''World Citizen'' is an EP by

Ryuichi Sakamoto was a Music of Japan, Japanese musician, composer, keyboardist, record producer, singer and actor. He pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the Synthesizer, synth-based band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his ...

and

David Sylvian David Sylvian (born David Alan Batt; 23 February 1958) is an English musician, singer and songwriter who came to prominence in the late 1970s as frontman and principal songwriter of the band Japan (band), Japan. During his time in Japan, Sylvia ...

. It was originally released in 2003 in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

before being released in the UK the following year on Sylvian's label

Samadhi Sound Samadhi Sound (or samadhisound) is an independent record label founded by singer and musician David Sylvian after his departure from Virgin Records in the late nineties. The label mainly serves as a platform for Sylvian to release his own work ...

; the two editions have different track lists and different covers. The EP was created as part of a project called ''Chain Music'' instigated by Sakamoto. A

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

of "World Citizen (I Won't Be Disappointed)" was later included on Sakamoto's 2004 solo album ''

Chasm In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben w ...

'' and Sylvian's 2010

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'' Sleepwalkers''; the 2022 reissue of the latter additionally adds in "World Citizen". The album was praised by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'': "Its skewed pop recalls Bowie's ''

Hunky Dory ''Hunky Dory'' is the fourth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released in the United Kingdom on 17December 1971 through RCA Records. Following a break from touring and recording, Bowie settled down to write new songs, composi ...

'', and pinpoints the human cost of superpower recklessness, prompting a standing ovation for pop music's most mercurial refusenik-turned-prodigal son".

Background

The songs were recorded in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and at Sylvian's

home studio Home recording is the practice of recording sound in a private home instead of a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a home studio or project studio. Home recording is widely practiced by voice actors, narra ...

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in the summer of 2003. Sakamoto had approached him to contribute. Sylvian said: "I happened to be travelling at the time the request reached me so, I felt I had to turn it down. However, as the week wore on, I found myself pacing the streets of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, with the beginnings of an idea for a piece called "World Citizen". On my return to the U.S, I found the chain-music composition waiting for me. I recorded a

one-take A one-shot film (also known as a one-take film, single-take film, or continuous shot feature film) is a full-length movie filmed in one long take by a single camera, or manufactured to give the impression it was. Use and theory In a 2019 artic ...

demo a week later and sent a file to Sakamoto to see if, in his opinion, the piece was worth pursuing. We spent a week putting the piece together." Pace and Sverrisson who played on "World Citizen" were also members of the band

Blonde Redhead Blonde Redhead is an American alternative rock band composed of Kazu Makino (vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar) and identical twin brothers Simone (drums, keyboards) and Amedeo Pace (lead guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals) that formed in New York ...

. In 2004 Sylvian recorded vocals on an alternative version of their song "

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", available on the single "Equus".

Track listing

All lyrics written by David Sylvian. Japanese edition # "World Citizen (I Won't Be Disappointed)" (Short Version) 3:47 # "World Citizen" (Short Version) 4:10 # "World Citizen (I Won't Be Disappointed)" (Long Version) 6:19 # "World Citizen" (Long Version) 6:48 # "World Citizen" (

Ryoji Ikeda Ryoji Ikeda (池田亮司 ''Ikeda Ryōji'', born 1966) is a Japanese Visual arts, visual and sound artist who currently lives and works in Paris, France. Ikeda's music is concerned primarily with sound in a variety of "raw" states, such as sine ...

Remix) 5:01 UK edition # "World Citizen" (Short Version) # "World Citizen – I Won't Be Disappointed" (Short Version) # "World Citizen" (Long Version) # "World Citizen – I Won't Be Disappointed" (Long Version) # "World Citizen" (Ryoji Ikeda Remix)

Personnel

– vocals, art direction, photography *

– keyboards *Amedeo Pace – guitars *

Skúli Sverrisson Skúli Sverrisson (born 23 October 1966) is an Icelandic composer and bass guitarist. He has worked with musicians Wadada Leo Smith, Derek Bailey (guitarist), Derek Bailey, Lou Reed, Jon Hassell, David Sylvian, Arto Lindsay, and composers ...

– bass *

Steve Jansen Steve Jansen (born Stephen Ian Batt, born 1 December 1959) is an English musician, composer and record producer. Biography Jansen was a founding member of the band Japan (band), Japan, along with his brother David Sylvian (vocals, guitars and ...

– drums UK edition personnel *Yuka Fujii – art direction, design (for Osmosis) *Atsushi Fukui – cover artwork

References

External links

World Citizen lyrics
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Citizen (Album) Ryuichi Sakamoto albums 2003 EPs 2003 collaborative albums David Sylvian EPs Samadhi Sound EPs Albums produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto