Myself I like YMO, especially 'Solid State Survivor' and 'XOO Multiplies'. Not for everyday, but it's well crafted, very catchy, very happy pop, with occasional bursts of humor so inexplicable and politically bizarre... I'm still not sure what to make of the fact that they were so huge at home with things like 'Snakeman Show Skit' on their albums.
Here's the searches:
'Thousand Knives of Ryuichi Sakamoto'; instrumental, but still sounding much like a jazzier YMO. Good though, great cover of him loosely gripping a reading lamp while crouched in a bathtub.
'B-2 Unit' is a record that shuts everyone up, always getting rediscovered by people, year after year; it's fucking advanced. Still not much electronic music sounds like this clipped, demented, sharp, alien. American version omits the particularly brutal 'Participation Mystique' for a contemporary 12" club hit 'Warhead', which is also great.
'Left Handed Dream' was a collaboration with M's Robin Scott and Adrian Belew. Not much here, apart from the one fantastic instrumental 'The Garden of Poppies', could fit on 'B-2 Unit' easy.
'Esperanto' -- every time I see a copy of this out of print record I buy a copy for a friend. Released in 1985, sounds like twenty years from now; early sampling record with largely self-recorded sources. All the sounds are organic or conventionally instrumental in nature, but they're juxtaposed in acoustically impossible ways; everything sounds simultaneously hyper-realistic, plausibly real, yet absolutely artificial, impossible and composed. Hearing this record in 1985 was my first real encounter with Japanese culture. 'A "Wongga" Dance Song' has Arto Lindsay's guitar, echoing mutant trumpets, Gamelan percussion and clipped percussive hits made from chanting school children, I guess that one's the hit.
I also like the 12" with Sylvian, and the 'Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence' soundtrack. I don't love the two followup records to 'Esperanto', 'Illustrated Musical Encyclopaedia' and 'Futurista', but they've still got odd moments, like 'Field Work' with Thomas Dolby; they never came out in the States. When he finally regained an american record deal, the results were bland pop records: 'Neo Geo', 'Beauty', 'Heartbeat', lush production with amazing vocalists (Robert Wyatt even), yet I bounce off the surface of these records.
This year's 'Vrioon' with Carsten Nicolai got my hopes up, and Sakamoto's piano playing is always lovely, but it's more a Nicolai sinewave fest than a Sakamoto disc.
So I've been frightened off buying on sight, but 'Esperanto' and 'B-2 Unit' are so remarkable -- I'm curious what other albums people have heard and how they relate to any of the ones mentioned above...
― (Jon L), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 22:11 (9 years ago) Permalink
― bahtology, Wednesday, 31 December 2003 22:18 (9 years ago) Permalink
― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 1 January 2004 00:51 (9 years ago) Permalink
― Andy K (Andy K), Thursday, 1 January 2004 01:15 (9 years ago) Permalink
yeah I have a huge soft spot for 'forbidden colours', the original versions (vocal & instrumental) bookend the 'mr. lawrence' soundtrack perfectly. I like the later arrangement for piano too.
'sahara blue' is a record by hector zazou w/sakamoto contributing piano and I agree that it should be destroyed.
― (Jon L), Thursday, 1 January 2004 01:23 (9 years ago) Permalink
>>'sahara blue' is a record by hector zazou w/sakamoto contributing piano and I agree that it should be destroyed. <<
I believe that after hearing the finished product, David Sylvian actually attempted it's destruction on some level. He only succeeded in erasing the two tracks that he contributed lead vocals on. The rest presses on in infamy.
― Brian, Thursday, 1 January 2004 15:56 (9 years ago) Permalink
― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Saturday, 26 November 2005 05:34 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Drew Daniel (Drew Daniel), Saturday, 26 November 2005 05:49 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Mary (Mary), Saturday, 26 November 2005 06:06 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Saturday, 26 November 2005 11:23 (7 years ago) Permalink
― s/g, Friday, 2 June 2006 02:12 (6 years ago) Permalink
― Patrick South (Patrick South), Friday, 2 June 2006 02:44 (6 years ago) Permalink
thanks for the link.
