Just Off The Radar - Radio interview

[banyan]

New Radio interview with David discussing 'Sleepwalkers'

http://www.justofftheradar.com/

(The interview starts about 15 mins in)

[baht habit]

Thanks so much for providing that link, banyan.

It's quite impressive that any radio disc jockey interviewing Sylvian would wish to discuss the origins of a more challenging track such as Trauma, even if it were relegated to the tail end of the show. The comments about the musical relationship between the brothers were quite interesting, but in my opinion a lot of time was wasted rehashing the whole Forbidden Colours thing...but that is how these things normally go, isn't it? I'm a bit surprised that Sylvian didn't steer the conversation towards the current orchestral work with Fujikura, yet it seems apparent that since Sylvian was grateful for the opportunity to plug his product on a radio station, he was going with the flow of the show and kept his comments simple.
And, though I would have liked to have the talk focus on the title track, I suppose it's somewhat understandable that any radio programmer wouldn't have the nerve to play that particular one over the airwaves.
Perhaps if the show were a bit more 'Off The Radar' rather than being '"Just'" Off The Radar'????

[Blemished]

Yes - thanks very much for the link - always good to hear David talking (in contrast to the more frequent print interviews)

Have to say that he is sounding very American at the moment! Well to British ears anyhow...

It's interesting that discussions with Steve and Burnt regarding another 9H album have been ongoing for 18 months without common ground being found.

[natsume]

It's interesting that discussions with Steve and Burnt regarding another 9H album have been ongoing for 18 months without common ground being found.

I wonder whose fault that is....

[opiate]

Hmm I don't think he sounded particularly American. There was the odd word or two I think but generally not that you would notice. It's very hard keeping a true accent when you live in another country especially after a long time. I think he's done well and still respectably English

It was good to hear him talk and good to know that there's plenty discussion on future work to keep us all going.

[ScottR]

It's interesting that discussions with Steve and Burnt regarding another 9H album have been ongoing for 18 months without common ground being found.

I wonder whose fault that is....

I don't.

Its like I was saying in another thread. David seems to shy from any type of commitment at all. He is not capable of anything more than a ftp track swap collaboration these days - ie: Sleepwalkers. Why cant he take a back seat on the 9H stuff? Steve is a much better producer anyways. He is f*cking up the one good project that he has going. 18 months of negotiations ... what a joke. They could have been finished and touring by now. He just has to control everything, no compromising whatsoever. I'm sure he has soured things so badly that it will never happen now. Same sh*t, 30 years later.

[missouriman]

One observation of the interview is that David seems incapable of self censoring in phone interviews. He thinks it and then speaks it. (I sympathise) The information about Steve seemed a little personal to me; criticism almost and if I was Steve I would be thinking it may be best if David sticks to the email interviews. However, it also allows a little more information to filter out. So we have that to be grateful for. And I think David is sounding more English than I have heard him in a long time. It could have been the crap phone line though.

[inkinthewell]

About the new NH collaboration, maybe it might be good to cite Sylvian's exact words: "We've been talking for almost a year and a half now about another NH album and [...] we've yet to find common ground, we've yet to find new territories that we all feel comfortable with, that we all feel, now! this would be exciting for all three of us to be involved in."
And let's not forget that this comes right after, speaking about how he works with Steve, he had said: "But it's a very easy relationship, and in some ways it's too easy, and the challenge is always to find justification for the two of us working together, and to find new grounds that neither one of us has covered before".

[angel-a]

One observation of the interview is that David seems incapable of self censoring in phone interviews. He thinks it and then speaks it. (I sympathise) The information about Steve seemed a little personal to me; criticism almost and if I was Steve I would be thinking it may be best if David sticks to the email interviews. However, it also allows a little more information to filter out. So we have that to be grateful for. And I think David is sounding more English than I have heard him in a long time. It could have been the crap phone line though.

