A couple of years back, production impresario and groundbreaking soundscapist Stefano Castagna of Italy's celebrated Ritmo & Blu studio had an idea when he overheard his friend Fabio Trentini experimenting with the unique bass style pioneered by the incomparable Mick Karn. Rising to fame in the late 70s/early 80s with the genre-defying British act Japan, Karn's seamless, curving fretless bass lines and singer David Sylvian's romantic, vibrato-laden baritone voice defined the band's sound and drove its international success. Also an accomplished painter and sculptor, Mick continued working in all these media and redefining the role of the bass guitar in modern music until his untimely death in January of 2011. Stefano Castagna's immense discography includes everything from innumerable international dance hits to cutting-edge experimental sonic and ambient adventures with artists including Laurie Amat from The Residents. Inspired and intrigued by Karn's bass approach, around 2018 Stefano and Fabio, a Gold and Platinum award-winning producer and bassist, singer, guitarist and composer in his own right, began exploring the possibilities of using this inspiration to create new music for today. By early 2020 they had completed recording a monumental prog-tinged instrumental album. Preparations for the record's release had begun when the question came up, "What would it be like with vocals?" Fabio turned to his old friend and collaborator Jeff Collier - an American drummer, singer and songwriting veteran who has worked with influential acts such as The Waterboys, IAMX and Laura Carbone, and preeminent producers including Tony Visconti and Jim Abbiss. Jeff flew to Italy and met up with Fabio and Stefano at Ritmo & Blu studio and recorded vocals for eight of the ten tracks on the debut album by the act now officially called Mask Of Confidence, a final nod to Mr. Karn, taken from a spellbinding sculpture of the same name in his repertoire. So, a tribute? Yes. A tribute album? No. Using the full scope of their own exceptional talents and individual inspirations, Mask Of Confidence have created a unique and unified tour de force that stands on its own.
