Musician Focus: David Sylvian
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- Опубліковано 25 лис 2023
- Japan was a band that got better and better with each record they recorded, and the post-Japan music from each member of the band has been consistently great. Here's a focus on the songwriter and voice of some of the best of it. David Sylvian.
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I’m from a small village in south east Asia, I m 40 years old, I m not young, but sadly there not many people know him in my age group, every time I try to share his song to my friends, they feel it was bored and kind of old fashion, so I give up. Thanks god I can found so many people love him in the internet! Nostalgia still my favourite song since 17 years ago when I first listened to it. And I found the 1988/5/30 live is the best version in my opinion. I have been keep listening to it over and over, never get bored of it. love the trumpet solo a lot
Feels like ive been seeing more stuff online about Japan and David Sylvian lately, always blew my mind how underrated all of their music is and im glad these guys are getting more recognition
I discovered Japan around 1979 with Quiet Life and was hooked forever, I was 23 then. They were in a different league than all of their contemporaries, real precursors. The quality of musicianship of all the members of the band was exceptional. Tin Drum was really an apotheosis. I was and still am a big progressive rock fan . Genesis, Gentle Giant, Yes, King Crimson, ELP, PFM were and still are some of my all time favourite bands. Japan, David Sylvian’s, Mick Karn’s, Richard Barbieri’s and Steve Jansen’s work have a special place in my record collection. I listen to some of their songs every day.
I'm huge into prog as well... and haven't really even gotten started with that genre on this podcast... stay tuned! :)
I love prog and porcupine tree and Steven Wilson
David Sylvian is incredible!
I was 16 in 1980 when I bought my first Japan record and I can honestly say they and David Sylvian are one of very few artists that stuck with me to this day. Its art. Nice look at Japan and the individual artists 👌 great job.
I really appreciated your first Mick Karn video but your appraisal here of Japan's work is near perfect to my ears. I was too young to see them until 1980, but was a huge fan from the first time I heard their first LP at 14, in '78. One of my elder brothers had been seeing them play live around London before they signed to Ariola Hansa. He was a Hendrix and Stones fan but his girlfriend was an old friend of the band and introduced him to their music. Japan always stood out from their contemporaries and it was chiefly their musicianship and artistic approach which impressed us so much. Seeing them develop over the years brought a huge sense of pride. They were also a really nice bunch of lads, who never acted like a typical rock band, seeming always to choose their art and creativity over fame. It's great to see how large their fan base is today and videos like yours can only help to widen it. By the way, I think you're spot on about their influences; look to the early Roxy Music and Eno albums like For Your Pleasure, Music For Films, Before and After Science and Evening Star.
The Quiet Life and Gentlemen Take Polaroids albums are my fave Japan albums...some of my fave Japan songs include Night Porter, Life in Tokyo, The Art of Parties and lest we forget Quiet Life...
Thank you spot on again
Japan as a band became absolute masters of the studio. Just amazing sound.
All 4 original Japan members collaborated on Rain Tree Crow. The name was changed from Japan because David Sylvian pushed back on using that name.
The Rain Tree Crow album is a really great one, and sadly there's only that one. I think folks consider it to be the last Japan album. It reminds me of the later Talk Talk albums that were coming out around that same time. Pushing various envelopes and avoiding the pop tropes. Timeless stuff for sure.
Absolutely. Was so sad to hear of Mark Hollis passing. Sylvian and Hollis are two of the most haunting vocalists I've heard.@@ConfusingAmbiguous-Burks-nx7jq
The Dolphin Brothers deserve mention too.
@@ConfusingAmbiguous-Burks-nx7jqDon’t forget Nine Horses, the collaborations and remixs. Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence w/the late Ryuichi Sakamoto. They’re quite a prolific bunch. The first three Sylvia’s solo albums didn’t sound like anyone else to me.
Virgin records wanted the band marked down as Japan but David did resist the naming as he felt it wasnt an honest project as Japan per se. regardless the lads all got along and created a great record but David and Mick didnt really get along.
Great appreciation of Sylvian and Japan's evolution, thanks. I've never understood why they are not far more appreciated today than seems to be the case, such innovative and well honed music. Tin Drum sounds great, but Swing and Methods Of Dance on a quality hifi sound amazing, incredible musicianship and production. Still play them 40+ years later, still sound fresh as when I was 16!
