The David Sylvian marriage produced two daughters, Ameera-Ziyan Sylvian (born 1993) and Isobel Sylvian (born 1996). Settling into rural New York state and later Sonoma County, California, the couple embarked on a shared spiritual journey, studying under Hindu spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma). This period of quiet parenthood and devotional practice broke Sylvian’s protracted writer's block, yielding his 1999 solo masterpiece, Dead Bees on a Cake.
Chavez was the album's beating heart. Her whisper-spoken vocals, lyrical motifs, and grounding presence shaped tracks like "I Surrender," "Alphabet Angel," and "Whose Trip Is This?" Their shared home studio, dubbed the "bedroom facility," became a sanctuary away from corporate labels. Virgin Records struggled to market the record's hybrid of blues, spiritual jazz, and ambient devotion, but fans celebrated it as Sylvian's most vulnerable, content release.
| Era | Partner & Role | Key Creative Outputs |
|---|---|---|
| 1980, 1991 | Yuka Fujii (Partner, visual designer, spiritual guide) | Brilliant Trees, Secrets of the Beehive, Rain Tree Crow |
| 1992, 2004 | Ingrid Chavez (Wife, co-writer, vocalist) | Dead Bees on a Cake, "Heartbeat," Little Girls with 99 Lives |
| 2004, 2005 | Separation & Divorce | Blemish, founding of independent label Samadhisound |
| 2005, 2026 | Independent solitude & rotating collaborators | Nine Horses (Snow Borne Sorrow), Manafon, 2026 project |
