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Visions Of China
Visions of China is a song by English new wave band Japan, released in October 1981 as the second single from their 1981 album '' Tin Drum'', which was released on 13 November. The single reached number 32 on the UK Singles Chart. Content The B-side of the 7" is a remix of "Taking Islands in Africa", the final track on their previous album ''Gentlemen Take Polaroids'' (1980). The track was written by David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto, with whom Sylvian would collaborate on several recordings in the future. The 12" version features the longer track "Swing", again from ''Gentlemen Take Polaroids''. Track listings ; 7" # "Visions of China" – 3.35 # "Taking Islands in Africa (Remix)" – 4.35 ; 12" # "Visions of China" – 3.38 # "Swing" – 6.25 Versions The song was lifted straight from the album for the single release and no alternative studio versions or remixes have been released. A live recording of the song is included on the ''Oil on Canvas'' album and was i ...
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Japan (band)
Japan were an English new wave band formed in 1974 in Catford, South London by David Sylvian (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steve Jansen (drums) and Mick Karn (bass guitar), joined by Richard Barbieri (keyboards) and Rob Dean (lead guitar) the following year. Initially a glam rock-inspired band, Japan developed their sound and androgynous look to incorporate electronic music and foreign influences. The band achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, releasing nine UK top 40 hits, including the 1982 top 5 hit single " Ghosts", and scoring a UK top 5 with the live album ''Oil on Canvas'' (1983). The band split in December 1982, just as they were beginning to experience commercial success in the UK and abroad. Its members went on to pursue other musical projects, though they reformed briefly in the early 1990s under the name Rain Tree Crow, releasing an album in 1991. History The band began as a group of friends in the early 1970s. Brothers (birth surname Batt) David S ...
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The Very Best Of Japan
''The Very Best of Japan'' is a compilation album by the British band Japan, released worldwide in 2006 by EMI Music. Although not the first Japan compilation to collect recordings from the band's career on both Hansa Records and Virgin Records, it is certainly the most comprehensive and includes all nine of their UK top 40 hit singles as well as two other singles that made the top 50, released between the years 1981 and 1983; "The Art of Parties" (#48, 1981), "Quiet Life"(#19, 1981), "Visions of China" (#32, 1981), "European Son (Remix)" (#31, 1981), "Ghosts" (#5, 1982), "Cantonese Boy" (#24, 1982), "I Second That Emotion (Remix)" (#9, 1982), "Life in Tokyo (Remix)" (#28, 1982), "Nightporter (Remix)" (#29, 1982), "All Tomorrow's Parties (Remix)" (#38, 1983) and "Canton" (Live) (#42, 1983). ''The Very Best of Japan'' includes both the single and album versions of their biggest commercial hit "Ghosts", the 12" mix of "The Art of Parties" as well as the Steve Nye remix of "Takin ...
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1981 Songs
Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán Department, Morazán and Chalatenango Department, Chalatenango departments. * January 15 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation led by Polish Solidarity (Polish trade union), Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa at the Vatican City, Vatican. * January 20 – Iran releases the 52 Americans held for 444 days, minutes after Ronald Reagan is First inauguration of Ronald Reagan, sworn in as the 40th President of the United States, ending the Iran hostage crisis. * January 21 – The first DMC DeLorean, DeLorean automobile, a stainless steel sports car with gull-wing doors, rolls off the production line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. * January 24 – An 1981 Dawu ea ...
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Japan (band) Songs
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south. Japan is a part of the Ring of Fire, and spans an archipelago of 14,125 islands covering ; the five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa. Tokyo is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto. Japan is the eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the most densely populated and urbanized. About three-fourths of the country's terrain is mountainous, concentrating its population of almost 125 million on narrow coastal plains. Japan is divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions. The Greater Tokyo Area is the mo ...
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Songs Written By David Sylvian
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition and variation of sections. Written words created specifically for music, or for which music is specifically created, are called lyrics. If a pre-existing poem is set to composed music in classical music it is an art song. Songs that are sung on repeated pitches without distinct contours and patterns that rise and fall are called chants. Songs composed in a simple style that are learned informally "by ear" are often referred to as folk songs. Songs that are composed for professional singers who sell their recordings or live shows to the mass market are called popular songs. These songs, which have broad appeal, are often composed by professional songwriters, composers, and lyricists. Art songs are composed by trained classical composers fo ...
