sylvian to perform music from the Nine Horses project, as well as various selections from his back catalogue. Blemish included contributions from Christian Fennesz and Derek Bailey. Sylvian used a different approach with this album. He has said about his process, "With Blemish I started each day in the studio with a very simple improvisation on guitar. Once recorded, I’d listen back and use cues from the improv—the dynamic and so on—to dictate the structure of the piece. I’d write lyrics and melody on the spot, and would follow that up with the recording of the vocal itself."[5]

A new solo album entitled Manafon was released on 14 September 2009 in two editions – a regular CD/digipak edition and a twin boxset deluxe edition with two books that include the CD and a DVD featuring the film 'Amplified Gesture'. Manafon features contributions from leading figures in electroacoustic improvisation such as saxophonist Evan Parker, multi-instrumentalist Otomo Yoshihide, laptop + guitarist Christian Fennesz, Polwechsel's double bassist Werner Dafeldecker and cellist Michael Moser, sinewaves specialist Sachiko M and AMM alumni guitarist Keith Rowe, percussionist Eddie Prévost and pianist John Tilbury. In 2010 talked about Manafon, and said:

"What happened with Manafon was that the work abandoned me. As I was writing and developing the material, the spirit holding all these disparate elements together just left me. I sat stunned for a moment and then realised: It’s over; this is as far as it goes…In a sense, I’d been steadily working my way toward Manafon since I was a young man listening to Stockhausen and dabbling in deconstructing the pop song. Having said that, I don’t think we only develop as artists practising in our chosen fields. For me that meant an exploration of intuitive states via meditation and other related disciplines which, the more I witnessed free-improv players at work, appeared to be crucially important to enable a being there in the moment, a sustained alertness and receptivity."[5]

In 2010 Sylvian released a compilation disc of his collaborative works with musicians over the last 10 years – Sleepwalkers includes songs with Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tweaker, Nine Horses, Steve Jansen, Christian Fennesz and Arve Henriksen. Also included are a few new songs such as Sleepwalkers which is co-written with drummer Martin Brandlmayr of Radian and Polwechsel.

In 2011, the double disc Died in the Wool was released as variations on the 2009 release Manafon with the addition of six new pieces, including collaborations with composer Dai Fujikura, producers Jan Bang and Erik Honoré, and a roster of contemporary musicians and improvisers. For the first time, a stereo mix of the audio installation “when we return you won’t recognise us” is available on CD, pairing a group of improvisers—John Butcher, Arve Henriksen, Günter Müller, Toshimaru Nakamura, and Eddie Prévost—with a string sextet directed by Fujikura. Also in 2011, Sylvian acted as the artist in residence at the Punkt Festival. In addition to curating the events of the festival, Sylvian performed his compositions 'The Spiralling Of Winter Ghosts' and 'Giant Empty Iron Vessel' backed by John Tilbury, Jan Bang, Phillip Jeck, Eivind Aarset, Eric Honore, and Arve Henriksen. The positive reception led to the decision to tour throughout Europe in 2012. The Implausible Beauty tour was due to feature a lineup of musicians including Jan Bang, guitarist Eivind Aarset, pianist Sebastian Lexer, cellist Hildur Gudnadottir and trumpeter Gunnar Halle. The tour was cancelled in late January 2012 due to Sylvian's poor health.[6]

Discography [link]

Japan [link]

For a more comprehensive list, see Japan (band).

Solo albums [link]

Collaborations [link]

Compilations [link]

Remixes [link]

Contributions [link]

This is an incomplete list.

