Jansen, Barbieri, Karn & Wilson: Bestial Cluster
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 taking the lead with a melodic line. Check out the artificial harmonics he plays as fills while holding down the fort.
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
It’s sad that progressive musicians hardly ever achieve the success of musicians in popular genres. The are playing at the bleeding edge of music as far as technique and sounds, etc. but they are usually confined to a niche audience. While it’s true that Japan did chart during their lifetime, it’s also true that they sold nowhere near the amount of records of say Fleetwood Mac or the Eagles, and they never had a top 10 hit, let alone a number 1.
That’s great! Karen had definitely a voice of his own.
I meant KARN (damn those text corrections!)
Man what a big ole fat sound from Karn on bass.