NO Ingrid, just David

[sheisnot]

Let's talk about something besides Ingrid Chavez.

Answer these questions: Where were you the first time you heard David Sylvian? Who, if anyone, turned you on to his work? What year was it, if you remember?

The first time I heard DS, I was in my kitchen. My friend Christian, who is known for his ability to seek out and find THE BEST music, had given me a cd with a whole bunch of stuff on it and "Orpheus" was on there. I was cleaning the kitchen, putting dishes in the dishwasher, and when I heard Sylvian's voice, I did one of those movie-like moments, turning and staring at the stereo, jaw dropped, with wet dishes in my hands dripping water on the floor and stayed that way until the song was over. I then promptly played it again about five or six times in a row. (I don't remember what year this was--a few years ago.)

[marcello09]

Answer these questions: Where were you the first time you heard David Sylvian? Who, if anyone, turned you on to his work? What year was it, if you remember?

I *might* have first heard Japan on a local radio station in 1978 or 1979. For a very brief moment, the local commercial rock station went "all new wave" -- 24/7 of seriously underground, anti-corporate noise. It was a ratings disaster, of course, so they quickly switched to a more commercially acceptable format. But while it lasted it was wonderful. I was only ten or eleven years old, and it was my first taste of bands like Wire, the Urban Verbs, Jonathan Richman, X, Public Image and Gary Numan. And I'm pretty sure that they played tracks from "Adolescent Sex" and "Obscure Alternatives" as well.

The first time I *clearly* remember hearing Japan was about a year later on another radio show called "Radios In Motion", which I think was broadcast on Sunday nights from 11PM until 2AM on a nearby public radio station. The track was "Quiet Life", and I remember liking it but I don't think it struck me as anything special at the time.

It wasn't until I started tuning in to the Electrifying Mojo's "Midnight Funk Association" on WGPR, a Detroit R&B station, that I really started paying attention to Japan. At the time, American R&B and hip-hop was heavily influenced by European electronic music, so his playlist included Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock" and Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" album alongside John Foxx's "Metamatic" and Kraftwerk; Japan's "Life In Tokyo" and "Eurpoean Son" got a lot of spins. "Gentleman Take Polaroids" got some play as well. But when "Tin Drum" came out, Mojo flipped and pretty much played the entire album from start to finish. It was so bold and unique and refreshing that it couldn't help but grab my attention, and that's when I knew that Japan was a band that I needed to add to my collection.

The only Japan album that was widely available in America at that time was "Japan", which was five tracks from "Tin Drum" and three tracks from "GTP", so that was my first purchase. But within a couple of years I had the bands' entire collection and "Brilliant Trees" had just been released.

More than twenty years later... still a fan!

[Poisoned_Apathy]

I got into David's work through Japan.

A few time after discovering the band I started to do some research about the works of its members after they split up. I remember the first song I heard of David was also Orpheus. I was in my room, surfing Youtube for Japan and Sylvian videos and this was the first one I watched. I just remember that its beauty blew me away completely and I also played it a few times in a row... I can't tell you when it was exactly , but it wasn't too long ago.

[heartofdavid]

Some similarity to marcello's experience. It would have been late '78 or early '79. The song was "Suburban Love." There was a local radio station called TRIAD, broadcast all different types of programs. A few nights a week, after 7pm, they had a rock format. One of the shows was called "Songs from Across the Big Swamp", played import and bootleg stuff. Anyway, I recall hearing this song but didn't think too much at the time. Not long after, my little dumpy local record shop had a clearance on vinyl imports. I saw the Adolescent Sex album which had a hole punched through the corner of the cover. Didn't relate the album to a song I'd heard, but I'd read some British press clipping or review, the name was familiar and I thought, "Why not try it?" Back then, I bought a lot of LPs like that, the title or cover would catch my eye, lol. When I played it, the song 'clicked' in my head, "Oh, it was these guys!." I've followed them ever since.

I distinctly remember hearing "Brilliant Trees" for the first time. Ran to the store the day the import came in, went home, lit a bunch of candles, turned out the lights and set the needle in the groove. I liked how jazz influenced it sounded, thought "Nostalgia" was the best track on it. Probably drooled a bit over the cover shot too.

[Tanya80]

the 1st time i heard David's voice was when VH-1 Classic played Visions Of China video back in 02', afterwards, it was either 03' or 04' when they played Orpheus video on VH-1 Classic as well

[arieleleven]

I saw Obscure Alternatives in a record store in 1979 and liked the cover, so I bought it, took it home, and played it. That was the very first time I ever heard Japan, and the rest is history.

[lastgoldstar]

I got into David's work through Japan.

Yep, same for me.

All I remember is that I had just received my first CD of David's from Amazon, Gone to Earth. I read some things about SoTB being his best and most well-known work, but GTE just called me, for some reason. And I have this thing about buying an artist's/band's most popular work first... I can't do it. Same with Japan, I wouldn't let myself listen to Tin Drum till I heard everything else first. Anyway, I was listening to GTE and I really liked it, it was like nothing I'd ever heard before. And then I heard Wave and almost died of joy.

