RFI: Yellow Magic Orchestra

That it is!

Whoa that I would love to hear

Yeah, WTF, YouTube?

If you ask me Solid State Survivor is the best starting point, it's got some of their best-known material and it's the closest to the "Japanese Kraftwerk" tag that they always seem to get.

I'm listening to this album just now, I've never bought into the notion of YMO as the 'Japanese Kraftwerk' and this album is no closer to that tag than any of their others, in fact the comparison irritates me. I much prefer the BGM/Technodelic era of YMO fwiw.

OK, "Insomnia" is pretty Kraftwerk! But that is surely a homage?

For perspective, the only other group doing Martin Denny tributes in the late 70's was Throbbing Gristle (certainly coming from an entirely different place).

Nice shirt, Gen:

http://photos1.blogger.com/img/42/1242/1024/TG.jpg

Can't believe I had never noticed that

I agree - I don't think YMO is really much like a Japanese Kraftwerk, but it's a catchy two-word phrase that seems to intrigue a lot of people. I think SSS fits that description the best because it's very melody-centric, uses a lot of vocoders, and is playful and catchy the way that say, Computer World is. BGM and Technodelic are different, going beyond what Kraftwerk was capable of - all three musicians were in peak form and it really shows.

BGM and Technodelic are different, going beyond what Kraftwerk was capable of

Well, we disagree on that. Profoundly.

not so much the "Japanese Kraftwerk" as the "Japanese answer to Kraftwerk." i read that they were inspired by what was happening in Germany but didn't want to be seen as derivative of it, so they decided they were going to take a similar electronic approach but go in the opposite (maximalist) direction. seems like we'd all agree that they were successful in that, and personally i'd agree that yeah, the places they took it went beyond the pale of what Kraftwerk could or cared to do. especially if you expand that to include their solo works, productions, the greater 'YMO universe'

The progression of Hosono's interests through Folk Rock to New Orleans style R&B to Tropicalia to a kind of synthesised Tropicalia to YMO is amazing to me

all three of these guys are fucking unreal ;_;

oh and @maresnest don't forget the philharmony album, whatever the heck "pleiocene" is, or the fact that hosono is a god-tier ambient artist :_;

also i feel like i maybe asked this question somewhere on ilx before, but i read in an amazon review that philharmony (1982) "represents the first time digital sampling was ever used to construct an entire musical album." this can't be right, can it? first of all philharmony doesn't sound entirely sample-based to my ears (though i need to relisten again...it could be??), but more broadly speaking...in thinking about early sampling landmarks my mind goes to my life in the bush of ghosts from the year prior, but eno byrne and co did play a lot on that album so i guess it doesn't count. frustrating that, like so much of the YMO crew's work, very little is written in english about the album, at least as far as the internet is concerned.

also, in doing a little searching, i turned up a few vague reporrts (RA, Fact) that Hosono's Yen Records would be reissuing Philharmony "soon." those posts are from two months ago, but i can't find anything else about it. anyone know if this really happened, or is about to?

first of all philharmony doesn't sound entirely sample-based to my ears (though i need to relisten again...it could be??)

I think it could be.

.in thinking about early sampling landmarks my mind goes to my life in the bush of ghosts from the year prior, but eno byrne and co did play a lot on that album so i guess it doesn't count.

I didn't think there was any sampling on this album? All tape work?

some tracks on Philharmony sound that way, but what about something like "L.D.K."?

ah right, "digital sampling" quoth the amazon review. nevermind!

anyway going to relisten to philharmony in the morning, i remember doing so when i first read that tidbit and there were some things that didn't jive but that was a while ago and is now kinda a vague impression. either way i'll ask one of my music geek friends in tokyo for some leads :-O

patrick south otm in 2004, always loved it but Naughty Boys and its instrumental release have just claimed separate spots on my all-time favorite albums list

Cosmic Invention filling in on "technopolis" back in the day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=43&v=ifpBqHN9hGQ

bah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifpBqHN9hGQ

Lovely YMO Tumbler, loads of great magazine pics and ephemera - http://technodelic1981.tumblr.com/

Folks, some friends an I have a little internet radio show called Japan Alternative Sessions where we play lots of our favourite Japanese music going back through the decades.

