Flux

A big, bright, colourful world

David Sylvian has spoken of a period of personal darkness that followed the completion of Secrets of Beehive. In 1988, the year following that album’s release, he embarked upon his first solo tour, In Praise of Shamans. ‘I knew I was going through some kind of change at that point, which is why I decided to do it,’ he said. ‘I thought it would provoke some kind of change in me, or maybe speed up the process. But by the end of the tour I was kind of in no man’s land. I didn’t know what I wanted anymore and…I didn’t want to be involved with music for a while. I just couldn’t face sitting down and writing.

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Blemish (remixed by Akira Rabelais) – End Times

Connecting to something ineffable

On the homepage of David Sylvian’s new label there was a link to the imprint’s ‘Mission Statement’. ‘Samadhisound came into being as one possible blueprint for the future, intuition taking precedence over business sense and game plan,’ wrote Sylvian. ‘I don’t make long term plans as I surrender that part of my life to guru. But if I allow myself to dream I dream of a label that gives freedom to artists and musicians, creating a “safe house” for the nurturing of ideas. It will be home to much of my work and the work of my brother Steve Jansen. We will also sit at the helm as producers to a small group of artists who we hope will find a home at samadhisound. We’ll encourage projects that break new ground, and support those that bring a unique slant to an existing field of enquiry. Aesthetically that field is wide open as is the nature and diversity of the projects.’

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All of My Mother’s Names (Summers with Amma)

‘spellbound…hanging by a fine gold thread’

Ingrid Chavez’s 2010 album, A Flutter and Some Words, marked a return to music after a long break. Her only previous solo album, May 19, 1992 on Prince’s Paisley Park label had been released nearly twenty years earlier. The intervening years had been spent prioritising motherhood following her marriage to David Sylvian and the birth of their two daughters.

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The Devil’s Own

‘underlying tension, doubt, nervousness’

Gone to Earth was released in September 1986, well over two years after David Sylvian’s debut solo LP, Brilliant Trees. Customary press interviews coincided with the release of the double album and were published in September and October that year. A few months later, I was scanning the magazine racks in WH Smith at a London railway station, hungry for news of my favourite musicians, and I remember my surprise at spotting a photograph of Sylvian on the cover of Sound on Sound magazine. Sure enough, within the pages of the March 1987 edition was to be found a new interview with Sylvian undertaken by respected music journalist, Mark Prendergast.

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Forbidden Colours

‘sonically it was incredible’

When it came to making casting decisions for Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, there was no doubt that Nagisa Ōshima took an unconventional approach. ‘Unlike most directors, I find it frustrating to have to cast only actors,’ he later declared. ‘I’m always on the look out for people from a different field…I simply don’t like established methods. There are six billion people on this planet, but I’m supposed to choose someone after looking through just twenty or thirty actors’ portraits. I’ve felt the same way since the beginning of my film career. And if I do things differently, perhaps I can stretch the horizons of my work. It’s something I think about every time I make a film.’

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