Masakatsu Takagi first worked with David Sylvian on the Fire in the Forest tour which started out in the UK in September 2003, ending in Japan in spring 2004. The dates were put together based on the unexpected success of Blemish. Budgetary constraints meant that the on-stage musicians would be David Sylvian and his brother Steve Jansen only, and the nature of the material dictated that the performance would be largely laptop-based and consequently somewhat static. Another element was required for the mix, a visual component to provide added depth to the audience’s experience. Yuka Fujii became aware of Takagi’s innovative moving image work, shared samples with Sylvian, and so it was that he came to complete the on-stage trio.
Takagi had not been familiar with Sylvian’s work before the approach to collaborate on the road, other than an early band image that was engrained on his consciousness: ‘I just knew him from a picture on the sleeve of a Japan album. I found it when I was in junior high school; I thought, “What is this? And why are they making up their faces???” haha.. ..So I only remembered his face..’ He soon came to appreciate the pieces featured in the live performances, however; ‘I love every track he did at that tour.’ (MT, 2004) Continue reading “Exit/Delete”
