the first two of the three tracks (up to about 30 minutes) is music commissioned to be played in Muji stores in Japan in the mid-80s, although apparently they never played it in-store.
I think that the "found muji" stores do play hosono's bgm. the one I went to did, anyway. it works well!
― (⊙_⊙?) (original bgm), Saturday, March 9, 2019 3:18 PM (five days ago)
you're right! my copy of the new Kankyō Ongaku comp from Light in the Attic just came in the mail, and it closes with original bgm! it's so nice to be able to put it on the record player and let it play for 16 minutes. the liner notes mention someone hearing it in a Muji store back in 1983, so you must be right! the liner notes also mentioned that Hosono later reworked the piano melody into this song from his 1984 album S-F-X:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-wtudBuq3g
― but i'm there are fuckups (Karl Malone), Friday, 15 March 2019 00:33 (five years ago) link
^^ which is AMAZING.
Waiting patiently (...) for my copy of Kankyō Ongaku to arrive!
― Uptown VONC (Le Bateau Ivre), Friday, 15 March 2019 00:58 (five years ago) link
ah, nice to hear they were played out in the 80s. those muji tracks are almost too perfect to be ambient music to shop to... but them being ambient music to shop to makes them even more perfect. I picture supermarket aisles myself. (muji started as a supermarket or something, right?)
no mention of the US shows? NY and LA! I'm keeping my expectations grounded in the boogie woogie zone but sakamoto joining for the NY set seems within the realm of possibility...
― (⊙_⊙?) (original bgm), Friday, 15 March 2019 03:33 (five years ago) link
why does ryuchi trend in the indie art miasma but not hosono. Is it the hair?
― 57mg/20floz, Saturday, 16 March 2019 10:49 (five years ago) link
Much less obvious connections to western artists, tended towards nurturing and collaborating with Japanese artists.
― MaresNest, Saturday, 16 March 2019 13:18 (five years ago) link
Is this the place to discuss this new LITA comp?
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Pacific-Breeze-Japanese-City-Pop-AOR-Boogie-1976-1986/master/1539822
The city pop thread doesn't seem to get a lot of traffic.
Sounds fantastic so far. If nothing else I'm very happy to finally have an affordable copy of Hiroshi Sato's "Say Goodbye" (though I still wish someone would reissue that This Boy comp)
Revelation for me so far: Minako Yoshida's "Midnight Driver." Such a jam!
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 2 May 2019 20:28 (four years ago) link
yoshida's monochrome album is really great.
― visiting, Thursday, 2 May 2019 20:35 (four years ago) link
Just ordered this last night. I only know Drip Dry Eyes and Sports Men which are both absolutely perfect. Very excited to hear the rest.
― kitchen person, Friday, 3 May 2019 04:13 (four years ago) link
Excited for this
― calstars, Friday, 3 May 2019 07:45 (four years ago) link
been wanting a copy of LA Night for ages, best song ever
― Br. Des Shadows (NickB), Friday, 3 May 2019 12:28 (four years ago) link
yea I'm in the same boat as KP, if anything on the comp is as good as either of those I'll consider it money well spent
― frogbs, Friday, 3 May 2019 13:35 (four years ago) link
I'm familiar with maybe half that compilation, agree that Sports Men is perfect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9M-F2WB6nI
the Seaside Lovers album that "Sun Bathing" is from is really lovely - it's cheesy but i adore this sort of smooth beach music
― ufo, Friday, 3 May 2019 13:44 (four years ago) link
oh 'i thought it was you' is on it too - love that one as well, those drums kill me
― Br. Des Shadows (NickB), Friday, 3 May 2019 13:59 (four years ago) link
oh wait i'm getting confused by the LITA 'Pacific Breeze' spotify playlist which has a bunch of different tracks on ithttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/1MuAHiy0n7158rCXN2hHjm
― Br. Des Shadows (NickB), Friday, 3 May 2019 14:17 (four years ago) link
FYI - LITA actually is pressing more copies of Paraiso, remastered by Yoshinori Sunahara (of Denki Groove fame)
https://lightintheattic.net/releases/4913-paraiso
the price is steep but as they say, "fuck it"
― frogbs, Friday, 3 May 2019 14:22 (four years ago) link
oh shit i'd forgotten just how majestic the drums vs. vocoder blaze-up is at the end of 'i thought it was you'. godlike!
― Br. Des Shadows (NickB), Friday, 3 May 2019 14:26 (four years ago) link
that thing that funk records do where they just jam on for 3-4 minutes after the song's over is the coolest thing, I wish more genres would try stuff like that
― frogbs, Friday, 3 May 2019 14:31 (four years ago) link
ha yes!
i really need to get on those friends of earth records don't i?
