Tag: Richard Barbieri

Weathered Wall

‘native to no one involved’

‘When I recorded Brilliant Trees, I started the album in Berlin, out of necessity, out of a low budget and it being the cheapest studio I could find, but I found that going to a strange place, meeting in a strange place — all these musicians for the first time, some of them I’d never even spoken to prior to meeting them — created a sense of adventure about the whole project,’ recalled David Sylvian. ‘I didn’t just feel it, I noticed it in the other musicians, and that they would give more of themselves in that environment rather than in their natural environment, their home town or whatever.’ (1991)

Continue reading “Weathered Wall”

Burning Bridges

‘our influences on our sleeve’

Richard Barbieri, Mick Karn and David Sylvian were all classmates at Catford Boys school in South London. Karn and Sylvian were friends, their surnames then Michaelides and Batt, the latter’s home being ‘close to the school,’ as Mick recalled, ‘so we would go there together for lunch, with his brother Steven Batt bringing a friend and joining us.

Continue reading “Burning Bridges”

Blackwater

‘the possibility of new life’

The story of the ‘reformation’ of Japan (or to be accurate, of the four members who created the band’s final studio album, Tin Drum) was something that I followed in real time through the pages of the fanzine Bamboo. The first hint of such momentous news was contained in the Summer 1989 edition and almost comically understated, undoubtedly because the situation developed whilst the print publication was being finalised.

Continue reading “Blackwater”

Showing the Wound (A Will to Health) – Steel Cathedrals

‘the first step in a new approach’

‘This short film was shot in two days of November 1984 in and around the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan. A large part of the music was completed during that same month and recorded over a period of three days. I later updated the material in London, in an attempt to elaborate on the theme started earlier in Japan, and to further improve the quality of the soundtrack.’
David Sylvian, August 1985

Continue reading “Showing the Wound (A Will to Health) – Steel Cathedrals”

Cancelled Pieces – Playground Martyrs (reprise)

Injecting creativity

Anja Garbarek’s 2001 album Smiling & Waving is notable for a number of reasons. Firstly, two tracks are produced by Mark Hollis of Talk Talk: an extremely rare foray into music after his self-titled album, released in 1998, signalled a retreat from public to private life. That album had been playing in a London record store when Anja visited whilst preparing for the recording of Smiling & Waving. ‘I heard the most beautiful music,’ she told Anil Prasad in an interview for his Innerviews site. ‘It had the same spirit I wanted to achieve with the music I was currently working on. It turned out to be Mark Hollis’ solo album. I went straight home and called the record company and asked them what my chances were of working with Mark. I presumed he was still active, but they told me that he had retired from the music industry after releasing his solo album. Somehow, they managed to set up a meeting with him and we got on really well.’ (2019)

Continue reading “Cancelled Pieces – Playground Martyrs (reprise)”