RFI: Yellow Magic Orchestra

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

on hosono mega fans, there's terre thaemlitz/dj sprinkles:
http://www.comatonse.com/writings/organisedsound_8_1.html

moved to japan a long time ago, so not really 'outside of japan' but still cool imo

Oh here is a link to the Peter Barakan radio interview we did for our show where he talks about working with the band - it's about 20 mins and I had a ton more questions but I was aware he was a busy dude, but still very gracious and happy to talk.

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

http://www.listentothis.info/2016/09/ice-choir-mix-for-designs-in-rhythm.html?m=1

Jessy Lanza talked about her love for YMO and all their side projects every chance she got this year, and the influence was noticeable
http://thevinylfactory.com/features/jessy-lanzas-6-essential-japanese-electro-records/

^^ will have to check out that album then. so great to see this stuff getting props now.

did enjoy that Barakan interview quite a bit. funny that Xoo Multiplies was the one that made him a convert. I do find the lyrics on the two YT albums he worked on to be fascinating - they're so weirdly literal at times, they're great but I find it hard to believe that any one person would write them that way (ditto for stuff like "Gradated Gray"). pretty amusing that BGM was slammed at its time of release - looking back now there really wasn't anything like it back then was there? is there now?

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16003157_1219981008109885_5119126157919301350_n.jpg?oh=6f35bf05ebe64b1b57fb545eea73241f&oe=5923D1D8

I really like their name.
― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Tuesday, February 10, 2004 7:17 PM (twelve years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, but their music is better.
'Naughty Boys' might be the greatest synth-pop album ever.

i agree! it also might have the best name for a synth-pop album ever.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pfU9S-JxrB8/TgFldDZSqNI/AAAAAAAAFeQ/XaRV1Pn1Fos/s1600/Yellow%2BMagic%2BOrchestra%2B-%2BNaughty%2BBoys%2B-.jpg

i got this for Christmas. i love it deeply. i have known about YMO since getting into Cornelius around 1999 but i never heard this full album until this year. the sounds they use are very harmonious. it is like the perfect balance, every drum hit, every synth, it's all there and none of it is distracting or sticking out in any way. and the music is so wonderful. i have not read the translated lyrics yet but there are so many emotions and moods on this record that are very evocative. before NB i mostly knew them from "Firecracker" and other earlier stuff with the slap bass, which was wonderful but a little more on the kitschy side. NB sounds like a record that could come out tomorrow, it is timeless. i look forward to loving this album for the rest of my life.

i always keep my eye out for naughty boys. i have never seen it on the shelves!

http://i63.tinypic.com/wiqxy1.jpg

It's a great record, definitely prefer Solid State Survivor, though.

http://www.musiconvinyl.com/catalog/yellow-magic-orchestra/naughty-boys-instrumental#.WIUPcU0rJhF

this is the pressing i got. comes with the follow-up instrumental remix LP that is also awesome.

YMO mean so much to me, there's acres of depth in their respective solo careers and the endless productions, collaborations and associations, they're basically the three pillars of modern Japanese mainstream music.

I like "kimi ni mune kyun" and "kai Koh"

Was Naughty Boys meant to be a parody, or at least somewhat tongue-in-cheek? I mean the "Kimi Ni Mune Kyun" video gives it away a bit, but without understanding the lyrics it's a bit hard to tell. There's just something a bit off about it.

Do wish they'd included "Chaos Panic" because that song absolutely rules - strange they never thought to release it as a single

"Kimi ni mune kyun" roughly translated means "my heart is yours". Just another silly love song ...

Best Answer: The easiest way to say it would be, "I'm crazy about you." "Kyun " is onomatopoeia, or a word that means what it sounds like, as in "click" or "bomb." You know how your heart makes the funny sound when you think of someone you love. To put it more literally, it means "My heart is pounding hard for you."
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070315014444AASUtzi

Is there a vocal version of "chaos panic"? I just know the version on the naughty boys instrumental album. It reminds me of "girls just wanna have fun"

Yeah - it's on the Greatest Hits album I have (Kyoretsu na Rhythm). Definitely one of the hookiest songs they ever did.

"Chaos Panic" is cool but it doesn't sound like Naughty Boys to me at all – it sounds much more in keeping w Hosono's stuff ca. S.F.X and Philharmony.