― Br. Des Shadows (NickB), Friday, 3 May 2019 14:49 (four years ago) link
At $45 it's stretching what I'd normally pay for a single lp, but I had to order the 'Seaside Lovers' LP as well ;_;
― Uptown VONC (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 6 May 2019 09:34 (four years ago) link
it's one of the three or so albums I'd actually pay that much for
― frogbs, Monday, 6 May 2019 13:29 (four years ago) link
https://www.forcedexposure.com/App_Themes/Default/Images/product_images/close_up/w/WWSCD018CD_CU.jpg
Akiko Yano's brilliant 'Irohani-Konpeitou' is being reissued! Always think of this record - though not her debut - as her 'The Kick Inside'. It's so brazen and playful, with melodies to melt away to.
And speaking of: that article mentioned the reissue of 'Tadaima' last year, and that completely passed me by. Anyone bought it? Is it good?
― Uptown VONC (Le Bateau Ivre), Tuesday, 14 May 2019 19:24 (four years ago) link
This album, Tadaima, Gohan Ga Deki Tayo and Ai Ga Nakuchane are all of them great, Great records. Buy 'em all.
― Carly Jae Vespen (Capitaine Jay Vee), Tuesday, 14 May 2019 20:14 (four years ago) link
there's some merit to that LBI - as far as I know, the songs on I-K were written before those on Japanese Girl
always felt this one was a bit weaker than the surrounding albums (though I love track 5 "Ike Yanagida"), still will probably buy it for the sleeve alone, one of my favorite album covers ever
btw Oesu Oesu is another good one - it took a bit to sink in but I've come to see it as one of her best and most representative albums. after that she kinda got mired in that cycle of dated production/back-to-basics, though shes always a joy to listen to
― frogbs, Tuesday, 14 May 2019 20:37 (four years ago) link
I actually like this album from 1986 best: https://www.discogs.com/Akiko-Yano-峠のわが家/master/254757Definitely slick mid 80s rock production there. Steve Ferrone on drums!
― brimstead, Tuesday, 14 May 2019 21:09 (four years ago) link
I bought the Tadaima reissue. I'm really happy with it as the artwork and sound quality are spot on. I saw they did Japanese Girl a couple of months ago. I should pick that up.
I still have hope that someone will reissue some of the Miharu Koshi albums at some point. I saw a copy of Parallelisme come up on Discogs for $75 and I really was tempted.
― kitchen person, Tuesday, 14 May 2019 21:48 (four years ago) link
particularly Boy Soprano, which I think is about as good as anything else mentioned in this thread. the version of "Ave Maria" is such a stunner, I can't do anything while it's playing
― frogbs, Tuesday, 14 May 2019 22:44 (four years ago) link
I'm a huge fan of 'Honto No Kimochi', a latter-day Akiko Yano rekkid, very beautiful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHDUZMjnvs8
― MaresNest, Tuesday, 14 May 2019 23:02 (four years ago) link
I did not know that.
Thanks for that vid MaresNest, I'm still to discover her latter day records, this sounds great.
― Uptown VONC (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 15 May 2019 12:30 (four years ago) link
yeah this is really nice. I'm currently digging her '92 solo piano record "Super Folk Song", though I think a lot of those songs are covers. at least one of 'em I swear is a Moonriders tune, though Akiko sorta makes everything her own so it's hard to tell
poking around YT...she definitely returned to weirdo technopop at some point. I think is from 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlYe-p_XChU&list=RDXAbjxBtESs0
― frogbs, Wednesday, 15 May 2019 16:14 (four years ago) link
Listen, I like creative design and all, but LITA can fuck right off with this:
http://i.imgur.com/IND19Uj.jpg
Trying to read that circle one is anger inducing.
― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 16 May 2019 17:56 (four years ago) link
I frequently realize that what I love about YMO+ is slightly adjacent to what you all love. You might find this record interesting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiGeyJeBXcc
I ran the description through Google Translate and it says that Hosono was an 'advisor' (mistranslation?) on this album. It has the mark of Hosono.
Hideki Matsutake, the 'unofficial' (crucial) 4th member of YMO, deserves his own S&D thread. That's a DEEP rabbit hole.
― 3×5, Thursday, 16 May 2019 20:18 (four years ago) link
BTW the above record is from '82, not '84, putting it closer to YMO's glory days.
― 3×5, Thursday, 16 May 2019 20:19 (four years ago) link
I frequently realize that what I love about YMO+ is slightly adjacent to what you all love
would be curious for your elaboration on this!