Next Friday and Sunday at 8pm [UK Time] for two hours we are broadcasting our modest little tribute to YMO, choosing our favourite tracks and talking a little bit about the band but we also snagged 20 mins with the broadcaster Peter Barakan who worked with the band [and individual members] as a translator and then a lyric co-writer, it's a really interesting interview and worth hearing if, like me, you get frustrated at the lack of detailed info about the band available in English.

www.animeradio.uk

www.facebook.com/JapanAlternativeSessions/

www.mixcloud.com/JapanAlternativeSessions/

8pm UK Time BST (that's 3pm EST, or 4am the next day JST)

Don't know if I'll be able to listen in real time but I'm definitely gonna be on this when it goes up on mixcloud

dunno what took me so long, but i finally listened to Naughty Boys last week, and it is really amazing, been playing it non-stop.

this has probably been answered earlier in this thread, but any recommendations on best live albums? Are any in print?

I tend to favour the earlier live recordings, they're a little more dynamic and less poised, there's a bunch on Youtube.

The World Tour Live 1980 double set is great as is Faker Holic, both can be tracked down fairly easily.

In general I like the earlier sets, more jamming and more interesting tracklisting, with stuff like "Radio Junk" and Akiko Yano's "Rocket Factory" making appearances. Public Pressure is great, containing the definitive performance of "Tong Poo", with an awesome bass solo by Hosono. I believe Faker Holic is the same material, but without the overdubs (I believe a contract dispute led to Wantanabe's guitar parts being removed, and I think some of the vocals were redone as well), so maybe grab that one instead.

I remember liking Winter Live 1981 a lot but don't remember much about it. After Service is nice but it's more a traditional pop-superstar type live album. I actually liked their 2008 sets a lot, though it's a lot different than what you might expect.

I love After Service.. they transform/slickify "La Femme Chinois" and "Tong Poo" into cool 80s shades-wearing highway cruising jams

2ManyDJs did a YMO mix:

https://soundcloud.com/deewee-2/yellow-magic-orchestra-mix

I'm 6:15 in and "Tokimeki" by Akiko Yano came on, this totally rules

yeah, I listened to it while cleaning the house and it was pretty great. wish it had a tracklist!

Some kind soul on reddit made one:

•YMO - Rydeen (2manydjs Edit)
•YMO - Technopolis
•YMO - Hirake Kokoro -Jisieki-
•YMO - Key
•YMO - Tong Poo
•Akiko Yano - Tokimeki
•YMO - Tighten Up
•Ryuichi Sakamoto - Riot In Lagos
•Haruomi Hosono - Shambala Signal
•YMO - Be A Superman
•Taeko Onuki - Carnival
•Melon - Trance Dance International
•Sandii & The Sunsetz - An Antenna
•Tamao Koike - Sangokushi Theme
•YMO - ????
•YMO - Behind The Mask (Seiko Quartz CM version)
•YMO - Neue Tanz
•Haruomi Hosono - Platonic
•Haruomi Hosono - Hepatitis
•Ryuichi Sakamoto - Thousand Knifes
•Ryuichi Sakamoto - E-3A
•Clock On 5 - Theme From Furyo
•Ryuichi Sakamoto - Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
•Snakeman Show - 正義と真実
•David Sylvian & Ryuichi Sakamoto - Forbidden Colours
•Japan - Taking Islands In Africa (Steve Nye Remix)
•Sadistic Mika Band - Silver Child
•Sadistic Mika Band - Recording Data
•You An' Me Orgasmus Orchestra - 咲坂と桃内のごきげんいかが ワン・ツゥ・スリー
•Harry Hosono And The Yellow Magic Band - Tokio Rush
•???
•???
•Bill Nelson - Metaphysical Jerks ?
•???
•Miharu Koshi - Scandal Night
•Yukihiro Takahashi - Drip Dry Eyes
•Greg Phillangnes - Behind The Mask
•YMO - Behind The Mask (?? Remix)
•YMO - Taiso
•Ryuichi Sakamoto - Venezia
•???
•YMO - Computer Game (Theme From The Circus)
•YMO - Firecracker
•YMO - Nice Age
•YMO - Cue
•Haruomi Hosono, Shigeru Suzuki & Tatsuro Yamashita - Cosmic Surfin'

I filled out the (few) blanks I could - more often there were a lot of "I know I've heard this but I can't place it". I'm kinda impressed by the presence of those Snakeman Show tracks. Those albums are reaaaally hard to find.

I do wonder why the mix cuts off at 1986 or so (outside of the one Technodon track) - there's a lot of killer stuff in the last 30 years that would've fit really well on here

I were involved this would be 3 hours, minimum

Incase anybody is interested here's a link to the little Peter Barakan interview we did for our Radio Show's YMO special a few months ago...

https://www.mixcloud.com/JapanAlternativeSessions/japan-alternative-sessions-edition-22-ymo-special-peter-barakan-interview/

here we go...........again

this reminded me to say thanks for the Faker Holic recommendations upthread, really great.

maybe the wrong thread for this but anyone into Miharu Koshi's Hosono-produced stuff should check out the album Binasu by an artist called NV - she is from Moscow and maybe has no clue who that is but she really does nail the same sound

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXm62Ev4MYs

(no vocals on this track but it is notable for recreating the Hosono vibe which I rarely hear ANYONE able to do)

no that album totally has a miharu koshi vibe, can't be coincidence

also dip in the pool, this track could've been on it wholesale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llQcI34PMow

Wow this NV stuff is wonderful.

it really is, thanks for the recommendation. makin' my sunday morning over here, even on a thursday

speaking of Honsono produced stuff I don't think Chiemi Manabe has been mentioned on this thread?
she made one album 'Mysterious Girl' in 1982 & had various YMO alumni working on it & writing the songs
love this song in particular, written by Akiko Yano - feels a bit like Tom Tom Club?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BcacNcpQ3c

mypandashallflyyy2 months ago

Haruomi Hosono DOING THE DAMN THING ONCE AGAIN OMFG THIS GUY WTF

^^ this guy gets it

great track by the way

got "Naughty Boys" for xmas. been playing that record over and over, it's a good one!

no that album totally has a miharu koshi vibe, can't be coincidence

yea iirc there's even a track that totally bites the 'la la laaaa' melody on the haniwa all stars live album track w/mishio ogawa, she's gotta be p into this scene

title track & this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv2tS46rl1k

that just kept getting better and better - kinda Zolo-ish isn't it? love how you can pick out Watanabe's guitar style from anywhere.

anyway a quick Google search turned this up:

Hope is found elsewhere. Behind the two letters NV stands Katia Shilonosova, a young woman who also plays in the respected Moscow garage outfit Glintshake. She has a solo album to announce, called "Binasu"––published in the US by Orange Milk Records and with a title that was taken, allegedly, from the way a Japanese speaker would pronounce "Venus." The recording has been directly inspired by 1980s electronica, namely by the catalog of Lori Anderson thirty years ago. Shilonosova begins to explain enthusiastically: "She helped me to discover new layers within my own work; I opened new realms in which I'm learning to move, swim, and generally exist."

Equal enthusiasm is expressed for her KORG Poly-800 III, because of the decade it recalls. "It produced the kind of noises Haruomi Hosono was making in the early 1980s [with the Yellow Magic Orchestra]... The Japanese were experimenting with both sounds and their arrangement in the '80s. They were never afraid to sound or look silly. It was all so cool! Although Japan is a nation very faithful to its traditions, the creative people over there are really free. It blows my mind... On some Hosono tracks it sounds like they're banging pots and pans... When I first heard Haruomi Hosono, I imagined he was inviting us all into a little world somewhere. We were heading on a miniature journey with him..."

Speaking to the Moscow press, Shilonosova again name-checked Hosono's positive influence from an earlier generation. "His 'Philharmony' album [of 1982] is one of my favorites. I lost my mind when I first heard it! It's a crazy mix of dopey pop-songs about sandwiches and some kind of unreal experimental music. Until then I was really afraid of combining pop songs and strange, abstract tracks on the same recording. Thanks to Hosono, I was able to calm down! During the 1980s, none of those Japanese acts were ever afraid to look silly. They'd write goofy children's music and then pull off some unbelievably cool arrangements. Today, those same tracks sound really fashionable! That's where the future lies! Tradition can be something really severe, but Haruomi Hosono's output always expresses a real feeling of liberty––and of people doing what they want. Because... why not? That's my motto at the moment."

as far as I know this is the first time I've heard someone outside of Japan namecheck Hosono as an influence.

that's cool!

also, lol, I posted the wrong haniwa track >__< it's the one with the big 'la la laaaaa' crescendo, will post once I wrap some stuff up at work

hah I was wondering what the connection was, but that was pretty awesome nontheless

Love the Chiemi Manabe album. And it's perfect that she made just that one and basically disappeared.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xus1RBA8uCw