― milton parker (Jon L), Friday, 2 June 2006 09:15 (6 years ago) Permalink
― s/g, Friday, 2 June 2006 13:43 (6 years ago) Permalink
― Tape Store (Tape Store), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 06:33 (6 years ago) Permalink
― m coleman (lovebug starski), Tuesday, 23 January 2007 10:55 (6 years ago) Permalink
I found Left Handed Dream in a 99 cent bin at a record store that otherwise is pretty good at curating, couldn't believe it!
I was previously unfamiliar with YMO and Sakamoto's pop stuff (having known only soundtrack/electronic/Fennesz stuff), so you can imagine my surprise at first hearing this fantastically weird pop record. It's awesome!
― Mark Clemente, Tuesday, 3 July 2007 17:29 (5 years ago) Permalink
Search: Tony Takitani OST
― Steve Shasta, Tuesday, 3 July 2007 18:23 (5 years ago) Permalink
"Summer Nerves" is great vocodopop disco w/at least Takahashi on it if not also some Hosono. Not entirely dissimilar in feel from some of Takahashi's similarly awesome "Saravah!"
― Bangelo, Tuesday, 3 July 2007 19:42 (5 years ago) Permalink
I just got "Chasm" from emusic and I'm blown away by it, was not expecting such electronica/noise from some of the tracks. It is really varied and very very well done.
― Trayce, Thursday, 14 February 2008 02:31 (5 years ago) Permalink
'B-2 Unit' is a record that shuts everyone up, always getting rediscovered by people, year after year; it's fucking advanced. Still not much electronic music sounds like this clipped, demented, sharp, alien. A....
'Esperanto' -- every time I see a copy of this out of print record I buy a copy for a friend. Released in 1985, sounds like twenty years from now; early sampling record with largely self-recorded sources. All the sounds are organic or conventionally instrumental in nature, but they're juxtaposed in acoustically impossible ways; everything sounds simultaneously hyper-realistic, plausibly real, yet absolutely artificial, impossible and composed
Anyone else heard these? The descriptions make me want to want to head straight toward ebay.
― Z S, Thursday, 14 February 2008 04:16 (5 years ago) Permalink
I listened to Soundbytes tonight...pretty good stuff. The first song sounds great. I want to use it in a film.
― Tape Store, Thursday, 14 February 2008 04:50 (5 years ago) Permalink
So, uh, I found some Japanese music magazines in the trash the other morning, and one of 'em has an interview with Sakamoto & some photos. Anyone who reads Japanese interested?
― ian, Thursday, 14 February 2008 06:25 (5 years ago) Permalink
'Chasm' sounds like he took careful notes on Fennesz' signal path and went out and bought all the same software -- parts are impressively glitched out for extended periods of time and I like a few of the tracks all right
His new ambient album with Christopher Willits 'Ocean Fire' is beautiful.
― Milton Parker, Thursday, 14 February 2008 22:46 (5 years ago) Permalink
what about his soundtrack to silk? haven't seen the film, but i think pretty much everything he has done of late has been near flawless. cendre was one of my most listened to albums of last year.
― r1o natsume, Thursday, 14 February 2008 23:18 (5 years ago) Permalink
STILL haven't heard a thousand knives though.
― r1o natsume, Thursday, 14 February 2008 23:19 (5 years ago) Permalink
Summer Nerves !
― matinee, Friday, 15 February 2008 00:13 (5 years ago) Permalink
Thousand Knives is my fav though
― matinee, Friday, 15 February 2008 00:14 (5 years ago) Permalink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LI2mHRycJ4&feature=related
― Tape Store, Friday, 15 February 2008 02:17 (5 years ago) Permalink
I don't have anything bad to say about Ryuichi Sakamoto apart from the fact that his catalogue is so deep that I'm always finding something that I don't already have. If anything is inessential, it's the multiple collections of already released stuff, and perhaps the one that collects the work he did for commercials. But I almost always still enjoy them.
