Technopop pioneers of Japan. Their quirky music embraced the extremely modern aesthetic of early ATARI. A strange amalgam of disco, techno, pop, japanese, and romantic music. Similar to Kraftwerk in robotic vibe and pop point of view (not to mention tasty vocoder), but where as Kraftwerk repeat minimal melodies until they shift appearance, YMO layer electronic and sonic filigree atop their grooves with typical overdone Japanese cheesiness.
By the way, their keyboard player is Ryūichi Sakamoto, who has collaborated with a number of western artists, including with David Byrne on the excellent soundtrack to “The Last Emperor”.
The videos are truly cutting edge for 80’s computer animation ala TRON. If I had my way, this is what the video for “Loving Sounds of Static” would have looked like.
The real song here, “Firecracker” doesn’t come in till almost 2 minutes. Then it zooms around like a Saturday night birthday party at the old roller skating rink.
Their 1981 album, “Technodelic” is my favorite due to its more restrained sound. Spare, spooky, and infectious; like a Japanese counter point to OMD’s “Dazzle Ships” or even a bit reminiscent of “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts”. Check this album out.
February 9th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
THIS IS INSANE. ALL HAIL YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA.