Japanese New Wave listening club - new albums every Monday

if anyone's interested I did chuck up another SH album to megaupload to share with someone because I think it's really really good. it's called "Technique of Relief" and it's similar to "Sim City" but it has more of an "orchestral techno" feel. i don't have many words to describe it, just d/l it because it's such a neat album. i will point out that "Niwashi King" is really one of the best songs ever. could listen to that one for an hour on repeat.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NPYP9WUO

― frogbs, Monday, 25 July 2011 14:20 (1 year ago) Permalink

played "the man from narcissus space" 3x in a row on my first listen. thanks for this.

― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Monday, 25 July 2011 19:11 (1 year ago) Permalink

WB frogbs

― solfege made me schizophrenic (MaresNest), Monday, 25 July 2011 19:12 (1 year ago) Permalink

xp thats a great one but I like the next track "Stange Night of the Omnifiscience" even better. maybe the "biggest" song he's ever done

― frogbs, Monday, 25 July 2011 19:14 (1 year ago) Permalink

btw MaresNest - whatever happened to acoulethic?? I used to get you guys confused a lot but he seems to have fallen off the board lately

― frogbs, Monday, 25 July 2011 19:15 (1 year ago) Permalink

AN INTRODUCTION RO EARTHLING
----------------------------
Earthling's choice of name is as self-confident as their 
performance. The Japanese trio defines itself as a worldly 
representative, capable of creative exploration without
limits. The group calls their first album DANCE to express
the fullest flowers of rhytmic movement, attending to both
physical and spiritual needs.
Earthling consists of lead vocalist/guitarist John, his wife,
bass guitarist Yoko Fujiwara, and keyboard/sythesizer player
Jin Haijama. The group was formed in Tokyo one years ago
when John and Yoko, who had been fashion and textile designers,
felt the desire to give the music they'd written a more
permanent environment. They recruited Jim, who was working in
an amusement park, and evolved a musical form which pulsed with
a steady beat, yet was tempered by hypnotic vocal chanting. 
The electronic power that sustains DANCE is complemented by
Johns's introspective delivery, the natural result of his 
training as a Buddhist priest.
The sound of Earthling is dedicated to reinforceing the
subtle and sensitive connections which link modern music to
dance. While the group utilizes a rhythm-machine to epitomize
the sustained beat of their society's ordered technology,
the emotional vocal impact of songs like "Heavy Feeling in
My mind" and "The Guard of Sensitivity" add an urgent, street-
wise dimension to their precise instrumental presentation. 
Although Earthling are not fluent in English, the write in 
our language for its universality and appropiateness.
Earthling are sound pioneers, painting future dreams that
transcend the present day. They understand that the future 
cannot be easiliy classified, and that tomorrow is not simply
another today.
####
LP: Dance, King K28A-154 (japan)
45: "Slow Down the World" b/w "Urbanitrops" King EA-01 (Japan)

Toby Goldstein, 1981

stolen from
http://elcaunegre.blogspot.com/2011/04/earthling-dance-1981-king-records.html

― meisenfek, Tuesday, 26 July 2011 06:54 (1 year ago) Permalink

XP - frogbs, he says hi from afar, I think he is maybe self banned at the moment.

― solfege made me schizophrenic (MaresNest), Tuesday, 26 July 2011 15:46 (1 year ago) Permalink

that sucks, why'd he do that?

anyway, make him d/l that megaupload link above anyway

― frogbs, Tuesday, 26 July 2011 18:33 (1 year ago) Permalink

listening to the keiichi ohta (of guernica) solo album. I have actually never listened to guernica (tho they are on my list) but I'm enjoying this quite a bit. the synthesized classical arrangements with live piano mixed in are wonderful.

also feel like zeuhl prog fans could get into this. and I'm a huge magma and koenjihyakkei fan, so...

― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Friday, 29 July 2011 19:29 (1 year ago) Permalink

post it up!!

― frogbs, Friday, 29 July 2011 19:52 (1 year ago) Permalink

dig the cover too:

sure. I'll do it in a few hours when I'm by my computer.

― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Friday, 29 July 2011 20:13 (1 year ago) Permalink

yeah, i'd seen that cover before but never was able to track down the album

i can't speak for guernica's 2nd (and more popular album), but the 1st one is a real headtrip. kinda has a troutmask wtf vibe going throughout the whole thing. wild synths + togawa and a lot of intentional camp. you might like it.

― frogbs, Friday, 29 July 2011 20:15 (1 year ago) Permalink

sounds like I might.

this one is v. weird as well. all over the place and things can get a bit chaotic. but always in a playful way, there's no malice here. strangely, it's also a pretty mellow listen due to the sparse palette. mostly voice, synths, and piano.

hosono's on a track too.

― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Friday, 29 July 2011 20:52 (1 year ago) Permalink

http://www.mediafire.com/?5rtrq1g0huxvcmy

― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Friday, 29 July 2011 23:43 (1 year ago) Permalink

first song on this sounds a lot like the first Guernica album. this is all pretty strange. it almost reminds me of Zappa how the music follows the strange vocal arrangments (or is it the other way around?)

― frogbs, Monday, 1 August 2011 15:41 (1 year ago) Permalink

oh yeah , found the Hosono track quite easily

― frogbs, Monday, 1 August 2011 15:47 (1 year ago) Permalink

it almost reminds me of Zappa how the music follows the strange vocal arrangments (or is it the other way around?)

yeah, where I was coming from with the zeuhl comparison. loads of magma, ruins, etc. tunes do this. guess it all goes back to opera?

― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Wednesday, 3 August 2011 18:59 (1 year ago) Permalink

is there a thread out there for japanese jazz/funk/soul? late70s early80s stuff like tatsuro yamashita and such? kinda smooth steely dan-ish kinda stuff? i'm totally into this genre, but want to know more.

― jaxon, Wednesday, 3 August 2011 19:49 (1 year ago) Permalink

I've never heard of any of that stuff - I do have the Happy End album "Kaze Machi Roman" which has a neat folky vibe, I like that one a lot.

Alan - definitely check out some Guernica if you're into Zuehl stuff, they're not very noisy but melodically they're all over the place and pretty much anything Togawa sings on is going to be wild

― frogbs, Wednesday, 3 August 2011 20:22 (1 year ago) Permalink

here are a few. i'm too lazy to start a thread

tatsuro yamashita - solid slider

Tatsuro Yamashita - Dancer

yasuko agawa - la nights

yutaka yokokura - the rest of my life (favorite song of past few months)

kimiko kasai - butterfly (produced by herbie hancock i think)

― jaxon, Wednesday, 3 August 2011 21:31 (1 year ago) Permalink

dude. should this be revived

― frogbs, Wednesday, 25 July 2012 15:37 (9 months ago) Permalink

i scored a copy of Yukihiro Takahashi's Neuromantic last week for like $5 and have been playing it NONSTOP

― you're all going to hello (Z S), Wednesday, 25 July 2012 15:38 (9 months ago) Permalink

Hai

― MaresNest, Wednesday, 25 July 2012 15:54 (9 months ago) Permalink

Z S - you got Takahashi's other YMO-period solo albums? (Murdered by the Music and What, Me Worry are both maybe even better)

― frogbs, Thursday, 26 July 2012 15:33 (9 months ago) Permalink

nope! yeah, i've always heard that Murdered by the Music is even better, so i'm really pumped to hear it. but i think i'm going to take my time with Neuromantic for a while before moving on. to me, it's just as enjoyable a listen as anything YMO put out!

― you're all going to hello (Z S), Thursday, 26 July 2012 16:04 (9 months ago) Permalink

my sole contribution. singer has a david sylvian thing going on.

― Spectrum, Thursday, 26 July 2012 16:16 (9 months ago) Permalink

oh yeah, this too.

― Spectrum, Thursday, 26 July 2012 16:18 (9 months ago) Permalink

ohhh, z s just cited this above. good stuff.

― Spectrum, Thursday, 26 July 2012 16:20 (9 months ago) Permalink

whoa, the cover to that in the youtube video on the bottom looks way different than the copy i have, which looks like this:

― you're all going to hello (Z S), Thursday, 26 July 2012 18:44 (9 months ago) Permalink

takahashi looks similarly mopey in his photo on the back of the record, too! awwww, poor yukihiro

― you're all going to hello (Z S), Thursday, 26 July 2012 18:45 (9 months ago) Permalink

I really have no idea how Sakamoto became the sex symbol of YMO

― frogbs, Thursday, 26 July 2012 18:55 (9 months ago) Permalink

i want to know more about this

― you're all going to hello (Z S), Thursday, 26 July 2012 18:57 (9 months ago) Permalink

I don't really have a lot of facts but based on a bunch of stuff I've read about YMO I guess Sakamoto was the most popular one with the ladies, I don't get it

Really, someone needs to write a book in English on YMO. They don't get even a quarter of the recognition that Kraftwerk does around here and yet in my mind they're the greater band (as much as it pains me to say)

― frogbs, Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:35 (9 months ago) Permalink

I got really obsessed with some of Yukihiro Takahashi's albums last year. Tomorrow's Just Another Day is by far my favourite album. It's probably his most straight forward pop album but the songs are just so moving and the production is perfect, not sure why it's never really mentioned.

This is a great performance of one of the best tracks.

― Kitchen Person, Friday, 27 July 2012 02:53 (9 months ago) Permalink

I really like "Coincidence" off that album. His later albums are mostly in that style too; I've heard them all up to 1992 or so and outside of his soundtrack stuff it's all mostly the same, agreeable pop with one or two great tracks per release. I was pretty shocked by one track called "MIS" which was done in his "Pure Jam" technopop style, because otherwise he's pretty far away from that. Though I heard his recent stuff was more electronic/glitchy. Anyone heard any his latest albums?

― frogbs, Friday, 27 July 2012 14:45 (9 months ago) Permalink

"Disposable Love" (off of What Me Worry) is a real Takahashi gem.

I've been really into Sakamoto's Works 1 disc, a bunch of really tuneful commercial jingles. Also been digging Akiko Yano's Tougue No Wagaya album from '86, which is just terrific slick pop with some neat detours.

― windjammer voyage (blank), Friday, 27 July 2012 21:44 (9 months ago) Permalink

― windjammer voyage (blank), Friday, 27 July 2012 22:04 (9 months ago) Permalink

you guys want to hear a really great Takahashi song, this is one of my favorites

― frogbs, Saturday, 28 July 2012 05:34 (9 months ago) Permalink

Really, someone needs to write a book in English on YMO. They don't get even a quarter of the recognition that Kraftwerk does around here and yet in my mind they're the greater band (as much as it pains me to say)

This needs to happen. Have there been any good Japanese YMO books?

― windjamm voyager (blank), Wednesday, 22 August 2012 06:37 (9 months ago) Permalink

I recall there being talk of someone who lived in Japan for a great while writing a giant book about the whole Japanese technopop scene circa, say, 1976-1986. Obviously such a book would have to have a big YMO focus, as Japan is a small country and it seems like nearly every New Wave album they produced in that era had Hosono (or Takahashi) on it as a guest artist, producer, or writer. Maybe just a history of YEN records. Hell, I've kept up my fanaticism for so long that I could probably write one myself!!

― frogbs, Thursday, 23 August 2012 19:52 (9 months ago) Permalink

can anyone explain to me what's happening in this?

― down w/ obana...he is the reson were in dept (Z S), Monday, 15 October 2012 00:14 (7 months ago) Permalink

Alright. Time for a new one. This one's from Keiichi Suzuki, who you may have heard of. For one, he's the leader of Moonriders, who have released some 20 albums since 1976. Secondly, he made a few albums with Yukihiro Takahashi as the Beatniks (which YMO fans may have heard). Thirdly, he worked on a lot of the music for Earthbound/Mother. Some of which was also in the Smash Bros games. Fourthly, he did "Satellite Serenade", which got a high-profile remix by the Orb, and became the first track on Northern Exposure. So chances are you've probably heard something by him. Anyway, this is his first true solo album, released in 1991 (his next one wouldn't be until 2008!) You need this because it contains the original version of "Satellite Serenade" (as well as the remix), which is incredible. I like a lot of Suzuki's work but this is one of my favorite songs, period. The rest of the album is pretty good too - there are some early 90's dance beats, but most of the album sounds relatively current. If you've heard the original Mother soundtrack, a lot of the music here resembles the arranged versions on that album.