Even though I know they're not necessarily his best, I still have a soft spot for Illustrated Musical Encyclopaedia, Neo Geo and Beauty - the lush pop he was doing back was something that helped to move me away from a diet of strictly commercial music.
Just picked up a newish double CD on Decca called Playing the Piano / Out of Noise...First CD is solo piano reinterpretations of some of his soundtrack and pop work, and it's really hitting the spot. The other one explores where noise and environment intersect, apparently with some of it recorded underwater and on top of glaciers in Greenland...and some of this is supposed to follow along from some of the work he's done with Alva Noto. Haven't listened through much of it yet but I'm hoping it'll also become a favourite like some of the work he's done with Carsten and Fennesz over the last few years.
There's a quote in the liner notes for this one about how typically as people get older their musical tastes tend to get narrower, but that he's finding his getting wider thanks to his exposure to this new generation of musician collaborators and compatriots...I like to think that I'm along for the ride of continual palette expansion too, but I have to admit that he's certainly helping me along in that regard.
― Sean Carruthers, Friday, 5 February 2010 02:22 (3 years ago) Permalink
i sold him a copy of bonjour tristesse
― figuratively, but in a very real way (amateurist), Friday, 5 February 2010 09:03 (3 years ago) Permalink
He's gone way too minimal and glitchy lately. The HASYMO single he was part of a few years is my last favorite thing by him. Those chords!
Search GEM Collection if you can find it. It's a wonderful collection of synthy odds n' ends from the early to mid 80's that spans a variety of styles - from J Pop to Fairlight + beatbox exercises.
― François de Roobabe (Capitaine Jay Vee), Friday, 5 February 2010 11:22 (3 years ago) Permalink
a few years ago
― François de Roobabe (Capitaine Jay Vee), Friday, 5 February 2010 11:23 (3 years ago) Permalink
he is very attractive
― by another name (amateurist), Friday, 23 July 2010 01:20 (2 years ago) Permalink
he might win the women think he's the hottest category, true
― iago g., Friday, 23 July 2010 01:24 (2 years ago) Permalink
http://images.peaceandflood.fr/images/916836RyuichiSakamoto.jpg
― by another name (amateurist), Friday, 23 July 2010 02:27 (2 years ago) Permalink
I've been listening the fuck out of Esperanto since r1o posted his thread on it the other day. I probably like it even more than 1000 Knives.
― fidel castro clone (corey), Friday, 23 July 2010 02:31 (2 years ago) Permalink
To anyone who didn't like Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia - seek out the Japanese version, called Ongaku Zukan; only about half the tracks from the original release wound up on the American version. This one includes "Replica" which is absolutely stunning and one of my favorite pieces of his.
B-2 Unit and Esperanto are indeed great albums, but they took me forever to really get into, especially the latter. Kind of minimal but very cool and revolutionary. Also seek the "Warhead" 12" and the "Forbidden Colours" single with the Bamboo tracks. Otherwise if you're in the market for more cool experimental electronic stuff, you can always check out Hosono's discography.
― frogbs, Monday, 14 February 2011 20:03 (2 years ago) Permalink
― François de Roobabe (Capitaine Jay Vee), Friday, February 5, 2010 5:22 AM (1 year ago)
I can't find this anywhere — halp
― corey, Sunday, 13 March 2011 17:23 (2 years ago) Permalink
also the alternate mix of "Happy End" that's on the Arrangement EP is the shit — should've been on BGM imo
― corey, Sunday, 13 March 2011 18:33 (2 years ago) Permalink
Never heard the Arrangement EP; this is more Left Handed Dream stuff isn't it? Loved that album
Currently have an RS tune stuck in my head, but can't remember what it is!! The only line is "good morning, good evening, where are you?"
