News 30.12.98
Again Keesjan van Bunningen has
following news to tell:
"As other sources on the
Internet already mentioned, the new single 'I Surrender'
will be available in two different versions. One contains the full length (album) version
of 'I Surrender' and the other contains a shorter radio edit version. The full track
listing is as follows:
Single 1
1. I Surrender
music and lyrics:
David Sylvian
2. Les Fleurs du Mal
music: David Sylvian,
Richard Werbowenko/lyrics: David Sylvian
3. Starred and Dreaming
music: David Sylvian,
Richard Werbowenko/lyrics: Ingrid Chavez
Single 2
1. I Surrender (single edit - 4.50)
music and lyrics:
David Sylvian
2. Whose trip is this?
music and lyrics:
David Sylvian
3. Remembering Julia
music: David
Sylvian/lyrics: Ingrid Chavez
As you can see, the singles include four non-album tracks in total. All of these tracks originally came from the demo CD-R 'Little Girls with 99 Lives' compilation and are sung by Ingrid Chavez.
'LGw99L' was originally a CD for private purposes and sent out by David Sylvian to friends and family as a limited edition of 15 copies. Wonderful to see that these tracks are now made available to the wider public!"
Little Girls with 99 Lives also included the tracks "Snowfall" and "Lighthouse". It's Ingrid singing on all the tracks.
News 25.12.98
The beforementioned South African radio interview by Derek Richardson is now available through this link. I want to thank Mark Shanahan for transcribing the interview.
& Sylvian will be featured in the next
issue of The Wire magazine.
News 20.12.98
Dead Bees on a Cake
first impression:
Though I find it very hard to
describe music verbally I try to give you an impression on what you can expect from the
forthcoming release.
(I want to thank mr. p.s. very
dearly for it.)
I Surrender [9:25] : The only difference to the
illegally bootlegged version is that this one has been faded out at the end and therefore
it's 35 seconds shorter. "I Surrender" is supposed to be the first single off
the album. This song could work very well as a single and is one of the most easily
accessible tracks on the album with its soft beat and those beautiful words telling of his
surrender to love and the divine.
[I looked back and glimpsed the
outline of a boy, his life of sorrows now collapsing into joy]
Dobro #1 [1:32] : A Dobro is the name of the
instrument Sylvian is playing. It's a special kind of resonator guitar. Here is a link to
the offcial Dobro-site. This piece can
hardly be called a composition. It's mainly Sylvian's voice accompanied by some tunes on
this Asian sounding Dobro. This piece could serve as a short interlude like "Boat's
for Burning" on Rain Tree Crow.
[there never was any freedom here;
all I feared the most came back around and it rained on my house all summer...]
Midnight Sun [4:00] : It seems as if some slight
changes were made in the rhythm section. But if so they're hardly recognisable.
[they've stolen the moon the magic
is gone and there in its place a black midnight sun]
Thalheim[6:09] : Still remains his strongest
composition on the new album for me and should definitely be a single. It's a steady
grower and has this epic touch to it which I already loved in songs like "Before the
Bullfight". The end has also a fade-out and is half a minute shorter than the
bootlegged version. If you want to know what Sylvian is referring to take a look here.
[couldn't leave you if I tried,
couldn't weather this alone and through the darkness you still provide the sweetest love
I've ever known]
God Man [4:00] : It somehow reminds me of a
Suzanne Vega album (99.9 F) which has been described as "industrial folk" by
music critics. This one is a really strange piece for Sylvian. Somehow catchy but not
really main-stream. It also features the line "dead bees on a cake". Ingrid has
some lines in there too. Lots of different instruments on this one. A xylophone is playing
the main melody (at least it sounds like one). You'll hear clapping hands, squeaking and
distorted sounds on this track. The lyrics are sometimes hard to understand, therefore..
[na na na na na na na, na na na na
na na, na na na na na na na, na na na na na na]
Alphabet Angel [2:05] : Wow !, what a great song I
thought when I first heard it. A nice soft ballad. But then suddenly just after the first
verse it was over. This one has the potential for more. So please add a few more minutes
to this brilliantly beginning song, David.
[the longest day is over, the
longest day..., my alphabet angels come out to play]
Krishna Blue [8:10] : One minute shorter than the
bootlegged version. Nothing else has significantly been changed.
