Japan (band)

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Japan

Background information
Origin	United Kingdom
Genre(s)	Art Rock New Romantic Post-Punk Synth-Pop
Years active	1974 - 1982, 1991
Label(s)	Hansa Virgin
Members
Mick Karn Richard Barbieri Rob Dean Steve Jansen David Sylvian

Japan was a British rock group, formed in 1974.

The original members were:

David Sylvian (original name David Batt): vocals, guitar, keyboards
Mick Karn (original name Anthony Michaelides): bass guitar, saxophone, oboe
Rob Dean: guitar
Steve Jansen (Sylvian's brother, Steve Batt): drums
Richard Barbieri: keyboards

The band debuted on record with 1978's Adolescent Sex and subsequently Obscure Alternatives, which both sold well in Japan and the Netherlands (where the single "Adolescent Sex" was a Top 30 hit), they also gained some popularity in Canada, but nowhere else. Both albums were widely dismissed by the British music press as being distinctly outmoded at a time when punk and New Wave bands were in the ascendence. However, tracks such as "Suburban Berlin", "State Line" and "Rhodesia" suggested a creative depth and sense of melody to the band's output which would hint at their future direction.

Their third album, 1979's Quiet Life, heralded a significant change in musical style from the earlier largely guitar-based music to a more electronic sound, with more emphasis on Barbieri's synthesisers, Sylvian's svelte baritone style of singing, Karn's distinctive fretless bass sound and Steve Jansen's odd-timbred and intricate percussion work. Standout tracks included the title-track "Quiet Life" (a belated Top 20 hit in 1981), "Halloween" and "The Other Side of Life".

Their final two studio albums, Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980) and Tin Drum (1981) on the Virgin label, continued to expand their audience as the band refined its new sound and unintentionally became part of the early 1980s New Romantic movement. Tin Drum in particular is critically regarded as one of the most innovative albums of the 1980s^{[citation needed]}, with its startlingly original fusion of occidental and oriental sounds that is still almost unique in modern popular music^{[citation needed]}. Tin Drum was their final album as personality conflicts conspired to implode the band (Rob Dean had left after the "Quiet Life" release) with the group's UK swansong coming in November 1982 following a three-night sellout stint at London's Hammersmith Apollo. The album's unconventional single "Ghosts" reached #5 on the UK pop charts, one of only a very few such 'minimalist' songs to achieve such heights^{[citation needed]}. The band's final Hammersmith concerts were mixed to produce their final release, 1983s Oil On Canvas. Japan's last performance was on 16th December 1982 in Nagoya, Japan.

Most of the original members of the band went on to work on other projects. By far the most successful is David Sylvian, who has recorded numerous solo albums and collaborations with noted performers including Holger Czukay and Robert Fripp. A reunion of the band members in 1991 (under the name Rain Tree Crow) was short lived, producing only one album, with the band once again dissolving following frictions between Sylvian and the rest of the band. The project was nevertheless a critical success^{[citation needed]}. Duran Duran has been one of the bands influenced by Japan.

1 Trivia
2 Discography
3 Singles and EP's
4 Albums
5 Tribute Album
6 Compilations
7 Video/DVD
8 Remasters
9 Rare material
10 See also
11 External links

[edit] Trivia

Their look inspired the mangaka Kaoru Tada: the fictional band Beehive of her manga Ai shite knight is based on them^{[citation needed]}.

on the song list for the dance game DDRMAX: Dance Dance Revolution 6thMIX.

Karn was originally going to be the group's lead singer, but he got stage fright at their first gig and Sylvian stepped in to replace him.

Barbieri has gone on to play keyboards in the art-rock band Porcupine Tree and with Steve Hogarth of Marillion in the h band. In 2005, he released his first solo album, Things Buried, on Racket Records.

They were originally managed by Simon Napier-Bell who also managed The Yardbirds, Marc Bolan, London and Wham!.

