Everything Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO, Sketch Show, Human Audio Sponge, solo, etc.)

The bad news is the re-releases of the Monad albums & S-F-X appears to have been cancelled. I guess that was predictable given how many times the release date was changed. I would imagine they'll come out eventually but all the shortages are probably making things difficult right now.

The reissues coming out in December are probably way more in demand, anyway...Swing Slow is one of those albums I'd imagine is perfect for rediscovery right now. The vibe is so much in line with everything Light in the Attic does, I hope they'll be able to procure a few copies. There are two other reissues too. One is a 12" single of "Watering a Flower" with two versions of the Vampire Weekend song that sampled it on the back. Unfortunately it does not include "Growth" (the other track from the Muji BGM tape) but hey, I'll take it. The other is a compilation of assorted film music he's done recently, I haven't actually heard much of this stuff but what I have listened to is pretty nice.

 

Off topic but can anyone identify this?

@Paul Rymer

 

No idea, reminds me of World Standard a bit

 

This thread is probably a good place to post this recent Akiko Yano interview to mark her reissue series:
Japanese pop maverick Akiko Yano: ‘Art is in my blood, it will never die’

 

I just pre-ordered the Chimera cd getting reissued by MusicOnCD next month, btw. I have no knowledge of Bill Nelson, but after reading about the Takahashi connection on this album I had been interested. I am glad it is coming back in print.

 

Chimera is a good companion to the 80s Takahashi albums

 

Based upon our recent posts, I've been revisiting a few of the Sakamoto releases spanning what I consider his "pop" phase, where his albums still had some avant-garde elements, but also had a lot of vocal tracks, with some influences like R&B, hip hop, etc. Feel free to disagree with that grouping.
Futurista - Although I was long familiar with several tracks on the Soundbytes collection, I only actually bought the album a year or two ago. The pop songs haven't impressed me much, but I like the avant garde tracks. But, I've only listened to it a few times.
Neo Geo - I'm listening to it now. It was one of my first CD purchases, and I used to love it. I still do. It's sparking some nostalgia for my younger years, when I had an apartment in DC and was infatuated with Japanese culture.
Beauty - I listened again and most of it is still dull to me, except for "Rose", "Asadoya Yunta", and "Diabaram". I still love those tracks. I'm going skip the upcoming SHM-CD.
Heartbeat - I used to love this one for the freshness and variety. I still enjoy some of the tracks, but the hip hop and sampling are now very annoying.
Sweet Revenge - Same as above. I haven't listened to it for a long time, and probably won't any time soon.

 

I have been getting a lot of play out of the new Grand Espoir cd collection from Takahashi. Since I only had two albums from this period, much of the disc is new to me. And I really like it. But there is much more that I enjoy on disc 2! In addition to the very interesting Takahashi / Hosono tracks near the end, I have learned more about some of the pop singers Takahashi produced and wrote for like Raji and Susan. Very cool. My 2 year old also loves the version of "Radio Junk" here and asks for it a lot (he also likes "School of Thought" quite a bit). It kinda reminds me of Elvis Costello, but better. It's been a very good pick-up for me!

And as for the Bill Nelson Chimera disc, it is pretty cool. The percussion from Takahashi really sets the tone, but the feel of the music is not far from his own work at times, either.

 

This compilation イエローマジック歌謡曲 (2005, CD) is worth getting if you like tracks that YMO wrote and produced - not a lot of overlap with the Takahashi disc, and some very good tracks.

 

I've been working my way through this, a 6xCD comp of tracks Hosono wrote for other artists throughout his career.

Haruomi Hosono – 細野晴臣の歌謡曲20世紀ボックス: 細野晴臣提供楽曲集 = 20th Century Box: The Japanese Pops Of Haruomi Hosono (2009, CD) - Discogs

I'm not even sure where to begin with this, there are so many incredible tracks on it. "Zoot Kook" by Sandii is a particular highlight. Released in 1980...still sounds like its from the future.

