What is the sound of the universe? What does one hear? These are questions that crossed David Sylvian's mind prior to the making of his most recent album "Blemish," the debut release of his Samadhi Sound label last year. Talking over the phone from London last week, the singer/songwriter and frontman for the '80s new-wave outfit Japan, says he was seeking for a sound that would describe Samadhi -- a Sanskrit term meaning "unification with the divine."

"Obviously, it's entirely conceptual and impossible to answer," says Sylvian, 46. "So there are no doctrines, no concepts, no parameters -- it's whatever works, basically. I wanted the label to have that freedom of approach."

Sylvian, who is currently touring Russia with his brother, Japan band-mate and drummer Steve Jansen, will soon bring his spiritual and sonic sensibilities to Tokyo for shows at Hitomi Memorial Hall on Friday and Saturday, before heading to Nagoya and Osaka next week. The "Fire in a Forest Tour '04" will feature the brothers employing samplers, synthesizers and laptops for the opening "Blemish" portion, followed by a semiacoustic set focusing on his older material.