"BGM" by the Yellow Magic Orchestra is the greatest electronic pop album ever.

"btw the woman speaking french is akiko yano

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― wavestation (r1o natsume), 21 June 2010 12:41 (3 days ago)"

It's actually Tomoko Nunoi who's speaking French, same as on La Femme Chinoise (she's credited for that, but not on BGM for some reason).

A little hunting online tonight and I found the Akiko Yano albums from '80 through '82, including Ai Ga Nakucha Ne. These are fantastic. A YMO lover's dream. I was familiar with several tracks on these already but as a whole they are superb. The one with Japan guesting on some tracks is a real odd bird. Great to hear Sylvian and co. backing AY.

you should hunt down masami tsuchiya's rice music as well if you haven't already. bass duties are shared by mick karn and percy jones, drums are all steve jansen. bill nelson plays some guitar and sakamoto contributes a song. it's an amazing album, kinda continues from where japan's tin drum left off. still looking for night mirage by ippu do which is meant to be really good

love that beatniks record. haven't heard much moon riders stuff, what i've heard sounded like quirky devo-esque new wave. keiichi suzuki went on to do the beyond classic earthbound soundtrack for the snes

superb record. bought it on a whim for a couple of bucks a few years ago. wasn't into the ymo i had heard up until that point (s/t, ∞ multiples) but bgm really hit me. in a way, it sounds more expansive and wide-ranging than other synth-pop of its time (i may not be schooled enough to really stand behind that claim).

9. Mass - Great sequencer sounds like Tangerine Dream from around the same time and the melodic line sounds an 80s retro-futurist version of the national anthem of some dictatorial country.

yeah, totally. it sounds like they're almost quoting the imperial death march at points. such a great, weird song.

i picked up naughty boys and service recently and have been really enjoying 'em both. wonderful, slightly strange-sounding pop. i also got bill nelson's a love that whirls and (not surprisingly) it has sort of the same vibe (lotsa layers and all sorts of different synth sounds swarming all over the place w/killer melodies)

cheers to all y'all for the recommendations (not that i'll likely be able to score physical copies of most of them) :)

xpost Yes! Rice Music is excellent. Tsuchiya is/was a hell of a guitar player. I wish Japan would've made an album with him before they split up. His guest playing with them on The Old Grey Whistle Test (or was it TOTP?) is awesome.

Listening to the Ai Ga Nakucha Ne album for the rhird time today as I type. "What's Got In Your Eyes?" is ... Aaaah!

hobbes - I found the Yano stuff for sale online but as super expensive import cd's (I'm in the US ). I went the BAD WAY and found them as free 128 mp3s easily enough on some weird Viet site.

some of these records were released on major labels and were pressed up in quite large numbers, many finding their way over to the west. rice music for example always turns up on vinyl -- currently $5.00 and £4.45 on discogs. the sandii records as well can be found quite easily. i think the rule is, the more members of japan that feature, the more likely it is to turn up on vinyl

Exactly how popular are YMO in Japan itself? Cult hit? Mondo pop band?

Solid State Survivor was the best selling album in Japan in 1980 (over a million copies if you combine LP and cassette sales), Multiplies and Public Pressure also topped the charts that year so they were pretty big then. BGM and Technodelic, however, were commercial suicide in comparison but still peaked at no. 2 and 4 respectively in the Oricon album charts. Their only singles that got in the top 10 were Technopolis (9), and Kimi ni Mune Kyun (2) which was a pretty big success. They played in Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on several occasions in 1980 and 1983, this was probably the biggest venue in the country at the time (it's where The Beatles played in 1966).

Gah, and here I thought no one would respond! Excellent comments and recommendations, guys. I've gotta finally track down Ippu-Do's stuff. I've read a lot about them but for some reason have never actually heard them. Time to remedy that.

Maybe a tough proposition: Name some good post-1984 YMO-related stuff.

i think ryuichi sakamoto's album Beauty from 89 (90?) is pretty nice. "We Love You" is a rolling stones song with robert wyatt and brian wilson singing on it

http://robotsinheat.com/temp/We%20Love%20You.mp3

Have a mix:

http://mysterydriver.tumblr.com/post/798385856/ymomix1

^ awesome. thanks

http://rootstrata.com/rootblog/?p=3706

Fairlights, Mallets and Bamboo- Fourth-world Japan, years 1980-1986
By Spencer Doran

Haruomi Hosono – “Down to the Earth“ from Mercuric Dance
Ryuichi Sakamoto – “A Rain Song” from Esperanto
Mkwaju Ensemble – “Ki-Motion” from Ki Motion
Haruomi Hosono – “Air Condition” from Philharmony
Mariah – “Shisen” from Utakata no Hibi
Yasuaki Shimizu – “(Untitled Pieces for Bridgestone)” from Music for Commercials
Mkwaju Ensemble – “Lemore” from Mkwaju
Seigen Ono – “Mallets” from Seigen
Masahide Sakuma – “WINDOWS/Hi!!” from Masahide Sakuma
Geinoh Yamashirogumi – “Agba’a” from Africa Genjoh
Yasuaki Shimizu – “(Untitled Piece for Tachikawa)” from Music for Commercials
Danceries – “Grasshoppers” from End of Asia
Phew – “Closed” from Phew
Haruomi Hosono – “Windy Land” from The Endless Talking
YMO – “Loom” from BGM

Very nice, thanks.