― frogbs, Monday, 14 March 2011 14:35 (2 years ago) Permalink
half the tracks are versions of LHD songs with added lyrics sung by Robin Scott (the "Pop Musik" guy). I don't really like them, but the second half are tracks that weren't on the album (with the different mix of "Happy End")
― corey, Monday, 14 March 2011 14:37 (2 years ago) Permalink
"good morning, good evening, where are you?"
this?
― corey, Monday, 14 March 2011 14:39 (2 years ago) Permalink
There's a nice update of that song on the Playing the Piano album - I'm pretty sure that's one of the tracks he played during his Toronto concert too.
― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 14 March 2011 14:41 (2 years ago) Permalink
I'll have to check it out then...that's one of his best albums, I always randomly get "Venezia" stuck in my head too
Recently got a few Akiko Yano albums; no thread about her here but so far her early albums (at least) seem to really be a treat...anyone heard of them??
― frogbs, Monday, 14 March 2011 15:24 (2 years ago) Permalink
I've heard "Ai Ga Nakucha Ne" (sp) — has all the YMO members contributing music iirc and a duet with David Sylvian. Her voice is nice, has kind of a young Kate Bush timbre
― corey, Monday, 14 March 2011 15:39 (2 years ago) Permalink
I like Japanese Girl and I have a great more recent album that I have no idea what it's called because it's nearly all in japanese.
Ah, her website is also in English, it's called 'Honto No Kimochi' and it's aces.
― MaresNest, Monday, 14 March 2011 15:51 (2 years ago) Permalink
The album that is..
I've been listening to a lot of YMO over the last few years but hadn't really heard much of their solo works up until recently. I did own Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia for a while but just couldn't get into it. I gave B-2 Unit a listen and sadly that didn't click either. I did listen to a lot of Yukihiro Takahashi's albums and fell in love with the run he did from 80-83. I think I prefer his work as it's more similar to the more poppy moments of YMO, especially Naughty Boys which is one of my favourite albums of all time. I really loved Immigrants by the Sandii & The Sunsetz and Tutu by Miharu Koshi which were both produced by Haruomi Hosono. I tried one of his albums but it was a bit harder to get into. If anyone has any other suggestions of which albums I should try that would be greatly appreciated.
― Kitchen Person, Monday, 14 March 2011 15:53 (2 years ago) Permalink
Have you heard Sadistic Mika Band?
― MaresNest, Monday, 14 March 2011 15:57 (2 years ago) Permalink
Cochin Moon is probably Hosono's best, but I listen to Coincidental Music a lot xp
― corey, Monday, 14 March 2011 15:58 (2 years ago) Permalink
Kitchen - if you're looking for stuff that sounds like YMO, you're not really going to find it, except for those three Takahashi albums, which definitely sound like a YMO-side project, but in a good way. I'd be curious as to which Hosono album you got; he didn't do any solo stuff inside YMO besides Philharmony, which is a very neat album (though a little sparse) - he's definitely the kind of Eno-like artist who can do many many different styles and not look back. I guess I need to know what kind of stuff you're into before I can really say, but as I mentioned Sakamoto's Left Handed Dream is a tough one to go wrong with..
One thing you can do is to find the YEN record compilations; tons of great artists on those, and the YMO members were involved on nearly every release.
― frogbs, Monday, 14 March 2011 15:58 (2 years ago) Permalink
btw Paraiso is my favorite Hosono album - but if you like the non-standard/Monad period, please find the soundtrack he did for Nokto de la Galaskia Fervojo, it's seriously amazing in all the ways Hosono usually is. It's one of the coldest sounding albums I own.
― frogbs, Monday, 14 March 2011 16:00 (2 years ago) Permalink
Also, maybe check out Sakamoto's 1000 Knives record.
― MaresNest, Monday, 14 March 2011 16:01 (2 years ago) Permalink
Love to hear those YEN comps.
