Secrets of the Beehive

by David Sylvian

Type: Album
Released: 19 October 1987
Label: Virgin
Country: United Kingdom
Length: 38:14
Community rating: 4.73/5 from 11 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

On 'Secrets of the Beehive', David Sylvian shifts towards a sparse, organic sound, blending chamber-folk, jazz, and orchestral music. The album's arrangements, largely crafted with Ryuichi Sakamoto, feature lush strings, piano, and acoustic instruments, creating an intimate and melancholic atmosphere that departs from the synthesized textures of his earlier work. Steve Nye's production emphasizes this quietude, placing Sylvian's deeply personal lyrics and warm, confessional baritone at the forefront of the meticulously constructed songs.

Genres

Descriptors: sophisticated, atmospheric, orchestral, elegant, delicate, piano, ambient

Tracklist

Credits

David Sylvian - vocals, piano, acoustic guitar, organ, synths, tapes, treated piano, assistant producer, assistant mixing
Ryuichi Sakamoto - string arrangement, organ, synths, piano, treated piano, woodwind arrangement, brass arrangement
Steve Jansen - drums
David Torn - electric guitar, guitar loop
Danny Thompson - double bass
Danny Cummings - percussion
Phil Palmer - slide guitar, acoustic guitars
Mark Isham - flugelhorn, trumpet
Brian Gascoigne - orchestral arrangement, string arrangement
Ann O'Dell - string arrangement
Steve Nye - producer, mixing, engineer
Peter Williams - co-engineer
Richard Moakes - second engineer
Steve Parker - second engineer
John Timperley - second engineer
Jean-Jacques Lemoine - assistant engineer
Roland Prent - assistant engineer
Steve Williams - assistant engineer
Richard Chadwick - recording co-ordinating
Catherine Wilson - assistant in recording
Vaughan Oliver (23 Envelope) - design, typography
Nigel Grierson (23 Envelope) - still life photography
Yuka Fujii - portrait photography