New to vinyl release of the ‘Variants’ series from the Japan and Porcupine Tree keyboardist including new material & Barbieri’s own opening theme to ‘Run Lola Run’.

In 2017, Richard Barbieri released his most sonically expansive work to date. ‘Planets + Persona’ is his third solo album, but the first to feature such a wide pallet of instrumentation. Vintage analogue synthesisers combined with acoustic performances and jazz elements, including some stark and memorable improvisations from a personally hand-picked group of musicians, a release that has been greatly received by a dedicated and growing fan base. ‘Variants.5’ is the final issue in a vinyl series from Richard Barbieri presenting a collection of disparate pieces of music from past and current works. It features performances from violinist Gill Morley, Luca Calabrese and Lisen Rylander Love, and contains two new studio works, a variation on a theme written for Porcupine Tree’s “New Soul”, Richard’s opening theme for the film ‘Run Lola Run’ and a live version of the ‘Planets + Persona’ track “Unholy”. As a member of the new-wave pioneers Japan, Barbieri was a leader in creating the ground-breaking synthesiser sound and use of electronic equipment that influenced a generation of artists. Together, the band recorded five studio albums culminating in the ground-breaking ‘Tin Drum’, which stayed in the UK Albums Chart for a year. His ear for composing unique soundscapes and synth textures recently led to collaborations with other talented composers, such as Steve Hogarth (Marillion), Steve Jansen & Mick Karn (Japan) and Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree).