Mick Karn died on 4th January. I guess all those of us of a certain age would remember Japan, some more fondly than others. Me, I loved Japan, and amongst a group of talented musicians Mick Karn was a very individual bass and woodwind player, respected by his peers and well beyond the 'New Romantic' scene (which Japan significantly pre-dated, by the way), as well as by the fans.
I had the pleasure of seeing Japan play live a couple of times in the early '80s (yes Piley, I'm that old) and they were of course superb.
Hard for me to pick out a favourite track from one of the pillars of the soundtrack to my youth, or indeed one that shows Mick's talents using his fretless bass, above all the others - but here's a couple whilst I think about it a bit more:
God keep you Mick, you really were one of a kind.
Condolences to the family and I hope you get all the support you need.
More info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_Karn
http://www.mickkarn.net/Pages/Message.htm
Monday, 10 January 2011
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3 comments:
I saw them once - Hammersmith Odeon on the Sunday of Japan's final shows - he was an amazing player, fretless bass is almost impossibly difficult to play at that level. For similar riffing check out Percy Jones work with Eno..
I saw them at Portsmouth Guildhall 1982. I was a major fan and slavishly followed David Sylvian's style as much as a 17-year-old could without being beaten to a pulp back then. I love Japan. Still do.
yikes! THAT old!!! Can I get you a chair guv??!
Never saw them, just a year or 2 too early for my gigging adventures, but always loved them.
One of my first tracks every played on our inaugural podcast was Japan.
P
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