1988 – Plight & Premonition

Plight

the spiralling of winter ghosts

1988. Home with the vinyl in my hand. Plight & Premonition. First play. A quiet start – turn it up. Then jump out of my skin, startled by that vibrating, loud percussive alarm! Senses heightened now, like exploring unfamiliar territory, unsure of what will be discovered… dark, with occasional glimpses of light… ‘the spiralling of winter ghosts’ indeed.

The Touch label has announced a tribute album for Philip Jeck who passed away in 2022. Philip appeared with David Sylvian at Punkt 2011, performing for the only live performance ever given of Plight & Premonition.

The album, scheduled to be released in November, includes a track by Hildur Guðnadóttir & David Sylvian.

Hildur won an Oscar for the Best Original Score for the film Joker (2019).

Below: Philip Jeck with his customary turntables at Punkt 2011

Melanie’s new album is dedicated to David Sylvian. ‘David was able to listen to the record beforehand and wrote to me that Il Viaggio is one of the most intimate, powerful and personal pieces of music he has ever heard,’ she says.

‘I only now realise how important those words have been to me. And not just because they come from the mouth of an artist I admire intensely. His words actually gave me the courage to finish this record and to convince myself that this music could actually be sent out into the world.’ Highly recommended listening.

Further information sometimes comes to light after an article is published. The following pieces have recently been updated with new material:

April 2024
Life, Life – added insights from Anenon (Brian Allen Simon) about his remix of the track for Ryuichi Sakamoto’s digital single in 2018

March 2024
Ghosts – added extensive quote from David Sylvian about what was “in his head” when he wrote the song
The Other Side of Life – added David Sylvian quote about the meaning of the lyric
A Certain Slant of Light – added David Sylvian quote about Mick Karn, to whom the song is dedicated
Five Lines – added David Sylvian quote about the image of the fox in the song
New Moon at Red Deer Wallow – added additional quote from Steve Jansen on building up the percussion track