Forbidden colors...
David Sylvian, whose real name is David Batt, is an English singer-songwriter best known for being the iconic lead singer of the band Japan.
The band was formed in 1974 and went on to release no fewer than five renowned albums between 1978 and 1981.
His solo career began in 1982 with the release of his first Single, "Bamboo Houses," alongside Ryuichi Sakamoto. This Single immediately gave him his first major hit.
But it was their next collaboration that would literally set the world alight in 1983 with the sublime "Forbidden Colors," a flagship track from his discography that would later be featured on the soundtrack to the film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.
His first album, "Brilliant Trees," was released a year later in 1984 and perfectly confirmed the current trend, which saw the artist truly become a phenomenon. The biggest hit of this album was the track "Red Guitar."
Two years later, the album "Gone to Earth" was released in 1986. It was less successful than its predecessor, but still a success, thanks in part to the track "Taking the Veil."
The following year, in 1987, "Secrets of the Beehive" was released, an album that saw the artist's success erode somewhat. This album barely survived thanks to the Single "Let the Happiness In."
It would take 12 years for the release of his new album, "Dead Bees on a Cake," a long twelve-year period during which the artist sank into a deep depression. This depression literally prevented him from working alone and forced him to resort to multiple collaborative projects to continue to exist at all.
This new album allowed the artist to get back into the game, particularly thanks to the Single "I Surrender."
Other albums and Singles were released subsequently, but without being able to match the level of success achieved by their predecessors during the 1980s. The artist also took advantage of this time to multiply collaborative projects, each with varying degrees of success.
To discover or rediscover...
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Discography (among others...) :
80s Decade :
- Bamboo houses 1982
- Good night (Akiko Yano) 1982
- Forbidden colors 1983
- Red guitar 1984
- The ink in the well 1984
- Pulling punches 1984
- Words with the shaman Part 2 (Incantation) 1985
- Preparations for a journey 1985
- Taking the veil 1986
- Silver moon 1986
- Before the bullfight 1986
- Some small hope (Virginia Astley) 1986
- Buoy 1987
- When love walks in 1987
- Let the happiness in 1987
- The boy with the gun 1987
- Orpheus 1988
- Plight & Premonition 1988
- Flux & Mutability 1989
- Pop song 1989
90s Decade :
- The beekeeper’s apprentice 1991
- Blackwater 1991
- Heartbeat 1992
- Cloud #9 1992
- To a reason (Hector Zazou) 1992
- A victim of stars (Hector Zazou) 1992
- Jean the Birdman 1993
- Darshan (The road to Graceland) 1993
- Every colour you are 1994
- Wave 1994
- Come morning (Nicola Alesini/Pier Luigi Andreoni) 1995
- The golden way (Nicola Alesini/Pier Luigi Andreoni) 1995
- Maya (Nicola Alesini/Pier Luigi Andreoni) 1995
- Ti ho aspettato (I have waited for you) (André Chimenti) 1996
- How safe is deep ? (Russell Mills) 1996
- I surrender 1999
- Darkest dreaming 1999
- Café Europa 1999
- Room of the sixteen shimmers 1999
2000s Decade :
- Ride 2000
- Zero landmine (N.M.L.) 2001
- Sugarfuel (Readymade FC) 2001
- Linoleum (Tweaker) 2001
- The healing place 2002
- Answered prayers 2002
- Blemish 2003
- The heart knows better 2003
- World citizen (I won’t be disappointed) 2004
- Transit (Fennesz) 2004
- Pure genius (Tweaker) 2004
- Exit (Takagi Masakatsu) 2004
- For the love of life 2004
- Messenger (Blonde Redhead) 2004
- A fire in the forest (Readymade FC) 2005
- Matière pensante (Hector Zazou) 2005
- Wonderful World (Nine Horses) 2005
- Darkest brids (Nine Horses) 2005
- A history of holes (Nine Horses) 2005
- The librarian (Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit) 2006
- Angels (Punkt) 2006
- When loud weather buffeted Noashima 2007
- Playground martyrs (Steve Jansen) 2007
- Ballad of a deadman (Steve Jansen) 2007
- Money for all (Nine Horses) 2007
- Get the hell out (Nine Horses) 2007
- Honor wishes (Joan As Police Woman) 2008
- No question (Joan As Police Woman) 2008
- Before and afterlife (Arve Henriksen) 2008
- Thermal (Arve Henriksen) 2008
- Jacqueline 2009
- Small metal gods 2009
- Manafon 2009
2010s Decade :
- Nothing is happening everywhere (LAND) 2012
- Saffron laudanum 2012
- Trauma ward 2012
- Do you know me now ? 2013
- Where’s your gravity ? 2013
- Modern interior 2015
- Life, life 2017
2020s Decade :
- Grains 2022
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Adventure Japan :
https://www.bestmusic80.com/post/these-men-had-strange-visions
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Tracks :
1982...the huge Japan adventure is over, now comes the time for a solo career. It remains to be seen whether the singer will succeed in achieving as much success alone as he did with others...