[camphorvan]

I first got into Ingrid Chavez when....

[sheisnot]

I first got into Ingrid Chavez when....

LOL!

[camphorvan]

Oh..Sylvian...why didn't you say so...

My sister used to listen to Japan in the early 80's. My Grandmother used to call Sylvian 'Whining Willy', which we all used to laugh at. I was very young at the time.
A couple of years later, I pulled a couple of albums - Assemblage I think and some others, just for want of something to put onto tape to listen to on my Walkman on my trek into school.

Sylvian himself. Quite a few years elapsed between getting all the Japan albums on tape and going out to buy Brilliant Trees in, it must have been, 1985. I used to look at the two albums in the record shop. The newly released GTE and BT. As I couldn't afford the price of a double album, I got BT. I took it home and put it on my parents Hi-Fi - supeior to mine.

The shock I got was fairly intense. It sounded so fresh, clean, breezy and full of life. I still remember thinking 'this is new music; i've not heard anything like this before'. I was really excited by it. One of the few albums ever to excite me. I loved the album artwork too. The marble surround and the photos of erm...hands(?). I even (and this is pathetic) liked the typography. The whole thing just worked for me.

Still my honoury album of all time.

And he did this when he was how old?!

Looking back now, the lyrics are a bit pretentious and there are tracks that are weaker than others. Listened to it so much over the years, it's hard to objective though.

[Darkest Dreamer]

I was really enjoying ranting on about that little two-timer Ingrid... but I guess I can talk about Japan and David now.

I heard Japan in grade 10. My friend Alisa played Tin Drum and Oil on Canvas for me at her house and we were talking on and on about David (and I still am!) and how cool and beautiful he was. We then decided to wear bangles, china flats and die our hair red and blonde (apparently this is also still going on today) The music is so unique that it doesn't sound dated to me.

When David went on to do his own thing with Brilliant Trees I couldn't believe how beautiful the music was and how it made me want to daydream for hours. I think it actually influenced me to later look into and develop a real love for Jazz. There are a lot of jazz elements in his music and it is really just magic to me. I just freakin love it!

[sonic_chronicler]

I'm sure I've told this tale before, but....

I've been a vinyl junkie since 78 (I was ten) and one thing I loved to collect was coloured vinyl records, so much so, I would sometimes buy them without knowing the artists.

One such purchase was the Hansa release I Second That Emotion/Quiet Life.

I played it at my mates house when we got back. I thought both sides sounded great on his parents radiogramme. He wasn't impressed. It was directly responsible for me deciding to become a 'New Romantic' at the time.

The rest is history, I have bought (pretty much) anything and everything by DS & the boys.

Sonic

[krausy]

Gods and I have talked about this before, and our story is very much the same because we "discovered" them at the same time in the same way.

Probably back in late '82 or '83 MTV had a Guest VJ hour every now and then and would have artists take over as VJ for an hour playing the videos they wanted to play, invite guests, and basically do what they wanted. One particular time they had Simon LeBon and Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran as guest VJ's and besides inviting the rest of the band and having Andy Warhol with them, one of the videos they chose to play was "Visions of China". My ears and eyes(besides drinking in the vision of Simon and Nick---yumm) really perked up at this one, as the DD guys had always mentioned Japan as an influence, and this would be my first opportunity to hear them. I loved it immediately----the groove of the song, the voice, the look, everything. I used to get MTV on my stereo receiver so that you could turn on the stereo and turn down the TV---voila!!!Anyway, I recorded the sound on tape and basically wore out that part of the cassette, until a few months later I finally tracked down the cassette of Tin Drum (in fact, I believe I may have had to special order it--after all, we are talking about North Carolina---lol)


Fast forward-----1988, college. still only owned Tin Drum on tape, but had also acquired the "Japan" album that was mentioned in an earlier post here. I then acquired a taped copy of "Gone to Earth" from a fellow student , but unfortunately did not "get into" it ----my head just wasn't in the right spot for it at the time. But I never parted with the tape---in fact, I know I still have it in my cassette drawer...................

I had read different things about Brilliant Trees but had not bought it. I did not own another Japan/ Sylvian album beyond the three I have just mentioned until just last year, when I met Gods at the Duran Duran site. She had a sig with David's picture(mind you, I had not laid eyes on a DS pic in YEARS at this point). It was like running into an old acquaintance , finally recognizing them again, and then seeing something you never saw before. So I asked Gods a few questions, did some research and here I am!!!!


Earlier this year, when I heard "Wanderlust" and "I Surrender" for the first time (both times I was driving home at night) I would park the car at the house, the song still going, and just sit in my car until the song was over, and several minutes afterward..........mesmerized.............amazed.
Just a very cool experience. Would love to experience that live sometime.

[Bern]

1980 at a friends house (John Carr what ever happened to you?) I saw the Polaroids cover and asked who the girl on the front was he informed me it was actually the male lead singer and taped the album for me and the first time I played it with Polariods going into Swing I was hooked and went out and bought it