Vista blog

[silentwings]

The latest blog article features ‘Steel Cathedrals’. What a stellar line up of musicians: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Robert Fripp, Holger Czukay, Kenny Wheeler, Steve Jansen and Masami Tsuchiya!

It was developed from an earlier piece - ‘Showing the Wound (A Will to Health)’ - from the Japanese Preparations for a Journey video.

Here’s the link: https://sylvianvista.com/2025/08/01/sho ... athedrals/

[silentwings]

A new article has just been posted about ‘Blackwater’ by Rain Tree Crow, recalling the long wait we endured before knowing that the recording sessions between the ex-members of Japan had yielded something that would be released. When ‘Blackwater’ came, I loved the way it sounded.

The article includes both versions of the video (with and without Jansen/Barbieri/Karn) and the link with Annie Lennox’s ‘Why’.

Read it here: https://sylvianvista.com/2025/08/29/blackwater/

[silentwings]

Back to Dead Bees on a Cake for the latest article. Amidst a celebration of many aspects of life, ‘Alphabet Angel’ reflects on the ‘miracle’ of parenthood.

Performed by Sylvian with Ryuichi Sakamoto, the sweetness of the melody is disrupted by an undercurrent of dissonant ‘discolouration’ that creates ‘greater emotional depth.’

Here’s the link: https://sylvianvista.com/2025/09/19/alphabet-angel/

[kitaj]

Thanks, David. Have read it with the utmost interest as ever.

My ears are hearing a 'self-steal' at one point among the ethereal cacophony of the instrumental backing - a muffled, yet direct sample of "Ghosts" itself. Anybody else?

[silentwings]

Thanks kitaj. There are certainly some ‘Ghosts-like’ sounds in there!

I’ve now published a new piece about ‘Cosa Rara’, the single by Lucrecia Dalt that heralded her new album A Danger to Ourselves.

David Sylvian features in the coda of the song, and in two subsequent ‘dopamine dub’ versions.

Lucrecia recently told the New York Times that David ‘became everything: my mentor, my partner’.

Read here: https://sylvianvista.com/2025/10/10/cosa-rara/

[silentwings]

Lucrecia Dalt, David Sylvian's partner, has been giving many interviews in the last few weeks to promote her much-praised new album A Danger to Ourselves. The article below pulls together some of what she has shared about the album's creation, including her insights into David's involvement as inspiration, mentor, mixer and co-producer - and lead guitarist on the closing track.

https://sylvianvista.com/2025/11/01/a-d ... ead-blues/

[silentwings]

I just posted a new article about ‘Wonderful World’, the opening track from Snow Borne Sorrow by Nine Horses.

I’ve always loved Keith Lowe’s bass on this, together with the fragile “answer” vocal from Stina Nordenstam.

The remix by Burnt Friedman is also well worth revisiting.

Here’s the link: https://sylvianvista.com/2025/11/29/wonderful-world/

[Quiet Visitor]

Thanks. It made me pull the Wonderful World-maxi single out the CD-cabinet again after all these years (where it's standing next to the EP Money For All and the regular Nine Horses-CD.

[silentwings]

I’ve just published a new article about Japan’s ‘Burning Bridges’ from Gentlemen Take Polaroids.

David Bowie had been a musical hero to the young band-members, helped by the fact that he too hailed from South London.

Here the influence of Low and Heroes - especially the instrumentals involving Brian Eno - is clear.

Read here: https://sylvianvista.com/2025/12/26/burning-bridges/

[Quiet Visitor]

Thanks for this. When I read the title I realized I had written a post long ago about this subject. It was more a question, which is answered perfectly by this piece you've written. Here's a link to the post I meant: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5853

[silentwings]

I have the Hugo Wilcken book on Low also! Glad you enjoyed the article, Quiet Visitor.

[silentwings]

The next instalment of the blog features ‘Weathered Wall’ - recorded at Hansa by the Wall in Berlin, a venue where nobody was on ‘home ground’.

The track features 3 ex-members of Japan plus the trio of Holger Czukay, Jon Hassell and Ryuichi Sakamoto. What a line-up!

Read here: https://sylvianvista.com/2026/01/23/weathered-wall/

[silentwings]

New article published about ‘Bringing Down the Light’ - the final track on Sylvian/Fripp’s The First Day.

It’s the first recorded instance of Robert Fripp’s Soundscapes technique - the digital-enabled evolution of Frippertronics.

The track resolves the album on a note of hope.

Here’s the link: https://sylvianvista.com/2026/02/13/bri ... the-light/

[silentwings]

I had the chance recently to interview Peter Williams, who was engineer for the London sessions for Brilliant Trees, working with Steve Nye and David Sylvian at Jam studios in London.

His recollections and more are included in a new article on ‘Nostalgia’.

Here’s the link: https://sylvianvista.com/2026/03/13/nostalgia/

[Quiet Visitor]

I guess mainly because of the troubles with the website and the lack of response, there haven't been any new Vista Blog's since March posted over here. But they are still being written!

Here's one on Still Life In Mobile Homes: https://sylvianvista.com/2026/05/29/sti ... ile-homes/