Mojo - The Music Magazine

"I FOUND FAME UNDERWHELMING," says David Sylvian, discussing his days as a bona fide pop star during his tenure in Japan. Sylvian's comment appears at odds with the image he projected at the time and which saw him emerge as one of the most iconic and flamboyant stars of his generation. But since those days Sylvian has chosen a road less travelled, splitting Japan in 1982 and eschewing the trappings of fame in pursuit of pure musicality. As he prepares to release his new album Manafon, on September 14, MOJO magazine caught up with one of Britain's most questing artists to lay bare the inspiration behind his work (the full interview appears in the new issue of the magazine). Here, MOJO's Phil Alexander compiles a video playlist that traces what has been one of the most singular journeys in modern music...

Japan - Communist China

David Sylvian, fresh out of his teens, leads Catford's answer to the New York Dolls through their own Mao-ist revolution. With flashbombs!

Japan - Quiet Life

The evolution of Japan's glam sound into something more synth-based is evident on this, the title track from the band's third album. Sylvian's metamorphosis is characterised by a look straight off Bowie's Young Americans album.

Japan - I Second That Emotion

As a kid Sylvian graduated from listening to The Beatles to discovering his sister's Motown records, hence this decidedly overwrought version of this Smokey Robinson classic.

Japan - Ghosts

The turning point of Sylvian's career as a songwriter: a tune that is deeply personal and yet universal. Sylvian's disenchantment with the notion of being a pop star is typified by his demeanour on this Old Grey Whistle Test clip from 1982 - sat, stock still on a stool à la Scott Walker...

Sylvian & Sakamoto - Forbidden Colours

The groundbreaking collaboration with Japanese electronic maverick Ryuichi Sakamoto helped soundtrack the movie Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence starring David Bowie. So did Sylvian meet the Thin White Duke? "No" says Sylvian firmly.

David Sylvian - Red Guitar

Anton Corbjin directs the promo for first single from Sylvian's 1984 solo debut, Brilliant Trees, and buries our hero in a desert of sand before indulging in random acts of balloon blowing.

David Sylvian - Steel Cathedrals (Part. 1)

This short film from '85 showcases Sylvian's increasing interest in ambient work and features the voice of Jean Cocteau into the bargain.

David Sylvian - Orpheus

From Sylvian's 1987's Secrets Of The Beehive album, the atmospheric video for Orpheus was shot in Spain and marks Sylvian's movement from pop star to an artist in search of the oblique.

David Sylvian & Holger Czukay - Premonition

Sylvian first worked with Can's Holger Czukay on Brilliant Trees and the pair developed an affinity that saw them collaborate on two experimental albums under their joint names in the late '80s, exemplified by this excerpt from 1988's Plight And Premonition. "Holger taught me a lot about how to have fun and to relax in the studio," says Sylvian.

David Sylvian & Robert Fripp - God's Monkey

King Crimson guitar legend combines stealth with texture in this taste of their two-album mid-'90s partnership. "We had very different ways of working," reflects Sylvian. "But I still like what we did." Warning: contains Chapman Stick!

Rain Tree Crow - Blackwater

Now used to improvising and dealing with different musical textures, Sylvian reunited with his former bandmates in Japan - Steve Jansen (drums), Mick Karn (bass) and Richard Barbieri (electronics). His aim to make impressionistic music with his oldest friends came unstuck when issues arose during the recording of the album. Sylvian also refused to take the easy option and use the name Japan for the project. "It would have been dishonest," he says. "We weren't the same band and we weren't doing the same thing."

David Sylvian & Ingrid Chavez - Time Spent (Part 1)

Having completed Dead Bees On A Cake in 1998, his first solo album since 1987's Secrets Of The Beehive, David Sylvian - then living in America with his wife Ingrid and his children, and following a guru - made an honest and revealing film about his life and work. It is available to watch in two parts, the second part of which is here...

David Sylvian - Blemish

Blemish - Sylvian's most recent solo album - was released in 2006 on his own label Samadhi Sound and was another improvised project. Its subject matter was Sylvian's harrowing separation from Chavez. "It was a horrific period in my life," he says. "That's reflected in the work."

David Sylvian - Manafon Trailer

A brief teaser for Manafon, David Sylvian's new album that is due out on his Samadhi Sound label on September 14.

A full interview with David Sylvian appears in the new issue of MOJO magazine, on sale now.

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