1982...for now the style and sound remain very close to those that Japan could produce. He will therefore have to try to stand out a little more from this model to hope to make a Name for himself, a real one...
1982...a year 1982 clearly marked by diverse and varied collaborations with artists from the Land of the Rising Sun...
1983...and it's THIS new collaboration with Ryuichi Sakamoto on the soundtrack of the film 'Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence' that will change everything ! New collaboration and what a collaboration ! The 2 artists will deliver here quite simply one of the most beautiful titles of this end of the 20th century, nothing less. MAS-TER-PIE-CE !
1984...it's impossible for this title to compete with its predecessor, given the high bar it set. It will therefore have to make do with the few crumbs left by the latter...
1984...same for this one and especially for all those that followed. Let's not lie to ourselves, the artist will never be able to repeat the incredible feat achieved with 'Forbidden Colors'...
1984...which doesn't mean that what he continues to produce will lack interest, far from it. And he's still going to produce plenty of titles, believe me...
1985...he produced a number of sung songs, but he also worked on pure instrumental music. Here's a concrete example...
1985...purely instrumental music that will not remain as his most successful musical production but it at least has the merit of existing...
1986...return to the forefront thanks to this new song, this time sung. Even if the Singles will have limited success, the albums from which they are derived will more than certainly enjoy global success...
1986...a global success that de facto demonstrates that the artist has succeeded in his gamble of moving forward on his own from now on. The opposite would have been frankly surprising...
1986...a track that won't be officially released as a Single, but it would have been a shame to overlook it. Here it is, brought back into the spotlight as it deserves...
1986...he will multiply the diverse and varied collaborations during this decade of the 80s and we find him this time alongside Virginia Astley...
1987...then alongside his old Japan partner Mick Karn. Two accomplices who clashed during the band's demise but who later found each other again...
1987...given the talent of both of them, it would have been a real shame if they hadn't managed to work together on personal projects later on. It's done...
1987...a solo comeback with this new album. A new album that once again confirms that the artist continues his global journey in a very fine way on the charts...
1987...as before, it's the Singles that are much less talked about, but it doesn't matter, the essential is preserved as they say...
1988...surprisingly, this track will go somewhat under the radar, even though it's far from unworthy. But it's clear that the artist's style doesn't allow his tracks to compete as they should with the competition...
1988...a new collaboration, mainly instrumental, on this new album. In these cases, we know that the level of influence of the opus will be limited, to say the least...
1989...instrumental music that will only reach a necessarily limited audience. But that doesn't seem to pose much of a problem for him at first glance...
1989...an 80s decade that ended in song mode, just to get people talking about themselves again. This will be the case, but in a very moderate way...
1991...back again in instrumental mode. He loves to alternate between singing and instrumental mode, and regardless of the consequences in the charts, it's clear...
1991...another title that will not be officially released as a single but which it would have been a shame not to bring back into the light as it should...
1992...a new 90s decade that begins quietly but surely with this new hit. Everything is under control at this point...
1992...he will have collaborated many times with the Japanese Master and even if all their collaborations will not have had the same level of success, none will have been without merit in any case...
1992...a new collaboration, this time with Hector Zazou. Nothing extraordinary, but originality as always...
1992...his entire career has been a privileged playground for diverse and varied musical experiences. We won't do it again, as they say...
1993...here he is now with Robert Fripp. A collaboration that will inevitably be much more focused on the pop rock side...
1993...in any case, their collaboration didn't go unnoticed, far from it. At least in England and Sweden, which is already quite something...
1993...no major titles, certainly, but good work nonetheless. In any case, the meeting of two very original universes...
1994...this new opus will go much less unnoticed but it will have brought the two artists together once again, to the great delight of their respective fans...
1994...a slightly more experimental opus than their previous one, it must be said. The Sylvian touch has clearly taken over from the Fripp touch...
1995...collaborations are coming thick and fast, to say the least. And each time, we move from one musical universe to another...
1995...he loves exploring new musical paths, a trademark that he will keep until the end of his career...
1995...with varying degrees of success each time, but he's still trying. A truly extraordinary artist has a near-constant desire to innovate...
1996...and yet another collaboration ! A decade in the 90s where he collaborated more than produced for himself, a surprising paradox...
1996...afterwards, perhaps he takes as much pleasure in collaborating as in producing solo. There's no accounting for taste, as they say...
1999...a solo comeback at the very end of the 90s. For the moment, the level of success in the Charts remains significant, which can only be reassuring for what comes next...
1999...an adventure that doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon, and which has some great surprises in store for us, we imagine...
1999...what's also certain is that he's increasingly disconnected from current musical trends. A bold gamble, as they say, and a bit risky...
1999...a new collaboration, just the way he likes them. In these cases, he's not necessarily looking for success, but definitely for originality...
