Hope in a Darkened Heart | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 24 November 1986 | |||
Recorded | August–September 1986 | |||
Studio | The Wool Hall (Beckington, England) | |||
Genre | Dream pop | |||
Length | 38:41 | |||
Label | WEA | |||
Producer |
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Virginia Astley chronology | ||||
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Hope in a Darkened Heart is the second studio album by English singer Virginia Astley, released on 24 November 1986 by WEA. [1] It was produced primarily by Japanese musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. The album is noted for featuring former Japan singer David Sylvian on the track "Some Small Hope" and for an alternate version of "A Summer Long Since Passed", which was originally included on Astley's From Gardens Where We Feel Secure album. An additional track, "Le Song (A Day, a Night)", along with lyrics and a biography, is available on the Japanese issue.
The tracks "Some Small Hope" and "Charm" were released as singles but were not commercially successful. Two further tracks, "Love's a Lonely Place to Be" and "Darkness Has Reached Its End", had been issued some years before the album's release but likewise had no impact on the singles chart.
On December 25, 2020, Caroline Polachek and Lauren Auder released a cover version of "Some Small Hope" with all benefits going to a homelessness charity in Los Angeles. [2] Polachek described Astley's music as "one of my deep favorites... such an inspiration to me." [3]
Musicians
Technical
Artwork
Ryuichi Sakamoto was a Japanese composer, pianist, record producer, and actor who pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto influenced and pioneered a number of electronic music genres.
David Sylvian is an English musician, singer and songwriter who came to prominence in the late 1970s as frontman and principal songwriter of the band Japan. The band's androgynous look and increasingly electronic sound made them an important influence on the UK's early-1980s new wave scene.
Secrets of the Beehive is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter David Sylvian. The album was released on 19 October 1987 in Europe and the United States. The album peaked at No. 37 in the UK album chart. The album was released in Japan on 21 November 1987.
Brilliant Trees is the debut solo studio album by the English musician David Sylvian, released on 25 June 1984 by Virgin Records. The album peaked at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales in excess of 100,000 copies.
Gentlemen Take Polaroids is the fourth studio album by the English band Japan, released in November 1980 by Virgin Records.
Everything and Nothing is a compilation album by David Sylvian. Released in October 2000, the album contains previously released and unreleased, re-recorded, and alternate versions of tracks from Sylvian's twenty years with Virgin Records. The record peaked at no.57 in the UK albums chart.
Snow Borne Sorrow is an album by Nine Horses, released in October 2005. Nine Horses is a collaboration between David Sylvian, Steve Jansen and Burnt Friedman.
Dead Bees on a Cake is the fifth studio album by British singer-songwriter David Sylvian, released in March 1999 on Virgin Records. It was his first solo album in 12 years since Secrets of the Beehive. The album peaked at no. 31 in the UK Albums Chart at release and contained his last UK Top 40 single to date in "I Surrender".
Virginia Astley is an English singer-songwriter most active during the 1980s and 1990s. Her songwriting career started in 1980. Her classical training influenced her, as did a desire to be experimental with her music. Although most popular in Asia, most notably Japan, she remains a cult artist in her native England.
"Ghosts" is a song by English band Japan. It was released in edited form in March 1982 as the third single from their 1981 album Tin Drum.
"Bamboo Houses" is a song by Japanese musician-composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and English singer-songwriter David Sylvian, released on Virgin Records in 1982. It reached number 30 in the UK charts in the second week of August 1982.
"Forbidden Colours" is a 1983 song by David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The song is the vocal version of the theme from the Nagisa Oshima film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. It appears on the film's soundtrack album and was released as a single on Virgin Records in 1983.
World Citizen is an EP by Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Sylvian. It was originally released in 2003 in Japan before being released in the UK the following year on Sylvian's label Samadhi Sound; the two editions have different track lists and different covers. The EP was created as part of a project called Chain Music instigated by Ryuichi Sakamoto. A remix of "World Citizen " was later included on Sakamoto's 2004 solo album Chasm and Sylvian's 2010 compilation Sleepwalkers; the 2022 reissue of the latter additionally adds in "World Citizen".
"Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" is a 1983 instrumental single by Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto recorded for the film of the same name. The song has become a staple of Christmas music in the United States and Japan. A vocal version, "Forbidden Colours", features former Japan frontman David Sylvian and charted in the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart and Irish Singles Chart.
Visions of China is a song by English new wave band Japan, released in October 1981 as the second single from their 1981 album Tin Drum, which was released on 13 November. The single reached number 32 on the UK Singles Chart.
The discography of American singer-songwriter and producer Caroline Polachek consists of four studio albums, one remix album, one instrumental album, two extended plays, 13 singles, and seven promotional singles. Polachek previously released music under the names Ramona Lisa and CEP, before releasing her debut album under her real name in 2019. She also issued three albums as a member of the band Chairlift, from 2008 to 2016.
Lauren Auder is a British-French singer-songwriter and record producer. Born in Watford and raised in the French town of Albi, she began her career producing for underground French and English rap artists. Auder signed to True Panther Sounds and made her solo debut in 2018 with the EP Who Carry's You, which was followed by the EP Two Caves In in 2020. Her debut album, The Infinite Spine, was released on 18 July 2023.
Sleepwalkers is a compilation album by David Sylvian, released September 2010 by Samadhi Sound.
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is the soundtrack from the film of the same name, released on 1 May 1983 in Japan and towards the end of August 1983 in the UK. It was composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, who also starred in the film. It was Sakamoto's first film score, though it was released several weeks after the film Daijōbu, My Friend, for which he also composed the music.
A Tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto – To the Moon and Back is a tribute album to Japanese multi-genre composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, released November 30, 2022, by Milan Records, two days ahead of its original release date. The album features reworked versions of Sakamoto's songs, referred to as "remodels", by artists including Devonté Hynes, the Cinematic Orchestra, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Alva Noto, and David Sylvian.