Richard Barbieri started his musical career with the group Japan in 1976. Within a year the band were signed to the Hansa/Ariola label and began work on a debut album, which received severe criticism from the UK press on it’s release. Although initially perceived as a ‘hyped’ band, Japan went on to record five studio albums culminating in the groundbreaking ‘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. www.richardbarbieri.net
