Andonis Michaelides (Greek: Αντώνης Μιχαηλίδης; 24 July 1958 – 4 January 2011), better known as Mick Karn, was a Greek Cypriot musician who rose to fame as the bassist for the art rock and new wave band Japan. His distinctive fretless bass guitar sound and melodic playing style were a trademark of the band's sound.
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In this episode of “From the Bottom”, Paul Thompson digs into one of the greatest (and underrated) fretless bass guitarists of the 80s and 90s: Mick Karn.
A new live album from the English new wave band Japan called “Live from the Budokan – Tokyo FM 1982” is now available. Mick Karn’s sublime fretless playing is all over the record, which spans their career’s output.
Mick Karn was the master of creating bass lines that were somehow simple, angular, and melodic all at the same time. Check out this clip of Karn with Steve Jansen, Richard Barbieri, and Steve Wilson performing “Bestial Cluster” for 2 Meter Session on Dutch television. Karn gets a gnarly distortion to lay down a fat and simple bass line before...
Today we remember the great bassist Mick Karn, who was born on this day in 1958. The fretless bass legend passed away on January 4th, 2011. Following the break up of Japan, Karn continued working with keyboardist Richard Barbieri and drummer Steve Jansen on new music. Here they are performing the Barbieri tune, “Sleepers Awake”. Karn’s fretless work is quite...
On January 4th, 2011, the world lost bass legend Mick Karn. Today, we honor the bassist with a video from JPK, performing “Plaster The Magic Tongue”. JPK is the name that former Japan members Karn, Steve Jansen, and Richard Barbieri recorded under. RIP, Mick. You are missed.
