ScottR wrote: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.
Yes, Snow Borne Sorrow was released in 2005 - and, much like Manafon, that album also took a good amount of time to finally come to fruition - 4 years between the first sessions and the official release of the finished product. And as was also the case with Manafon, there were numerous starts, pauses and complete stops in the work. Sylvian is quite adept at multitasking and adjusting his attention towards other projects....and think about it -- he even started up his very own independent label during that interim.
The upcoming project with Dai Fujikura will include both new material and reinterpretations of a few songs which appeared on Manafon. I think that most of the members here will recognize that such a release fits in quite naturally with the pattern which Sylvian has been following since the inception of Samadhi Sound. He followed Blemish (2003) with commissioned remixes on Good Son vs Only Daughter (2005). Then Snow Borne Sorrow (2005) was followed up by the Money For All EP (2007), which included the two new songs and remixes of various tracks from SBS. Now this forthcoming project (2011) is basically the companion to Manafon (2009).
And no matter what are anyone's personal feeling towards the content of Sleepwalkers, what I was trying to explain is that specific release is another example -- in addition to those other releases mentioned --- that proves how Sylvian has obviously refocused his attention and devoted his time elsewhere.
By the way, just because a person downloads musical content provided to them by another source surely doesn't preclude them from using their ears, making a judgement that what they are hearing is something which appeals to their musical taste, and then in effect becoming what we usually tend to consider as a member of a 'fan base'.
But for the sake of accuracy, please take note that I did not describe these people as 'fans'...I described them as a 'portion of listeners' who Sylvian has gained because he has decided to drift into these unchartered musical territories. I was simply pointing out that these people are yet another portion of those who are listening to these left of center releases, and in turn giving positive feedback.
So metaphorically: if Sylvian is out there in the forest pushing down trees, others are hearing the reverberating sounds of impact.