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EXPLAINED: David sylvian | Rare Historical Photos

“We never wanted David to write the score. It would have been a cliché”: Why Ryuichi Sakamoto’s spellbinding theme from Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence remains so captivating

We take a deeper look at the theory underpinning Ryuichi Sakamoto’s gorgeous, award-winning theme from the movie that gave him his acting and scoring debut

MusicRadar

“David's completely focused on the space ahead of him... the hairs on Brandon’s arm were standing straight up. Then the hairs on the back of my neck went up”: We get new insight into the making of an eerily prophetic David Bowie song

Our recent interview with Bowie guitarist David Torn gave us a fascinating window into Bowie’s process when making his latter-era classic Heathen

MusicRadar

“I’d get thrown out then brought back in. I just couldn’t play in a conventional way”: Japan’s Richard Barbieri on coloured hair, lipstick, a fingerless glove and the unusual reason he joined the band

Future Porcupine Tree member recalls being put off playing keyboards by Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman, and feeling culturally homeless before the new romantic era

Louder

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read the most diverse news in one place.

“Bowie’s literally three feet away, then the hairs on the back of my neck went up and I was like, this is insane – how does this happen?”: David Torn tells us about the time David Bowie's genius was on full display in the studio

Famed for his unconventional approach to guitar, film scoring and work with Bowie, David Torn returns with expansive new LP, Now I Imagine a Place Not the Same

MusicRadar

“Japan was part of the zeitgeist - we were on the BBC, in the tabloid newspapers and part of culture”: We speak to Japan and Porcupine Tree synth polymath Richard Barbieri

From glam rock novice to sonic architect, Richard Barbieri’s latest album, Hauntings, explores a memory-soaked sound world

MusicRadar

“We never wanted David Bowie to write the score. It would have been a cliché”: Why Ryuichi Sakamoto’s spellbinding theme from Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence remains so captivating

We take a deeper look at the theory underpinning Ryuichi Sakamoto’s gorgeous, award-winning theme from the movie that gave him his acting and scoring debut

MusicRadar

“One room, six of us in bunks, sleeping with the light on or the cockroaches would come in… that was the lowest point – before we got in the recording studio”: Japan’s career was much more fun than it seemed

Attacking punks, getting stuck on a disco label, fighting the New Romantic tag: Steve Jansen recalls how the schoolmates’ natural sense of rebellion became unique music before egos got in the way, and the flukes that made them big in actual Japan

Louder

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“Pentangle sold out the Royal Albert Hall and the next night I was playing in a jazz quartet for 40 quid”: From gigging in strip clubs to recording with John Martyn and Kate Bush, Danny Thompson walked a singular path in bass playing

Beginning with his early days amid London’s jazz and blues boom in the ’50s, to his famed partnership with singer-songwriter John Martyn, the late Danny Thompson excelled at everything he touched

Guitar World

“It was such a shame to leave A Secret Wish on its own. The band still had such great potential – it was unfinished business”: Claudia Brücken and Susanne Freytag couldn’t dump Propaganda and their prog roots in the past

Their 1985 contained tones of Pink Floyd, Kraftwerk and Supertramp. It took until 2022 for the singers and producer Stephen Lipson, as xPropaganda, to deliver The Heart Is Strange. But it was worth the wait

Louder

“They just looked at each other like, ‘What the hell are we doing with this bass player?’” The late Mick Karn recalls his first tour with David Torn and Bill Bruford

Few electric bassists have a style as singular and strong as Japan’s fretless sorcerer

Guitar World

David Sylvian's career-spanning Everything And Nothing gets first ever vinyl release

David Sylvian's Everything And Nothing features collaborations with Ryuichi Sakamoto, Robert Fripp and Mick Karn as well as tracks by Japan and Rain Tree Crow

Louder

“When I drank, I was going to be the best drinker in the bar, or take the most drugs or whatever. When I did give up the drink I was going to be the best at that:” The bottom-end drive that made Danny Thompson’s name

Rejecting criticism from those who wondered why he bothered playing folk music, the always-in-demand bassist’s attitude led to experiences with John Martyn, Kate Bush, David Sylvian, Tim Buckley and many others

Louder

"It sounded completely out of place in the chart it was in, and the year it was released": 5 Prophet-5-powered tracks by Radiohead, Gary Numan, Japan and more

We're in Prophet-5 mode, as we celebrate five decades of the first 'proper' polysynth with five – ok six – glorious tracks

MusicRadar

Heroes: The 6 best covers of David Bowie's classic (and three that are not quite so heroic)

Best of 2023: Many have tried and many have failed, but here are six artists that nailed one of the best songs of our time

MusicRadar

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MusicRadar

Heroes: The 6 best covers of David Bowie's classic (and three that are not quite so heroic)

Many have tried and many have failed, but here are six artists that nailed one of the best songs of our time

The Guardian - UK

Vending machines, forbidden colours and Scottish declarations – take the Thursday quiz

Fifteen questions on general knowledge and topical trivia, plus a few jokes every Thursday. How will you fare?

The Guardian - UK

Ryuichi Sakamoto obituary

Japanese composer and electronic music pioneer behind the soundtrack for the 1983 film Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence

The Guardian - UK

Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese pop pioneer and Oscar-winning composer, dies aged 71

Sakamoto was one of Japan’s most successful musicians, acclaimed for work in Yellow Magic Orchestra as well as solo albums and film scores

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