Yukihiro Takahashi: S & D

IMO his best vocal is that garbled up thing he does in "Camoflauge"
I dunno, I did get annoyed by the way he seems to add an extra syllable to some of his words. That said the vocals in "It's Gonna Work Out" are pretty ace. As long as he stays within his limitations he does fine.

kitchen you've heard "Exitenialism" haven't you?

Neuromantic is a masterpiece

p much

http://www.discogs.com/Yukihiro-Takahashi-Live-1998-Run-After-You/release/782065

Been geeking out over this one lately. I like YT's work in general but I have tended to notice that many of his albums are a little uneven, and almost all of them feature at least one or two totally knockout tracks. Here's a 1998 live release that focuses a lot on his mid-to-late 90's work, but with some great callbacks to his early solo albums ("Something in the Air" and "Kid-Nap the Dreamer"). His work certainly took a turn for the more mature crowd (in other words: kinda boring) but the songs on here are almost universally gorgeous, alternating between big, powerful ballads and really pleasant pop songs. Production is great and Yuki himself sounds about as good as he ever has. Check it out!!

finally listening to What Me Worry? after being obsessed with Neuromantic for several months. It's great! "This Strange Obsession" seriously should have been a massive global hit.

"flashback" is the bomb

try "murdered by the music" next!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVWwb8LQCpM

yeah "murdered by the music" is great - kind of like a more fleshed out companion album to Xoo Multiplies

"school of thought" is so good, the main synth riff kinda reminds me of sparks for some reason.

Takahashi, Towa Tei, Yoshinori Sunahara (ex-Denki Groove), Cornelius, Tomohiko Gondo, and Leo Imai to form a supergroup, good God:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2014/07/15/music/ymos-yukihiro-takahashi-recruits-towa-tei-cornelius-yoshinori-sunahara-tomohiko-gondo-and-leo-imai-for-an-impressive-supergroup/#.U8XjdCj23QU

Towa Tei ft. Yukihiro Takahashi and Kiko Mizuhara - "The Burning Plain"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=769QwzmW22Q

Great song. Amusingly enough the song is about the act of watching the movie rather than the movie itself.

have you heard his metafive supergroup album? towa tei is in that one too. and cornelius.

http://coolestsound.jp/Takahashi_Yukihiro_Metafive_Techno_Recital_Takahas/2014.07.20/010395/

Had no idea they actually released something - will try to grab as soon as I can find a cheaper copy ;) The trailer sounds good. The In Phase release seems interesting too, I dig the more mature stuff too so long as the songwriting is there. I've posted about his "Run After You" live release which is maybe my favorite YT album overall but I don't think anyone knows those songs.

Lately I've been obsessed with a song called "'00" from his 1999 album The Dearest Fool. Can't find it on Youtube but it's really neat, has a really similar groove to "Jumbo" by Underworld

yeah, agreed, trailer sounds pretty good. def curious but these things are always a little disappointing...

then again, there's also a song credited to the metafive group that was used in the new ghost in the shell series and it's actually quite good imo. production sounds a bit like some of cornelius' work on the salyu x salyu album. you can hear that one here:
http://cornelius-kokakua-sound.com/#splitspirit

actually still haven't heard much YT solo stuff outside of neuromantic. one day!

i get this stuck in my head sometimes and can never remember where it's from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knojf1neSwc

Made a nice YT playlist last week that I thought I'd share with you guys. Most Takahashi albums have one or two killer tunes so I figured, why not put them all together.

1. '00 - The Dearest Fool (1999)
2. TURN TURN - Sketch Show, Audio Sponge (2002)
3. Pure Jam - YMO, Technodelic (1981)
4. MIS - Lifetime, Happy Time (1992)
5. The Burning Plain - Towa Tei, Sunny (2011) (YT only does the vocal here but I really like the track)
6. Flying George - Sketch Show, Audio Sponge (2002)
7. Kaze Ni Tsuzuku Michi - The Dearest Fool (1999)
8. It's Gonna Work Out - What, Me Worry? (1982)
9. Radioactivist - Murdered by the Music (1980)
10. You've Got to Help Yourself - YMO, Service (1983)
11. Ballet - YMO, BGM (1981)
12. Something in the Air - Neuromantic (1982)
13. Coincidence - Tomorrow's Just Another Day (1983)
14. The Sensual Object Dance - Broadcast From Heaven (1990)
15. Betsu-Ni - A Day in the Next Life (1991)
16. Merci Boku - Fate of Gold (1995)
17. Une Femme N'est Pas Un Homme - Beatniks, Exitentialism (1981)
18. Umibe No Ie - Fate of Gold (1995)
19. Set Sail - Run After You (1998)
20. Iron Man - Run After You (1998)
21. Split Spirit - YT + Metafive (2014)
22. Ekot (Cornelius remix) - Sketch Show, Loophole (2003)
23. Prayer of Gold - Run After You (1998)