[she's here in the lifelines in
every curve, suspended in silence between each word]
The Shining of Things [3:10] : I can only subscribe to the
notion of Robert Fripp that "the shining of things" is one of the best tracks on
the album. Very simple, very beautiful. Just voice and a string arrangement. In the
far-off background you can hear faint voices mumbling. I can't think of a better song to
start this record with. "The shining of things" should be the first song on the
album. It has the same intimacy and beauty as "September" on
"Beehive". Sylvian at his best!
[and in the blindness as my world
stops turning, there's a sadness like I never knew, but I still see the shining of things]
Cafe Europa [6:54] : The only song on the album with
a real chorus. A laid-back song about the joys of life and travelling, angels and a
certain Cafe Europa. (Does anyone know what he is referring to? Is it a physical place?)
Again Ingrid speaks a few lines in this one.
[let me take you down to Cafe
Europa, there's so much to be found, so much to discover]
Pollen Path [3:26] : Somehow I came to like this
track very much. It's the roughest track on the album with a slightly distorted voice.
[welcome me Father the lava is
rising, welcome me Mother and give me your name]
All of My Mother's Names [6:07] : A strange instrumental piece
which starts off like a rhythmic tribal song with some sound-collages underneath and then
suddenly turns into the free-jazz version of "A Brief Conversation Ending in
Divorce".
Wanderlust[6:42] : Wanderlust is a jazzy pop-tune.
Lyrically it's telling of "leaving the shadows behind". Probably the most
positiv song of all. At the end he nearly starts to jam. A highly enjoyable song.
[help me, I feel like I'm
weightless, floating right out of your hand]
Praise[4:02] : Though I have been told that
it's Ingrid singing on Praise I cannot believe it. The voice on Praise sounds like the
voice of an old woman chanting in a foreign tounge. As if the chant already existed and
Sylvian just created some sound-collages which are strikingly reminiscent of "Flux
and Mutability".
Darkest Dreaming [4:15] : The last track is also a
ballad mainly consisting of sound-collages and David's voice. A nice little piece to end
the record.
[stay tonight we'll watch the full
moon rising, hold on tight, the sky is breaking. I don't ever wanna be alone with all my
darkest dreaming]
total running time: 70 minutes
So what do I think of it after
three days of repeated listening? Was is worth the wait?
Yes and no. On the one hand those
songs are all together better than 95% of everything that gets released every week, on the
other hand I must confess that I expected something even more intimate, more in the wake
of his last Slow Fire performance (which still stands out for me as something
extraordinary). For instance I can't really understand why he decided not to include two
of the strongest ballads he's ever written, which for me are "I Do Nothing" and
"Under Ingrid's Wheels". He will have his reasons, but I miss those kind of
songs very dearly on the album. Those two had incredibly strong melodies as well as an
outstanding vocal performance, playfull and sonorous at the same time. Whereas I find that
some of the new songs lack those kind of melodies. Also I find that the record is too long
with a total running time of about 70 minutes. He would do well on cutting down a few
tracks which could serve as bonus tracks for the single(s). It would make the record more
dense in atmosphere because the musical style of the tracks is very diverse. Todays albums
have the tendancy to include as much music as posible because the cd format allows it to,
whereas I think that a good record needn't be longer that 45-50 minutes. Perhaps he
re-thinks it. What I already mentioned before is that I'm of the opinion that "the
shining of things" would be a perfect opener for the album. I've always found that
the right order of songs' very important for the overall work.
As a whole it's a very personal and
spiritual album. Many of the songs are telling of his Mothers and Fathers, his spiritual
teachers. In an interview which can be read on Paul
Lenin's site he said the following: "Amma is my teacher. Her presence can be
felt throughout the album in one form or another. I think it would be fair to say that if
there is a theme to the album it could be described as one of devotion. The songs
celebrate life in all its complexity." Amma, or Ammachi, is also known as Sri Sri
Mata Amritanandamayi, the person Sylvian "humbly dedicated" his Slow Fire tour
to. You can find out more about Ammachi on her website: www.ammachi.org
These were my first impressions
of the new material, but then it's only a personal perspective...
One last thing: Please do not
ask me for copies. Thank you.
& What I already surmised has now been confirmed by Keesjan van Bunningen that the album will be postponed until March. The new official release dates for the UK are:
'I Surrender' - 1 March
'Dead Bees on a Cake' - 15 March
The reason for the postponement of the album might lie in a six week illness of Mr. Sylvian.