2000...a track that will appear on a mega compilation of the artist but which is difficult to place in time. In any case, it would be a shame not to bring this track back into the light...
2001...the inseparable. We see them again and again year after year, decade after decade. A particularly prolific collaboration between the two men...
2001...and now here he is alongside Readymade FC. These diverse and varied collaborations each time produce some truly astonishing tracks...
2001...a particularly successful title which proves de facto that the adventure is far from over and that quality and originality can go well together...
2002...an originality that can be found in each opus, whether made solo or in collaboration. A truly exceptional artist in every way...
2002...an originality that marginalizes in any case because the general public has difficulty following at certain times, it's inevitable...
2003...especially on albums like this one. The artist is having fun, certainly, but it's at the expense of a large-scale influence...
2003...because there we really come close to the experimental and with him the line is often thin between the fathomable and the unfathomable...
2004...we find the two friends with the usual determination to do good work. They will have reached Nirvana only once together, but everything else will not have been unworthy, far from it...
2004...cross-functional projects, just the way he likes them and which will always be his defining characteristic. He has a truly irrepressible desire to collaborate...
2004...but who could blame him for always seeking originality in all its forms ? Not many, that's for sure...
2004...but that doesn't mean he always hits his target. But overall, all his collaborations have been successful...
2004...we even find him on the soundtrack of a manga, namely 'Monster'. A lovely title, all finesse and lightness, as he knows how to do so well...
2004...he really impresses with the number of collaborative projects he has participated in. A reference in the field, as they say...
2005...projects are coming one after the other, and it seems to be enjoying him immensely. And it's set to continue like this for some time to come...
2005...when you add up Japan's discography and his own discography, whether solo or collaborative, the result is frankly most impressive...
2005...few artists of his generation can boast of having succeeded as much in group mode as in solo mode, that's clear...
2005...the hardest thing for him now will be to not lose touch with the latest musical trends...
2005...because the gap between him and the competition widens year after year, decade after decade. Originality at all costs is good, but still...
2006...because if he wants to continue to last a little longer, he's going to have to catch up with the younger generation a bit...
2006...otherwise, his isolation risks seriously penalizing him in the long run. Talent also means knowing how to adapt to circumstances and things...
2007...whatever, we must still remember that he began his career in the late 70s and his longevity in the profession is remarkable...
2007...few artists of his generation are still active and for that reason alone we can only salute the fact that he is still in the running...
2007...certainly at the very back of the pack, but still. And his determination to never give up until the end undoubtedly commands respect...
2007...so he will have gone through the 70s, then the 80s, then the 90s and here he is entering the second half of the 2000s. Great longevity !
2007...exceptional longevity reserved, as always, for the most gifted of each generation. The others, however, have disappeared since a long time...
2008...even if sometimes his appearances on certain titles are very fleeting as is the case here, he still participates in them...
2008...and any participation, however small, is worth highlighting, as they say. It certainly shows that the artist is still active in one way or another...
2008...nothing and no one can stop him at this stage anyway. He always manages to find at some point - one or more - new partner(s) to continue the adventure a little longer...
2008...with each new title we say to ourselves that it might be the last and each time he manages to find us a new collaboration...
2009...he manages to find something, certainly, but it's also possible that someone will come looking for him, it works both ways. Because his very particular world is bound to be of interest...
2009...certainly we don't come looking for him to do Dance, that's for sure, but his ability to explore new musical paths has undeniable value...
2009...a decade of the 2000s that is slowly but surely coming to an end. We imagine that we will see him again the following decade, but the question is what new project he will be working on...
2012...as expected, here he is again, faithful to his post as always. Will he manage to maintain the same level of productivity as in the past ? Good question.
2012...because it would be a real feat if he could manage it anyway. We suspect that at some point, inspiration will inevitably start to fade in one way or another...
2012...it's difficult for an artist, however talented, to maintain an equal level of inspiration from the beginning of his career to the end, if not impossible...
2013...it's inevitable, all lasting artists inevitably go through rough patches at this level. Some bounce back, others don't...
2013... time will tell us which category he will fall into. Slow but irreversible decline or maintenance at a constant and sustainable level. Hmm, hmm...
2015...we would like him to last as long as possible, but only him really knows where he stands...
2017...for the moment in any case he manages to maintain a sufficient level of productivity to still be talked about at least a little...
2022...or so we hoped. Because five years will separate this title from the previous one, and it could be that the slow but irreversible gradual disappearance is well and truly underway...
Top Bonus : 1984...who could have imagined for a single second that he would also be behind this title which will remain as one of the most significant of the decade...
Top Bonus : and now here is the huge final version that we all know and which will bring fame and fortune to the group Propaganda in 1985
Wiki :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sylvian
Official Website :
https://www.davidsylvian.com/
Greatest Hits :
https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/1592
Discography :
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoATyJSPfdAyhqMVZnM4Vug
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