New Interviews on ds.com

[silentwings]

I've really enjoyed reading the five new interviews up at davidsylvian.com (under 'Texts'). Here's a favourite passage from the 'A Necessary Evil' interview, with some new insights to me regarding World Citizen and Playground Martyrs:

This record (Sleepwalkers) charts the last decade. What have been the most creatively rewarding moments during this period for you? Can you name times and places (and people) where something clicked and things fell into place?

Outside of the material on this album I was primarily focused on recording my solo work. I reached a turning point working on both the title track for ‘Blemish’ and ‘The only daughter’. I worked on these pieces alone but both tracks really opened things up for me regarding the process in which they were made and the depth of the emotions experienced/expressed. On a later occasion I remember everything coming into focus at a session in Vienna with Keith Rowe, Michael Moser and Werner Dafeldecker, that justified a particular approach I had chosen to take and which confirmed the direction of my work for the next few years. There were many moments on the Nine Horses project where things really came together beautifully, notably writing the tracks ‘Wonderful world’ and ‘Atom and Cell’ with my brother. At the end of the Blemish tour in ’04, I wrote the lyric for ‘A history of holes’ in a hotel in Köln prior to a meeting with Burnt Friedman which marked the beginning of our creative involvement together. Later that evening I attended the Erstwhile festival where I would meet many of my future collaborators (Otomo, Nakamura, Sachiko, Rowe, Müller ) for the first time. Thinking specifically of material related to this album, Ryuchi asked me to contribute to a commission he’d received but had yet to find a direction for. He sent me some musical references and occasional sketches but nothing clicked with me until I heard the piano loop for what was to become ‘world citizen’. I played the loop on a four hour drive to NY. By the time I arrived everything was in place. I’m still quite fond of that lyric. Whilst Steve was working on Slope I’d been assigned to find suitable vocalists for each track he’d send my way. Late one evening, after a day’s work on Manafon, I found an audio file waiting for me from Steve. As I played the file back I found I had a melody for the piece and quickly scribbled down some lyrics, recorded the results into a portable digital recorder and mailed the results back to him with notes as to who should sing it before sinking deeply into sleep. That piece had a very simple sense of rightness about it. Steve eventually asked me to record a version of my own which is how two versions of ‘Playground Martyrs’ ended up on his album.

The majority of the tracks on ‘Sleepwalkers’ were written in isolation. The only exception is ‘Wonderful world’ where Steve and I were working in the same location

[Simonp]

The only one I enjoyed reading was where he described being taken to a baseball game with a friend...it showed him to be a real person. Im a bit bored with all his pseudo intellectual musings on the process behind the "work"

[baht habit]

The only one I enjoyed reading was where he described being taken to a baseball game with a friend...it showed him to be a real person. Im a bit bored with all his pseudo intellectual musings on the process behind the "work"

Yes, that tidbit about attending a baseball game was interesting. Also, to learn that his daughter plays organized basketball was enjoyable to learn, being that basketball will always be my preferred sport to both play and watch no matter the level - pro or amateur. So just the thought of proud papa Sylvian on the bleachers watching his daughter play was an impressive insight that normally is lacking within most interviews.
But Simon, are you actually describing Sylvian as a fraudulent 'pseudo' intellectual as if his musings are simply a big put on? You're the last person on this site I would expect to be accusing Sylvian of any such pretension merely because he chooses to express himself in expansive terms.

[missouriman]

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[Simonp]

Hi Baht

Perhaps I was being a bit unfair. I just think Sylvian has said everything that needs to be said about the creative process and he just seems to be repeating himself a little. I just find it refreshing to hear him talking about going to baseball games etc.

[billster]

I bet he went to that Dodgers game with Paul Auster.