News 13.11.98
Trophies 2
The lyrics of David Sylvian
40 Lyrics and poems
Size : A5
80 pages
Cover photography and
Illustration: Shinya Fujiwara
Design and Typography: V23 /
Vaughan Oliver, Chris Bigg
Published by Opium (Arts) Ltd.
sometime in 1999.
& The new album features 14 songs:
I Surrender, Dobro #1, Midnight
Sun, Thalheim, God Man, Alphabet Angel, Krishna Blue, The Shining of Things, Cafe Europa,
Pollen Path, All of My Mother's Names (instrumental), Wanderlust, Praise, Darkest
Dreaming.
And a total running time of round about 70 minutes.
News 29.10.98
Here are the official release dates for single and album in the UK:
"I Surrender":
18 January 1999
"Dead Bees on a Cake":
2 February 1999
& Opium (Arts) are considering putting out "Trophies 2" next year, which will contain the lyrics to the new songs as well as previously unpublished lyrics.
& Official word on the Weatherbox issue is that it has been delayed but not dropped.
News 22.10.98
"Hello
My name is Derek Richardson, from the
national radio station - 5FM - here in South Africa!!
Yesterday one of my dreams came true! My mate Karl works for Virgin here...and organised
a telephone interviewwith David Sylvian for me!!!! Boy - the first interview in my life that I was terrified to do!!!!I grew up
with Japan - have everything on vinyl and CD, and have all ofSylvians solo work! So you
can imagine what was going thru my mind!!!!!!!!One of my idols!!!!!! What would he be like????
.......well the interview took place @ 17h00
SA time - 16h00 UK time!He is in
London for the week doing selected interviews working on
the artwork for the
album "Dead Bees on a Cake" plus photo-shoots!!!! I have never spoken to such an intelligent, spiritual,
modest, gentle man in all my
life!! I'm still in
shock!! He was wonderful to chat to! The album will be released in the UK Feb '99.He would
like to tour the album!!! (He would like to play in South Africa)He is looking for some
musicians to tour with. He may be
doing some acoustic sessions for UK radio!!!!!
I am going to try and get an edited version of the interview on-line.....when I figure out how to do that......I will let you all know!!!!!
David Sylvian is truly an inspiration!!!!!
Take Care
Derek Richardson
5FM South Africa
===============================================
+27 11 714 2047 Telephone
+27 11 714 5714 Fax
[email protected] E-Mail
Home Page: http://www.vaultage.com/thebandit
Snail Mail: P.O. Box 30 Bergbron 1712
===============================================
"
quoted from the mailing-list
& Robert Fripp wrote in his on-line diary that he is currently listening to the tape of the forthcoming Sylvian album. His current favorite at the moment is: "The Shining of Things".
& It seems that the re-release of WEATHERBOX has been put on hold due to "lack of interest outside the UK".
& The David Sylvian biography entitled "The Last Romantic" by Martin Powers is now out and available in
bookshops in the UK and the USA. I will be hopefully receiving my copy within the next few
days and be letting you know whether I think it is worth getting hold of.
News 22.09.98
Now it seems definite: The fourth solo album from David Sylvian is going to be released in January 1999 and will be entitled "Dead bees on a cake" (like it or not).
There will be no official David Sylvian website, what Opium (Arts) is concerned, but Virgin Records might be doing something about him.
News 26.08.98
October will not only see the release of a
new David Sylvian biography entitled "
The Last Romantic", written by
Martin Power and published by Omnibus Press (ISBN 0711968098, ca. 200 p., about 10 pounds,
pre-orders: bookshop), but also the re-release of the highly
sought after WEATHERBOX on Virgin Records for about $90. The five CD retrospective that was
originally released in 1989 and contains his three solo-albums as well as the EP Alchemy,
two instrumentals from the single Pop Song and the soundtrack to his ambient short film
Steel Cathedrals. No information so far whether the new Weatherbox will contain futher
unreleased material or the single Pop Song which didn't make it into the box in time for
its release in 1989.
News 05.08.98
Some bad and some good news today. First
the good news. Sylvian is working on more tracks for the upcoming album. The record will
most likely feature 14 tracks and a total running time 78 [!] minutes. The bad news are
that it won't get released before January 1999. So we have to practice our favorite
discipline: patience.
