Japanese New Wave listening club - new albums every Monday

http://technopop.info/

This is the place to listen to/discuss Japanese New Wave music. Primarily this is going to include stuff that is related to Yellow Magic Orchestra or one of their members, as they had their fingerprints on just about all the synth music coming out of Japan at the time...but there is a lot of other great stuff to get into (mostly detailed at the site above). If you want to take a week just post here. Here are the two albums of this week:

Yellow Magic Orchestra - BGM
http://jacket.subtonic.jp/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/41bjafsyqul_aa240_.jpg

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

The thread above says it all; this is one of my very favorite synth albums and one of the best I can think of to start this thread out. Released in 1980, this album took synthesizers to another level. Starts with some great technopop tunes like "Ballet" and "Music Plans" but gets a lot stranger and more intruiging as it goes on. It is definitely a grower but well worth the effort. Like Bowie's Low, this album was commercial suicide but nowadays is looked upon as one of their strongest. Lots of great music here but the stretch from tracks 5 to 8 are all classic, from the techno ballad "Cue" to the epic "Mass", which sounds like a synthesized death march.

Not a Spotify link

Plastics - Welcome Plastics
http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/41HJHSE02AL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Tokyo's Plastics are often compared to the B-52's, but there's a bit more to the story. This short lived group produced two great albums and promptly split, of which this is the most immediate (and catchy). All I can say about this one is that it's super addictive and fast-paced; it's kind of dinky and simple but it's a keeper. The lyrics are all in English though it's clear it's not their first language ("Fall in love with elevator/fall in love with escalator/fall in love with elevator/see you later, refrigerator"). A few of these songs may be familiar for those who know this scene well ("Top Secret Man", "Copy", "Robot").

Not a Spotify link

Frogbs, you fucking rule!

Plastics warmed up for The B-52's when I saw them on the Wild Planet tour, one of my alltime best concertgoing memories. I would love to have that Plastics LP cover on a T-shirt.

are Plastics the band in Downtown 81?

Yep Yep

This can't get posted enough:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLl44pj7a70&feature=related

or this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mFipU8PW4g

had never listened to bgm before - loved it!

ps knew I'd heard "camouflage" sampled somewhere before and it was reeeeeally nagging me until I figured out that it was on this two lone swordsemen track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PE5jTWc9lM

there was a "Arists that sampled YMO" thread somewhere in the archives. they're sampled a lot more than you'd think (especially "Computer Games"). It's somewhat sneakier than sampling Kraftwerk since most Western people don't really know of them.

Not a case of sampling but I've always wondered if OMD were referencing the intro of La Femme Chinoise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q85PSj8fqtk

With the intro to Genetic Engineering

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

there was a "Arists that sampled YMO" thread somewhere in the archives.

ah, found it. thanks!

on my third listen of the day. this album is fantastic.

xp - it pretty much has to be, right?

Susumu Hirasawa - Sim City (1995)
http://i.imgur.com/IZLYj.jpg

I've posted about this guy a lot, but if you haven't read them all I have to say is that this guy is one of my favorite musicians, period. He got his start with P-Model in 1979, which broke up in 1986. He's maintained a solo career ever since, even after P-Model reformed in 1992. His output during the 90's was, in my opinion, the best of anybody during that decade. Nothing against his first 3 solo albums, but starting with his 4th, he took things to the next level. This is his 5th, and it showcases his penchant for music with a big sound. Lots of marching rhythms and powerful synth noises. Like every album the guy releases, it's wonderfully melodic as well. Hope you guys dig this as much as I do. Sorry for the BIG image but this is BIG music.

Not a Spotify Link

Yukihiro Takahashi - Murdered by the Music (1980)
http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/d252704b21a94d54d7f45fb20c60d560/56674.jpg

Takahashi was YMO's drummer and singer, who also had quite a successful solo career during their run. Murdered by the Music is the first of 3 solo albums that sort of captured the more pop side of YMO, all of which are worth hearing. But I like this one a lot because it has the best sense of humor and some pretty neat tunes that are kind of atypical of his later career. To be honest I'm not a huge fan of his solo stuff, but these albums are pretty good. I would think just about anyone could enjoy this.