So the first half is mostly his technopop stuff, second half the more romantic, classier side. Looking back he did a lot of killer tunes in the 90's even though I'm not crazy about many of the full albums (Fate of Gold and Run After You, a live disc, are my favorites - the latter is maybe my favorite YT disc full-stop). I'm lacking some of the later albums, maybe there is good stuff on there I don't know about. But I'm digging this playlist quite a bit, maybe you will too?

https://www.sendspace.com/file/o9oq91

DOWNLOADING

thank you so much!

i am totally ignorant of takahashi outside of YMO and his solo stuff through what me worry, so i am fucking pumped for this

yeah, thanks for this. i have some of the albums but in general YT is the YMO member whose solo stuff i'm least familiar with.

Thanks frogbs!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUYLpNjggTo#t=22

Is that sendspace upload expired? the download is currently a <1MB .dmg file. Would be great if someone (frogbs, zs?) could re-upload it!
Scored great copies of Solid State Survivor, BMG and Neuromantic yesterday (I left Naughty Boys in the racks, definitely going back to get that soon) - would love to hear more YT solo stuff.

there's a checkbox on the download page, you have to de-select it first

D'oh, thanks! (I should've included a stupidity disclaimer...)

Towa Tei featuring YT - "Radio"

This is really great, kind of references YMO's Technodelic period in the middle there - wish these two would just do a full album together

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

new song by Metafive (YT's supergroup with Cornelius, Towa Tei, Yoshinori Sunahara, and a couple others) - great song!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LBUEYGfisQ

very impressed by the singer - hope he features a lot on the upcoming album

Mental, it's like The Power Station/INXS/Nik Kershaw/Thomas Dolby rolled into one.

weird question -- were there ever any record stories in the USA (in LA or NY i imagine) that specialized in japanese music? i mean ones that really went deep? do any still exist?

Great version of Cue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFCZ0GYpZnM

Album coming 1/13/16 - based on the strength of this tune and "Split Spirit" I'm weirdly optimistic about it, both those songs have so much going for them and they really do sound like what you'd hope a band full of so many great and creative musicians would sound like, nobody's stepping on anyone else's toes, and if you're familiar with the artists involved you can identify where some of the individual pieces come from. Obviously its just two songs but I can't stop listening to them, I'm definitely ordering this CD once I can figure out how.

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/WPCL-12294

haven't ordered from them for many years but have good experiences

I haven't ordered from them yet - the live disc I got off eBay for a surprisingly reasonable price (like $16 after shipping)

found the full tracklisting:
1.Don’t Move
2.Luv U Tokio
3.Maisie’s Avenue
4.Albore
5.Gravetrippin’
6.Anodyne
7.Disaster Baby
8.Radio (META Version)
9.W.G.S.F.
10.Split Spirit (META Version)
11.Whiteout h
12.Threads

"Radio" was previously released by Towa Tei, featuring YT, probably my favorite song he's ever done. Looks good so far.

make sure u wish YT a happy birthday on facebook today

i know it's heresy but "hear say i", if you will: i'll take solo takahashi over hosono any day of the week

so many long stretches of both what me, worry and neuromantic are just siiiiiiick

like i just listened to "it's gonna work out" while watching sheryl crow's band rock out on mute at farm aid, and it made it seem like they were slaying the crowd with a journey of rhythm

and i like hosono a lot, too! he can't be denied! but i just feel like takahashi also cannot be denied

when people talk about takahashi's voice, it's often about the bowie/ferry thing, but too often it is left unmentioned that he really had a great ear for melody. i think they're infectious and have a way of sounding very familiar while also kind of unpredictable at the same time.

I am 100% waving my Hosono san Ichiban!! giant foam finger most of the day, but I've come to really like YT's vocals over the last year. His voice nowadays though is a lovely mature thing.