  • "Good Night" on Ai Ga Nakucha Ne by Akiko Yano (1982)
  • "Forbidden Colours" on Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto (1983)
  • "Some Small Hope" on Hope In A Darkened Heart by Virginia Astley (1986)
  • "Buoy" and "When Love Walks In" on Dreams Of Reason Produce Monsters by Mick Karn (1987)
  • "Heartbeat (Returning To The Womb)" and "Cloud #9" on Heartbeat by Ryuichi Sakamoto (1991)
  • "To a Reason" and "Victim Of Stars" on Sahara Blue by Hector Zazou (1992)
  • "Come Morning", "The Golden Way" and "Maya" on Marco Polo by Nicola Alesini & Pier Luigi Andreoni (1995)
  • "Ti Ho Aspettato (I Have Waited For You)" on L'Albero Pazzo by Andrea Chimenti (1995)
  • "How Safe Is Deep?" on Undark:Strange Familiar by Russell Mills (1996)
  • "Salvation" on Discord by Ryuichi Sakamoto (1998)
  • "Rooms of Sixteen Shimmers" on Pearl And Umbra by Russell Mills (1999)
  • "Forbidden Colours" on Cinemage by Ryuichi Sakamoto (2000)
  • "Zero Landmine" on Zero Landmine by No More Landmine featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto and Various Artists (2001)
  • "Sugarfuel" on Bold by Readymade FC (2001)
  • "Linoleum" on The Attraction to All Things Uncertain by Tweaker (2001)
  • "World Citizen (I Won't Be Disappointed)" on Chasm by Ryuichi Sakamoto (2004)
  • "Transit" on Venice by Fennesz (2004)
  • "Pure Genius" on 2 a.m. Wakeup Call by Tweaker (2004)
  • "Late Night Shopping (remix)" by Fennesz (2004)
  • "Exit/Delete" on Coieda by Takagi Masakatsu (2004)
  • "Messenger" on Equus by Blonde Redhead (2004)
  • "For the Love of Life (Ending Theme Full Version)" on "Monster – Original Soundtrack" (2004)
  • "The Librarian" on Out In The Sticks and Secret Rhythms 2 by Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit (2005)
  • "A Fire in the Forest" (Remix) on Babilonia by Readymade FC (2005)
  • "Angels" on Crime Scenes by Punkt (2006)
  • "Playground Martyrs" and "Ballad Of A Deadman" on Slope by Steve Jansen (2007)
  • "Honor Wishes" and "No Question" (Japanese edition only) on To Survive by Joan As Police Woman (2008)
  • "Before and Afterlife" and "Thermal" on Cartography by Arve Henriksen (2008)
  • "Jacqueline" on The Believer -The 2009 Music Issue- (2009)
  • "Modern Interior" at kizunaworld.org – David Sylvian & Jan Bang (2011)

References [link]

  1. ^ All Music guide to Sylvian
  2. ^ "Rolling Stone Random Notes", The Tuscaloosa News (Tuscaloosa, AL): 6, 17 July 1981, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ricdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R6UEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3175,3968351&dq=japan+sylvian&hl=en 
  3. ^ Yuka Fujii website
  4. ^ Ember Glance exhibition's website
  5. ^ a b c Rowe, Keith https://bombsite.com/issues/111/articles/3447 ‘David Sylvian’, BOMB Magazine Spring 2010, Retrieved 28 July 2011
  6. ^ David Sylvian Tour Dates In March / April Postponed

External links [link]

Japan
Studio albums
Live album
Compilations
Related articles

https://wn.com/David_Sylvian

David (commentator)

David (Greek: Δαυΐδ; fl. 6th century) was a Greek scholar and a commentator on Aristotle and Porphyry.

He may have come from Thessaly, but in later times he was confused with an Armenian of the same name (David Anhaght). He was a pupil of Olympiodorus in Alexandria in the late 6th century. His name suggests that he was a Christian.

Three commentaries to Aristotle's works attributed to him have survived: as well as an introduction to philosophy (prolegomena):

  • Definitions and Divisions of Philosophy
  • Commentary on Porphyry's Isagoge
  • Commentary on Aristotle's Categories
  • Commentary on Aristotle's Prior Analytics (in Armenian)

    • All these works will be published, with an English translation, in the series Commentaria in Aristotelem Armeniaca - Davidis Opera (five volumes), edited by Jonathan Barnes andValentina Calzolari.

    Another anonymous commentary on Porphyry's Isagoge which was falsely ascribed to Elias (pseudo-Elias), was also falsely ascribed to David.

    Notes

    Bibliography

  • A. Busse (ed.), Eliae in Porphyrii Isagogen et Aristotelis Categorias commentaria, Berlin, 1900 (Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca, XVIII-1).
    • Read more
    This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/David_(commentator)

    David of Bulgaria

    David (Bulgarian: Давид) (died 976) was a Bulgarian noble, brother of Emperor Samuel and eldest son of komes Nicholas. After the disastrous invasion of Rus' armies and the fall of North-eastern Bulgaria under Byzantine occupation in 971, he and his three younger brothers took the lead of the defence of the country. They executed their power together and each of them governed and defended a separate region. He ruled the southern-most parts of the realm from Prespa and Kastoria and was responsible for the defence the dangerous borders with Thessalonica and Thessaly. In 976 he participated in the major assault against the Byzantine Empire but was killed by vagrant Vlachs between Prespa and Kostur.

