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
Exit / Delete
David Sylvian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She's winding her way towards a conclusion
That never comes
Caroline feels uncomfortably numb
She's in deep
Surrendering to the promise of sleep
Almost done
And it isn't polite
She won't even try
A problem to no one
A problem to none
How can it be as quiet as this
This close to the edge?
Caroline says she's nobody's friend
How can you breathe
Embarrassed to be this far left of alone?
Caroline knows there's nobody home
It's ending
Winding its way towards a conclusion
Nearly done
Caroline knows there's nothing to come
When in doubt
She wanted to get it all down in writing
Didn't count
Better if someone else works it out
The files are deleted
No resisting at all
Already defeated
The lyrics of David Sylvian's "Exit/Delete" is a poignant portrayal of Caroline's emotional state during the end of a relationship or possibly in the midst of a severe depression. The song opens with the line, "Feels like an ending," which sets the tone for the entire composition. Caroline is on the brink of something, but she's stuck, waiting for a conclusion that never comes. The next line, "She's winding her way towards a conclusion that never comes," suggests that she's going through the motions, hoping for a resolution, but it's not going to happen. Caroline sees the end coming, and she's felt uncomfortable and numb long before she's even there, indicating that the relationship has been struggling for a while.
In the second verse, Caroline surrenders herself to the "promise of sleep," where she's "in deep" and disengaged from her surroundings. She's created an audience of one, in essence, shutting everyone else out, including her partner/s, a statement that further reinforces her detachment from the world around her. There's no one to reach out to for help, and she's not seeking any. She doesn't want to be a "problem to anyone." Caroline is full of despair, and she feels like she's in a world of her own.
The chorus of the song seems to suggest that Caroline has created a vast distance between herself and the world around her. She feels embarrassed, as she believes she should be strong enough to survive alone. Caroline's loneliness has pushed her to the brink, to the point where she's struggling just to breathe. She's "nobody's friend," and nobody is home to reach out to when she needs someone the most. By the end of the composition, Caroline seems to have already given up, deleting her files and becoming "already defeated."
Line by Line Meaning
Feels like an ending
The situation seems like it's coming to an end.
She's winding her way towards a conclusion
That never comes
Caroline is trying to reach a conclusion that she won't be able to find.
Caroline feels uncomfortably numb
Caroline is so disconnected from everything, that she feels quite uncomfortable due to the lack of emotions.
She's in deep
Surrendering to the promise of sleep
Almost done
Caroline plays an audience of one
Caroline has almost given up on everything and now she's just waiting for it to be over, she doesn't care about anything or anyone anymore.
And it isn't polite
She won't even try
A problem to no one
A problem to none
Caroline has given up hope and has stopped trying to fix anything, and because of it, she feels like she's a burden on everyone else.
How can it be as quiet as this
This close to the edge?
Caroline says she's nobody's friend
Caroline can't believe how alone she feels even at the brink of something; she feels like she doesn't have anyone who would call her their friend.
How can you breathe
Embarrassed to be this far left of alone?
Caroline knows there's nobody home
Caroline wonders how she's still living and feels very embarrassed about how alone she is, yet no matter what she does, no one will be home for her.
It's ending
Winding its way towards a conclusion
Nearly done
Caroline knows there's nothing to come
Caroline thinks this is the end and there's nothing else after this, and she's okay with it.
When in doubt
She wanted to get it all down in writing
Didn't count
Better if someone else works it out
Caroline wants to write down everything she feels, but she knows her mind is too cloudy to make sense of it all, so it would be better if someone else makes sense of it for her.
The files are deleted
No resisting at all
Already defeated
Caroline has given up on herself and has deleted all of her files; she knows she has no resistance and has already lost the battle.
Contributed by Joshua H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.