Also I heard that David has changed his
outward appearance quite drasticly. He has now very short hair and a beard.
Musicians on the album are: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Bill Frissell, Steve Jansen, Kenny Wheeler, Marc Ribot, Talvin Singh, Tommy Barbarella and Michael Brook. (Information distributed by Keesjan through the mailing-list)
News 02.07.98
Russell Mills & Ian Walton
The Gradual Instant
The Dean Clough Galleries
Halifax
West Yorkshire
HX3 5AX
Tel 01422 250250
Fax 01422 341148
4th July 1998 until 8th August 1998
A new exhibition of the painted works of Russell Mills & Ian Walton will take place at Halifax's Dean Clough Galleries for one month. If you have ever wanted to see the stunning artist works of these 2 ground breaking artists please visit the above address and make this exhibition a success. Russell Mills has produced some of the most stunning album sleeves for David Sylvian's albums, Russell's paintings are often the foundation for these works and are strikingly beautiful when viewed within an exhibition space. Ian Walton is Russell Mill's oldest friend and collaborator they both worked with David Sylvian on Ember Glance and recently held the Measured in Shadows exhibition in Carlisle and Dublin.
This is an all too rare opportunity for
you to view and possibly purchase some of the most beautiful art available. I hope that as
many of you as possible manages to get to see The Gradual Instant. Russell Mills & Ian
Walton will be at the Gallery on Saturday 4th of July for the opening, if anyone wants to
meet them.
(information provided by Russell
Cherrington)
& A new DS biography shall be published later this year (probably in
October) on Music Sales/Omnibus and will be available at all major book and music stores.
I heard that David is not personally involved but has given his o.k.
News 20.06.98
Since I'm one of the lucky few who have
actually heard some of the new material from the forthcoming album I want to share my
impressions with you.
The first song is called "I Surrender" and is a ten minute long and very relaxed Janet Jackson style
track. Very soulful with a two minute trumpet solo at the end. Funky guitar riffs and a
flute solo. The beat is steady and does not change throughout the the whole song. Very
personal lyrics about the changes that took place in his life over the last years. This
song is unlike anything we've heard from Sylvian before. It could more easily be compared
to Ingrid's album. I believe this song and the music itself reflect his personal situation
quite clearly: at ease, light-minded. And the words give hints as well:" I stand too
close to see the sleight of hand / How she found this child inside the frightened man /
Tonight I'm learning how to fly and I surrender". Though this song appears to be just
an ordinary love song at first sight it has a deeper meaning. To surrender means to give
yourself to God. To open up to the Divine. "Question: How can one do God's work?
Mother Meera: In silence you give yourself to Him and he works through you. God is always
working through you - the important thing is to become conscious and co-operate. This is
done through surrender - love and the desire to serve with your whole being that springs
from real love, and the knowledge of God's glory that the love of God brings."
Remember "Come Morning"? There it says: "God is in the silences". Just
as darshan is given in silence.
The second track is "Midnight Sun". Very spacious, edgy, guitar-orientated. While hearing it I
imagine wide open spaces; desert-scapes. A bit like the Rain Tree Crow albumcover. The
words probably have also Hindu background.
The third track "Thalheim" is the most beautiful of them all. It reminds me of a mixture between the
Brilliant Trees and Gone To Earth albums. The music and words are sublime and I can't stop
listening to it again and again without getting bored. Sylvian at his best. Chilling
trumpet solo. But also very mellow. To give you some background information on Thalheim:
It's a little village in Germany halfway between Cologne and Frankfurt.There lives the
before-mentioned Mother Meera, the "Divine Mother of India". She problably had a
huge positive influence on him. And I believe it's no coincidence that he named his
daughter Ameera-daya. Which is Hindu and means miracle-grace (as Ingrid once told me).
The last track is called "Krishna blue". Here the Indian, Hindu influence becomes most
apparent. The music itself is very Indian sounding. With lots of layers of unindentifyable
instruments. Probably cymbals, flutes and a very dominant percussion. This songs is also
very soft and tells of his conviction towards Hindu religion. "Colour the river, I
swim back to you, Krishna blue". Ingrid speaks background vocals: "...when I
listen childlike to Her voice; spellbound".
All this goes hand in hand with information I
received earlier that the albumcover art will be all Hindu style and very bright and
colourful. The photography will be done by Shinya Fujiwara (who did the RTC cover) and the
design by Russell Mills.
