Ex-Japan members: David Sylvian or Mick Karn (Mick Karn RIP)

Rob Dean is definitely the most accessible former member of Japan; I've seen him involved in the FB fan community and he's friends with at least one fellow member of Team Mick Karn, my friend Angie. He seems to be living a happy, satisfying life in Costa Rica these days, but I still wish he'd been involved with the Rain Tree Crow project. And I have definitely seen that performance of "Swing" and agree with you wholeheartedly about Dean's guitar playing in that.

Costa Rica, eh!? What a poor, tortured soul! :D

Is there anyone going who sounds even remotely like Mick?

*checking to see if Percy Jones is still alive*

Percy Jones was an influence on Karn's playing, true, but even Jones himself admits that Karn took those influences and created something of his own from it.

Q: I want to go in another direction, and bring up a few other names. When I think of somebody that might sound sort of similar to you, I think of Mick Karn. Do you know Mick?

Percy Jones: Yeah, I met him in Japan some years ago. He and Richard Barbieri were in Japan (the band) together. Yeah, I can hear some similarities. He even came out and said I was an influence on him, which was very flattering. But what he's done is taken something and turned it into a whole thing of his own. He's distinctive. I mean everybody takes something, influences from other people. I was influenced by Mingus and took things from him. You use other people for inspiration, and they're usually a bit older than you. You tend to go through that in your younger years. You take in all this stuff, and turn it into something that is more "you", and I think that's what he's done. I like a lot of his work, what I've heard.

There was a Japan record called "Tin Drum", which was pretty much pop music, but it was good work; different. I thought the rhythm section stuff was interesting, and Richard Barbieri's sonic approach was interesting. Very advanced at the time, which was 20 years ago. I also heard a track from one of Mick Karn's solo records, just in passing, somebody played it for me. I can't remember exactly what it was, but I liked it. I think it might've been from "Dali's Car".

Not much discussion on ILM of Richard Barbieri's solo work. I'm listening to "Things Buried" for the first time and quite like it, a bit of a merger of Rain Tree Crow instrumentals but a bit more prog at times.

I heard a track from his latest, "Under A Spell" which I'll listen to next as I heard a track on local college radio and it was great.

i like jansen / barbieri worlds in a small room a lot ... it was recorded in tokyo in the mid-80s and has that youtubecore / algo-ambient vibe that is currently popular

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dIbYcXXpnw

not familiar w/ barbieri's solo work but i enjoyed this recent vid where he demonstrates some tin drum style synth timbres on a nord lead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO91uLBsx5w

Pretty sure Things Buried used to be on Spotify – there are a couple of tracks from it on the Introduction release from a few years ago. I have one of his records kicking around on my iTunes but I haven’t spent too much time with it.

Barbieri is an incredible texturalist – his work in Japan, obv., but also RTC and the duos with Jansen are excellent. He has this way with evolving pads and melodic lines I find super listenable and pretty unique. You can see why folks like Porcupine Tree have come to him over the years.

As a composer I’m less sold as the solo stuff proper I’ve heard often feels a bit like slightly noodly trip hoppy prog. I will give it another shot tho.

Worlds in a Small Room manages to be intimate, unobtrusive and melodic all at the same time, the palette of sounds they use are very warm.

Agree -- that's a good'n.

(which I note that missingNO had mentioned earlier)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds8sVhxdvfA

Not a Rick Roll

Rick should be glad that Mick didn't do his crabwalk move and steal the show.

Speaking of Rick, check his first choice here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS2sGGE_pDU