Have listened to both the Interior and Testpattern records. Both of them are obviously indebted to YMO but they are very different. Interior sounds more like a "band" with some great ambient guitar work like Bill Nelson's stuff around the same time and great subtle drumming. Pretty much all the tracks have a sort of stillness that I associate with Talk Talk's "Colour of Spring". Really beautiful stuff.
Testpattern is a bit more exclusively electronic with a couple jumpy and silly pop songs similar to YMO on X∞ Multiplies and some lovely monochromatic synth work. The track "Catchball" from the latter half of the album is particularly great. I was also surprised to hear what sounds like Oberheim drum machines (it's that low-bitrate clap sample) rather than the TR-808 I've come to expect with YMO-related stuff.
― Janet Privacy Control (corey), Sunday, 8 August 2010 23:25 (2 years ago) Permalink
Ahem, also:
super secret non-illegal link
― Janet Privacy Control (corey), Sunday, 8 August 2010 23:27 (2 years ago) Permalink
the group i really want to hear from yen records is inoyama land. from the little i've found it sounds like they heard music for airports and decided to form a band
― that habit kick man (r1o natsume), Sunday, 8 August 2010 23:41 (2 years ago) Permalink
Currently in the midst of leeching that from someone on s1sk, will report here (and share) once I've heard of course!
― Janet Privacy Control (corey), Sunday, 8 August 2010 23:45 (2 years ago) Permalink
i LOVE the inoyama land album, danzindan pojidon, its a nice mix between synth-pastoral and more paranoid tracks. "pon" makes me feel like i'm an npc in an awesome old school RPG just doin my thing in my little house in a quiet village.
― karl...arlk...rlka...lkar..., Tuesday, 28 September 2010 02:51 (2 years ago) Permalink
Not Yen/YMO-related but I think fans of the Interior and Testpattern stuff would enjoy Mariah's "Utakata No Hibi". Atmospheric pop with a female vocalist and lyrics in Japanese — the synth work/production sounds a lot like "Left Handed Dream"
Have a Youtube:
― =(^ • ‿‿ • ^)= (corey), Thursday, 23 December 2010 20:32 (2 years ago) Permalink
Struggling for months to find the Interior & Testpattern records, and also the Yen Manifold vol. 1 compilation with tracks by both bands & Kôji Ueno, if anyone could provide some digital files to downlaod, I'd be very, very grateful… The Yen output needs a new reissue!!!
― Coryphe, Friday, 18 February 2011 12:32 (2 years ago) Permalink