Wise Words

The philosophical aspect is more present in David Sylvian's work than in any other musician's I've come across. This page is to show his attitude towards various aspects of life, love, art, culture etc.: his personal view of the world in his own words.

"The function of art in society is to create space where consciousness can be reached and you find, within that space, the room to ask questions. Questioning is the road to self-awareness and art can define the parameters within which that question may be asked - the quality of that question, let's say. To me, art in society is humanity's way of sensitising itself. It's a sensitising process. It's ongoing."
MELODY MAKER, March 30 1991

"The road that leads to the development of higher levels of conciousness can be reached, at least in part, through a process of self-questioning - the quality of these questions being in some ways more important than the answers. I believe that one of the main functions of art in society lies in its capacity to bring about subtle shifts of perception, possibly influencing the quality of the questions we ask as a result. The shift from unconscious, outward projection, in which all events are viewed as external to the self, to a conscious, inwardly connected and more unified response is vitally important. It is through such a reorientation that real and sustainable change can begin to come about, in the individual and, consequently, in society."
from the preface of "Ember Glance - the permanence of memory", May 1991, London

"The more you know, the more there is to know." MELODY MAKER, March 30 1991

"The failure is not to communicate, what you're trying to communicate. One has to acknowledge that. One has to keep working on a piece until it mirrors the inner emotions that brought it into play. Some people think I should maybe take my work a few steps further but I have trouble with that. I find it very difficult to put a note into a composition if it's not relevant for that note to be in there. To me, it's like putting a soft focus on a lens just to make sure you get a decent portrait out of it. It's not necessary. Even if it's a little more difficult for people to get into or even if it's not as entertaining as some people feel it could have been, I still feel it's more honest to keep it in its raw state as much as possible." MELODY MAKER, March 30 1991

"My primary instincs a spiritual but I think it's a mistake to jump straight into that area because spriritual awareness is such a nebulous thing that if the mind is discoloured by experiences in this life, it's so powerful it can conjure up anything you think you need to believe in. It's quite dangerous in that respect." MELODY MAKER, March 30 1991

"I like to introduce a provocative element into my music, something that will throw you. It's too easy to create a sound with a fluid quality that does not disturb. The whole point is to disturb whenever possible I've written songs about suffering where my concern has been to create a sense of unease. Because the unease is there. It's in me."
MELODY MAKER, September 16 1989

"What ideas or thoughts were you exploring on "Flux and Mutabiliy"?
'Emotionally, the subtitles* give a hint of how I personally responded to what was happening on the record. The music originally had lyrics that Holger and I were going to narrate. For Holger, the piece represents his fascination with the unknown, tuning into radio stations from far-off places when he was young, hearing things he didn't understand. All of this fired his imagination, and I picked up on this wonder for the real und imaginary worlds of childhood very quickly.'"

*(A big, bright colourful world; A new beginning is in the offing)
MELODY MAKER, September 16 1989

"An hour with David Sylvian told me nothing... and everything I need to know."
Paul Lester, MELODY MAKER, September 16 1989