David J, a British artist and something of a Renaissance man, makes his SXSW debut, premiering his upcoming 2014 album, An Eclipse of Ships.

The album, An Eclipse of Ships is essentially a journal of the heart and a paeanto Woman as muse. This new work sees a return in style to earlier mainly, acoustic records such as Songs From Another Season and Crocodile Tears and The Velvet Cosh and features a stellar group of musicians on violin, acoustic piano, Rhodes, standupbass, mandolin, oboe, percussion and a bevy of acoustic guitars. Recorded by candlelight in the City of Angels, the album is a showcase for lustrous jewels retrievedby a gentleman thief from the boudoirs of beautiful women.

Selected by Spin magazine as a SXSW Must See artist, David J plays Valhalla on Wednesday, March 12 (1:00AM), Gingerman Pub on Friday, March 14 (3:00 PM) and Joe’s Crab Shack on Sunday, March 16 (6:00 PM), 2014.

“The title, An Eclipse of Ships, is a play on the old Longfellow line, ‘ships that pass in the night’, describing the rare incident of seaborne vessels sailing directly past each other in the dark,” explains David J. “Traditionally, sailors would shine a light onto eachother’s hulls as a silent greeting before continuing on their respective voyages. The phrase was later employed to describe a brief, intense encounter between two people who then part, never to see each other again.”

As founding member of Bauhaus, one of the most influential bands since The Velvet Underground; David J spearheaded the post-punk alternative music scene of the early‘80’s with a string of innovative albums and singles including, I’ll Be You Chauffeur, the first number one single on the newly formed Alternative Charts in 1989. He was also a founding member of the innovative psychedelic rock band, Love and Rockets who scored a number two single on the Billboard charts with So Alive in that same year. This year saw the release of the thirty year anniversary edition of his solo debut album, Etiquette of Violence.

Aside from his own critically acclaimed solo works, various guest appearances, collaborations and production duties, David has also written and directed various stage productions including the spectacular multi-media tour de force, Silver for Gold (The Odyssey of Edie Sedgwick) which originally premiered at the Met Theatre in Hollywood in 2008 and was shown at the REDCAT in Downtown Los Angeles in 2011. That same year, David penned and directed the haunting play with music and Butoh, The Chanteuse and the Devil’s Muse which opened at the Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles. He has also written several screen plays in collaboration with Don C. Tyler.

In 2014, David J showcases at SXSW, and tours his new album, An Eclipse of Ships around the globe. His memoir, Who Killed Mister Moonlight? (Bauhaus, BlackMagick and Benediction) will be published by Jawbone Press later this year.