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1981 Singles
Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán Department, Morazán and Chalatenango Department, Chalatenango departments. * January 15 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation led by Polish Solidarity (Polish trade union), Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa at the Vatican City, Vatican. * January 20 – Iran releases the 52 Americans held for 444 days, minutes after Ronald Reagan is First inauguration of Ronald Reagan, sworn in as the 40th President of the United States, ending the Iran hostage crisis. * January 21 – The first DMC DeLorean, DeLorean automobile, a stainless steel sports car with gull-wing doors, rolls off the production line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. * January 24 – An 1981 Dawu ea ...
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Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the largest online database of electronic music, the site now includes releases in all genres on all formats. After the database was opened to contributions from the public, rock music began to become the most prevalent genre listed. , Discogs contains over 15.7 million releases, by over 8.3 million artists, across over 1.9 million labels, contributed from over 644,000 contributor user accounts – with these figures constantly growing as users continually add previously unlisted releases to the site over time. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc. and located in Portland, Oregon, United States. History The discogs.com domain name was registered in August 2000, and Discogs itself ...
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Suona
''Suona'' (IPA: /swoʊˈnɑː/, ), also called ''dida'' (from Cantonese / '' īdá'), ''laba'' or ''haidi'', is a traditional Chinese music instrument with double-reed horn. The suona's basic design originated in ancient Iran, then called "Surna". Suona appeared in China around the 3rd century. It had a distinctively loud and high-pitched sound, and was used frequently in Chinese traditional music ensembles, particularly in those that perform outdoors. It was an important instrument in the folk music of northern China, particularly in provinces of Shandong and Henan, where it has long been used for festival and military purposes. It is still being used, in combination with sheng mouth organs, gongs, drums, and sometimes other instruments in weddings and funeral processions. Such wind and percussion ensembles are called ''chuida'' () or ''guchui'' (; this name refers to the ''suona'' itself in Taiwanese Hokkien). Stephen Jones has written extensively on its use in ritual music ...
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Fretless Bass
A fretless bass is a bass guitar whose neck does not have any frets. While the instrument is played in all styles of music, it is most common in pop, rock, and jazz. It first saw widespread use during the 1970s, although some players used them before then. Instead of being invented by an instrument manufacturer, the first fretless basses usually resulted from modifications made by bass guitar players. One of the first (if not the first) examples of this is Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, who removed the frets from his bass guitar in 1961 to fix a fret buzz issue. The first fretless bass to be produced by a designated company is the Ampeg AUB1, first released in 1965. Characteristics The lack of frets allows for more fluid slides between notes, but also requires greater precision by the player, as the instrument may sound out of tune if notes are not fretted accurately. Like fretted bass guitars, they can have four, five, six, or even more strings. While some have "fret lines" ...
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Mick Karn
Andonis Michaelides (Greek: Αντώνης Μιχαηλίδης; 24 July 1958 – 4 January 2011), better known as Mick Karn, was an English-Cypriot musician and songwriter who rose to fame as the bassist for the art rock/ new wave band Japan. His distinctive fretless bass guitar sound and melodic playing style were a trademark of the band's sound. Early life Karn was born Andonis Michaelides in Nicosia on 24 July 1958. When he was three, his Greek-Cypriot parents moved with him to London, where he was raised. In his youth he began playing mouth organ at the age of seven and violin at the age of eleven, before he took up playing bassoon for the school orchestra. As a bassoon player he performed with the London Schools Symphony Orchestra in a concert in October 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 with David Sylvian an ...
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Richard Barbieri
Richard Barbieri (born 30 November 1957) is an English musician, composer and sound designer. Originally a member of new wave band Japan (and their brief 1989–1991 reincarnation as Rain Tree Crow), more recently he is known as the keyboard player in the progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, which he joined in 1993. Aside from the founder Steven Wilson, he is the longest tenured member of Porcupine Tree. Biography Japan (1974–1982) Although initially perceived as a 'hyped' band, Japan went on to record five studio albums culminating in '' Tin Drum'' which stayed in the UK charts for a year. The painstaking approach to synthesiser programming by Richard Barbieri and David Sylvian and the original rhythmic patterns of Steve Jansen and Mick Karn produced a sound that remains original to this day. They were the one of the most successful chart bands in Europe and Asia in 1982 despite the increasingly experimental nature of their music. The band split up at the height of thei ...
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Programming (music)
Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These musical sounds are created through the use of music coding languages. There are many music coding languages of varying complexity. Music programming is also frequently used in modern pop and rock music from various regions of the world, and sometimes in jazz and contemporary classical music. It gained popularity in the 1950s and has been emerging ever since. Music programming is the process in which a musician produces a sound or "patch" (be it from scratch or with the aid of a synthesizer/ sampler), or uses a sequencer to arrange a song. Coding languages Music coding languages are used to program the electronic devices to produce the instrumental sounds they make. Each coding language has its own level of difficulty and function. Alda ...
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