Tracklist:

1. God Save the Men
2. The Japanese "It's Alright" song
3. Me and My Girl in a Saladbowl
4. White and Black
5. Left Bank
6. Words, Colours, Noises, and Booms
7. Satellite Serenade
8. Satellite Serenade (Trans Asian Express)
9. Still Find Another Day to Smile

http://www.mediafire.com/?9fr7v8i19de9oeh

― frogbs, Saturday, 3 November 2012 18:52 (6 months ago) Permalink

Name of the album is SUZUKI White Report

― frogbs, Saturday, 3 November 2012 18:58 (6 months ago) Permalink

oh, word. I just listened to this for the first time this week.

it's uneven (the ballads in the middle are pretty dire) but I'm into it overall. and this is pretty cool if you've played earthbound:
http://earthboundcentral.com/2008/02/the-origin-of-dalaams-music/

― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Saturday, 3 November 2012 21:10 (6 months ago) Permalink

have any moonriders recommendations? I've only heard Hinotama Boy which I believe was their first. it's pretty goofy and fun and sounds A LOT like early hosono it also struck me as being a little slight.

― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Saturday, 3 November 2012 21:13 (6 months ago) Permalink

"BUT it also struck me as..." grrr I should learn to proofread things

― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Saturday, 3 November 2012 21:14 (6 months ago) Permalink

I've heard everything up to '86 or so. Their sound is tough to describe since they use quite a variety of instruments and sounds. I really like a lot of their stuff but a lot of what they do is goofy but slight. My favorite release is the 2-disc set "The Worst of the Moonriders" which is a collection of live recordings with a lot of great songs that don't show up elsewhere. It's actually a little nuts how many great songs they never recorded in studio. And the stuff that is from the studio is often very different, often better. They just came out with another 2-disc set but from a single show and I'm really into that one too. I'll up one if you're interested. As far as studio albums go, most of them are around the same quality as Hinotama Boy, some more New Wave than others, and as I understand their sound really changed a lot over the years. They are more of a great song band than a great album band. I'd post some Youtubes but they don't really have any.

― frogbs, Sunday, 4 November 2012 03:37 (6 months ago) Permalink

cool. I'll look into those. particularly interested in the new wave material.

guessing you've already heard suzuki's zatoichi score, but in case you haven't, check this out:

intro has a huge earthbound feel to it; the synth sound and the composition in general. earthbound ost is just one of my favorite things, so I'm just disposed to enjoy the material he's done that skews closer to that sound. haven't found much else tbh.

been jamming this a lot lately. gorgeous.

― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Sunday, 4 November 2012 16:52 (6 months ago) Permalink

yeah the SNES sound chip really was something wasn't it? Sakamoto's Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence soundtrack is kind of along these lines as well, though it's about 10 years older. still the music resembles what I remember from "A Link to the Past" which is a pretty impressive feat.

the thing about Moonriders is that they were always kind of a collective and the songwriting was all over the place. so if you're interested in just Suzuki I don't really know which of the albums is the one to get. lots of individual songs have that Earthbound vibe to them but there is so little of it on Youtube. the first one he did with Takahashi (as the Beatniks) was really good. they just did another one last month which I'm very interested to hear.

― frogbs, Thursday, 8 November 2012 16:34 (6 months ago) Permalink

oh man, haven't heard sakamoto's Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence soundtrack (or seen the movie) but super interested now.

btw check this out:

that's the first track off of this lp ft. someone that was on a couple p-model albums (kenji konishi):
http://www.discogs.com/Shifukudan-Chiputan/release/2059641

it was kind of blowing my mind last night.

― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Thursday, 8 November 2012 19:38 (6 months ago) Permalink