Yukihiro Takahashi: S & D

it's how it should be

I can't stop listening to Disposable Love.

I wonder how his health is these days.

he's posting pics of himself with his dog again, so I guess that's good

still do get a bit nervous when this thread gets bumped

a bunch of his catalogue is getting reissued. that's cool but unlike Hosono idk how necessary it is, his 80s records aren't really that hard to find. a lot of the good ones got a UK pressing so copies are definitely out there.

his 80s records aren't really that hard to find.

oh god, seeing this and the obituary thread bumped at the same time caused my heart to skip

may be a good time to revisit some of those post-What Me Worry 80s records. I recall not digging them much but each has one song I really loved. some of his 90s albums are really nice though.

thanks for the spotify head's up! i'm listening to the GRAND ESPOIR comp that Light in the Attic put out last year (https://lightintheattic.net/releases/8520-grand-espoir). 1980-85 tracks on Disc 1, assorted tracks he produced or had a hand in on the second

Yuki in the 90s is a real blank spot for me, I need to do something about that.

my go-to for 90s YT is the live CD Run After You, which is really well recorded and contains most of the great tunes he wrote around this time (many of which were just on EPs). "Iron Man" in particular is a favorite, but I can't find it on YouTube. I really love this song from one of his EPs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LPGsYpsEIg

his '95 album Fate of Gold is pretty good. can't help but wonder what the "explicit lyrics" on the cover is alluding to

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

The Dearest Fool from 1999 is where he really jumped into making electronic music again. Parts sound kinda dated now but I think the songwriting is pretty good on this one. Keiichi Suzuki & Steve Jansen appear, so it's kind of like a continuation of his 80s stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4vBXABbsFE

Aw thanks Frogbs, this is a great pointer.

ahh yeah "Ray of Hope" from 1998 is another good one. though I think it's actually more of a compilation. I think this and Fate of Gold contain some of his best songwriting, if you combined the best songs from the two you'd have a real killer album

I had a dream
You gave me a sign
And put me in a new truck

Started with The Dearest Fool, and it is excellent!

People posting RIP messages on Takahashi's Facebook profile :-(

Noooooooooooo

ah fuck.

Oh lord, I am going to be so eternally bummed out about this......fuck

Seems it's true.

aww no way :(((

One of the absolute pillars of Japanese modern musical culture.

Thinking about the thousands of late middle-aged, natsukashi salarymen crying into their whisky over this.

One of the absolute pillars of Japanese modern musical culture.

Thinking about the thousands of late middle-aged, natsukashi salarymen crying into their whisky over this.

RIP :(

Noooo! RIP Yuki... what a legend.

Amazing work and then some. Sad to hear it!

ah, goddamnit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYGjl9gp4kA

the best

I’m devastated. Not only a fantastic musician and songwriter but also a fashion icon and by all accounts a very nice guy. He felt like such a kind soul. He left behind so much music but it still felt like he had more left to give. For now the song that feels appropriate was this one. Such an absolute legend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LPGsYpsEIg

Love both the photo and the opening bit from this piece from 2018:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2018/11/23/music/ymos-yukihiro-takahashi-celebrates-pair-40th-anniversaries/

The past few years have been a boom time for Japanese reissues, as labels dredge up everything from ambient obscurities to glossy disco-pop for the benefit of listeners who missed them first time around. For Yukihiro Takahashi, it’s all a bit confusing.

“Do you understand that?” the 66-year-old musician and style guru asks, pondering the current appetite for vintage Japanese sounds. “I don’t get it. It was all just copies of music from overseas, wasn’t it?”

That is a bummer! I've only barely dipped into his solo work so I have little sense of what he was doing at present... but I think I imagined I would "catch up" before he passed. RIP.

one of my fave yuki productions

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

rip

Gutted. I listened to the What Me Worry album obsessively during the first year of the pandemic. This song and performance in particular helped me a lot during some really hard times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUmG1SlR8fs

I posted the wrong clip (as much as I also love that video). I meant to post It's Gonna Work Out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBFpX2e3thQ

Love that video so much, especially the degree to which YT is enjoying himself compared to the other two. The song is credited to all three but I love the implication that it’s Takahashi’s song and the other two fucking hate it

RIP handsome genius

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gZLXah5HXY

Oh yeah that one rules too. I gif’d part of the intro to use on my music blog. I think Barakan wrote the lyrics but I am pretty sure he was half-translating something YT wrote. And when he sings it he’s kind of emphasizing the wrong parts. It’s really cool because the lyrics are so good. And the tune itself, it’s kind of the quintessential Takahashi techno pop song. The first few seconds always give me such a rush.

Some really amazing lyrics in that one too

"There are things beyond the control
Ain't no point in worrying about them
So get older take a look around
Can't you find a little joy in something?"

Also

"People say fate is what you make it
But people say anything that suits them
Whatever it was took me by surprise
By bring you crashing into my life"

I’m sure I’ve posted this before but it’s utterly insane to me that he was front and center on 3 incredible YMO solo albums, plus 3 great solo albums of his own, that incredible first Beatniks album, plus countless productions and songwriting credits for other YEN records artists, all within the span of about three years. One of the most incredible runs in pop music history and it’s even more impressive since I think all of that music really holds up today.

i'm just hearing about this. RIP to an absolute legend and an easy top 3 choice for "best singing drummer of all time"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMxAWP1xUfI

Vocals in this are so lush.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK RIP. i got really deep into his solo catalogue this year :(

Shit. RIP to a real one.

Ah shit, I was hoping he'd have years left yet. Absolutely fantastic drummer in Sadistic Mika Band days, and exactly the right musician for YMO. Amazing singer and writer too, RIP big guy.

Relistening to ×∞ Multiplies (original release obv) just now and I'm still amazed at this existing. I finally did some digging to find out what the hell was with the comedy sketches and that's how I learned about Snakeman Show (run it through autotranslate as needed).

Yep, that led me to this album, which is still one of the strangest LPs I own:

https://www.discogs.com/master/288369-Snakeman-Show-Presents-Melon-And-Exotic-Sounds-Of-Water-Melon-Group-Pithecan-Thropus-Erectus

That's...quite a title.

still at a loss for words, just gonna post one of the prettiest songs ever written

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFGV2bYcgys

Gets it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq3jk1nPEwk

frogbs, that song is lovely - thank you!

just been listening to this classic, so sad:

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