Dalis Car is truth in advertising. Mick Karn from Japan and Peter Murphy from Bauhaus. Both talented musicians from bands with the worse names. Dalis Car is just as bad as a name for a band, but if we ignore that little fact, the music is quite awarding. Both Murphy and Karn have/had an aesthetic that is very much based on East European or Asian sounds. Listening to their album "The Waking Hours" is very much like going to a great metaphysical bookstore that covers spiritual practices not only in the West but also other parts of the world. Murphy as the vocalist moved from the goth/Bowie world into a figure that's exploring other worlds. I think of the relationship between Karn and Murphy such as Jean Cocteau's two main characters in his film "Orpheus." Murphy playing the Orphée role and Karn as Heurtebise. Leading one to another world.
The Waking Hours" (very Cocteau like) is very much Mick Karn playing all the instruments, including the magnificent fretless bass, that he mastered with sparse instrumentation to give Murphy a lot of room for his vocals. It's interesting to note, as a Japan fan, to notice the differences between the David Sylvian (Japan's main writer and vocalist) and the Karn solo/project works. Sylvian opens up his recording where there's a lot of space, but Karn sounds like he's working in a very small room which contains the sound. It's not Mono, but the sound comes from one direction. Like in Japan, the bass is the lead instrument, and Karn had the knack to make his instrumental skills very punk-like (although not in sound) in that there is a DIY mentality in his recordings. Dalis Car is not a band, but Mick Karn doing all the music and Murphy adding the vocals.
I don't know if Dalis Car was meant to go on after this album, but for me, I don't think there was a need for another album from the Karn/Murphy duo. This is very much a great listening experience and I miss the late Mick Karn greatly.
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