Great video,very considered appraisal.Japan&Sylvian have been a constant in my life since I was 12 years old,so that will be 42 years of fandom! You are so right talking of good musics ability to transport you to another time,as I can clearly recall my excitement in 1984,purchasing Brilliant Trees on cassette from Our Price records,Croydon branch,and still love it.
His music is so ethereal&other worldly with great emotion.A few faves of mine are the title track of BT,a fire in the forest ,and darkest dreaming from Dead bees on a cake,beautiful all of them.
Hope you get lots of views,keep up the good work.
Thank you. I Love D.S. since Nightporter. Brilliant trees and Secrets of the behive are masterpieces. Later David became an expressionist mystical, like the later Scott Walker, another GOD.
Definitely agree about Scott, and the "mystical" aspect. :)
Karn/ Sylvian music is spacious. Sylvians' work is challenging yet satisfying. Japan was so far ahead that it seemed like the Beatles in comparison to 2nd rate Power Pop rock groups. Indeed Japan was more than genre limitations. I see Japan as an interesting NY Dolls Roxy Music + Bowie thing but lead by King Crimson aesthetic. Definitely that baritone voice came to the fore...Tin Drum is wholly on its own. Meditative music.
I bought the cassette of Brilliant Trees when it came out; I was 14, and already a big fan of Japan. I still love everything David Sylvian has done, but Brilliant Trees is by far my favourite. The Ink in the Well is outstanding and I know every note by heart. Red Guitar is also awesome, but really, it's like asking me which is my favourite child!
Brilliant Trees was a scene changer for sure... like the last few Talk Talk albums it was almost TOO good... I know a lot of musicians who felt like the bar had been raised to an unreachable height... and were a bit depressed by how far outside their range of creative endeavor it was. :)
David Sylvian's one of the most interesting musicians I've run into and I never tell anyone about it. I guess his music is very personal or designed to be listened to alone.
I had a session with a photographer and had a 2 hour conversation with him about Sylvian. He mentioned he ran into him twice in New Hampshire. I'd love to see him live, but doubt it will happen.
Very impressed with this - I’ve been the biggest Japan fan for ever, and your extremely eloquent overview chimes with how I and a couple of my like-minded friends feel. Japan was so much more than pop music, deep and resonant, not only musically but also in terms of life, the universe and everything. Really very impressive.
Another band of the time that struck a similar chord with me was Talk Talk - you mentioned Mark Hollis which delighted me - again started their career on more of a pop note and developed into something so much more. Actually I adored early Talk Talk, as a teenager it spoke to me about everything I was feeling at that time - but their later more jazz and classical-influenced output was simply extraordinary. Loved this and subscribed - thanks so much
the thing that I noticed about sylvian's singing in say 'nostalgia' was this exact 'tuning' this singing slightly next to the note if that's the correct expression. There's a very precise tuning going on there when he hits the same note for the second or third time there's a slight very small offset. I never hear this kind of thing mentioned maybe it's just my imagination. I believe grace jones does the same kind of thing in Slave to the Rhythm
You gotta give credit to "Robert Dean", his style of guitar wasn't the nicest on the eye to some , but the sound he got from his Telecaster on AS,OA is incredible, listen to the solos on "Suburban Love / Television,so sublime ,,,,,,( ps, throwing the boys from Birmingham in the mix , Duran Duran, 🥱 remember David Sylvian pretty much told Simonle Bon "stick your Demo for Planet Earth *up his **se at virgin studios when they'd been adding finishing touches to Tin Drum,,,,lets face it , he was dead right )
Nice video sir , really enjoyed it
To me it was raw and frantic which I loved!
Japan were the group Duran Duran wished they could be..
Duran just played the commercial pop stuff..
On ❤Bowie,❤ tho..
His career is like climbing a ladder built by Picasso....I mean uncle Arthur, laughing gnome...cygnet committee...then hunky dory....he would never been the rock star ge was without those foundations..
I think if Japan stuck together they would have been massive in their own right, and on their own terms...
Great videos man...just subscribed
Voice music lirics
David sylvian
Colours my life
Greetings from
Croatia
I think gentlemen take Polaroids was the quintessence of The group.
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Japan's albums preceded MTV. MTV redefined what pop music was in 1981 by televising video singles what used to be album-oriented audio only. Brilliant Trees has been a cherished favorite album of mine since it's release. Lately, I'm listening to the Sylvian/Fripp collaboration Damage.
Saw Fripp and Sylvian live in Tokyo. Damage live was unforgettable!