(link incoming)

Murdered by the Music
Not a Spotify Link either

> Susumu Hirasawa

how would you rate his Paranoia Agent theme compared to his other output? representative?

I love hirasawa's stuff on the satoshi kon films I've seen but have never listened to any of his other albums. really looking forward to this!

just threw it on. very good so far. love the contrast between the almost saccharine arrangements and melancholy vox on this guy's stuff.

what p-model albums are worth searching btw?

how would you rate his Paranoia Agent theme compared to his other output? representative?

Honestly I have no idea, I haven't gotten that far yet. His discography is huge and most of his albums have been really good so I haven't been able to just power through it. But from what I can tell, he does kind of embody that mentality of The Fall, you know "always different, always the same". That is, he's always trying new things, using new instruments, and writing different types of songs, but he always seems to fall back on the same sorts of things that are familiar to him - like marching rhythms, epic choruses that repeat the title over and over, even certain types of vocal melodies. What I'm trying to say is that I'm fairly sure if you like that tune you should probably just pick up a full album and go from there. AFAIK his soundtracks usually derive a bit from his full-lengths and I would guess probably aren't as good.

what p-model albums are worth searching btw?

Well I'll definitely be posting some up later, there's really no "definitive" album, just a bunch that are very good to excellent. Of the first run, I would say In a Model Room and Karkador are the best. When they reformed in the 90's, pretty much every album they released was incredible. P-Model and Big Body are probably the easiest to get into (and sort of form a set together). From there they got a bit more complex and ambitious, but the material was top notch - Fune and Enola are both great. I just started listening to Music Industrial Wastes ~ P-Model or Die, their final album, and can confirm that it's also very very good.

oh, man. thanks for the info. sounds pretty exciting!

(due to actual events not *that* surreal anymore)

Paranoia Agent Theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-anabfAg06U

i'll have to wait until I get home...can't listen to that here

xpost

Saw that series right over the summer. Always thought it was an bizarre choice considering the show's actual soundtrack.

have the Yukihiro Takahashi lp on now. not bad, has its moments (the strings at the end of "Numbers From A Calculated Conversation" are lovely), etc. but I loved the Susumu Hirasawa one and it pales a bit in comparison.

i can see that. they certainly have a different feel to them. the Takahaski one is more for those who like the more goofy, pop-oriented side of YMO. I'm a big fan of most of it.

meisenfek: just heard the paranoia agent theme you posted and it's definitely representative of his output. maybe a bit more upbeat than usual but if you like that song than pretty much all of his music from the 90's and beyond should appeal to you.

Does anyone (of maybe the two people who actually d/l these) know what kind of stuff they want to hear next week?

hah.

personally, I would love to hear some of the more psychedelic, pre-ymo stuff that's working with a primarily electronic palette. I think cochin moon is a stunning record, for example, and haven't heard much else like it from that scene... but I realize that's taking us out of "new wave" territory for sure.

Those albums are kind of tough to come by. I think that in Japan, YMO really was the pioneering electronic act, it's not like Germany where you had Cluster and Harmonia and Schulze...but I'll have to look. I'm not too worried about going out of "new wave" territory since there are only really handful of Japanese bands that can really be classified as such...I mean Sim City is pretty far away from new wave but he had his roots there and took just enough of it with him to make it count in my mind. Hell I was planning to post Kaze Machi Roman by Happy End up here one of these weeks just because Hosono was on it.

yeah, I'm not really sure if there even IS much stuff like cochin moon out there. not knowledgeable enough. have to admit... a whole world of bands running parallel to cluster/harmonia/schulze that I had never heard of is exactly what I was hoping for. :-)

but I'm loving this thread and especially the more fringe stuff like sim city! it's unlikely that I would have heard it otherwise and it is GREAT. thanks for doing this.

yea i'm into sim city, especially the title track, really appreciate the tip

Glad you guys liked it...i would be interested to know what songs were your favorites.

