“Talking Drum” by Japan

"Talking Drum" comes from Tin Drum, the fifth and last studio album by Japan, which Virgin put out in November 1981. David Sylvian wrote it and sings it, with Yuka Fujii's voice alongside, and he handles the guitar too, a job that fell to him after Rob Dean left in May 1981 and that the band's change of direction had shrunk drastically. Mick Karn brings fretless bass, flute and suona, Steve Jansen plays drums and percussion, Richard Barbieri and Sylvian work the keyboards and tapes, and Simon House adds violin.

The album pushed the band's mix of electronics and traditional instruments much further toward the Far East than before, a painstaking weave of tricky rhythms, layered keyboards and Karn's bass. Barbieri remembered the sessions as laborious but the first time they had made something completely original, and the record has since been hailed as their best work.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.