RICHARD BARBIERI: Living under a spell: interpreting dreams through texture

Back in in 1979—the advent of analog polysynths and MIDI-based music production (with the modern DAW environment still years away), the iconic UK band Japan featuring keyboardist Richard Barbieri found itself in the vanguard of the New Romantic art-pop movement—a glamorous and fleeting moment marked by brilliant music with extreme sound design. Subsequent to the trend, Richard’s aesthetic went on to become influential in defining unique art music sounds and styles that transcend categorization, extending out into ambient soundscapes, dark pop, progressive rock and beyond. Richard’s signature Prophet 5, Roland V-Synth and modular System 700 textures can be found on more than thirty-five albums, with Japan & co. (including Dolphin Brothers and some timeless David Sylvian solo albums), No-Man (including Tim Bowness solo albums), JBK, Indigo Falls and Porcupine Tree, as well as collaborations with Roedelius, Steve Hogarth, and others. His latest endeavor, Under A Spell, is his fourth solo album. While it was planned to feature improvised music recorded by musicians in studios worldwide, 2020 had other plans. Under A Spell became a homebound affair, with Richard dropping remote performances into a deeply personal textural tapestry that reflects a dreamlike disconnect in the isolation of lockdown. While the album contains vocal performances, the music has no words—just sounds entwined in the alien language of Richard’s unique atmospheres.