Honesty, I've always been a bit torn on Naughty Boys – the Japanese verses make things a bit inscrutable and musically it sounds like a completely different band from the first several records, with Sakamoto's heavy synth pads and Takahashi's gated drum sounds replacing the Kraftwerk-ian production from before. I stupidly sold this back in college but "Lotus Love" was the only song that really had stuck with me. Listening back now, the rest ("Expected Way," "Focus," etc.) still sounds largely like kind of generic J-pop, albeit with sometimes slightly more melodic choruses.

For my money, I'm a much bigger fan of BGM's development of their sound but I'll give this another shot.

it most definitely is a different band - though to be fair most of their records sound completely different, to me

I agree with most of what you're saying, but with one caveat - it may sound like generic J-pop, but to me it's kind of the perfect J-pop album - I love every song on it.

there is nothing generic about Naughty Boys -- no another album like it. if you have an example of 80s j-pop with production that dense and detailed, show me please.

Yea I'm referring mostly to the songwriting there. Though even then, songs like "Lotus Love" are quite strange - hard to think of another by-the-numbers ballad that seems to be constantly fallonh apaet like that.You're right that its got a very unique sound to it.

Ok phoneposting is weird :)

Can anyone recommend a J-pop album with songs as good as Naughty Boys? As much as I love earlier YMO albums and members' contemporary solo albums (especially Technodelic, B-2 Unit, and Philharmony), Naughty Boys is my favorite--it's just one perfect song after another. If it's "generic J-pop," then please give me more of that shit.

Surprisingly tough, Naughty Boys is a high bar, Tadiama by Akiko Yano perhaps?

not into picking apart songcraft, esp w synthpop, where the sound of things is the main appeal.

i like other YMO albums but they are more recognizable as bands in the studio playing instruments, where "Naughty Boys" sounds like it fell from the sky wholly formed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4cyBlFs_RY

The commercial for BGM included there is wtf, wish it was longer.

omg. thank you. this is awesome.

There are so many cool YMO things out there like this. i've been listening to them regularly for several years now and i still feel like i'm barely scratching the surface

one of YMO's early producers' son is the director of atlanta.

these fuji tape commercials are amazing

Rabbit hole awaits you - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbjcQtiyNcA

<3<3<3<3

Thank you mates nest !
Does anyone have mp3s of these?

So glad to see YMO threads at the top of ILM so often. I have dug around for YMO-related albums for years and I can tell you the three I think are the best. I should mention that my favorite YMO is their first album.

The first is Thousand Knives of Ryuichi Sakamoto. I think this is his best album and a must-listen for any YMO fan. I would share a Youtube video, but this album appears to be scrubbed from Youtube.

The second is Unit by Logic System. This is the side project of Hideki Matsutake, sometimes called the unofficial fourth member of YMO, although he should have been an official member because they wouldn't have sounded the same without him.

The third is Orient by Hiroshi Sato. I think this album is an absolute gem. Hosono plays bass on this album and it's clearly very in line with what YMO were trying to do -- in fact, Sato was one of the first musicians Hosono approached to be in YMO, though he declined. He later appeared on their albums and on tour, and is considered part of the 'YMO family'.

Thousand Knives and Orient were released in the late 70s, when YMO was at their best, IMO. If you like this side of YMO, I would recommend the stuff Hosono did for the CBS Mastersound series. Also check out the "Summer Nerves" album by Ryuichi Sakamoto & Kakutougi Session, and Sakamoto's collaborations with Kazumi Watanabe.

YMO is in my top 3 bands of all time, but I think they were downhill from Technodelic on. And unfortunately, most YMO-related material seems to come after this point, so it has a more J-Pop sound and less of their original sound, which i think of as a combination of experimental electronica, jazz fusion, disco and self-referentially oriental exotica.

I have a disc of sakamoto's commercial music, it's positively delightful. Contains akiko yano singing the most beautiful song about diapers ever

hiroshi sato is fantastic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUQjdwRno5g

Question about this Hiroshi Sato album: Discogs lists it as a compilation (from 1985). If this is true, what does it compile, and from which albums? Japanese characters make it impossible to tell. I really love Orient but that's the only one I've heard so far, and I really love this "Say Goodbye" song and need more of that pronto

I am busy spending my morning face down on a pillow, but you could probably just dump the text into google translate and it'll point the way

"This album released in 1985 has become sought after album for the 80’s Japanese boogie lovers. It features a revisited version of “Sweet Inspiration” originally released on Hiroshi’s previous LP Sailing Blaster in 1984. This album also contains the amazing track “Say Goodbye” that was originally released on his 1982 album Awakening (featuring singer Wendy Matthews)."

Is all I could find