Afraid the download link from Frogbs has really expired this time. Anyone want to do a re-up?

I believe I've mentioned this on one of the other YMO threads but this asami kado album produced by mr. YT is one of my fave things he's done:
https://www.discogs.com/Asami-Kado-La-Fleur-Bleue/master/1102921
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFIJtZjISWo

as for YT's solo stuff, those two records are solid. but generally... I feel like his albums are really patchy? I prefer hosono myself. um, very strongly.

I like Takahashi's solo stuff the least of any YMO member (including Matsutake), but he's still an essential member of YMO. His combined live/Electronic drum sound is very distinct, and so are his vocals.

A lot of YMO records have a vocal melody that's pretty hard to follow, because Takahashi is sort of speaking/singing in a Lou Reed kind of way, and then there appears to be a pitch LFO on his voice on top of that. That style is all over BGM, and I have never heard that anywhere else -- except this Minks record from 2010.

for sure! I particularly love his playing on "perspective"; it's a drum track that doesn't draw much attention to itself at first but is so crisp, lean, and propulsive. and those fills rule <3

yukihiro wrote some absolute classics.. "ballet", "rydeen"...

whoa @ that Minks track. that is a really distinct effect.

I'm surprised how well he's kept up his drumming, especially since he's been a frontman/solo artist for like the last 30+ years. This track (which feels to me like an update of "Expected Way") has some real superb drumming of it, a bit more complex even than what he was doing in his YMO days

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkc5u9r5VF4

new Beatniks album coming soon, that's unexpected

and again. this time called "Exitentialist a Xie Xie"

I guess I've only just now pored over that first album. Despite featuring two excellent musicians I never really gave it much time. It's quite an odd little record, they intentionally go for a weird outsider and somewhat avant-garde vibe though (as expected) the tunes are pretty good. I'm still amused that Aphex Twin remixed a track from it on his "26 Mixes For Cash" album. No way did anyone pay him any money for that!

awesome

ビートニクスが今度出す新作のアナログ盤ジャケットが…大名盤セカンドのリイシューで狂喜乱舞❗ pic.twitter.com/oYLluvgmwl

— チキン カツ夫 (@djwaffle) April 21, 2018

Neuromantic is a masterpiece

― VENIET IMBER (imago), Monday, December 16, 2013 10:12 PM (four years ago)

No joke. Just bought it a couple of days ago and I love it.

I got a copy of What Me Worry at the beginning of the year. Has a really cool synth pop take on “It’s All Too Much”

blessed image

https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/39569808_1895132173914923_2904513252153098240_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=baf50ae94f39867a437cb889ce671602&oe=5C07780F

YMO circa "Multiplies" X Sparks circa "Whomp That Sucker" would be something.

wait a minute...3 hour Joy Division show???!

Assuming he's intentionally exaggerating there.

i guess!

funny enough..
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/watch-peter-hooks-3-hour-tribute-to-joy-divisions-ian-curtis/

It's funny because Takahashi actually talks about his easygoing image in the interview, how he seems really chill but he can be very extreme when he gets angry. This seems like it's missing quite a bit. Because I got this off a BT fan resource, the pages with only photos of Takahashi but not Imai were missing. I'll have to dive into the depths of Tumblr or VK to find the rest. But I'll spare you the luscious pouting twink photos and copy the text I do have:

今井：僕はYMOがきっかけで、ロックを聴き始めたんです。
中3の時、TVのCMかなんかで『テクノポリス』をいてカッコいいなと思って、シングル買ったんです。
高橋：まあルックスだけ似てるグループはいっぱいいるけと。みんな明るい歌ってたりするじゃない、普通のラヴソングだったり。でも、とっかかりって何でもいいんだよね。例えばヴィジュアルであったり、珍しいとか。暗いって言われるでしょう？
今井：ええ、だから、デビューの頃とか「ハリー・アップ・モード』の方がいいって言う人もいます。
高橋：だけど、今はバクチクはバクチクであるわけで、YMOを聴いてたっていうのは、ファンには関係ないことなんじゃないかな。
今井：でもファンの中には、僕たちが聴いてたからってYMOを聴いてるっていう人もいるみたい。
高橋：でも、それもバクチクを通してのことだから本質的なことじゃないよね。今井くんが受けたような影響を、今YMOを聴いて受けるわけがないわけで、音楽も時代といつも関連していくから。
今井：僕、ずっとヒトラーが気になっていて、最新作は彼をモチーフにして作ったんです。
高橋：うん、僕は「プロパガンダ』のステージを思い出すね。
今井：それは、すごく意識してます。ヴィジュアルも含めて。「プロパガンダ」はヴィデオで見たんですけど、あのコンセプチュアルな感じは真似したいって、思ってました。
高橋：ただ僕は、ああいう退廃とかデカダンとか、最後の「プロパガンダ」の感じって、すごい嫌いだったの。
今井：それは何かのインタビューで読みました。あれが嫌いだって言ってたんで少しガッカリしたんですけど好きだと思ってたから（笑）。でも、幸宏さんが、そうおっしゃるのはわかるような気がします。
高橋：あの時アート・ディレクターが3人もいたから。井上ツグヤと、奥村ユキマサと、そして佐藤さんが監督だったわけで。黒テントですからね、なんてったって（笑）。で、もうちょっと僕はYMOの最初のイメージっていうのは、ヤケッパチの尖った部分っていうのは、ずっと後期になって好きなんだけど、やっぱり最初の頃のドライな感じっていうのが、イメージだったからね。どうしてかって言うと、80年代ニュー・ウェイヴから出てきてテクノとか言われた、アンチであることが正しいっていう考え方の時代があったでしょ、2、3年間。79年ぐらいから。あれが凄い楽しくてね。高野なんかもそれは言ってる。あの時代だけは生き生きできたって。バクチクのヴィジュアル感って見ると、やっぱりそれなりの、完成品という感じがするんだよね。またちょっと違うとらえかたかなと思うけと。けっこう耽美的だよね。
今井：ええ、バウハウスとか、好きなんで。
高橋：バウハウスってグループじゃなくて、ホントのバウハウスの方？
今井：ええ、両方とも。
高橋：俺、グループのバウハウスって嫌いなんだよ
（笑）。とうしてかって言うと、おこがましい。だって、生意気だよ。僕だったら、恥ずかしくってつけられないなあ。そんな名前。
今井：あ、名前が生意気。
高橋：でも、あの人たちも好きなんだろうね。あの頃のロンドンは、飽きなかったな。1年のうち半分くらい行ってても飽きなかった。ジョイ・ディヴィジョンとかニュー・オーダーのステージに行くと、3時間ぐらい、つまんないステージやってんの。暗くて（笑）。でピーター・バラカンと「こりや耐えらんないな～」とか言いながら見てんの（笑）。
今井：でも3時間見たんですか？
高橋：いや、耐えられなくて僕は途中で出た（笑）。
耽美的なものには、それほど憧れてないの、実は。ただナイーヴなものには、すごく憧れる。例えばガラス細工のような、とか。それは裏を返すと、ガラス細工が壊れた時の角なものに憧れるのと同じようにさ。あるじゃない、子供時代で言えば、喧嘩は強くないけど、怒らしたらアイツ人殺すかもしれないぜっていうヤツの方が好きなの。だって、僕ってねえ、すごい喧嘩弱かったの、子供の頃。高校ぐらいかな。でもぜったい自分で許したくないことってあるじゃない？人に犯されたくない部分。それを守るためにナイフを持って歩いてた時期があった。何かあったら殺してやろうと思って。
今井：アブナイ奴ですね。僕だったらナイフ持つってことを考えたとしても、実行には移さないと思うな。
高橋：それぐらい僕ってアブナイ人間だったの。今でもそれはあんまり変わってなくて。
今井：ナイフ持って歩いてるんですか
高橋：それはないけど、いつもニコニコしてるわりに、スタッフなんかは知ってるけど、いきなり怒りだすと、極端な方向に行っちゃう。でも、そういう興奮のしかたって残ってるうちは、音楽とかやれるなって思う。やっぱり憧れるのは中原中也ですね。
今井：中原中也の詩集、僕も最近買ったんです。ずっと前から欲しくって探してて、やっとこのあいだ

Machine translation of the relevant bit:

Imai: Yes, I like Bauhaus and stuff.
Takahashi: Bauhaus is not the group, but the real Bauhaus?
Imai: Yes, both.
Takahashi: I don't like the group Bauhaus
(laughs). To put it simply, it's presumptuous. I mean, it's insolent. If it were me, I'd be too embarrassed to have a name like that.
Imai: Ah, it's a cheeky name.
Takahashi: But I guess those guys like it too. I never got bored of London back then. I never got bored even if I went there half the year. When I went to see Joy Division or New Order, they would do a boring show for about three hours. It was dark (laughs). So Peter Barakan and I were watching it and saying, "This is too much for me to bear" (laughs).
Imai: But did you watch three hours?
Takahashi: No, I couldn't stand it so I left halfway through (laughs).

