S/D : Yellow Magic Orchestra

I finally managed to break through the Meltdown ticketing defences and actually buy tickets for this, excited but with a hint of trepidation - will it be all 90's? Ambient? Guitar solos? Ya never know when a band reforms.

Watching an episode of WKRP in Cincinnati and there was a poster of the first YMO album up in the DJ booth.

in heaven, YMO plays every night with pfunk and Steve reich

http://neojaponisme.com/2008/11/21/multiplies-skit-translation/

"kagekina shukujyo" might be my favorite of their later period pop singles. insanely catchy and bittersweet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdqe2hxtbHc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2ZLjrySQQA

found a vinyl copy of the Yellow Magic Orchestra album. i really love it! it is very classic sounding. some of the synths have this nice brass sound to them or something, maybe sort of reminiscent of an old 78 or pre war pop. kind of similar to Kraftwerk in that way. but definitely doing their own thing. my favorite bit is the end of side 2, the noisey electronic Bridge Over Troubled Music on into Mad Pierrot. this whole album rules. i also have the Martin Denny original of Firecracker. YMO really makes it sound like it was made for this band.

so I just found out that the original Japanese version of the debut has a totally different mix than every version since? I knew about "Acrobat" but damn, it's like a different album. Hosono's bass is so much thicker.

oh Alex you're spoiling us now...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l79HgXvxP8