Samadhi Sound came into being as one possible blueprint for the future, intuition taking precedence over business sense and game plan. I don't make long term plans as I surrender that part of my life to guru. But if I allow myself to dream, I dream of a label that gives freedom to artists and musicians, creating a 'safe house' for the nurturing of ideas. It will be home to much of my work and the work of my brother, Steve Jansen. We will also sit at the helm as producers to a small group of artists who, we hope, will find a home at Samadhi Sound. We'll encourage projects that break new ground and support those that bring a unique slant to an existing field of inquiry. Aesthetically that field is wide open as is the nature and diversity of the projects. ~ David Sylvian
David Sylvian/Manafon ....CD $14.99
David Sylvian is a man apart. In a thirty-year career that spans the New Romantic movement, ambient works and progressive rock, and mature and esoteric pop, Sylvian has tested popular styles and bent them to his own vision. But the '00s have seen a more extreme side of his work. While 2003's Blemish startled long-time fans with its emotional rigour, Sylvian has taken the next step with Manafon (his first solo album in 6 years) - a work of nuance and stern musicality, that is also intriguing, suspenseful, and horribly beautiful. On Manafon, Sylvian pursues "a completely modern kind of chamber music. Intimate, dynamic, emotive, democratic, economical." In sessions in London, Vienna, and Tokyo, Sylvian assembled the world's leading improvisers and innovators, artists who explore free improvisation, space-specific performance, and live electronics. From Evan Parker and Keith Rowe, to Fennesz and members of Polwechsel, to Sachiko M and Otomo Yoshihide, the musicians provide both a backdrop and a counterweight to his own vocal performances - which, minus one instrumental, are nakedly the center of each piece. Sylvian's voice has never been so dominant or so striking, and his resonant tenor and deliberate vibrato captivate the listener from the start of "Small Metal Gods." "It's like a one-man monologue in which every change of light and backdrop is crucial to the carrying of the central performance. It's an ensemble work even though there is a central performance." Intuition drew Sylvian to these pieces and these players, and the surprises they bring: a cello visiting like a warm hand on a forehead, the unpredictable use of unadulterated sine waves, the brassy path of Evan Parker's soprano sax solo. Manafon has a forbidding core, but aesthetically, each piece is an engrossing discovery. Presented as ever in a beautiful digipak featuring exquisite artwork from Ruud Van Empel and designed by Chris Bigg.
Sweet Billy Pilgrim/Twice Born Men ....CD $14.99
Oft compared to a Radiohead or an Elbow, this sophomore release from Sweet Billy Pilgrim achieves a sublime balance between their hooks and their moods, their ambitions and their humility. Sweet Billy Pilgrim are exemplars of English atmosphere art-pop. Mojo magazine awarded their debut album, "we just did what happened and no one came," four stars and The Sunday Times called it, 'a rather special debut,' making the single 'Stars Spill Out of Cups' one of their songs of the year. Since then, they've turned those careful hands to remixing, most notably 'bringing a fierce pop quality' to David Sylvian's 'The Heart Knows Better' for his 'The Good Son vs. the Only Daughter - The Blemish Remixes' project. Steve Jansen's 'Conversation Over' from the 'Slope' album has also benefited / suffered from their meddlings, Tim also contributing vocals and lyrics to the album for the song 'Sleepyard.' With the release of their second album, 'Twice Born Men' on Sylvian's Samadhisound label following recent collaborations with folktronica luminary Adem (for BBC Radio 3), Norwegian electronicists Punkt, and successful shows at the Royal Opera House, King's Place as well as festivals in Spain and Norway, Sweet Billy Pilgrim are building fires to warm their little musical corner while they wait for planning permission to build their ramshackle beach huts on those tiny, storm-bruised plots inside us all.
