“Japan was part of the zeitgeist - we were on the BBC, in the tabloid newspapers and part of culture”: We speak to Japan and Porcupine Tree synth polymath Richard Barbieri

Japan.

Upon joining Japan in 1975, Richard Barbieri had an interest in keyboards but little idea of how to programme one. Within a few years, however, he’d become integral to the band’s transformation from glam rock outsiders to one of the era’s most influential electronic acts.

Alongside his bandmates and frontman David Sylvian, Barbieri redefined the role of synthesisers in art-pop on albums such as Quiet Life, Gentlemen Take Polaroids and the classic Tin Drum.