David has already mentioned something similar about Steve in his interview a few years ago... and personally I don't find it negative/criticism. Maybe he just still keeps his British humour....!?

"Snow Bourne Sorrow had a long, protracted evolution. The songs themselves come quickly but the recording of the pieces takes time to reach fruition. Steve (Jansen) also has a tendency to work slowly so whilst a song may have come together in what seemed like minutes there's time taken over the construction, arrangement of the piece, the sound design, etc etc.

"One of us would come up with something that would get the ball rolling and we'd take it from there. Take the cyclic keyboard melody for Atom and Cell. Steve initially came up with a very different percussion part in response. I wrote the lyric while he was programming the drums... there it was in essence... a few hours work. Then comes the refining. Months later Steve scrapped the percussion pattern and replaced it with something more refined, added the vibes. I added the chorus vocals, Arve (Henriksen), Ryuichi Sakamoto...

"This is essentially how we've always worked together. A refining of ideas and sound over time but essentially the song is there from stage one."

"I think of Steve as an architect. He builds these wonderfully thought through structures on which the composition rests. He is thorough, reliable. Like me he's not what I would call an improviser, but that's not where his interest or focus has led him up until now. I would love to hear him improvise more often. Steve is also an amazing programmer and sound designer."

http://www.musicomh.com/music/features/ ... n_1005.htm

[baht habit]

He is not capable of anything more than a ftp track swap collaboration these days - ie: Sleepwalkers. Why cant he take a back seat on the 9H stuff?

I guess I'll be the one to point out to you that 5 out of the 9 tracks on Snow Borne Sorrow were created through the very same process of using files. Factoring in the 4 other officially released tracks, exactly 50 % of all Nine Horses output was done through file sharing. I am not sure how anyone could conclude that this process is not a valid method of collaboration.

And one could argue that Sylvian actually does relatively take a 'back seat' to his collaborators within the Nine Horses projects. I believe the only compositions that were initiated by him were the two earliest tracks, Wonderful World and Atom And Cell, which were written way back within the time period of late 2001 and early 2002. Subsequent material came to fruition from the impetus of Friedman or Jansen.
And Sylvian has even stated during an interview that any new Nine Horses material would rely heavily on the ideas of his collaborators, with an even greater deal of responsibility on Jansen as the catalyst than even before.
And, as inkinthewell properly pointed out, the worth of the material hinges on the concept that it breaks new ground musically. I believe that Sylvian followed through on tracks such as Friedman's Money For All and Jansen's Get The H*ll Out precisely because they sound different from anything on Snow Borne Sorrow. We should probably all recognize by now that Sylvian refuses to repeat himself, and he simply wants to keep up the same level of standard by not resorting to any set formula.

[ScottR]

All valid points baht. I hadnt read all of he interviews or knew of the recording timeline of Snow Borne.

but to me real collaboration is not sitting in the same room. It involves a commitment beyond a single track or vocal take. Actually participating and sharing in the writing process together through evolution and response. Dropping a spoken word poem onto a Arve Hendrickson track is a good example of a half hearted collaboration. Its seems like a return favor for the 9H contribution and it shows.

I think he worries to much about how something will sound before it has even been written. It seems really contrary to the nature being an experimental artist. How do negotiate the making of art? It would be one thing if they got far into the project and decided that it wasnt working for one reason or another. It just seems really controlling to me to approach it in this manner. I mean ... so much for being spontaneous huh?

We should probably all recognize by now that Sylvian refuses to repeat himself, and he simply wants to keep up the same level of standard by not resorting to any set formula.

Here is the crux of it all. IMO his work of late has been inconsistent and spotty at best, due in part to that fact that there is no set formula. Is there some great discipline in being undisciplined? 9H is the only evidence of any consistency of late and it turns out that was probably Steves doing.

[Blemished]

I have to say Scott that I just don't understand where you're coming from...I'm surprised you are still following Sylvian given the immense dislike you seem to feel about his recent work and points of view.

What is wrong with not wanting to record with Steve again if he feels it will be too safe, too boring, too much of a rehash of a musical relationship that dates to the 1970s?

The broader critical view is that with Blemish and Manafon he has achieved a great musical step forward. The 80s trilogy was of course wonderful, but this new strand shakes off the problem of over-polished politeness that was always the downside with that era's work. His recent evolution really is a great achievement - he found a unique voice. In contrast, Dead Bees and 9H are quite middle-of-the-road albums. It's great that many like them, but that's what they are.

And anyway, even if I'm not that fussed about 9H, I wouldn't feel the need to pour such immense scorn on that work. Why be so angry and negative? It's just bizarre.

[ScottR]

What is wrong with not wanting to record with Steve again if he feels it will be too safe, too boring, too much of a rehash of a musical relationship that dates to the 1970s?

because its the one remaining musical project/collab that actually works for him.

The broader critical view is that with Blemish and Manafon he has achieved a great musical step forward.

according to who? another point of view is that he has wasted so much time on these b&m projects with limited returns. manafon is at year 6 and still running. whats that saying again ... when a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, does it really make a sound? is anybody listening anymore?

And anyway, even if I'm not that fussed about 9H, I wouldn't feel the need to pour such immense scorn on that work. Why be so angry and negative? It's just bizarre.

huh? I'm not angry, I'm bored and restless. The one project that I was actually jazzed about is stuck in negotiations ...LOL. Why would I be pissed?

[baht habit]

The broader critical view is that with Blemish and Manafon he has achieved a great musical step forward.

according to who? another point of view is that he has wasted so much time on these b&m projects with limited returns. manafon is at year 6 and still running. whats that saying again ... when a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, does it really make a sound? is anybody listening anymore?

I believe that by writing the words 'broader critical view', Blemished was apparently referring to the overwhelming consensus of positive opinion towards the experimental nature of both Blemish and Manafon from the vast community of music critics. If one happens to peruse the many professional reviews available on the net, you will obviously find a negative outlook here and there but favorable reviews are clearly in the majority.
And from the abundance of discussion which I have read on numerous forums, personal blogs and message boards where plenty of reprehensible illegal sharing is going down, it seems quite evident that Sylvian has actually gained a portion of listeners that he would not have otherwise had. So people are listening and the reactions seem surprisingly positive in that respect as well. The greatest amount of discontent is definitely coming from those in the fan base who have firm preconceptions regarding Sylvian's sound and wish for Sylvian to strictly follow a tried and true path which correlates to their preconceptions. They do not enjoy being subjected to such radical experimentation, which is understandable. But then to blatantly assume that no one else is out there listening when something simply fails to personally appeal to you seems grossly unfair and irrational.
Lastly, I am not quite sure what the 6 year duration of time between the initial sessions for Manafon and the present has to do with anything? There was one week in 2004, and then two days in 2006 and 2007 respectively. Sylvian contributed his parts relatively quickly at some point in 2008. It isn't as if this project took up all of his time to a degree of gridlock. There were releases during that time frame: Snow Borne Sorrow, Money For All, When Loud Weather Buffeted Naoshima...plus Manafon is only a little more than a year old since its release and even in that time, we have the Sleepwalkers compilation. To state that Manafon is "at year 6" seems a bit ludicrous, for such a statement asserts that all he has done in that period has devote his attention to this single project and I believe that facts concur with the view with which that surely is not the case at all.

[ScottR]

I dunno baht, 9H was 2005 right? The Dai manafon project is slated for late 2011 if I understand correctly. If you want to count the Sleepwalker compilation that would be a bit liberal I think. But then again so would counting illegal downloads as a growing fan base nice try though. With fans like that who needs enemies.

either way you count it, thats way too much time spent on 9 fricken songs. its time to move on ... (yeah maybe I'm talking about myself) It would be healthy for everyone.