Thomas Feiner & Anywhen/The Opiates - Revised ....CD $15.99
(excerpt from 'Yonderhead')
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The Opiates opens like a journey: on "The Siren Songs," an anxious orchestra buoys the captivating baritone of singer Thomas Feiner. This sets the tone for an album that's stunning in its beauty – and that once lay on the brink of disaster. Whilst the album began as a group effort, the band dissolved in the two years it took to complete – leaving Feiner to finish the project alone. Born in Gothenburg, Sweden, Feiner was the frontman of Anywhen throughout the '90s, working with a core group of Mikael Andersson Tigerstrom on bass, Kalle Thorslund on drums, and Jan Sandahl on guitar. Originally recorded in 2001, The Opiates was to be the band's third full-length album, and its last. This updated, re-packaged and newly mastered edition of The Opiates includes two of Feiner's more recent songs: "Yonderhead," and "For Now," which was also featured in the German film 'Love in Thoughts.' For many this will be the first they have heard of Feiner (unless you caught his stunning guest appearance on Steve Jansen's Slope), and it comes several years after Sylvian first heard the album, which he regards as a lost classic since it never came out in many territories. Sylvian recalls, "The dark, brooding, romantic nature of the material and, in particular, the emotional gravity of Thomas' voice, came as something of a surprise to me as it was quite out of keeping with my listening habits of the time but I couldn't help but be drawn into its widescreen, colour-drained, soundscapes." Presented as ever in a beautiful digipak featuring exquisite artwork (with a cover photo of Jean Cocteau taken by Cecil Beaton), and designed by Chris Bigg. Fans of David Sylvian will find much to love in this album.
Steve Jansen/Slope ....CD $14.99
(excerpt from 'Ballad of a Deadman')
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Former Japan band member and regular David Sylvian collaborator Steve Jansen releases his astonishing solo album on Samadhisound. On 'Slope,' tension underlies the crisp rhythms and intricate programming, while a collection of distinctive vocalists draw out the sentiment and expression in his songwriting. As Jansen explains, "With this album I approached composition attempting to avoid chord and song structures and the usual familiar building blocks. Instead I wanted to piece together unrelated sounds, music samples, rhythms and 'events' in an attempt to deviate from my own trappings as a musician." The album features guest contributions from Sweet Billy Pilgrim, Thomas Feiner, Anja Garbarek, Nina Kinert, David Sylvian, Theo Travis and Joan Wasser (Joan As Policewoman). Presented as ever in a beautiful digipak featuring exquisite artwork from Australian artist Dan McPharlin and designed by Chris Bigg.
David Toop/Sound Body ....CD $15.99
'Sound Body' by David Toop is an intricate work of enormous subtlety and power with contributions from a wonderful line up of musicians including Clive Bell, Haco, Angharad Davies, Rhodri Davies, Gunter Müller, Rafael Toral, and more. "David Toop's Sound Body hums and glows with life, five gorgeous morphing electronic tracks that continue SamadhiSound's exploration of quiet, minimal, melodic music worlds created by the likes of Harold Budd, Akira Rabelais, Fennesz, Derek Bailey, David Sylvian and others. These remarkable soundscapes have only become possible in the twenty-first century, when improvisation, digital composing and mixing, and traditional music forms from around the globe all mutate and fuse in ways that surprise and delight." ~ Marcus Boon
David Sylvian/When Loud Weather Buffeted Naoshima ....CD $15.99
'When loud weather buffeted Naoshima' was commissioned by the Naoshima Fukutake Art Museum Foundation on the island of Naoshima, Japan as part of the NAOSHIMA STANDARD 2 exhibition which ran from Oct 2006 to April 2007. The composition is site specific. In fact Sylvian has said that the work isn't really complete until the sounds of the town Honmura are incorporated into the listening experience. For the samadhisound release of 'when loud weather...' Sylvian has incorporated some of the sounds of the island into the final mix. Whilst this obviously doesn't compare to the experience of listening to the work on site it goes someway towards creating an echo of it. In the process Sylvian's created a piece which might find new and interesting interpretations in a variety of unanticipated contexts. This release will only be made available in a limited edition format (a DVD style digipak beautifully designed by our own Chris Bigg with cover art by Sachiyo Tsurumi) for a limited time after which it will be deleted from the catalogue. As the Foundation have decided to make the audio a part of the permanent collection on the island it will be there that the work will remain accessible once the samadhisound edition is ended. The recording was performed by an ensemble of musicians: Clive Bell, Christian Fennesz, Arve Henriksen, Akira Rabelais, and David Sylvian. David composed, recorded, and produced the work at samadhisound studio 2006. A final mix of the material for this edition was completed in Jan 07.
