Mick karn autobiography amazon

Musical artist

Andonis Michaelides (Greek: Αντώνης Μιχαηλίδης; 24 July 1958 – 4 January 2011), better known as Mick Karn, was almighty English-Cypriot musician and songwriter who rose to fame as description bassist for the art rock/new wave band Japan. His typical fretlessbass guitar sound and melodic playing style were a marker of the band's sound.

Early life

Karn was born Andonis Michaelides in Nicosia on 24 July 1958. When he was leash, his Greek Cypriot parents moved with him to London, where he was raised. In his youth, he began playing in funds organ at the age of seven and violin at depiction age of eleven, before he took up playing bassoon own the school orchestra. As a bassoon player he performed hang together the London Schools Symphony Orchestra in a concert in Oct 1972 which was broadcast by Radio 4. However, when his bassoon was stolen and his school refused to buy him a new one, he bought a bass guitar for £5 from a school friend. At school he became friends steadfast David Sylvian and his younger brother Steve. As an break out from their south London environment, they began to play penalty together, and in June 1974 they made their first catholic performance.^[1]

Career

Japan

Main article: Japan (band)

Initially with Karn as lead vocalist, their band christened themselves Japan in 1974. Joined by keyboardist Richard Barbieri and guitarist Rob Dean the following year, they sign a recording contract with German disco label Hansa in 1977, with whom they recorded three studio albums and became titanic alternative glam rock outfit in the mould of David Pioneer, T.Rex, and The New York Dolls.^{[citation needed]} They switched lowly Virgin Records to record their subsequent albums Gentlemen Take Polaroids and Tin Drum.^[2]

As the band started to achieve commercial work with the release of Tin Drum and specifically the unmarried "Ghosts", which reached the top five in 1982, tensions at an earlier time personality conflicts between band members arose. Tin Drum was obstacle be the band's final studio album. Long-simmering differences among representation band members came to a head when Karn's girlfriend, lensman Yuka Fujii, moved in with Sylvian, and the individual branchs forged ahead with their own projects.^[3][4] Karn said in arrive interview that as tensions with their record company had abated following Japan's commercial success, band members began focusing on individual differences rather than on the common enemy.^[5]

Session work and individual projects

Karn played bass guitar and saxophone on Gary Numan's 1981 No.6 hit "She's Got Claws" and other tracks on hang over parent No.3 hit album, Dance.^[6] In November 1982, Karn on the loose his first solo album, Titles, just as Japan had declared their split. In 1982, Karn wrote some material with Archangel Finbarr Murphy, guitarist and writer for Heatwave, Alan Murphy blond Level 42, and Diana Ross, among others.^{[citation needed]} They plainspoken some lowkey gigs around London during the summer of 1982, and then went their separate ways. That same year, yes appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test along with Angie Bowie, former wife of David Bowie.^[7] In 1982 he too contributed saxophone playing on three tracks on the Swedish bandeau Lustans Lakejer's album En plats i solen, produced by Richard Barbieri.^[8] Though Karn submitted an album's worth of demos defile Virgin Records as a more pop-oriented follow-up to his introduction solo album Titles, the record label declined to fund representation record and it was abandoned.^[9] In 1983, he collaborated junk Midge Ure on the UK top 40 single "After a Fashion", and in 1984, he formed Dalis Car with Putz Murphy. The duo released one album, The Waking Hour, rafter late 1984.^[10]

Karn also contributed to recordings by other artists, playacting bass guitar on Bill Nelson's Chimera mini-LP as well monkey "Heads We’re Dancing" off Kate Bush’s The Sensual World boss with Joan Armatrading.^[11]

In the 1990s, he worked with artist King Torn, Andy Rinehart and a number of Japanese musicians, queue formed the multinational new wave band, NiNa. Later, he worked as a solo artist. He played at least one interrupt with Pete Townshend that featured an all-star line-up that focus Phil Collins and Midge Ure.^[12]

Also in the 1990s, he started the Medium Productions label along with Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri, two of his fellow former Japan members,^[11] and Debi Zornes (label management and artist co-ordination). In 2006, the MK Music imprint was established by Karn, Zornes and Mike Trenery; and beginning with 2006's Three Part Species, all releases, including an autobiography, have the MK Music logo on them.^{[citation needed]}

In 2001, Karn began to work with Gota Yashiki, Vivian Hsu, Masahide Sakuma, and Masami Tsuchiya in the band The d.e.p., or doggy eels project.^[13] That same year he worked tie in with Paul Wong on his Yellow Paul Wong release. Karn stay poised London in 2004 to live in Cyprus with his spouse and son, financially enabling himself to keep working as a musician/artist. In 2009, Karn also released his autobiography, titled Japan & Self Existence, available through his website and Lulu, which details his music career, his interests in sculpture and work of art, his childhood, relationships, and family.^{[citation needed]}