Their song Quiet Life will be featured as a radio track on Wave 103 in the upcoming PSP title Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

[edit] Discography

[edit] Singles and EP's

"Don't Rain On My Parade"/"Stateline" (UK, Germany, Australia, Italy) 1978
"Adolescent Sex"/"Don't Rain On My Parade" (Spain) 1978
"The Unconventional"/"Lovers On Main Street" (Japan) 1978
"The Unconventional"/"Adolescent Sex (re-recorded version)" (UK) 1978
"Adolescent Sex (re-recorded version)"/"Transmission" (Italy) 1979
"Adolescent Sex (re-recorded version)"/"Sometimes I Feel So Low" (Germany, Holland, France) 1978
"Sometimes I Feel So Low"/"Love Is Infectious" (UK, USA, Japan) 1978
"Deviation"/"Suburban Berlin" (Holland) 1979
"Life In Tokyo"/"Life In Tokyo (Part Two)" (UK, USA, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Italy) 1979
"Quiet Life"/"Halloween" (Japan) 1979
"I Second That Emotion"/"European Son" (Japan) 1980
"I Second That Emotion"/"Quiet Life" (UK, Germany, Holland) 1980
"Special Edition EP" (Canada) 1980
"Live In Japan EP" (Germany, Holland, Belgium) 1980
"Gentlemen Take Polaroids EP" (UK, Germany, Japan) 1980
"The Singles EP" (Japan) 1981
"The Art of Parties"/"Life Without Buildings" (UK) 1981 - also Canadian EP with two tracks from the "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" EP
"The Art of Parties"/"My New Career" (Australia, Japan) 1981
"Life In Tokyo"/"European Son" (UK, Germany) 1981
"Quiet Life"/"A Foreign Place" (UK) 1981
"Visions Of China"/"Taking Islands In Africa" (UK, Australia) 1981
"European Son (remix)"/"Alien" (UK, Germany) 1981
"Ghosts"/"The Art Of Parties (live version)" (UK and most other countries except Japan) 1982
"Cantonese Boy"/"Burning Bridges" (UK) 1982 - also a double pack version with extra tracks
"I Second That Emotion (remix)"/"Halloween" (UK, Germany) 1982
"Life In Tokyo (remix)" (UK) 1982
"Nightporter"/"Ain't That Peculiar" (UK, Germany) 1982
"Nightporter EP" (Japan) 1982 - includes b sides from UK releases
"All Tomorrow's Parties"/"In Vogue" (UK) 1983
"Canton"/"Visions Of China" (live versions) (UK) 1983

[edit] Albums

Adolescent Sex, April 1978
Obscure Alternatives, November 1978
Quiet Life, February 1980 (UK #53)
Gentlemen Take Polaroids, November 1980 (UK #45)
Tin Drum, November 1981 (UK #12)
Oil on Canvas, June 1983 (UK #5) (mainly live double album, featuring some new solo instrumental pieces)
Rain Tree Crow, April 1991 (released under the group moniker "Rain Tree Crow")

[edit] Tribute Album

"Life In Tokyo - A Tribute to Japan" (BMG Japan) 1996

[edit] Compilations

A bewildering number of Japan compilation albums have been released. There are three worth seeking out as they were compiled in consultation with group members and include some non-album material.

"Assemblage" (UK, European countries, Japan) 1981 - early material including several non album singles.
"Exorcising Ghosts" (UK, European countries, Japan) 1984 - material from later in the band's career.
"The Very Best of Japan" (Worldwide release) 2006 - remastered compilation including all the songs that were hit singles in the UK.

For completists, the Japanese 2-CD set "The Singles" is worth finding as it includes several single edits and remixes that are not available in the UK.

[edit] Video/DVD

"Oil On Canvas" 1983 (VHS, Beta, LD) - live material filmed at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1982
"Instant Pictures" 1984 (VHS, Beta, LD) - video clips and alternate versions of live tracks
"Video Hits" 1999 (DVD), Japan only - early video clips
"The Very Best of Japan" - a 2006 DVD compilation including most of the above

[edit] Remasters

In 2003, Virgin Records re-issued remastered editions of Gentlemen Take Polaroids, Tin Drum and Oil on Canvas. BMG followed suit next year, and re-issued Adolescent Sex, Obscure Alternatives, Quiet Life, and Assemblage. All of these re-releases came in the 'digipak' format, collecting many bonus tracks. In 2006 all were repackaged in jewel cases to allow sale at a lower price point.

The Tin Drum digipak re-issue was of special interest, as it was packed in a cardboard box, contained a bonus 5-inch single The Art of Parties, carrying 4 tracks not included on Tin Drum itself or any other Japan album released on Virgin, plus a booklet with black-and-white photos of the band members.

[edit] Rare material

The following Japan tracks appeared on vinyl but have not yet been released on CD:

"Quiet Life" (Japanese single version)
"Burning Bridges" (from the "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" EP) - an alternate version produced by David Sylvian
"Ain't That Peculiar" (version from the compilation album "Cash Cows" and b-side of "Nightporter)
"Nightporter" (Steve Nye remixed single and radio edit versions)