David Sylvian & Nine Horses/Money For All ....CD $11.99
(excerpt from 'Get the Hell Out')
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This mini album is the follow-up release to the highly acclaimed debut album from Nine Horses, 'Snow Borne Sorrrow.' Nine Horses is a collaborative project that brings together David Sylvian, his brother Steve Jansen (ex-Japan), and the well respected Burnt Friedman. They have created a suite of remarkably poignant songs that are part social commentary and part self-analysis. Sylvian and his collaboartors have never sounded better nor the material more immediate. This mini album includes two new tracks, "Money for All" and "Get The Hell Out," one track previously available in Japan featuring Stina Nordenstam and re-interpretations of previous Nine Horses tracks remixed by Burnt Friedman (eight tracks total). Presented in a digipak with artwork by acclaimed Japanese artist Atsushi Fukui and design by Chris Bigg, this release continues Samadhisound's commitment to creating beautifully packaged, stunning music.
Derek Bailey/To Play: The Blemish Sessions ....CD $15.99
Samadishound is pleased to release 'To Play: The Blemish Sessions' from Derek Bailey from his final studio recording session, parts of which were used throughout Sylvian's acclaimed solo album 'blemish.' Derek Bailey died on Christmas Day, 2005, aged 75, leaving behind a lifetime of collaborations, friendships, and a vast treasure hoard of recordings accumulated in fifty years during which he was one of the principle figures responsible for the rise of improvisation in music in the West. "As fate would have it this was to be the last solo studio session Derek was to record before the onset of illness," recalls Sylvian. "That might make the session valuable in itself but it's the quality of the work that's outstanding." Those familiar with Bailey's angular, spiky, minimal lines on Blemish will be surprised by the lush, melodic richness and density of Bailey's performance here, which has the same beauty and playfulness found on Bailey's most popular and accessible recent disk, Ballads. Presented in a digipak featuring the beautifully and poignant photography of Derek, designed by Chris Bigg, this release continues samadhisound's commitment to creating beautifully packaged, stunning music.
David Sylvian & Nine Horses/Wonderful World ....CD single $7.99
(excerpt from 'When Monday Comes Around')
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'Wonderful World' is the first single to be taken from the acclaimed Nine Horses album Snow Borne Sorrow. Features the title track backed with 'The Banality Of Evil', 'When Monday Comes Around' (previously unreleased) & 'Wonderful World' (radio edit). Digipak.
Nine Horses (Sylvian/Jansen/Friedman)/Snow Borne Sorrow ....CD $14.99
(excerpt from 'Wonderful World')
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Working under the group name of 'Nine Horses' 'Snow Borne Sorrow' is a collaboration between David Sylvian, his brother and frequent collaborator Steve Jansen and electronic composer / remixer Burnt Friedman. Lyrically and vocally, 'Snow Borne Sorrow' continues the maturing darkness of Sylvian's last solo release 'Blemish' - songs of struggle, doubt and resolve, Bergman-like glimpses of the realities and difficulties of intimate relationship, flashes of light and humility and, continuing his engagement with the political situation in post- 9/11 America, begun on his 2004 single with Ryuichi Sakamoto, World Citizen, caustic words about the excuses our leaders manage to find not to 'love thy neighbor'. 'Snow Borne Sorrow' was made with a cast of contributors, including Norwegian trumpeter and Supersilent member Arve Henriksen, Swedish vocalist Stina Nordenstam, who adds marvelously elliptical responses to Sylvian's vocal on the opening 'Wonderful World', and Ryuichi Sakamoto on piano. On the title for the album Sylvian says: "Winter provokes introspection. Even more so the long hard winters surrounded by that cushioning, muted, numbing whiteness. It can also be a time of enormous creativity, of resolutions, resoluteness, clarity and conviction." 'Snow Borne Sorrow's' sound is expanded, maximalist, full, rooted in traditional song structures like some of Sylvian's classic discs including Brilliant Trees, Secrets of the Beehive and Dead Bees on a Cake.
