‘words with your inner self’
Asked about the origins of his interest in shamanism in a 1986 interview, David Sylvian responded, ‘I’m not sure, I can’t really remember. I was reading a great deal on different cults and spiritual groups and so on, and the word shaman kept cropping up. And I bought one book – The Shaman Magician or something like that – and that really introduced me to that idea.’
Continue reading “Awakening (Songs from the Tree Tops)”‘a sense of fascination’
Words with the Shaman was released at the end of 1985, both as a standalone 12″ vinyl and as part of the limited-edition cassette, Alchemy – An Index of Possibilities. David Sylvian’s sleeve-note on the vinyl placed the recordings in context: ‘The compositions compiled for the E.P. were conceived as musical footnotes to some of the themes started earlier on the album Brilliant Trees, and were developed as a collaborative group effort for which I am very much indebted to all who took part.’
Continue reading “Ancient Evening – Incantation”Music and lyrics in perfect harmony
‘Without wishing to embarrass you, I think that’s probably the finest piece of music that you have recorded to date.’ David ‘Kid’ Jensen made this comment when interviewing David Sylvian on his UK Radio One show, having just played the title track from Sylvian’s new album. This was in mid-June 1984, two weeks ahead of the album’s release, and was the first time that I – and I’m sure many others – had heard the piece.
Continue reading “Brilliant Trees”
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