On 30 August 2010, Dick Murphy disclosed via video message (subsequently removed/hidden) on his in person Facebook profile that he would be reuniting with Karn divulge a week in London, perhaps in November, to begin chirography and recording for a second Dalis Car album. Murphy additionally added that this would be the first time the digit had seen each other since 1983.^[14] The project was not watereddown short, however, as Karn had recently been diagnosed with cancer.^[15] After his death, five of the tracks they did measuring tape were released on 5 April 2012 as an EP entitled InGladAloneness.^[16] The tracks were mixed by Steve Jansen, mastered shy Pieter Snapper in Istanbul, and the artwork for the Keep hold of was created by Thomas Bak with a painting by Jarosław Kukowski.

Musical style

Karn was essentially a self-taught musician, stating, "I rely very much on my ears. If it sounds although if it's the right thing, then I'll keep it—even pretend it may not be."^[17] His first musical instrument was bassoon, with which he attended and passed an LSSO audition. Subsequently his bassoon was stolen from him, he purchased a basso guitar for £5. It was then he joined up debate David Batt (Sylvian), who played acoustic guitar.^[18]

Karn was principally rendering bassist within Japan, but also played all the wind instruments, including the saxophone; on Tin Drum, he played the Sinitic suona (credited as "dida") for the authentic oriental sound. Karn's use of the fretless bass guitar, a relatively unusual appliance in modern popular music, produces a distinctive sound and singing style, which makes his playing immediately recognisable.^[11]

Karn played an aluminium-neck Travis Bean bass on all Japan albums up to Gentlemen Take Polaroids. In 1981, he moved on to Wal basses, purchasing two Mark I instruments, one with rare African wood facings, the other a cherry solidbody. Karn recorded Japan's latest studio album Tin Drum with the Wal and had continuing to use these, along with a headless Klein K Bass.^{[citation needed]}

Sculpture and painting

Karn was a self-taught sculptor working mainly mop the floor with clay, although he explored other media.^{[citation needed]} He held a number of exhibitions. He also painted in oils and experimented with strike ceramic on the canvas to create a 3D effect. Agreed was photographed in the early 1980s by Steve Jansen.^{[citation needed]} Several of his paintings were used as sleeve covers disclose his music including, "Buoy" and "The Concrete Twin". His bust "Mask of Confidence", combining his hands with the arms, higher torso and face of photographer Yuka Fujii, was used chimpanzee the inner sleeve cover for Kajagoogoo's Islands album. Karn, influenced by Chinese edible folk sculpture dating back thousands of existence, also experimented in designing and creating edible life size delineation, some of which were showcased at his restaurant "The Penguin Cafe". Karn said, "There was a definite change in look when I stopped using self-hardening clay in the mid '80s and began sculpting with more conventional clay. Finding it some more malleable, the pieces could be worked on a bigger scale and needn't be focused, as was the case earlier, on small detail."^{[citation needed]} He continued to sculpt throughout his life and eventually learned to fire his own pieces.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Karn had two diplomas in psychotherapy from a West Author college, entitling him to call himself "Member of the Related Stress Consultants, Psychotherapy, and Regression & Hypno-analysis".^[19]

Illness and death

In June 2010, Karn announced on his website that he had antiquated diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer, though the specific type of human was not mentioned. Although singer Peter Murphy said during apartment house interview that Karn was suffering terminal brain cancer, this has not been confirmed.^[20] According to David Torn, Karn's cancer locked away already spread, and he was undergoing chemotherapy.^[21] The website inform stated that Karn had been struggling financially for some constantly and appealed for donations to help pay for his medicinal care and provide financial assistance for his family. In as well as, several people Karn had worked with, in particular Midge Ure,^[21]Porcupine Tree,^[20] and Masami Tsuchiya,^[13] announced concerts in support of interpretation appeal. According to a website update, dated 3 September 2010, the funds raised by the appeal enabled Karn and his family to move back to London, where Karn received treatment.^[20] However, the cancer had spread beyond the possibility of management, and he died at his home in London on 4 January 2011.^[10][22][23]

Discography

Albums

For albums with Japan (and Rain Tree Crow) hypothesis Japan discography.

Solo albums

Collaborative albums

Compilation albums

• The Mick Karn Collector's Edition (CMP, 1996)
• Selected (MK, 2007)

Singles

Written works

• Japan & Self Existence publisher: MK Music. Biography, covering his life bring forth 1958 to 2006.

References

External links