David Sylvian

Few have traveled farther in the course of their artistic journey than David Sylvian, who started out as the frontman for raw, Roxy Music-influenced glam merchants Japan in the late ‘70s. By the early ‘80s, Japan had grown astoundingly, achieving a bewitching, unique blend of post-Bowie art-pop, funk, electronics, and Far Eastern influences. But Sylvian soon indulged a desire to push himself even further. In 1984 he launched a solo career that would continue into the 21st century and would incorporate ECM-style jazz, ambient instrumentals, moody balladry, and prog rock. His collaborators were an equally disparate lot, including King Crimson's Robert Fripp, Holger Czukay of Can, modern-jazz trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, and German electronica wizard Fennesz.

Critical Questions for David Sylvian (from our 11/2010 Newsletter)

Other than yourself, who do you make music for?

I wouldn’t say I make the music for myself as, without the intention to communicate, there’d be no point in the making. I guess the simplest answer to the question is anyone and everyone.

Your new anthology focuses on your collaborations. Generally, at what point in the creative process do you choose your collaborators?

Depends on the nature of the project. If the material comes under the ‘solo’ heading the potential collaborators will come to me as the project begins to form in the back of my mind, or later, once the writing/recording process is underway. If we’re talking full collaboration then maybe I’m approached by someone who wishes to work with me, or vice versa, and we take a look at what that collaboration might sound like and review whether there’s enough common ground to make it a meaningful, productive, endeavor. But there’s many variations on the above, no hard and fast rules. More often than not you receive an email with a file attached and you make an on the spot decision as to whether this is something you want to be a part of. If that’s the case, it’s mainly an intuitive rather than rational decision.

Which collaboration are you most proud of on the record?

My personal favorite is the title track written with Martin Brandlmayr. Wonderful world comes from the Nine Horses album ‘Snow Borne Sorrow’ (a collaboration between Steve Jansen, Burnt Friedman and myself) which remains close to my heart.

What was the first song you recorded that came out exactly the way you had imagined it?

I’ll let you know if and when that ever happens.

When you revisit your past for anthologies like Sleepwalkers, are you pleased with what you hear?

With something like Sleepwalkers we’re talking about the recent past so for the most part the pieces are as I remember them. But, to be honest, I could go back to material completed within the past 12 months and find that, in an ideal world, I’d like to do it all over. Hence the rationale for not looking back, there’d be no end to revision if that were the case. 

Which of your early artistic influences is least obvious in your own music?

I guess that would be for others to say as I fail to be objective about such matters. I do tend to find there’s not as much Gilbert O’Sullivan and Noddy Holder coming through as I might’ve imagined.

Is there any musical form or style you'd like to explore but haven't yet?

Although it might be entertaining to think along those lines, the form or style is adjusted or embraced to fit the subject matter. The question should therefore be, is there a particular subject you’ve yet to address, that you’ve so far overlooked or avoided, and what form might that take, what style might best do it justice? However, it’s not possible to answer that question until overtaken by the impulse to create the work. 

I tend to find that the most interesting work I come across is formed out of hybrids, the blurring of boundaries, the unexpected combination of two or more separate genres inhabiting the same space.

If you could go back and provide the score for any film, what would it be?

If I love the film I wouldn’t touch it. I agree with Tarkovsky that the perfect film needs no score.

Are there any authors or books that have influenced your work?

Over the years there have been many writers who’ve left traces of their influence in my material. In recent years I’ve alluded to the work of R.S.Thomas (Manafon), Emily Dickinson, and Joan Didion (ballad of a deadman) and many others have been directly or indirectly quoted.

Now that Polaroid’s have been discontinued, what do gentlemen take?

Viagra?