‘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”‘excited by sound’
In 1984, the Penguin Cafe Orchestra released their album Broadcasting from Home on the Editions EG label. A familiar name listed in the accompanying sleeve-notes was that of Ryuichi Sakamoto, with a co-composition credit for the track ‘Heartwind’. The PCO’s leader, Simon Jeffes, had already enjoyed a long association with Japan by this time, his first visit having been in 1972. ‘It’s as if I discovered myself there and became more confident, musically and personally,’ he said. ‘That trip to Japan was a very formative experience which I expressed in writing. That’s how the Penguin Cafe was conceived. Really it’s a state of mind, but I started writing about this place where you would feel at home and just be yourself. You could meet other people and some kind of home music would be played by an orchestra or a band. The Penguin Cafe Orchestra is now playing that music.’
Continue reading “Bamboo Houses”‘more than a fascination’
Eight Days a Week was an arts review programme broadcast on BBC2 on which host Robin Denselow discussed the latest music, movies and books with a small invited panel. The show had a relatively short run in 1983 and 1984, but that timing allowed for the release of David Sylvian’s debut solo LP, Brilliant Trees, to be a subject of discussion. Among the guests that evening was former Be-Bop Deluxe front-man and guitarist, Bill Nelson.
Continue reading “Answered Prayers”‘Just glorious. Transporting. Mesmerising.’
Gone to Earth draws to a close with its most musically up-beat track. Probably the first radio play of ‘Silver Moon’ was on London’s Capital Radio at the close of a disappointingly brief interview with David ‘Kid’ Jensen, who had indulged in much more in-depth discussions with David Sylvian during his prior stint as evening host on BBC Radio One. Speaking a few weeks before the release of the album, Sylvian introduced the track saying, ‘I think it’s quite a romantic piece. It’s almost a love song… It’s the nearest I’ve got to writing one for a while anyway…’
Continue reading “Silver Moon – Silver Moon over Sleeping Steeples”‘building a bridge into another world’
On 9 July 1987 the Penguin Cafe Orchestra performed at the Royal Festival Hall in London, a concert captured for the album When in Rome, released by E.G. Records the following year. Among the performers that night were several names familiar to followers of David Sylvian’s music. Simon Jeffes, co-founder of the group, had by this time been invited by Sylvian to contribute to sessions for the ‘Bamboo Houses’ /‘Bamboo Music’ single with Ryuichi Sakamoto, and to provide an orchestral arrangement for ‘Wave’ during its development for Gone to Earth, although ultimately Jeffes’ contributions didn’t make the final mixes for either project. Steve Nye, producer of Japan’s Tin Drum and Sylvian’s solo work throughout the ’80s, was also on stage. Nye had been one of the founder members of Penguin Cafe Orchestra back in 1973, when the line-up was a quartet, his principal contribution being piano and harmonium at the Royal Festival Hall. And finally there was Jennifer Maidman who mainly shared percussion duties with Julio Segovia that night, although she took up bass guitar for the exuberant opener, ‘Air à Danser’. Maidman’s bass propels a trio of tracks on Gone to Earth, none more so than the opening track and lead single ‘Taking the Veil’ (see here for an earlier conversation with Jennifer about that song).
Continue reading “Let the Happiness In – Gone to Earth – live”
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