Never enough about David Sylvian. I've been "infecting" people with his music for years - never heard any complaints; only their astonishment at the fact that had not known before about an artist and music that were SO good. His first three albums are a rare combination of the highest level of musical sophistication and accessibility at the same time. I believe we are really talking Peter Gabriel mastery level here.
I really liked the first albums they were different for sure.
This is a band I never listened to. Now I will definitely take a listen. Thank you Burk!!! Love your channel.
Tin Drum is a good one to start with. :)
Good video. Sylvian is always interesting to listen to. The latter improv stuff is pretty challenging. Interesting point you made. With Hollis who took his band to a new level. Look forward to hearing more. Thanks!
Early Japan were like New York Dolls!
Nick Rhodes was completely obsessed with Sylvian..... DD used Japan and CHIC as their master blueprint.
“怪獣” meaning is “monster” like a Godzilla.
I love David Sylvian and Mick Karn so much.
Comment from JAPAN.
Always saw Sylvian and Hollis as kindred spirits. Maybe they didn’t exactly sound the same but their approach to music was the same. To me, both rank right up there with those who have been very influential in the progression of modern music.
Didn't know Anthony Blinken was a Japan fan :D Great video, good sir!
I had the Brilliant Trees album when it came out and have loved it ever since. So good. It would be a top ten album for me.
Tin Drum was really quite commercial in my opinion . Don’t get me wrong I loved it.
Gone to Earth has Before the Bullfight,Silver Moon,Riverman and on top you get Taking the Veil which is not from this world..i think David Sylvian and his collaborators managed to be in special class of their own..no disrespect for Bowie which i love and Bryan Ferry but the depth of those first post Japan albums and the landscapes they create is beyond any comparison with anybody else.Its really extremely rare to get 4 Jedi Masters and leaders/innovators , each on his own craft like DS,RF,RS and HC revolve around each other and create these very unique musical masterpieces where everything is divine!!!!!
Let's not forget that RS,DB and DS were also involved in Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence and the delivery of Forbidden Colors from DS is world class as through out the ages world class..there is no other singer in contemporary music that could deliver that track the way DS did , which he did often anyway in other divine tracks like the Other Side Of Life.
Steve Nye's work is amazing. Production and engineering and he worked with Penguin Cafe Orchestra. There are tracks on Gone To Earth like Before the Bullfight that still floor me. And then he disappeared completely from the music industry. Doing a search for Steve Nye is polluted by that idiot Bill Nye.
I've been a fan of all things Japan since 1983. It's such a shame that they were lumped in with the new wave pop phenomenon. They were a singular force and influential beyond fashion and trend.
Exactly the point - newly formed under different name and with a largely improvisational approach for this album
Japan. Magnifique ❤
Ante todo personalmente te agradezco por tu interés y buenas intenciones de compartir al mundo la maravillosa obra de Japan!
La música la hacen los que nacieron para hacerla y el proceso para hacerla toma el tiempo que toma hacerla y por supuesto en el camino cada músico descubrirá su necesidad natural.
La música es un lenguaje natural el cual a evolucionado con el desarrollo del ser “humano “ en la estructura social como un todo para los hacedores de la música.
Pocos en esta vida nacen con el don de hacer cualquier oficio y siempre algunos padres de familia se dan cuenta y hacen que que la rueda camine.
Al final en cada lugar de este planeta cada sociedad hace lo que mejor le parece pero para hablar y opinar de música lo más importante es tener un mínimo de compromiso de cultura general.
Con cariño y respeto desde esta parte de la lluvia.
Saludos
Glad to hear you mention Mark Hollis, another underrated musical genius.
Absolutely agree about Mack Hollis.
Thanks for this! Please do a video about DS's latter albums & Bill Nelson.
This is definitely just the "Part One," with David Sylvian, and I have a lot of stuff coming up about Bill Nelson... and the various collaborations.. It's a rabbit hole for sure!
David Sylvian is magic, ‘Secrets Of The Beehive’ masterpiece
Television is a wonderful song.
Brilliant Trees has a lot in common with Joni Mitchell's Hejira LP. A lot of the same musicians and style.
Japan were a special band. I loved the Quiet Life album, its my favourite of theirs. I seem to remember their old label were re-releasing stuff at the same time as Virgin so you had all vintages of their music in the charts at the same time. Then when they were at their most popular they split up. I dont think D.S ever has any boundaries of restrictions to his art.......reminds me of Scott Walker.
