It was a piece of news that passed unnoticed by much of the music world, but for fans of 1980s music, and in particular for a small group of Japanese musicians, the news that former Japan bass player Mick Karn was suffering from cancer came as a terrible shock.
As a result, some of Karn's former bandmates are getting together to record two songs, hopefully for a September release, to raise money for Karn and his family.
Music producer Masahide Sakuma, formerly of Tokyo new-wave pioneers Plastics, and guitarist Masami Tsuchiya, perhaps most famous for his band Ippu-Do and the song "Sumire September Love," both played with Karn 10 years ago in the band The d.e.p., or doggy eels project.