Hildur Guðnadóttir

I Measure Every Grief I Meet

‘a piercing Comfort it affords’

I have written before on this site about the impact of attending the Punkt festival in Kristiansand, Norway, for the first time in 2011, drawn there by David Sylvian’s involvement as Artist in Residence. There were so many first experiences, hearing musicians play live whose work I have subsequently taken time to explore and which I have found to be tremendously enriching. On the opening evening alone there was Arve Henriksen, John Tilbury, Evan Parker, Sidsel Endresen and Philip Jeck. All gave performances in an art gallery surrounded by David Sylvian and Atsushi Fukui’s installation Uncommon Deities. Recorded readings by Sylvian and live recitations of the Norwegian originals by both Paal-Helge Haugen and Nils Christian Moe-Repstad were interspersed with the music, Sylvian observing proceedings from the sound desk at the rear of the space. What a line up to have in one room.

‘Philip Jeck studied visual art in the 1970s and has been creating sound with record-players since the early ’80s,’ read the introductory artist biography in the festival brochure, ‘working with many theatre and dance companies and playing with musicians/composers such as Jah Wobble, Steve Lacy, Christian Fennesz and Gavin Bryars. He has released nine solo albums, the most recent An Ark for the Listener on the Touch label…In 2009 he received a Paul Hamlyn Artists Award for Composers and in 2011 a Prix Ars Electronic Award of Distinction.’

Grains (sweet paulownia wood)

‘put a crown upon his head’

The collaboration between Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto, alias German electronics pioneer Carsten Nicolai, began with the album Vrioon in 2002. When the pair first met, Ryuichi was engaged in a bossa nova project with Jaques and Paula Morelenbaum which probably couldn’t be farther removed from the music that they would make together. ‘I like collaborating with people who have something I don’t have – a skill, an idea,’ said Sakamoto. ‘I’m always looking for something surprising – like everyone else, I need inspiration and triggers. Listening to new things, looking for new sounds has become part of my nature. And I think that’s why you collaborate – to stay open. Unexpected things happen and you must be very flexible. You can of course hide by yourself, digging into your inner depths – we all need that kind of space sometimes. But working with other people’s ideas and artistic presentation can be so enriching.’

Nothing is Happening Everywhere

‘approaching an apocalyptic noir’

March 2012. Alerted by one of the online communities, it’s one of those moments when something appears totally out of the blue. For the most part, new material is advertised weeks or months in advance and there is opportunity for anticipation and some research into new musical partnerships. Not this time. There on soundcloud is a new account with just one track uploaded, ‘Nothing is Happening Everywhere’, credited to L A N D featuring David Sylvian.

REPRESS OF COLOURED VINYLS

OUT NOW FROM LUCRECIA DALT feat. DAVID SYLVIAN

Lucrecia’s new album A Danger to Ourselves is out now. All tracks produced by Lucrecia Dalt & David Sylvian, mixed by David Sylvian.

Sylvian also contributes vocal and feedback guitar to ‘Cosa Rara’ and electric guitar solo for ‘Covenstead Blues’:

Second edition repress of ‘Cosa Rara (feat. David Sylvian)’ with alternative artwork. Note that this vinyl also contains an extended mix of the ‘dopamine dub’ by Matias Aguayo, featuring David Sylvian (i.e. a different version from the first single release):

UPDATES

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

March 2026
A Fire in the Forest – added quote from David Sylvian about the imagery of the forest fire.
p:Machinery – added quote from Holly Johnson about being around the studio with Propaganda and David Sylvian.
The Ink in the Well – added quote from Anton Corbijn about the video.
Red Guitar – added quote from engineer Peter Williams about introducing Mark Isham to the sessions and recording him for Brilliant Trees. Also added quote from Anton Corbijn about the video.