Zoot Kook - YouTube

 

Zoot Kook was one of the first YMO related tracks I heard. Sandii and the Sunsetz visited New Zealand for a Music Festival. I didn't see them live but got curious about who they were and bought an album or two. I noted that Haruomi Hosono appeared to have a lot to do with the songwriting but I didn't know who he was. I imagined him to be some sort of Svengali character. Particularly after I started buying Yukihiro Takahashi solo albums and noted Hosono appearing there too. It was only later that I saw a picture of YMO together and the penny dropped.

My favourite song from that Sandii album is Idol Era.



And another YMO related Sandii track that I particularly like is Illusion from the album 'Immigrants'.

https://youtu.be/axxF28U9UW4

The only time I saw Sandii live was when she was in Yukihiro Takahashi's band performing in Nagoya. At least, I think it was Takahashi. Was she supporting Ryuichi Sakamoto ????? Fallible memory strikes again.

 

I’m hearing a huge Autobahn influence.

 

Seeing The Ventures in that list stood out to me and now looking up their discography I see they were very involved in Japanese music and performing in Japan. Something else I did not know.

 

Still love this, it's a shame no good video has surfaced. It's from the 1985 All Together Now festival, a charity kind of thing like Live Aid and one of the first big Japanese festivals. Sakamoto performed YMO's Seoul Music as part of a medley.
1985 松任谷由実& ALL TOGETHER NOW - YouTube

At the end of the show, they sing the theme song "because it's now". The song was arranged by Sakamoto and reached number one. It has never been released on CD. It was only the second time a Sakamoto related song reached the top spot, after his 1980 collaboration with Kiyoshiro Imawano, "Ikenai Rouge Magic"

 

Thank you for the tip, somehow I did not know about "Because It's Now" and have found a copy to buy. Looks like it was 7" vinyl only.

 

I just read that Takahashi is on drums too
Yumi Matsutoya, Kazumasa Oda, Kazuo Zaitsu – 今だから (1985, Vinyl)

It’s the only Japanese number one that’s not available on CD.

 

Another fun fact. YMO wanted to get to number one with Kimini Mune Kyun but it was held of the top spot in April 1983 by Seiko Matsuda’s Heaven’s Kiss, a song written by Hosono.

 

Surprisingly Pitchfork just reviewed Neuromantic for the reissue this week.

 

After the SACD announcement, I went back and listened to my original CD and then LP. Although I've loved this album for decades, there's something that really bothers me now. I've always thought that the rhythm tracks on Neuromantic and BGM are way too loud. You have to fight to hear the vocals, synths etc. behind. But, it's either my advancing age, or a more revealing system that now makes it nearly unlistenable. When I listened to Neuromantic a few weeks back, I could barely detect the vocals and synth melodies. Maybe my hearing in the higher frequencies is declining, but I don't detect this problem with other music.

 

A friend of mine who is pals with Mr. Takahashi tells me that he (Takahashi) is being treated for brain cancer.

While I don't doubt my pal I'm hoping it's not true. However if it turns out to be the case, I certainly wish him well and am hoping he pulls through.

 

I believe that the Yellow Magic Orchestra was heavily involved in the production of this delightful album of covers of Yellow Magic Orchestra songs by Hatsune Miku:

 

He has posted about it on his Facebook, yes, sadly.

 

I agree for some of the tracks that it seems mastered that way. However I think I heard some sounds I had not noticed before on Neuromantic while checking out the new master on streaming. Not a huge difference though.

 

That's interesting. I haven't heard the new master. I'll check it out. Maybe they balanced the EQ better on the remaster, or maybe even remixed. I often find the streaming version sounds different than my hard copy, even if it seems to be the same master, probably due to compression.

 

He is very open about this on social media. He had a major operation last year, recovered well, started working again but had a relapse sought out some more treatment. He is on the mend, slowly, and is only doing limited amounts of work. Understandably, he is being careful in the pandemic so spends most of his time out of the city.

Sakamoto has also been receiving cancer treatment again in the past year. His album of the show recorded last December is out this week on CD, LP and streaming internationally.