Brilliant mixes, many thanks!

yeah thanks alll

Corey, did you notice that Ryiuchi Sakamoto is playing the Vic in October?

Thank you for listening! Can't wait to listen to that Jaxon mix!

it's not actually my mix. just found it.

i actually was forwarded your ymo mix from a non ilxor the other day (although he is friends w/dan and jeremy). thought it was pretty cool

Corey, did you notice that Ryiuchi Sakamoto is playing the Vic in October?

No! I'm gotta see that.

err, gonna.

Really digging Miharu Koshi's "Tutu" right now, thanks for the recommendation.

Also really enjoying the first two Logic System albums. Great stuff! Now if I could find those Interior and Testpattern records...

Now I'm trying to find Koshi's "Boy Soprano". Any kind soul want to help me out? ;)

^^ Found it — and just listened to Yano's "Ai ga nakucha ne". So good!

Hey, very interesting thread and Spencer I love that Fairlights mix you made - I actually found it on waxidermy originally.

A little request: would anyone be able to up Koshi's Boy Soprano? Or let me know where to find a link? Because I can't find it *anywhere* and I listened to the one song that's on youtube about 10 times today.

I found it on s0uls33k, if you're not averse to that...

Oh I see now that the Fairlights mix-maker wasn't the dude who posted it. Still a wicked mix, though.

Thanks I'll try s**ls**k again, I tried using it in the past but something wouldn't work for me.

Good thread! I recently got into this album again, my review is on my YMO page here:

http://www.listology.com/jamool/story/yellow-magic-orchestra

I gave it 4.5/5. Although listening further I may just give it the perfect rating. So much depth on that album and some truly haunting pieces. Side 2 is as good as the side 2 of their debut. Really a must-own synth album for any New Wave fans.

jay vee- any chance for a tracklisting on that ymo mix? been listening to it quite a bit lately, good stuffs

it appears to be down

Yikes. Don't know about a tracklisting but would be happy to id any couple of trax for you. I had the mix up for about a month and took it down as soon as I noticed no d/l's. I can Sendspace it for anyone interested.

Chicago DJ Boo Williams dropped 'Computer Games' into a set of mostly deep house at a party I went to on Saturday in London, and it still sounds amazing on a loud system - the crowd lapped it up :-D

I used to have several YMO tracks on my DJ lists. "Firecracker" (the one usually labelled as "Computer Games") is one. "Rydeen" and "Technopolis" are other good ones. There is a Takkyu Ishino (Denki Groove) mix of "Technopolis" that is just ace, brings the house down. Lately I have been trying to mix "Pure Jam" into different things, very great track that's very 90's even though it was released in '81. Great stuff.

Fastnbulbous: Xoo Multiplies is definitely worth seeking out if you have a particularly dry sense of humor. It's kind of a comedy album and the two sketches in English are very funny. Song-wise it's mostly very good. Their cover of "Tighten Up" is a classic. One of my top ten YMO tracks. It's quite hilarious as well in it's own way. I love how after the comedy sketch, one of the Snakeman Show guys says, "Here we go.....again" and the song starts up for a third time.

A word of caution though; make sure you get the Japan release. AFAIK Solid State Survivor wasn't released in the US at first so the US version of Xoo Multiplies is kind of a combination of the two albums, dropping all of the comedy sketches and other unique material. I guess they figured U.S. audiences wouldn't understand it (probably a good call).

but for the audiences that love them, there's the full length album: Snakeman Show Presents Melon and Exotic Sounds Of Watermelon - "Pithecan Thropus Erectus Strike Back", particularly the track "International Dance"

I have that one; it's pretty good. A real trip, too. Their version of "Fly Me To the Moon" is one of the most bizarre things I've ever heard.

Here's a neat discovery: on both sides of BGM, tracks 1-4 are all 4:32-4:35 in length, and 5 is 5:21-5:23. I think that might explain why some of the tracks seem to cut off abruptly. Cool

Listening to the "World Tour 1980" two-disc set — so great!

Can't believe I'd never heard it before, glad I checked the thread...the tracklist is quite interesting, heavy on early Sakamoto stuff, quite a few cover tunes, with Akiko Yano, I think there's a Sandii cover (or is it Sheena?), even a bizarre Beatles cover, and some things that I can't identify ("Maps"). I really dig the cover of "Kang Tong Boy" though I've never heard the original. Even the YMO tunes seem to get overhauled. It's a lot different from the Public Pressure/Faker Holic sets (which I also liked a lot).

Coming to the Hollywood Bowl in September!

At least, this is probably the greatest YMO album ever, although the first two are also great.

