A Quote by David Sylvian
People are afraid to ask musicians to be involved in projects because they anticipate being turned down. Young artists hesitate before contacting me. People in my position don't get approached often enough.
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It is very important for young people not to be afraid of engaging in areas that are not common to the youth. Get involved in local activities, get involved in local initiatives, be involved in leadership positions because you can’t learn unless you are involved. And if you make mistakes that is alright too because we all make mistakes and we learn from those mistakes. You gain confidence from learning, failing and rising again.
I got into architecture via fine arts, and I was a sculptor myself, and I have always involved artists in my projects. When I say 'involved,' I mean I always bring artists in at the beginning projects before they're built and say, 'Will you do a room? Will you do a sculpture floating in mid-air? Will you make a chimney? Will you do something?'
Naturally enough when I was a young dancer, I was terribly anxious to get ahead, and to get ahead quickly. I was impatient with all those older people who talked of the long grind to the top, who turned me down for jobs I knew I could do.
I guess people don't think that young girls or young artists have opinions, but I'm so glad that there's artists like Lorde and Raury and Kehlani because they're showing other people that young people can have an opinion and a voice and do really well with it. I'm glad I can be one of those people.
I want young people to ask me if I'm serious. Our young people have been lied to and misled for so long. When I stand on this soapbox, I want young people to ask me that because once they know I'm serious, they'll be willing to ride with me.
Some people criticise me for not being animated enough, for sitting in stands and not showing any passion. I come down, get involved in a couple of situations and all of a sudden, it's a slightly different angle.
It's about very talented writers, directors, producers, and actors being in a position for their projects to be supported, but there's just not enough black projects being made.
I was a VJ to begin with, so I had a good year of interviewing artists, but then I would spend half my time being interviewed about half my projects, and the other time, other people. It was good because it made me a better interviewer because I knew what people didn't like being asked, and what they enjoy being asked, so I am super used to it.
The artists who have inspired me the most in my life are the ones who have really had something to say and stand up for. That, to me, is part of being an artist-having the voice to express things that need to be verbalized and brought to light. Unfortunately, I don't think that's a priority for people, because the few artists who do have the nerve to take a stand for what they believe get shut down in a way.
Some people can get away with being very sexy to men and not looking like a complete cow, but I didn't think I was in a position where people knew me well enough
Some people can get away with being very sexy to men and not looking like a complete cow, but I didn't think I was in a position where people knew me well enough.
People often ask me why I choose to primarily play queer characters, and my answer is that as a queer man, I choose to align myself with projects in which I can be of service for a purpose greater than myself: to be for an audience of queer people of color, something I didn't have the privilege of seeing as a young man.
The best musicians or sound-artists are people who never considered themselves to be artists or musicians.
The most important thing to do as an artist is to get out of your comfort zone and work with different people: people who can't read a note of music, people who have incredible classical skills, blues and jazz musicians, pop artists, visual artists, dancers and actors. Learn from people who are creative in a different way to you and you'll keep evolving.
MTV in general is involved with so many artists - musicians, actors, people in the fashion industry, and art world.
I think younger artists are often "students" of the rock press. They have their favorite rock star interviews and know how they're supposed to act. But I find that time helps a lot. If you have enough time you can sort of break that down just by being a normal person. And then they realize the interview isn't just a performance, and they can actually speak to you. I often try to get people into a space where they're not over-thinking what they're talking about and instead they're speaking emotionally, from within their experience.
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