Already picking up admirers such as BBC Radio 6 and BBC introducing I Am Lono sound like the real deal with a cold as steel exterior yet it just covers a boiling hot center borrowing from masters of the dark post-punk synth rockers like The Cure and The Mission there is also a healthy amount of pop via the likes of Japan and Bauhaus.
You have the heaving thump of the bass guitar on the sparse ‘Lovers’ with its mechanical drum thud and bass throb it has the echoey vocals and synth layering the song until after the chorus when it soars as the guitar takes over. Huge sounding record and to be fair a really impressive track too.
Let’s not jump the gun here and rewind to the opener ‘America’. There is a real familiarity to this one – sounds like a dark Visage (if I might be so bold). I love the bands I’ve mentioned in my introduction and there are shades of all of them in this for sure and ‘America’ reminds me of the post 90’s period Bowie. Call it art rock or post-punk synth pop I couldn’t care less its captured superbly and the moody ‘Abigail’ sounds huge and should rightfully turn heads as people will sit up and take notice. The production and songwriting is excellent with the songs being really well arranged and none of them outstay their welcome with just the right amount of Guitars and Synth and great vocals throughout. In fact, Mr. Hussey could do a lot worse than check these out and maybe take them on tour with him, his audience would love this.
Available on 10″ vinyl maybe its time to embrace your dark side and get a headful of I Am Lono you might be very pleasantly surprised.
Burning Shed has announced the ‘Cries And Whispers’, the long-awaited follow-up to ‘A Foreign Place’ (2015), the hugely successful biography of iconic British new wave innovators Japan by author Anthony Reynolds. It is being made available as a limited deluxe hardback first edition from Burning Shed.
Detailing the fascinating musical adventures of David Sylvian, Richard Barbieri, Rob Dean, Steve Jansen and Mick Karn from the time following the band’s split in December 1982 until 1991, the book takes in David Sylvian’s work for his first three solo albums, The Dolphin Brothers, Dali’s Car with Bauhaus vocalist Peter Murphy, the brilliant but ill-feted album they released under the name Rain Tree Crow, and more.
The book also explores David Sylvian’s collaborations with Holger Czukay and Ryuichi Sakamoto, the latter of which resulted in their epic ‘Forbidden Colours’, which featured on the soundtrack album of the hit film ‘Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence’.
‘A Foreign Place’was the first serious book on Japan. It was translated into Japanese and published in Japan, where it held at number one on the Japanese Amazon Pop Music Biography chart for four weeks. It has sold over 4000 copies to date, including the Japanese edition, without any external distribution.
Both books include previously unpublished photographs, including many from the private archives of the band members themselves.
‘Cries and Whispers’ also features a cover by renowned graphic designer Carl Glover, plus contributions from Bill Nelson, Johnny Marr, Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins/Bella Union), Ivo Watts-Russell (4AD Records), Bill Bruford (King Crimson), Martin Fry (ABC), Paul Morley (NME/ ZTT Records), Thomas Dolby and the late Colin Vearncombe (Black), among others.
Initially, a glam rock-inspired band, their sound and stylised visual appearance led to an unintentional association with the early-1980s New Romantic scene. The band split just as they were beginning to experience commercial success in the UK and abroad. They were unquestionably one of the most influential and innovative pop groups of the 1970s and 1980s.
“Is it shameful to be 40 something and still have a ‘favourite band’? If so, colour me shamed. Japan are my favourite band and as a fan I wanted to write and publish books on them that would enrapture and delight the fan in me. I hope I’ve done so, matching Style with content and mystery with beauty,” says author Anthony Reynolds.
Apart from ‘A Foreign Place’ and ‘Cries and Whispers’, Anthony Reynolds has published biographies on Leonard Cohen (a bestseller), Scott Walker and The Walker Brothers, and Jeff Buckley. He has also published two collections of poetry. To date, his books have been translated into 12 languages.
In 212 pages, this 210 x 210mm square, hardback book is cloth-bound with a gold and silver foil debos and features approximately 260 pictures. All copies of ‘Cries and Whispers’ come with a postcard signed by the author. Both Japan books are available exclusively through Burning Shed.
“This compelling account of the solo careers of Japan’s ex-members has clearly been a labour of love: Reynolds has sourced an amazing selection of personal photos, eyewitness accounts and technical details… The research here is exemplary” – The Wire
“Anthony Reynolds has clearly put forth the most far-reaching and insightful publications about Japan and its members published to date” – Big Takeover Magazine
On ‘A Foreign Place’: “Favourite thing I read over Christmas was Anthony Reynolds’ wonderful book on Japan (the
band, not the country). Older Suede types will remember Anthony from his band Jack – an early Suede fave” – Mat Osman (Suede)
“A fascinating story“ – Classic Pop
“This is the big red book the defiant dons of delicacy deserve” – Prog Magazine
“Written with an enthusiasm that never flags”– Goldmine
“Anthony Reynolds’ biography is the first book to treat Japan’s career seriously and at length” – The Wire
* David Sylvian – vocals, guitars, keyboards
* Mick Karn – bass guitars, saxophone, backing vocals (died 2011)
* Steve Jansen – drums, percussion, keyboards
* Richard Barbieri – keyboards, synthesisers
* Rob Dean – guitars, backing vocals
Japan’s biggest UK album was ‘Tin Drum’ (1981), which featured hit singles ‘The Art of Parties’, ‘Visions of China’, ‘Ghosts’, and ‘Cantonese Boy’.
Japan achieved nine UK Top 40 hits in the early 1980s, most notably the ethereal oddity ‘Ghosts’, which reached No. 5 in 1982, and scoring a UK Top 5 with the 1983 live album ‘Oil on Canvas’.
Already picking up admirers such as BBC Radio 6 and BBC introducing I Am Lono sound like the real deal with a cold as steel exterior yet it just covers a boiling hot center borrowing from masters of the dark post-punk synth rockers like The Cure and The Mission there is also a healthy amount of pop via the likes of Japan and Bauhaus.
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