DAVID SYLVIAN :: Playing the Schoolhouse CD EP (2015)

David Sylvian

Playing the Schoolhouse CD EP (2015).

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Playing the Schoolhouse
C D E P

All images Š Various.

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Playing the Schoolhouse CD EP (2015)

Playing the Schoolhouse CD EP in tin box and postcard. Well, the new release from Sylvian (released by Confront Recordings) came and went in Oct. 15. I say 'went' as only 300 were in the edition and sold out in the blink of an eye. And already they are appearing on ebay and you can see the prices here. I can only say: 'wow!' What originally sold for Ł8 one day is now selling for over Ł100 the next!

I don't have it for sale and at the end of the day Sylvian is a collectable artist. I should think Sylvian has a hardcore following of between 500 - 1000 who would buy anything he releases. The 1000s who follow his career after the hardcore are more casual observers of his work who pick'n'mix what they buy and don't. But it is the volume of the hardcore who have pushed the price up.

A second edition is planned pretty swiftly, I think around December 2015, so the price will soon settle down so I would suggest if you're one of those who missed out on the first 300 then sit tight for a short time and then buy from the release label (Confront Recordings - just google it).

I would always say that one should always treat a Sylvian release as you would an artist rather than musician. By that I mean say Picasso released a limited edition lithograph in his prime. There would be 300 in the edition and he would have had a hardcore following of 500 - 1000 who would have tried to buy it without knowing about the particular work simply because they've loved his work beforehand. Thus, 200 - 700 would have been disappointed and would pay what they could for the release when it appeared in dribs and drabs on the open market.

Same with Sylvian. It's not just a CD release - it's a work of art.

And that's what drives the hardcore Sylvian fan.

Regarding the content on the EP: I always say: the difference between Sylvian and the rest of us is that he wrote Orpheus and we didn't.

Thus he can release whatever he likes and it'll be better than anything anyone else is releasing.

As of Dec. 24th 2015, the 2nd edition of 1,000 copies has sold out though it didn't sell out instantly. It did take a few weeks which makes the cautious approach on releasing limited numbers understandable. Check ebay (direct link to CD) from time to time to see if they have it as it really is the only market which regularly has copies. I suspect these copies are from people who managed to buy 2 copies of the release - one to keep and one to sale on. Nothing wrong with that - I've done it - and it's only human nature (it's called the free market when I last looked). I don't think blame can be apportioned to anyone for the price it currently achieves as that's jsut the way the market works. The old cliche that something is only worth what someone else will pay for it is a cliche because it is true. If the record label had released 2,000 or 2,500 then the price would have stayed around the original price and that would have been the end of it. No-one would have been able to profit on it because the market wouldn't be there. But then if they had released that number then they might have had unsold copies so it is what it is.

No point anyone moaning about it.