Very nice Analysis...so silence in music is like zero in mathematics.. Its personal but Gone to earth is milestone album in every possible way. As Laurie's Big Science...and some hundred more albums lol. Harold Bud work with Eno and Cocteau twins huh. But i really loved Clock DVA, Tuxedomoon and Wolfgang Press. When "Bird, wood, cage" came out i walked to town nearby to tape it..didn't have money for the bus. But Steven Brown works, esp with Benjamin Lew..huh
Fripp wasn't known for e bow. He created "Frippertronics" which was a system of tape machines.
Yeah... I shouldn't have mentioned Fripp with the Ebow stuff. He's said a few times that he never used one... I was mainly talking about Bill Nelson, and that endless sustain sound... I know that Fripp's "infinite sustain" came from compression and tape loops, etc... Thanks for pointing that out. :)
@@ConfusingAmbiguous-Burks-nx7jq I loved the mention if the ebow though, but Frippertronics is so much cooler and the stuff he did on Gone To Earth is so great.
Great video, I’m not sure bands like Duran would not have happened, maybe smaller niche bands like Visage were heavily influenced although they formed about the same time. Their impact on the New Romantic scene was nonetheless profound.
Don’t forget Michael Brook for infinite guitar! I think of him even more heavily than Bill Nelson. Entirely underrated.
Another great 80’s group that did not made big here in the US is The Sound. Mick Karn kicked ass he work with Gary Numan as well Midge Ure, there is an album by Masami Tsuchiya, with I think most of those guys where in his record call Rice Music. There is another female artist that they work as well, but have not being able to find her name.
A would say quite life, still life in mobile homes or methods of dance r pop sounding, definitely not ghost, more of a haunting but well presented song
You should check out Richard barberi and porcupine tree and Steven Wilson progressive rock
It's difficult to balance Japan with Duran Duran and that those types of bands. I equate Japan, briefly, along the lines of Bowie, touch of genius, and those lyrics and sheer musicianship from all members. It's difficult to deal with the music of today as I really find the dedication and skill required to reach the top back then was unparalleled compared to today. I genuinely have pity on today's youth as they never witnessed genius or held in their hands the product of those musical collaborations.
The last track on Obscure Alternatives, “The Tenant,” was a nod in the direction that they were going to get into.
Everyone tried Aping Bowie...they wanted the space age thing...all b cause of Bowie...go ask Gary Newman...
Nope, Fripp never used an ebow. A real shame you missed “The First Day” by Sylvia and Fripp.
I’m dying for some new material from David
Love Japan, loved David and of course Mick...if❤💫 bowie💫❤ and ferry had a child, dave would be that child..
This is a great overview of Japan and Sylvian but I have to disagree on your positioning of Siouxsie and the Banshees as a New Wave band. They were playing live in 1977 and their first album, The Scream was very punk influenced. Indeed Steve Severin and Siouxsie were in the background of the infamous Bill Grundy interview with The Sex Pistols back in 1976 but obviously Im not suggesting they were part of the Sex Pistols but the event is a kay event and anchor to highlight their presence back then. ua-cam.com/video/8XGe_hncsiM/v-deo.html
Very true they were the "Bromley contingent" wing of that particular moment of "punk rock" but I guess I was talking more about what Siouxsie and the Banshees pretty quickly became. They didn't stay aligned with the angsty punk styles and anger - Siouxsie invented her own... they evolved with various other bands to embrace their glam roots, and the Banshees moved into a very unique line of musicality that was a bit outside the of the punk rock category. But, I'm always troubled by labels and categories.. haha. Thanks for the great comment. :)
@@ConfusingAmbiguous-Burks-nx7jq Yes I agree regarding labels. They certainly evolved into pioneers. Have you heard about when Steve Severin met Robert Smith and (imo) kicked off the the goth thing (I guess that's contentious also but it's a great story).
He barely catches the brilliance of David Sylvian. Unfortunately, David Sylvian has not collected the universal acclaim that he deserves. As writer, accomplished musician of multiple instruments, arrangements with great artists is phenomenal. His multiple solo works and collaborations in his later years far exceed anything done with Japan. His lyrics expanded to hit on many issues. His voice is so unique. I hope his next video on David Sylvian's later works, he does a beter job. If you have an ear for progressive music, FIND everything David Sylvian has produced.
React to the artist and you will get better results