David Sylvian as a philosopher: A foray into postmodern rock

by Leonardo Vittorio Arena

David Sylvian may be seen as a philosopher, in accordance with the postmodern spirit, who invalidates identity, preserving it at the level of nosound, in a troubled ego/others relationship. His most recent songs have been analysed, as well as the lyrics and Sylvian’s way of life (Tao). What emerges is the portrait of a character who absorbs elements both from the East and the West, where music is the goal of a path of Self-Realization, which brought Sylvian to conceive a new view of arrangement, increasingly deprived of its frills and capable of magnifying his voice. Sylvian shows everybody that silence may become an integral part of music towards nonsense, or the recovery of existential nudity.

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2015