Aww, but you know the Japanese and their modesty! I'm sure all these remarks were being delivered with that lovely Yuki smile and modest head-nods in Mr. Imai's direction.

Thanks a lot for that, Ether <3

Agreed! I don't think Takahashi is being mean with his dissing of Hisashi's favourite bands here. He's laughing throughout, I think what he's saying is quite playful.

Especially in the context of the previous bit of the conversation about Bakuchiku fans compared to YMO fans (like Hisashi). He's acknowledging that he's from a very different generation. I'm pretty sure YMO were all - I don't know the Japanese expression but the German word would be 'Nachgeboren'. Like Kraftwerk. Born in the late 40s / early 50s. Born into a ruined, occupied country. Stunde Null. While Hisashi's generation, Gen X, the Band Boom generation, have a different relationship to the imagery that they were discussing.

But I just found it funny - both haha funny and interesting funny. Takahashi's discomfort with YMO's image during the Propaganda era. Which Hisashi loved and found very influential and frequently paid homage to.

Anyway, now I need to watch Propaganda.

I love how he pulls in New Order, a band who, in the early 80s at least, rarely played for more than 40 mins :)

I think the implication is, he found them so intolerable that 40 minutes felt like 3 hours! 🤣

Oh sure, it makes me realise that I don't know very much about what YT's roots were, musically speaking.

There's plenty that is obvious about Hosono, we know Sakamoto had a Tokyo School of Fine Arts upbringing, but other than drumming in the SMB, I wonder if he was a Beatles kid, into folk perhaps, or the Group Sounds scene.

oh he was definitely way into the Beatles

Not relevant to the question of origins, but I just remembered a great YT anecdote.

Hosono had wanted Caramel Mama's Tatsuo Hayashi to be YMO's drummer (so: Hosono / Sato / Hayashi versus the triumverate we all know & love) but Hayashi hated playing along to a click track, which Hosono deemed a requirement for this new, more electronic project.

Enter Takahashi, who blew his audition out of the water AND, in playing along with a computer-dictated beat, felt like his entire drumming life had been justified. Apparently the Sadistic Mika Band and earlier bands he'd been part of were always complaining that YT played too fast. "SEE, you assholes? I was right on goddam time ALL ALONG"

I've probably mentioned this before but I feel like Takahashi's drumming was always the secret sauce to what make YMO's stuff so ahead of its time. there were definitely some cool sounding drum machines back then but most of them felt tinny and kinda blocky. even Kraftwerk's drum pads (or whatever they used) sounded like thin layers of foil. YMO had a drummer who could play like a drum machine, but on an actual kit. the first time I heard them I thought it *was* a drum machine and wondered how something from that long ago could sound that good. I thought the lack of any reverb at all was a giveaway. it's such a joy to watch live footage of him too. he doesn't screw up. like...ever.

I have now watched Propaganda during a slow afternoon at work. I am somewhat at a loss as to the plot or purpose of the non-concert scenes. Kind of an extended extremely 80s extremely arty extremely concept music video. But it was fantastic to see YMO live at the height of their powers. Really interesting to see how much of the instrumentation my ears got wrong. Hosono played a lot of live bass, which contributed to how incredibly funky they were. Yet many sounds that I had previously thought were guitar were actually Sakamoto playing a distorted synth sound with pitch bend and glissando. And how much drumming David Palmer did at the lives, allowing Takahashi to take more of a traditional frontman role.

But I also laughed a lot. Because there were several points in the film where I laughed aloud, suddenly seeing even more imagery that B-T referenced.

But yeah, I have much more appreciation for Takahashi now. And had I first seen this film at the age Hisashi did, I would probably also have been tying a red armband round my leather jacket and running around pasting my band's logo over everything in Tokyo haha.

Is "Present" the ultimate city pop song?

Is the above a rhetorical question?

Brought to helpless tears by Sayonara again, goddam.