Sadly, I feel like a bit too many of the others are being dragged down in quality by way too much Japanese dialogue between the songs. I would guess they would make more sense to Japanese people though.

XP wait waht?

Whoa really?? Are they just going the one US date or are they going on some kind of tour!?

XXP the only one that really gets "dragged down" is Service, but you can just skip the Japanese dialogue bits or program them out. A few of the comedy bits Xoo Multiplies are in Japanese but they're short and actually kind of amusing by themselves. AFAIK almost all of their lyrics are in English besides a couple of songs like "Kimi Ni Mune Kyun"

http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/tickets/performance-detail.cfm?id=4529

Cibo Matto in support too, I'm jealous

Wow really really hope they are doing more US dates. I mean YMO is on a short list of bands that completely shaped my tastes in music, Hosono is particular is like a God to me, and I'm going to miss it? No way! "Additional artists to be announced"? Sounds like a hell of an evening...

A few of the comedy bits Xoo Multiplies are in Japanese but they're short and actually kind of amusing by themselves.

Judging from the amusing English language dialogue in the beginning, I would guess they may be amusing. But I don't understand them.

And with a playtime of less than 30 minutes, there is little music left on "Xoo Multiplies", although what little music is on the album is usually brilliant. Still more of an EPs worth of music than an album though.

But sure... "Japanese are crazy! Japanese are monkeys! Japanese are PIGS! Do you understand?" "No."

Rap Phenomena is kind of unbelievable isn't it? It sounds like a parody of electro hip-hop, but it was released in 1981. Before Flash, Run DMC, Planet Rock, or any of that. It was just like, Sugarhill and Kurtis Blow back then. It's like it's making fun of something which doesn't exist yet. Also the lyrics are fucking wild. I know people think it's a weak spot on this album but I kinda love it!

i've heard it called parody before but it's never struck me as such. it's a fantastic track, not weak at all.

as probably everyone who gets really into ymo feels, it's just utterly unbelievable that both bgm and technodelic came out in the same year. and they're so different, too.

just learned ryuichi has stage 4 cancer. my chest feels tight. i'm not ready to lose him.

even crazier considering that Yukihiro Takahashi also did Neuromantic (his best solo LP!) and the Beatniks first album with Keiichi Suzuki (also incredibly good!) the same year!! Sakamoto also released Left-Handed Dream that year, which feels like a totally separate thing from YMO. Hosono was incredibly proactive as a songwriter & producer in '81 as well. just a crazy amount of creativity in a short period, can't think of anything else that compares besides, I dunno, The Beatles

even crazier considering that Yukihiro Takahashi also did Neuromantic (his best solo LP!)

indeed, just bonkers. i know i've said it a million times, but i will never pass up the opportunity to say that Neuromantic is also, possibly, the greatest YMO-related release of them all. so good

i'm sorry to hear about sakamoto. I've been listening to his recent music a lot recently, particularly his "Playing the Piano 12122020" release, which is what it sounds like. I remember when that came out, several months into the pandemic, how bleak the world felt, and what a quiet gift that his music was. It still resonates with me, the melancholy of that time is still there (in the world, in his music).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRwNKAGp2eY

wow, that's the last YMO song I thought I'd see a cover of. looks like they have a bunch of YMO covers, in fact it seems to be all they do :)

been thinking a lot about this and the thread title is still accurate

RELEASE THE YMO BIO

listen to the Music Plans beat for a minute, like just focus on nothing but that. it's wild. I wonder if all those loops are out of sync because somehow it sounds like it never repeats.

tbh, i hear the drum loop. but *puts on shades* i play the drums so. definitely an odd one in that the snare/claps are on the 1 of each measure rather than the usual 2 and 4

god "Cue" makes me miss a certain friend of mine. we used to listen to this all the time and when we played poker and we needed a queen we'd always sing "give me a Q" in our wobbliest YT voice. it was a joke that obviously only the two of us found funny which confused everyone else at the table. he's still alive by the way he just got kind of weird and religious

yeah I'm listening again and I think it kind of tricks my brain into thinking the beat is in a different place in each loop in the same way those M.C. Escher paintings make you feel like every staircase goes upward

Give meeee a Q
I think I neaaaaaarly found you

btw something very brilliant about this album is how both sides begin with more or less "normal" pop songs after which the music begins to get weird in ways that are first subtle and then very obvious.

and maybe I'm imagining things but I think there are parallels between the two sides. A1 is "Ballet" which in the bridge features a French phrase that translates to:

"I am tired of the same old chaos/I am sick/There should be an exit in this cul-de-sac."

and of course B1 is "Cue" and you know what the bridge is there.

then A4 is what sounds like a Hosono track but is actually Sakamoto. which is balanced by B4 which sounds like a dramatic Sakamoto composition but is actually Hosono. the clue is the fact that the one on Side A is called "Happy End"

not to mention the fact that the track lengths are identical from one side to the other

Listening to "Cue" right now, oddly enough.