David Sylvian/The Good Son vs. The Only Daughter ....CD $15.99
David Sylvian is acclaimed for his work in the world of the singer and songwriter, a world that, despite occasional sonic adventurer's visits, still exists far apart from that of contemporary remixology. Blemish, Sylvian's first release for his new label Samadhi Sound took a brave leap into the unknown collaborating with contemporary improv guitarist Derek Bailey and electronic musician Christian Fennesz, producing a series of powerful new songs that emerge from a swirling formlessness. On The Good Son vs. The Only Daughter Sylvian takes these recordings, and, in collaboration with a group of remixers including Ryoji Ikeda, Akira Rabelais, Burnt Friedman and Readymade FC, offers a set of radical re-workings of the originals, transforming them into yet unheard of delights.
The sheer minimalism of Blemish offers a vast amount of space for collaborators to work with and transform these songs, and in a number of cases on this disc, actually producing somewhat more familiar song-like structures. Sweet Billy Pilgrim's lovely rebuilding of "The Heart Knows Better" brings out a fiercely pop quality to the song, as does Burnt Friedman's reworking of "Late Night Shopping". Yoshihiro Hanno's work on "The Good Son", with its Rhodes keyboard sounds, hearkens back to the jazzier textures on Sylvian's late-1990s classic, Dead Bees on a Cake, but interrupts them in marvellously abstract ways. On hearing the re-workings of his songs Sylvian says "I enjoy hearing a distillation of an aspect or aspects of the emotional content (of a composition) explored in a new context. It's not unlike the re-staging of a play."
David Sylvian & Ryuichi Sakamoto/World Citizen ....CD EP $10.99
"Its skewed pop recalls Bowie's Hunky Dory, and pinpoints the human cost of superpower recklessness, prompting a standing ovation for pop music's most mercurial refusenik-turned-prodigal son." - THE GUARDIAN (on a live performance of World Citizen). Longtime friends and collaborators David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto are to release their latest work via David's Samadhisound label. Sylvian and Sakamoto collaborated for the first time in 1982 when they wrote the double A side 'Bamboo Music/Bamboo Houses,' but it was in 1983 that they scored a Top 20 hit with 'Forbidden Colours.' Since then both David and Ryuichi have forged successful ground-breaking careers which have left in their wake such albums as Brilliant Trees and Dead Bees On A Cake for Sylvian, and the score to The Last Emperor and most recently a Morelenbaum tribute album for Sakamoto. There are five tracks included on 'world citizen,' in a different running order and with completely different artwork to the package that was released late last year by Warner Music Japan. The final track of the CD features a remix by acclaimed remixer Ryoji Ikeda. The songs were recorded in New York and New Hampshire, USA in the summer of 2003. Sylvian and Sakamoto have not released a record together for 21 years, which makes this a very special release. 'world citizen,' with its powerful lyrics and excellent melody, is a must have for all Sylvian and Sakamoto fans. David will be touring Russia, Asia and Australia Spring 2004.
David Sylvian/Blemish ....CD $15.99
Blemish - a new solo album from David Sylvian, his first since Dead Bees on a Cake. It is the debut release for his own samadhi sound label. David set aside a month to write and record the album while taking a break from the project that he and his brother, Steve Jansen, are currently working on. He has created an impromptu suite of songs for guitar, electronics and voice. The compositions were crafted from improvisational sessions captured live in the studio. Working almost entirely alone David has created an emotionally raw, minimal work, of immediacy and stark beauty. Although there are elements in his previous body of work that hint at the direction taken here, the cd, entitled simply 'blemish,' appears to cover new ground in style, content, intensity of emotion, and in the seemly open ended nature of the compositions themselves. Adding to the intensity and air of experimentation is the presence of Derek Bailey. Three of the pieces included on 'blemish' were written with, and feature, the legendary free-jazz guitarist. The final track of the CD features a haunting electronic arrangement by Christian Fennesz. The album was recorded in the month of February 03 and mixed in March 03. All aspects of the recording were handled by David himself.
DAVID SYLVIAN
DELUXE LIMITED EDITION CD RE-MASTERS
As the lead vocalist and main songwriter for Japan, David Sylvian's solo career has led him to be considered one of the most distinctive and influential artists that emerged from the '80s art-rock scene. The richly-textured, reflective ambience running through Sylvian' work makes these four albums timeless classics of the chill-out genre. NOW REMASTERED AND PACKAGED AS DELUXE LIMITED EDITIONS (please note that special packaging will convert to gem cases at beginning of 2004).
David Sylvian/Brilliant Trees (remastered) ....CD $14.99
Brilliant Trees was David Sylvian's stunning debut album eloquently fusing rock, jazz and ambient music featuring guest appearances from Brian Eno collaborator Jon Hassell, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Holger Czukay. Packaging: Clamshell Box containing 6 panel digipak and 24 page booklet. 5th colour gold / metallic color used on box and CD body. Previously unseen photos from Berlin recording session and Chamonix included on digipak and throughout the 24 page photo booklet. Non-standard grey gloss CD tray.
David Sylvian/Gone to Earth (remastered) ....double CD $17.99
Featuring King Crimson’s Robert Fripp, Bill Nelson, and Mel Collins (flute and saxophone sessionsist for Bryan Ferry, King Crimson, Roger Waters, Dire Straits, etc.), Gone To Earth was Sylvian’s ambitious double album project moving between atmospherically textured songs and ambient instrumentals, which has now been expanded to a double disc set including 7 additional tracks. Previously it was only available on CD in the US as single disc deleting several titles found on the original LP. Packaging: 8 panel digipak with 5th color metallic sepia / gold on digipak and CD body. With instrumental tracks added and includes remixes of 3 tracks. Previously unseen photos (some treated) by Yuka Fujii and also Alastair Thaine photo. Poster booklet using gloss art paper also included. Non-standard sepia gloss CD tray x 2.
David Sylvian/Secrets of the Beehive (remastered) ....CD $14.99
A jazz-infused album featuring what many consider to be Sylvian’s finest songs featuring gorgeous Ryuichi Sakamoto string arrangements and stunning production work by Steve Nye (recording engineer for Roxy Music and Frank Zappa and producer for Clannad, Japan and XTC). Packaging: 6 panel Digipak on art board, using duo tone type 4 colors and 5th colors. Incorporating images from original vinyl plus extra photos. Includes poster booklet, off-white CD body and non-standard brown gloss CD tray.
David Sylvian/Alchemy-An Index of Possibilities (remastered) ....CD $14.99
This newly compiled collection features the gorgeously ethereal "Words With The Shamen" mini album together with several rarities recorded during this period with Ryuichi Sakamoto. Packaging: 6 panel digipak with 5th colour gold used throughout the artwork plus extra new photo. 4 colour red CD plus non-standard gold CD tray.
David Sylvian/Approaching Silence ....CD $14.99
Music the former Japan leader recorded with King Crimson's Robert Fripp in 1994 in Tokyo. Contains 'Redemption - Approaching Silence', plus two cuts previously released as a limited edition in 1991 as part of the 'Ember Glance' special box package.
David Sylvian/Dead Bees on a Cake ....CD $13.99
Dead Bees on a Cake is Sylvian's first full length release since his collaboration with Robert Fripp on The First Day and Damage and his first true solo album since Secrets of the Beehive over a decade ago (hmmm, a 'bee' theme going on here!). Dead Bees features the talents of Mark Ribot, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Steve Jansen, Kenny Wheeler, Bill Frisell, Steve Tibbets, Ingrid Chavez, and many more.
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