David Sylvian (born David Alan Batt, February 23 1958, in Beckenham, Kent, … Read Full Bio ↴David Sylvian (born David Alan Batt, February 23 1958, in Beckenham, Kent, UK) is an English singer, musician and composer who first rose to fame as the lead vocalist and main songwriter of the band Japan, and whose subsequent solo career has been influenced by a variety of musical styles and genres, including jazz, ambient music and electronic music.

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

Promise
David Sylvian Lyrics

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The silence of the park
The moonshine after dark
Came to keep her company
The tiny golden cross lay upon her throat
Hands clutching tight her rosary

The rain upon her lips
Eyes opened with a kiss

Just too late for us to see
She sits upon the ground
Face covered by a shroud of midnight canopy

And when the lightning starts
The secrets in her heart
Merge within the rain patterns
And when the shadows fall
The promise of it all Is lost inside the tears that linger on

All the things we'd hoped
Would always keep us close
Stand between us now, as fences
The letters that we wrote
Have all gone up in smoke
And now you're just too far to listen in

When all but hope is lost
You believe at any cost
In things that make the living lighter
And when the shadows fall

The promise of it all
Is lying in the bed besider her

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of David Sylvian's song, "Promise," speak of heartbreak and loss, and yet they are also imbued with a sense of spiritual solace. The opening verse sets the scene of a woman alone in a park at night, and with only the moon and her rosary for company. The imagery conjures up a sense of melancholy and isolation, with the tiny golden cross on her throat a symbol of her faith and perhaps her struggle to keep hope alive.

The second verse speaks of rain upon her lips and a shroud of midnight canopy covering her face. The woman is no longer alive, and the sorrow of this fact is heightened by the tragic circumstances that have led to her death. The lightning and shadows are metaphors for the unleashing of pent up emotions and the feeling of being lost and disconnected from the world.

The refrain of the song expresses the idea that despite the hardship and pain of life, there is still a promise of something greater beyond. This promise is embodied in the woman who has passed on, and in the memories and feelings that still linger on. Although the loss of the woman may seem insurmountable, the lyrics suggest that there is still a sense of comfort to be found in the enduring power of love and faith.

Line by Line Meaning

The silence of the park
The quietness of the park

The moonshine after dark
The brightness of the moon at night

Came to keep her company
The moonlight accompanied her

The tiny golden cross lay upon her throat
She had a small golden cross around her neck

Hands clutching tight her rosary
She was holding her rosary with tight hands

The rain upon her lips
She was getting wet by the rain

Eyes opened with a kiss
Her eyes opened with the raindrops touching her face

Just too late for us to see
We missed the moment when it happened

She sits upon the ground
She is sitting on the floor

Face covered by a shroud of midnight canopy
Her face is covered by the darkness of night

And when the lightning starts
When the lightning begins to strike