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 AllMusic critic Jason Ankeny 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.
Writing 'Ghosts' was a turning point for me. So much of what we created with Japan was built upon artifice. With that song I'd felt I'd had the breakthrough I was looking for. I'd touched upon something true to myself and expressed it in a way that didn't leave me feeling overly vulnerable. In the coming years I'd forget about all notions of vulnerability, opening up the material to a greater emotional intensity. I knew that I had to find my own voice, both figuratively and literally.
2
The details are what always interested me. And so I just began to spend more and more time on those details, until they came to the forefront of the material-textures and atmospherics. I began to elaborate on those more and more and push the rhythmic element a little bit further back.
3
I think of SamadhiSound as being global, and not necessarily based in the States. It's stretched between the States, Europe, and Japan. I think nowadays it doesn't really matter where we are physically located. We create our own culture around us to a large extent, whether it's what we're listening to, what we're watching, what we're reading - it can have very little to do with one's immediate cultural environment. We are in a global culture in that respect.
4
It wasn't my natural inclination to get into writing protest songs. But it was a request from Ryuichi [Sakamoto] to give it a bash. And I felt that there was very little dissent being vocalized in the States. I feel furious at what's being done in the name of the American people.
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Fact
1
He was very influenced by (and often compared by music critics to) David Bowie, not least because of his androgynous attractiveness.
2
New album "Manafon" released. [September 2009]
3
The band Japan 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. 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. 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.
4
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 USA, where they eventually settled after marrying in 1992.
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Anton Corbijn Inside Out
2012
Documentary performer: "Red Guitar Music Video" / writer: "Red Guitar Music Video"
Ashes to Ashes
2008
TV Series writer - 1 episode
Skins
2008
TV Series performer - 1 episode
The Number 23
2007
writer: "The Banality of Evil"
Babel
2006/I
performer: "World Citizen-I Won't Be Disappointed" - uncredited
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
2006
Video Game writer: "Quiet Life"
Parashat Ha-Shavua
TV Series performer - 1 episode, 2006 writer - 1 episode, 2006
The Work of Director Anton Corbijn
2005
Video documentary performer: "Red Guitar" / writer: "Red Guitar"
$700,000
