Shortly after conclusion of The Road To Graceland tour, Sylvian and Fripp turned towards a project of a multimedia installation. The artists discussed various issues during the tour but in the course of all those philosophical debates the motifs of transformation of energy, responsibilities and consequences of one's own actions kept emerging often enough for both of them to become an inspiration for an exhibition based upon the notion of redemption. Opened to the public in September 1994 at Tokyo's P3 gallery, the installation entitled "Redemption: Approaching Silence" turned out to be much more intimate and down-scaled project than Sylvian's collaboration with Mills (on "Ember Glance: A Permanence Of Memory"). Staged in two rooms, it utilised such simple props like chairs, candles, skulls or a bathtub. In the smaller room adjacent to the main hall, on a number of screens the viewers could read Fripp's text written specifically for the installation and listen to snippets of it being recited by the author. All those elements were bathed in a delicate music loop - a stretched line of sound suspended in the air, accentuated from time to time with a toll of a Buddhist bell which in turn is echoed by a powerful orchestral swell. In time, those accents become less frequent, slowly guiding the listener towards silence. Sylvian and Fripp's voices are barely audible, the recitation even further emphasises deeply meditative nature of the piece. Its strength lies, among others, in subtle changes, fluctuations, the listener's skill to notice them and follow their lead. This is a journey towards silence, towards pure grace which with every sound of the bell lessens our burden of being human. P.S. "Approaching Silence" was widely released on CD 5 years later alongside a slightly rougher soundscape recorded specifically for "Ember Glance..." (initially available only as a part of likewise entitled box set). Short, ominous sound collage, "The Beekeeper's Apprentice", acts as the bridge between the two tracks. [  back to the top