A Victim Of Stars (1982 – 2012)

limited edition digipack version. ‘david sylvian – a victim of stars (1982 – 2012)’ brings together material from the last 30 years of david’s solo career, encompassing material released with virgin records, along with his more recent work released on his own label samadhisound, as well as a brand new recording exclusive to this 2 disc compilation. on his solo records of the ’80s, sylvian’s explorations in music took him from the pop-funk, stylish jazz and windswept exotica of 1984’s ‘brilliant trees’; the ambient landscapes and epic ballads of 1985’s ‘gone to earth’; and the romantic orchestrations of 1987’s ‘secrets of the beehive’. his collaborators included leaders of progressive music, from jazzmen such as mark isham, john taylor and kenny wheeler to the rock and fusion guitarists robert fripp, bill nelson, and david torn. regular collaborations with composer and yellow magic orchestra star ryuichi sakamoto yielded sylvian’s first international hit, ‘forbidden colours’, along with ‘bamboo houses’ and ‘bamboo music’. in the early ’90s, sylvian embarked on a series of acclaimed tours with robert fripp, leading to their 1993 studio release ‘the first day’. and 1991 saw the release of ‘rain tree crow’, a japan reunion under a different name. but sylvian grew less prolific as the decade wore on, taking four years to finish 1999’s ‘dead bees on a cake’. ‘dead bees’ included the hit single ‘i surrender,’ where sylvian crafts an eye-openingly beautiful vessel around his spiritual journey. his determination to confront his vulnerabilities led to arguably his most powerful album to date, 2003’s blemish. more recently, he has also released snow borne sorrow and money for all, an lp and ep from the band nine horses. nine horses is a trio that includes his brother and regular collaborator steve jansen and electronica artist burnt friedman, as well as contributions from singer stina nordenstam, trumpeter arve henriksen, and ryuichi sakamoto on piano. in 2009, the project that began in blemish continued with manafon, an album that assembled the world’s leading free improvisers, including evan parker, keith rowe, fennesz, sachiko m, otomo yoshihide, and john tilbury, among several others. and completing the source material for the compilation is 2011’s ‘died in the wool’, made up of variations on manafon and included collaborations with acclaimed composer dai fujikura, producers jan bang and erik honor and a stellar roster of contemporary musicians and improvisers. with the release of ‘a victim of stars’ sylvian continues to confront the challenges, both personal and global, that have enriched his work for three decades. and he continues to follow this path – with patience, perseverance, and beauty.