iconic Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 This is one of my fav' Japan tracks with a sublime bassline, I do have a pop at this on the odd occasion but never knew just how busy this line is and have been missing more than few notes . As is usual with most stuff 'Mick Karn', tabs, chords, sheet and/or hints/tips are rare and his take on tunes with mostly covering only 2 chords (so they say... I'll leave to that Davey Sylvian to argue that!) is amazing, but this guy seems to have nailed it for me....enjoy. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHya8v5IsDE[/media] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Nice playalong. Shame the player's bass tone seems to be getting a bit swamped in the mix there, but he seems to have the line spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I think the term "inimitable" applies to Mick Karn far more than most other bass players. He was a one-off in terms of his sound and his whole approach, to playing the bass. As this line demonstates , along with so many others you could point to, he is always close to the centre of attention when he plays but no matter how busy he might be, never gets in the way of the song. This is no mean feat. Like youself, i like to have a go at one or two of his lines now and again, but find it very hard-going to accurately follow what he is doing, probably because he has a genius for throwing in the unfamiliar and the unexpected. His playing is completely unfettered by conventional patterns and the cliches that many bass players rely on because by his own admission , he never learnt any of that stuff prefering instead to develop his own unique style. The chap in the video does a great job on a tricky, disjointed bass part and reminds me how brilliant Mick was. Good find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Quality, just reminded me I love MKs basslines, so am ordering some form of Best Of Japan cd right now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gub Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Love mk and Japan , been meaning to get some more on the pod for a while , Mmm can feel an iTunes shopping spree coming on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatboter Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 [quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1345571037' post='1779005'] I think the term "inimitable" applies to Mick Karn far more than most other bass players. He was a one-off in terms of his sound and his whole approach, to playing the bass. As this line demonstates , along with so many others you could point to, he is always close to the centre of attention when he plays but no matter how busy he might be, never gets in the way of the song. This is no mean feat. Like youself, i like to have a go at one or two of his lines now and again, but find it very hard-going to accurately follow what he is doing, probably because he has a genius for throwing in the unfamiliar and the unexpected. His playing is completely unfettered by conventional patterns and the cliches that many bass players rely on because by his own admission , he never learnt any of that stuff prefering instead to develop his own unique style. The chap in the video does a great job on a tricky, disjointed bass part and reminds me how brilliant Mick was. Good find. [/quote] This is so true... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneknob Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 There used to be a load of bass tabs on Mick Karn's website in the Image Gallery. Just checked, they've gone now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneknob Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Solo album "Bestial Cluster" should be on the menu for any Karn-curious as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 I’m sitting in my car as I’m a bit early for my lesson, was thinking about transcribing an MK baseline this evening just to see how difficult it’ll be, don’t think I’ll start with this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 Try these 2 ... i played both using these tutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 Mick Karn was a class act and one of the few fretless players that truly had his own voice and instantly recognisable style. I’ve learned a few of his bass lines and he tended to approach them about as far away as you can be from a conventional bass line. They’re very challenging to get down, and then almost impossible to recall without playing over and over again until memorised. He played across the bar line a lot, and often went nowhere near the root note of the chord, but because the bass line worked as a melody in its own right, it fitted in with the song. Oil on Canvas (the post-Japan live album that ended up being bigger than any of their albums when they were a band) is a perfect showcase for intelligent, interesting and creative bass playing. It matters not one jot whether he had theory or technical knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.