― these are not all of the possible side effects (Karl Malone), Thursday, 16 May 2019 20:20 (four years ago) link
also, i really like that last track
― these are not all of the possible side effects (Karl Malone), Thursday, 16 May 2019 20:24 (four years ago) link
I bought the first YMO record, on yellow vinyl, 25 years ago. I was 14 and that record changed my life. I knew, right away, the impact YMO had on Japanese music because I could hear it in SNES and Sega soundtracks.
Part of they key to that early YMO sound is extensive programming of the Roland Microcomposer, the first digital, programmable sequencer. So while YMO weren't the first electronic pop band, they were the first to release computer-programmed pop. They're not 'loopy' or repetitive like Kraftwerk or other contemporaries.
The YMO sound I love is loungy, self-referentially Japanese, and predates MIDI and sample-based drum machines. When ILX goes into YMO deep-dives, they tend to go further into the 80s, but all the great material, YMO and related, happens from '77 to '81.
― 3×5, Thursday, 16 May 2019 20:44 (four years ago) link
A couple of years back some friends and myself made a little internet radio show of Japanese Music for a little internet station for a few years, we did almost 70 editions, went pretty deep down some rabbit holes during that period and I'm pretty sure there wasn't one episode that passed without having a member of YMO (including Yanno and Matsutake) having a hand in some track, particularly Hosono, it fast became a running joke.
― MaresNest, Thursday, 16 May 2019 20:44 (four years ago) link
A couple of years back some friends and myself made a little internet radio show of Japanese Music for a little internet station for a few years
there are no little internet radio shows, only little internet people
― these are not all of the possible side effects (Karl Malone), Thursday, 16 May 2019 20:50 (four years ago) link
Yep, lol, Maresnest + Monkey 47 Gin + ILM access = redundancy
― MaresNest, Thursday, 16 May 2019 20:54 (four years ago) link
that show was pretty great...discovered a lot of neat stuff through there
I remember a question on some message board about who would be the "Kevin Bacon" in the music biz, the one person you could connect to virtually any artist via a few steps...my answer was Ryuichi Sakamoto
amusingly, P-Model (Japan's OTHER great technopop band) appears to have no connection whatsoever
― frogbs, Thursday, 16 May 2019 20:59 (four years ago) link
No connection to YMO, at all? Hmmm damn
― MaresNest, Thursday, 16 May 2019 21:02 (four years ago) link
unless you wanna get really tenuous - the producer of In a Model Room was the keyboard player for Plastics, which later splintered into Melon, who did an album with Snakeman Show, which appeared on Xoo Multiplies
what have I been doing with my life
― frogbs, Thursday, 16 May 2019 21:13 (four years ago) link
i always thought this might be brian eno. in sakamoto's case it would be
eno ----> bowie <---- sakamoto
― these are not all of the possible side effects (Karl Malone), Thursday, 16 May 2019 21:34 (four years ago) link
The interview you did with Chris Mosdell (YMO lyricist) was most revealing iirc.
― Zeuhl Idol (Matt #2), Thursday, 16 May 2019 23:32 (four years ago) link
I'm the dummy here probably but I need to ask: what show was it?!
― Uptown VONC (Le Bateau Ivre), Thursday, 16 May 2019 23:40 (four years ago) link
Matt it was Peter Barakan! I should have tracked down Mosdell too actually
― MaresNest, Friday, 17 May 2019 09:33 (four years ago) link
Not at all LBI, it's all here - https://www.mixcloud.com/japanalternativesessions/
― MaresNest, Friday, 17 May 2019 09:34 (four years ago) link
Oh yeah sorry, anyway I enjoyed his YMO-arguing-in-the-studio stories very much!
― Zeuhl Idol (Matt #2), Friday, 17 May 2019 10:28 (four years ago) link
Thanks MaresNest, that looks amazing! I've got 69 episodes to enjoy :)
― Uptown VONC (Le Bateau Ivre), Friday, 17 May 2019 11:38 (four years ago) link
Ah, yr welcome, if there's anything in there you like but have trouble tracking down hmu.
― MaresNest, Sunday, 19 May 2019 20:07 (four years ago) link
Not sure if this has been mentioned previously, but Hosono still has a weekly radio show called Daisy Holiday every Sunday on Tokyo's InterFM. It's quite chatty (not so good for non-Japanese speakers like me) but it's pretty cheerful.
I've finally managed to jump through the various VPN hoops needed to stream Japanese radio outside Japan (most of the big stations stream through one site, Radiko, which is locked down unbelievably strongly) and have started recorded episodes and putting them into a Google Drive folder. I'm also recording Towa Tei's show on J-Wave, and will be recording Sakamoto's bi-monthly show there too.
If anyone wants access, send me an email through the board and I'll add you to the folder.
― bamboohouses, Monday, 20 May 2019 06:31 (four years ago) link