No release date and album title yet.
Because Opium (Arts) did not want to have
the lyrics "published" before the album comes out, they are no longer available
on this site. I'm sorry!
News 11.06.98
Keesjan van Bunningen wrote:
"After all the rumours about this
four-track demo I received word from Opium that confirms these four tracks are part of the
upcoming album. This demo was sent to Virgin to give them a flavour of the album. They
were the first four tracks that David Sylvian mixed and have no significance other than
that. They're *not* intended for a seperate EP release as some rumours suggested. The
album will probably be released in January although this is not definite. It certainly
won't be released this year. Of course, this confirms the album will be released after the
Worldcup (if only 'slightly' off by a mere six months)."
News 10.06.98
Tim Doyle posted on the Sylvian
mailing-list:
"Great news!! I've just heard four of
David's new songs: I Surrender, Midnight Sun, Thalheim, and Krishna Blue. I posted last
week that I had managed to order a recordable CD R called "Dead Bees on a Cake"
and it just arrived this morning. The material seems more mainstream than David's earlier
material, but it still has his unmistakable imprint and emotion. I haven't been able to
probe the lyrics yet but at least two of the songs seem to be out-and-out love songs (I'll
have to listen to them again). I Surrender is mellow, probably the most mainstream out of
the new songs, and has a slight bit of funk in it and it sounds like a flute? solo in the
middle. I'm no expert at instruments, though. Midnight Sun has a very steady rhythm and
lots of guitar, but the lyrics seemed a little bleak. Thalheim also seemed partly a love
song; it had a slightly Gone-to-Earth type soundscape but the instruments were used more
sparingly. Krishna Blue, the last song, seemed to be the most complicated out of the lot,
with lots of rhythm, a primitive/tribal feel, and lots and lots of layers. The lyrics also
seemed pretty complex. All for now. I'll have to go listen to it again and get more
impressions. IMO it was worth the wait. I hope with this one he gets a little more
attention. Tim"
News 08.06.98
I heard the new songs being described as a mixture between Rain Tree Crow and last year's jazz record "Angel Song" by Wheeler/ Konitz/ Holland /Frisell. Very mellow, typical Sylvian-style. Someone posted on the Sylvian mailing-list about the existence of a UK 4-track acetat CD called "Dead Bees on a Cake", featuring the tracks "I Surrender", "Midnight Sun", "Thalheim" and "Krishna Blue". No confirmation about the correctness of these information so far.
News 16.05.98
The work on the new record is nearing completion. Tapes with the new material have already been sent out to good friends and people in the record industrie. "Final conversations on the chakra plains" could be one of the titles. The album is expected for a late summer/ early fall release.
News 31.03.98
The latest "output" from David Sylvian can be heard on Sakamoto's new record "Discord". It features on track four between minute 5 and 6 a spoken poem from David. The poem is uncredited. The words can be found on my lyrics page.
His new home is located in Napa Valley in California, near San Francisco, where he reportedly owns a house.
News 29.03.98
One source says: The album seems to be
nearing completion. Still some vocal tracks have to be finished. Hindu-style artwork has
already been ordered and two singles/ videos are planned.
The other source says:"I spoke to
Richard Chadwick at David's management company (Opium) on Friday and he said that the
album will now not be released until the end of the year at the earliest! He couldn't even
say for definite that it would actually be released at the end of the year so the chances
are that it won't be released until 1999!"
"once I was so sure, now the doubt
inside my mind comes and goes but leads nowhere..."
News 11.01.98
On October 28.1997 Ingrid Chavez gave
birth to their second daughter Isobel
Ananda.
David is still working on his album and the
tapes have not been delivered to Virgin yet.
News 08.10.97
Rumor has it that David is currently moving from Minnesota to Northern California [according to Holger Czukay] and David's wife Ingrid is pregnant with their second child. The new solo-album won't be out before April '98. The title is yet to be announced. 1998 might see the release of a new solo-album (after 11 years), a rarities collection (probably a double CD) and the release of the Slow Fire - live recording. The release of the new album will be followed by a world-tour. Musicians on stage might include his brother Steve Jansen and Kenny Wheeler. As can be read on the Medium home page, Steve Jansen contributed to the upcoming DS album. A further collaboration with Can musican Holger Czukay seems also possible.
