Japan, which also included Mick Karn, Rob Dean, Richard Barbieri and Sylvian's brother Steve Jansen, started out as a confusing hybrid rock/sleaze outfit in the mould of David Bowie and The New York Dolls. Their music quickly evolved as, at least to begin with, they drew heavily on the influence of Roxy Music's art rock stylings. Their visual image developed in parallel and the band were (unwillingly) tagged as forerunners of the New Romantic movement.
Japan recorded five studio albums between March 1978 and November 1981. Their biggest hit single, the minimalist Ghosts, which reached the Top 5 in the UK charts in 1982, was a clear pointer to Sylvian's future direction. After a successful tour, the band split in late 1982, and Sylvian embarked upon a solo career.
Around the time of Sylvian's first solo album he collaborated with 坂本龍一 (Ryuichi Sakamoto) on the soundtrack music for the Nagisa Oshima film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), which produced a Top 20 hit single, Forbidden Colours.
Sylvian's debut solo album, the jazz and ambient-influenced Brilliant Trees (1984), met with critical acclaim and yielded the single Red Guitar, another Top 20 hit. Guest artists included Jon Hassell and Holger Czukay. His follow-up was an instrumental EP Alchemy which cemented his drift away from commercial pop
The EP was in turn followed by the double album Gone to Earth (1986), which flouted convention (and perhaps commercial wisdom) by featuring one record of songs (predominantly atmospheric ballads) and one consisting almost entirely of ambient instrumental tracks. Guest artists included guitarists Robert Fripp and Bill Nelson.
His third album, Secrets of the Beehive (1987), was more acoustic and oriented towards somber, emotive ballads laced with string arrangements by 坂本龍一 (Ryuichi Sakamoto). It yielded one of Sylvian's most well-received songs, Orpheus, and was supported by his first solo tour, 1988's "In Praise of Shamans". Sylvian's touring band included ex-Japan bandmates Jansen and Barbieri along with trumpeter Mark Isham, bassist Ian Maidman and guitarists David Torn and Robbie Aceto.
Never one to conform to commercial expectations, Sylvian then collaborated on several ambient music projects with artists including Holger Czukay and Russell Mills.
In 1991, a highly-anticipated Japan reunion (excluding Rob Dean) ended in acrimony. Sylvian insisted on calling the project and the album Rain Tree Crow, to the dismay of both his label Virgin Records (who were hoping for a hit "comeback" album) and his former bandmates. Guitarists Bill Nelson, Phil Palmer and Michael Brook augmented the quartet for the recording of the album.
In late 1991, Robert Fripp approached Sylvian and asked him to be part of a new King Crimson. Sylvian declined and instead suggested they work on a future collaboration resulting in the release of The First Day.
A period of relative musical inactivity followed, during which time Sylvian moved to the United States. Eventually in 1999, Sylvian released Dead Bees on a Cake. It showed the most eclectic influence of all his recordings, ranging from soul music to jazz fusion to Eastern spiritual chants, and most of the songs' lyrics reflecting Sylvian's inner peace with his marriage (to the wonderful poet/singer Ingrid Chavez), family and beliefs. Guest artists included longtime friend 坂本龍一 (Ryuichi Sakamoto), as well as Talvin Singh, Marc Ribot, Kenny Wheeler and Bill Frisell.
Sylvian parted ways with Virgin and launched his own independent label, Samadhi Sound. Sylvian experimented alone with treated sounds made from his guitar and computer. The results were recorded during February of 2003. A few months later, he released the album Blemish. The disc was stark in its sound and content. The lyrical subject matter dealt primarily with the impending dissolution of Sylvian's marriage. In 2005 The Good Son vs The Only Daughter was released, which was comprised of remixes of tracks from Blemish.
With the conclusion of "A Fire In The Forest Tour" in 2004, work resumed on a joint project between Sylvian and Jansen. Yet the course of the album took on a completely new tone after Sylvian decided to add keyboardist/vibraphonist/programmer Burnt Friedman to the proceedings and make him an equal partner in the collaboration. The band name of Nine Horses was adopted and the CD, titled Snow Borne Sorrow, was released in October of 2005. The sound was a return to more traditional avenues for Sylvian after the radical departure he took with Blemish. Elements of avant-garde jazz, pop, folk and electronic music were all blended together
Nine Horses' Money For All EP was released in 2006, which included new material as well as Burnt Friedman remixes of songs selected from their first disc.
News on Sylvian's website was released in March stating that "We're preparing for the release of David’s new album Manafon. It’s a powerfully bold, uncompromising work featuring contributions from Evan Parker, John Tilbury, Keith Rowe, Christian Fennesz, Otomo Yoshihide, and many more."
David Sylvian's official website: www.davidsylvian.com
Emily Dickinson
David Sylvian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't think she realized we knew that
Not one to make a fuss
Why this and not something else
Wasn't it obvious?
She made such a hash of it
You can't help but notice
And who wants to live like that?
And friends turn their backs on her
She no longer a user
And she wanted to stay home
With a box full of postcards
And no place to send them
Live like Emily Dickinson
Without so much as a kiss
Or the comfort of strangers
Withdrawing into herself
But why this,
And not something else?
The lyrics of David Sylvian's song, "Emily Dickinson," explore the life of an individual who is no longer involved in drug use. The singer comments on the fact that the individual might not have been aware that others knew about her situation. The person is described as not being one to cause trouble and the singer wonders why this event occurred and not something else, as it seems to have been an obvious issue.
The chorus describes the individual as having made a mess of her life and not being a loving person, which appears to have led friends to reject her. The person's desire to live alone with a box full of postcards implies that she has withdrawn from society and its expected norms. She is described as wanting to live like Emily Dickinson, a reclusive writer from the late 1800s who did not engage much with others.
Overall, the lyrics offer a commentary on how drug use can lead to individuals alienating themselves from friends and family. The descriptions of the individual before and after stopping drug use paint a bleak picture, suggesting that even after stopping, she failed to find happiness.
Line by Line Meaning
She was no longer a user
She stopped using something, likely drugs, and others knew about it
Don't think she realized we knew that
She may not have been aware that others knew she stopped using
Not one to make a fuss
She did not want to draw attention or cause trouble
Why this and not something else
Why did she choose to stop using this particular thing, and not something else?
Wasn't it obvious?
Perhaps it was apparent to others why she stopped using
She made such a hash of it
She may have struggled in her attempt to stop using
You can't help but notice
Her troubles were noticeable to those around her
And an absence of tenderness
She lacked affection and care from others
And who wants to live like that?
Living without tenderness is undesirable
And friends turn their backs on her
Her friends may have abandoned her due to her struggles
She no longer a user
Reinforces that she had stopped using whatever it was she used to use
And she wanted to stay home
She preferred to be alone at home
With a box full of postcards
She had a collection of postcards
And no place to send them
There was nowhere she wanted to send the postcards
Live like Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson was known for reclusive living, which the subject of the song wants to emulate
Without so much as a kiss
Living like this means lacking intimacy, including physical affection
Or the comfort of strangers
She doesn't even want the comfort of strangers, hence why she wants to stay home
Withdrawing into herself
The subject of the song is isolating herself from the world
But why this,
Asking again why she chose to stop using this particular thing
And not something else?
Wondering what led her to make this decision, and why not try to stop using something else instead
Lyrics © Red Brick Music Publishing
Written by: CHRISTIAN FENNESZ, DAVID SYLVAIN, EVAN PARKER, JOHN TILBURY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind