David Sylvian

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Beckenham, Kent, UK (1958 – present)

David Sylvian (born, David Alan Batt, 23rd of February 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.

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Popular tags: ambient, experimental, singer-songwriter, alternative, electronic  See more

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• Secrets Of The Beehive
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• Dead Bees on a Cake
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• Gone To Earth
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• Brilliant Trees
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Top Tracks

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1		Orpheus			254
2		Forbidden Colours			240
3		Let The Happiness In			194
4		I Surrender			179
5		Red Guitar			174
6		The Ink In The Well			159
7		Waterfront			141
8		A Fire In The Forest			138
9		September			137
10		The Boy With The Gun			135
11		Pulling Punches			125
11		Silver Moon			125
13		Taking The Veil			122
14		Ghosts (Remix)			118
15		Darkest Dreaming			111

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