― MaresNest, Monday, 14 March 2011 16:02 (2 years ago) Permalink
listening to Ongaku Zukan on your rec btw, frogbs — thanks! I already loved this album so hearing the Japan-only tracks is like finding a secret level in a video game I've played 100 times
― corey, Monday, 14 March 2011 16:03 (2 years ago) Permalink
Yeah I had a feeling I would struggle to find stuff that sounded just like YMO. It was an amazing moment when I discovered all the Yukihiro albums, like I'd found another batch of lost YMO classics from that great period. I couldn't believe I'd never heard Drip Dry Eyes before. Tomorrow's Just Another Day is probably my favourite album of that run, the production is insane. They were all pretty easy to get on vinyl too unlike a lot of the albums from this scene.
Philharmony was the Hosono album I tried, it was nice enough but not really something I would listen to a lot. I am quite a big Eno fan but as you can probably guess it's the four vocal based albums from his 70's period that I love him for. If there's anymore of Hosono's albums that are slightly poppier or more song based I would give them a go.
I will give Left Handed Dream a listen, I love that artwork. Are those Yen compilations easy to track down?
― Kitchen Person, Monday, 14 March 2011 16:10 (2 years ago) Permalink
Not heard anything by Sadistic Mika Band. I get the impression the stuff they all released in the 70's is quite different. I listened to the first Yukihiro album Savannah and I just didn't like it at all, it was almost easy listening Muzak.
― Kitchen Person, Monday, 14 March 2011 16:13 (2 years ago) Permalink
It's kind of funny, Hosono had the same type of 'pop' phase but his was more exotica/tropical stuff. His albums with Happy End are really good. I understand if you didn't like Philharmony but can you at least admit that "Sports Man" and "LDK" are first-rate? ;)
A good reference is this:http://technopop.info/
BTW I would be all for some kind of Japanese New Wave listening club similar to the Krautrock one. I mean that page above lists hundreds of albums and nearly half of them seem to have some link to YMO
― frogbs, Monday, 14 March 2011 16:23 (2 years ago) Permalink
corey - I was pretty surprised as well to find that the U.S. release cuts off half of the tracks, and also to realize that "Field Work" and "Steppin' Into Asia" didn't really fit with it at all. Sadly few outside of Japan seem to know about it. It sucks because "Replica" is my favorite RS track (at least, according to iTunes)
― frogbs, Monday, 14 March 2011 16:26 (2 years ago) Permalink
iTunes says my most-played RS track is "Dolphins"
― corey, Monday, 14 March 2011 16:42 (2 years ago) Permalink
BTW, just discovered that if you have access to the Japanese iTunes store, there are oodles of Playing the Piano Live concerts available from the past three years, including the ones he did on his swing through North America this past year. Just downloaded the Toronto show. They're only 1500 yen too, which makes them cheaper than most of the albums on the Japanese store!
― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 14 March 2011 17:52 (2 years ago) Permalink
I hate to be negative, but I really dislike the piano versions of his older songs — it makes me think of when someone orchestrates the music from the Final Fantasy games. Chintzy and artificial the originals sounds might be, they're a huge part of why I enjoy this music so much, and piano versions just turn them into elevator music imo.
― corey, Monday, 14 March 2011 17:59 (2 years ago) Permalink
Can see that, sure, but I actually like 'em a lot myself. Have really been enjoying a lot of other piano-based work like Olafur Arnalds and Max Richter etc, and so sometimes these versions really connect with me in a way that some of the 80s and 90s version don't. For example, the original "Amore" was a sophistopop high-gloss thing, but the piano version is quite moody. Not sure how much of this is just my love for the sound of the piano and how much of it is the rearrangement of the songs, though.
― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 14 March 2011 18:03 (2 years ago) Permalink
"Amore", yep, that's the track, thank you
― frogbs, Monday, 14 March 2011 18:05 (2 years ago) Permalink
Found this while perusing the information superhighway.
http://mutant-sounds.blogspot.com/2008/01/vatokyo-mobile-musiclp1982uk.html
― MaresNest, Monday, 14 March 2011 22:37 (2 years ago) Permalink
been distantly aware of this dude for a really long time and finally picked something up last week and i'm pretty into it! that Left Handed Dream one frogbs mentioned. excellent investment! ($0.49 x 25% employee discount iirc)
― arby's, Monday, 14 March 2011 22:45 (2 years ago) Permalink
Playing the Piano is lovely
― gravity tractor VS asteroid B612 (m coleman), Monday, 14 March 2011 23:56 (2 years ago) Permalink
Just had a listen to Beauty again; yep, "Amore" is definitely a beautiful tune, but this album is really wonky as a whole - "Rose Music" just irritates me.
If you want to hear the difference between Sakamoto and Hosono, listen to both versions of the Okinawan folk song "Asatoya Yunta" (on the albums Beauty and Paraiso). Sakamoto's is very crisp, precise, and beautiful, while Hosono's is surreal and exotic, to the point where it sounds like the vocals were recorded backwards. I love both versions but Hosono's is really something special.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 15 March 2011 14:04 (2 years ago) Permalink
OoooOOOooooh this has "War Head" on it!! Really wish he wrote more songs like that!!!
― frogbs, Wednesday, 16 March 2011 17:43 (2 years ago) Permalink
yeah — it's like the loopiest songs from Multiplies with awesome synth sounds
― corey, Wednesday, 16 March 2011 18:05 (2 years ago) Permalink
http://nonukes2012.jp/en/
― Milton Parker, Tuesday, 10 July 2012 05:33 (10 months ago) Permalink
That is a lineup worthy of international attention
Also think it's going to be the first time sakamoto and otomo yoshihide have collaborated
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fm20120705a1.html#.T_u_dRB5lP4
― Milton Parker, Tuesday, 10 July 2012 05:41 (10 months ago) Permalink
I mean, was
And I guess I mean: I'm surprised to have only found out about a kraftwerk / ymo concert the week after it happens
― Milton Parker, Tuesday, 10 July 2012 06:01 (10 months ago) Permalink
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120717a1.html#.UASBKhB5mSM
― Milton Parker, Monday, 16 July 2012 21:04 (10 months ago) Permalink
ummm, can we please get a DVD of this guys?
― frogbs, Monday, 16 July 2012 21:11 (10 months ago) Permalink
I dunno if you were referring to 1996 but I'm listening to it now and it's absolutely gorgeous. I think the artificiality kind of takes me out of it a bit - not on stuff like Ongaku Zukan or Neo Geo, but maybe on the albums past that. I had no idea "Bibo no Aozora" had such a haunting melody because it's covered up with dusty trip-hop drums and bad vocals.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 20:30 (6 months ago) Permalink
find if you can /04 and /05, two great sakamoto-covers-himself-mostly-on-piano records
― Brakhage, Wednesday, 14 November 2012 18:38 (6 months ago) Permalink
'all star video: ryuichi sakamoto by nam june paik'
― Milton Parker, Monday, 29 April 2013 19:07 (3 weeks ago) Permalink
oh my god
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 30 April 2013 01:56 (3 weeks ago) Permalink
did anyone see this? http://eyelevel.si.edu/2013/04/nam-june-paik-musician-and-media-artist-stephen-vitiello-interviews-composer-ryuichi-sakamoto.html
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 30 April 2013 02:00 (3 weeks ago) Permalink
a few years back I saw a film that I think was soundtracked by Sakamoto, very soft and minimal synth and piano music, with the visuals being mostly black with white rectangles fading in and out based on the piano notes. I think. Ring a bell for anyone?
― the kind of man who best draws girls' eyeballs (Merdeyeux), Tuesday, 30 April 2013 02:33 (3 weeks ago) Permalink