Japan (band)
| Japan | |
|---|---|
 Photo from a concert in November 1982 |
|
| General information | |
| origin | London , England |
| Genre (s) | Glam rock (initially), new wave , post-punk , synth-pop |
| founding | 1974 |
| resolution | 1982 (brief reunification in 1991) |
| Last occupation | |
| David Sylvian | |
| Mick Karn († 2011) | |
| Steve Jansen | |
Keyboard |
Richard Barbieri |
| former members | |
guitar |
Rob Dean (1974-1980) |
| Live members | |
guitar |
Masami Tsuchiya |
Japan was a British post-punk - and synth pop - band .
Japan was founded in Lewisham , London in 1974 by school friends David Sylvian , Mick Karn , Richard Barbieri , Steve Jansen and Rob Dean. The band broke up at the end of 1982 after the recordings for the double LP Oil On Canvas . In 1991 they reunited without Rob Dean and released an album under the name Rain Tree Crow .
history
The first years
Japan released its first albums, Adolescent Sex and Obscure Alternatives, in 1978. The albums achieved good sales in Japan and the Netherlands . The band also gained popularity with their first single, Adolescent Sex, in Canada.
The music was influenced by artists such as The New York Dolls , Roxy Music and David Bowie . The British music press didn't like the works very much and called them old-fashioned. Titles such as Suburban Berlin , State Line and Rhodesia , however, already testified to a certain creative depth and should point in the direction the band would take in the future.
Career
Her third album, Quiet Life, from 1979, marked a significant shift in musical style. While her first works were mainly based on the use of guitars, the focus was now on the synthesizer and thus achieved an electric sound. Further changes were the now baritone singing by Sylvian, the distinctive sound of the fretless electric bass by Mick Karn, complicated and strange drumming by Jansen and an atmospheric playing of the guitar. Quiet Life was the last studio album on the Hansa-Ariola label.
The last few years
With their last two studio albums, Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980) and Tin Drum (1981) , released by Virgin , the band significantly increased their audience. The path taken by Quiet Life has been retained and refined. At the time, Japan was becoming publicly associated with the New Romantics movement . Tin Drum is still considered to be one of the most innovative albums of the 80s according to critics and offered a fusion of occidental and oriental music. The album took twelfth place in the English charts. The single Ghosts reached fifth place, making it one of the few minimalist pieces that could achieve such success.
Tin Drum was the band's last studio album after personal conflicts caused tense relationships among the members. Rob Dean had already left Japan towards the end of the recording of Gentlemen Take Polaroids , as his work on the guitar was considered superfluous for the new style of music adopted. During this time Ryuichi Sakamoto , who still often works with singer Sylvian, took part in some pieces for the first time.
Japan's last tour of the United Kingdom in November 1982 concluded with a series of concerts on six consecutive evenings at London's Hammersmith Odeon . The last performance took place on December 16 of the same year in Nagoya , Japan. The recordings from Hammersmith Odeon were used for the production of Oil on Canvas , which was released as a live album and video in June 1983. The band split at the height of their careers and had since achieved international recognition. In her homeland, Oil on Canvas became her most successful album and reached fifth place in the charts.
After the separation
All band members participated in other projects after the separation and had different degrees of success. The most successful was David Sylvian , who recorded several solo albums and worked with various artists such as Holger Czukay , Ryuichi Sakamoto and Robert Fripp .
A reunification between 1989 and 1990 only lasted for a short time. From the recordings of this time an album was created, which was released in April 1991 under the name Rain Tree Crow . Both the record company and all of the band members, with the exception of Sylvian, pushed for a release under the original name of Japan , but Sylvian refused and paid much of the production costs out of pocket. Towards the end of the recording there was no longer any verbal contact between Sylvian and the other artists. Nevertheless, the project was widely recognized in specialist circles.
Mick Karn has released various solo albums since 1982. Jansen and Barbieri released the album Catch the Fall as The Dolphin Brothers in 1987, recreating the original sound of Japan. The brothers Jansen and Sylvian have been working together again since 2005 and are releasing albums under the name Nine Horses . Barbieri released his first solo album Things Buried in 2005 and then was a member of the British band Porcupine Tree .
In 2008 the BBC used the song Ghosts for an advertisement.
In 2011 Mick Karn died of cancer.
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
|||
| 1977 | Adolescent sex | - |
First published: 1977
|
| 1978 | Obscure Alternatives | - |
First published: 1978
|
| 1980 | Quiet Life |
UK53  (8 weeks)UK |
First published: 1980
|
| Gentlemen Take Polaroids |
UK51  (10 weeks)UK |
First published: 1980
|
|
| 1981 | Assemblage |
UK26th (46 weeks)UK |
First release: 1981
contains songs from the first three LPs and singles not previously released on LPs |
| Tin drum |
UK12 (50 weeks) UK |
First publication: 1981
|
|
| 1983 | Oil on canvas |
UK5 (14 weeks)UK |
First release: 1983
concert recording, heavily reworked |
| 1984 | Exorcising Ghosts |
UK45 (7 weeks)UK |
First published: 1984
|
| 1991 | Rain Tree Crow | - |
First publication: 1991
|
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
|||
| 1980 | Gentlemen Take Polaroids |
UK60 (2 weeks) UK |
First published: 1980
EP |
| 1981 | The Art Of Parties Tin Drum |
UK48 (5 weeks) UK |
First publication: 1981
|
| Quiet Life Oil On Canvas |
UK19 (9 weeks) UK |
First publication: 1981
|
|
| Visions Of China Oil On Canvas |
UK32 (12 weeks) UK |
First publication: 1981
|
|
| 1982 | European Son |
UK31 (6 weeks) UK |
First published: 1982
|
| Ghosts Oil On Canvas |
UK5 (8 weeks) UK |
First published: 1982
|
|
| Cantonese Boy Oil On Canvas |
UK24 (6 weeks) UK |
First published: 1982
|
|
| I Second That Emotion |
UK9 (11 weeks) UK |
First published: 1982
|
|
| Like in Tokyo |
UK28 (6 weeks) UK |
First published: 1982
|
|
| Nightporter |
UK29 (9 weeks) UK |
First published: 1982
|
|
| 1983 | All Tomorrow's Parties |
UK38 (4 weeks) UK |
First published: 1983
|
| Canton (Live) |
UK42 (3 weeks) UK |
First published: 1983
|
More singles and EPs
- 1978: Don't Rain On My Parade / Stateline
- 1978: Adolescent Sex / Don't Rain On My Parade
- 1978: The Unconventional / Lovers On Main Street
- 1978: The Unconventional / Adolescent Sex (re-recorded version)
- 1978: Adolescent Sex (re-recorded version) / Sometimes I Feel So Low
- 1978: Sometimes I Feel So Low / Love Is Infectious
- 1979: Adolescent Sex (re-recorded version) / Transmission
- 1979: Deviation / Suburban Berlin
- 1979: Life In Tokyo / Life In Tokyo (Part Two)
- 1980: Special Edition EP
- 1980: Live In Japan EP
- 1981: The Singles EP
- 1991: Blackwater
Video albums
- 1983: Oil On Canvas ( VHS , Betamax , Laserdisk )
- 1984: Instant Pictures (VHS, Beta, LD)
- 1999: Video Hits ( DVD )
- 2006: The Very Best of Japan (DVD)
