Johan Niemann Channels Mick Karn for Solo Debut, “Karnivore”

Evergrey’s Johan Niemann emailed about his debut solo album, Karnivore, with a great opening line:

”Do you like your music odd sounding, 80’s smelling, fretless bass driven and instrumental?” He wrote. “Then, please give this a spin!”

Although he plays for the Swedish prog-metal mainstays, his first solo album is more “pop” oriented with shades of art rock and new wave. Niemann shares that Mick Karn was a big influence on the sound (even putting his name in the album title), and that’s evident. The phrasing and style are reminiscent of the late Japan bassist, with angular bass lines accented by slides and double stops.

Niemann programmed all of the music except for his bass, which is his fretless signature bass from Solar Guitars. Check out the opening track, “Palms for Mick”:

Karnivore is out now digitally via iTunes, Amazon MP3, and more.

Karnivore Track List:

1. Palms for Mick
2. The Lost Puppeteer
3. Bones In Mud
4. Less Worse Same
5. The Right Lie
6. Jupiter’s Horse
7. The Leap
8. Pulsating Waves
9. Red Flag
10. Visions of Cyprus