    Family tree

    Another theory

    However, there's also another version about David’s origin. David gains the title "comes" during his service in the Byzantine army which recruited many Armenians from the Eastern region of the empire. The 11th-century historian Stepanos Asoghik wrote that Samuel had one brother, and they were Armenians from the district Derjan. This version is supported by the historians Nicholas Adontz, Jordan Ivanov, and Samuil's Inscription where it’s said that Samuel’s brother is David. Also, the historians Yahya and Al Makin clearly distinguish the race of Samuel and David (the Comitopouli) from the one of Moses and Aaron (the royal race):

    Read more
    This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/David_of_Bulgaria

    David, Chiriquí

    David (Spanish pronunciation: [daˈβið]) officially San José de David is a city and corregimiento located in the west of Panama. It is the capital of the province of Chiriquí and has an estimated population of 144,858 inhabitants as confirmed in 2013. It is a relatively affluent city with a firmly established, dominant middle class and a very low unemployment and poverty index. The Pan-American Highway is a popular route to David.

    The development of the banking sector, public construction works such as the expansion of the airport and the David-Boquete highway alongside the growth of commercial activity in the city have increased its prominence as one of the fastest growing regions in the country. The city is currently the economic center of the Chiriqui province and produces more than half the gross domestic product of the province, which totals 2.1 billion. It is known for being the third-largest city in the country both in population and by GDP and for being the largest city in Western Panama.

    Read more
    This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/David,_Chiriquí

    Podcasts:

    David Sylvian

    ALBUMS

    There's a Light That Enters Houses With No Other House in Sight

    Released 2014

    Wandermüde

    Released 2013

    A Victim of Stars 1982-2012

    Released 2012

    Died in the Wool / Manafon Variations

    Released 2011

    Promise

    Released 2011

    Sleepwalkers

    Released 2010

    Manafon

    Released 2009

    2007-09-21: The World Is Everything: La Cigale, Paris, France

    Released 2007

    2007-10-29: The World Is Everything: Geijutsu Hall, Osaka, Japan

    Released 2007

    2007-10-06: The World Is Everything: Schiller Theater, Berlin, Germany

    Released 2007

    When Loud Weather Buffeted Naoshima

    Released 2007

    Secrets of the Beehive

    Released 2006

    The Good Son vs. The Only Daughter

    Released 2005

    2004-04-27: Fire in the Forest: Sankei Hall, Osaka, Japan

    Released 2004

    2003-10-13: Fire in the Forest: Cirque Royal, Brussels, Belgium

    Released 2003

    Brilliant Trees

    Released 2003

    Gone to Earth

    Released 2003

    Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities

    Released 2003

    Blemish

    Released 2003

    2002-05-05: Everything and Nothing: Town Hall, New York, USA

    Released 2002

    Camphor

    Released 2002

    2001-10-23: Everything and Nothing: Nakano Sun Plaza Hall, Tokyo, Japan

    Released 2001

    2001-10-11: Everything and Nothing: Muziek Centrum Vredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands

    Released 2001

    Everything and Nothing

    Released 2000

    Arrow to Shiva

    Released 1999

    Dead Bees on a Cake

    Released 1999

    Brilliant Trees / Words With the Shaman

    Released 1999

    1995-11-07: Slowfire: Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, Canada

    Released 1995

    Kings - Second Chapter

    Released 1994

    1993-10-06: A New Dream: Nakano Sun Plaza Hall, Tokyo, Japan

    Released 1994

    Damage

    Released 1994

    God's Monkey

    Released 1993

    The First Day

    Released 1993

    1992-03-06: The First Day: Shibuya Kokaido, Tokyo, Japan

    Released 1992

    Ember Glance: The Permanence of Memory

    Released 1991

    Weatherbox

    Released 1989

    Flux + Mutability

    Released 1989

    1988-05-30: In Praise of Shamans: Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK

    Released 1988

    In Praise of Shamans

    Released 1988

    Live in Theatre 1988

    Released 1988

    Plight & Premonition

    Released 1988

    Slow Fire: A Personal Retrospective

    2004-04-24: Showa Joshi Hitomi Kinen Kohdoh, Tokyo, Japan

    Exposed in Chicago

    Kings

    Email this Page Play all in Full Screen Show More Related Videos
    PLAYLIST TIME:

    The Only Daughter

    by: David Sylvian

    She was, she was
    A friend of mine
    Do us a favour, your one and only warning
    Please be gone by morning
    She was, she was
    A friend of mine
    Inconsistencies
    Words on paper
    The track still warm
    I came to hate her
    Smitten no longer
    Me, the only daughter
    Render the vow
    It's my home now
    This, your one and only warning
    Please be gone by morning
    And if the ending is clean
    The quirk, the fuss, the vaseline
    She won't even see it coming
    Roll them over, roll them over, roll them over
    Me, the only daughter
    She was, she was a friend of mine
    Smitten no longer
    Me, the only daughter
    Render the vow
    It's my home now
    The penny's dropped
    The room's in order
    I masked the spot
    Me, the only daughter
    Do us a favour, your one and only warning




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