Hard to pick just a couple but "Caravan" always strikes a chord with me, mainly because it comes after such a melancholy stretch of music. "Moonlight" also really blew me away, especially the first time around. Seems like its going to be sort of a typical string ballad, then this overpowering industrial noise comes out of nowhere and becomes the focus of the song...very cool

Glad you guys liked it...i would be interested to know what songs were your favorites.

"lotus" is really doing it for me right now.

re-listening. a couple thoughts.

"moonlight" - wow, this might be my fave. so sweeping.

"pacific rim imitation network" - maybe not top tier, but whoa, that guitar solo is pretty "out."

the whole thing is fairly consistent, tho. and a lot of little touches to latch onto with this one.

"Moonlight" still gives me chills just thinking of it. "Kingdom" is one that has really grown on me. Kind of has a trip-hop beat to it and the organ parts in the background are really neat. BTW speaking of "Lotus" it's one of quite a few songs he did that seem to change depending on how you listen to it...like on a full system vs. headphones vs. say, computer speakers

Does anyone know anything about this track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRgLhEGEetc&feature=player_embedded

Moka posted it a while ago, and it just slays me.

cant find anything else about this on google except that its from 1983

would love to hear the rest of this album!

yeah, that's great!

i'll have to look at it when i get home

but if you know the artist or song i'll see if it rings a bell

The band name is Mariah. I have both of their albums on CD in my hometown, but their sound is a little too experimental for my tastes. I haven't heard them in 4 years, but I'm actually curious to give them a listen again. My mom is visiting me tomorrow, so perhaps I'll have her look through my collection and bring them for me!

Further googling yielded some results after all:

http://rootstrata.com/rootblog/?p=4272

Apparently some of the lyrics are also in armenian?

Thanks so much Patrick, and if its not too much trouble i would love to hear the other album as well.

looking forward to catching up on this thread.

and if you do end up ripping those, flac would be just great. :-)

I was going to say, if you find them, definitely throw them up here, that would be awesome. I did find it on Soulseek but only in 128 kbps

maybe not top tier, but whoa, that guitar solo is pretty "out."

most of his solos are like that; check this out

(skip to about 2:10)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCmtP7dpk4I

Ah, missed this thread!

Agree about Takahashi, though I think Neuromantic is his best. Murdered By the Music is great though. "Blue Colour Worker" is so uplifting in that relentlessly happy 80s Japanese futuristic mall music sort of way. What, Me Worry has a few great tracks too ("It's All Up To You", "Disposable Love") The "Poisson d'Avril" soundtrack has a lot of nice carefree instrumentals like early Bacharach-ish Pizzicato 5 (pre-Nomi Makiya).

Speaking of P5:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp951qxPyuc

^^ produced by Hosono btw!

that solo rules!! xxpost

^^i'm not really into guitar solos that much, but that's pretty much how to do it.

love this thread, btw, not sure if i said that earlier or if i just thought it a bunch of times (and i'm apparently too lazy to take 10 seconds to search)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3NPMYzruY4

corey - I'm a big fan of "It's All Gonna Work Out" from What, Me Worry. Maybe my favorite of his. Have you ever heard that instrumental soundtrack he did called La Pensee?? It's surprisingly addictive, kind of like one of Hosono's Monad albums. There's a track called "Brise" that's so wonderfully bizarre that it makes me laugh every time.

btw; are there any other P5 albums really worth checking out? I've got the first 6 and the only one I really like is Pizzicatomania, which Hosono produced, mainly because I love the sound (similar to his S-F-X record). They seemed to crank out records way too fast

also if no one's heard this, this is one of my favorite Sakamoto tunes ever, super surprised to find out that it was him, since it's really wild:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRAub18g1Pw

I like the early Non-Standard singles (Audrey Hepburn Complex, P5 In Action) Couples, Bellissima! and This Year's Girl.

My favorite P5-related release is Maki Nomiya's Pink no Kokoro from 1981 (which is actually perfect for this thread!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnpfqN1F0Wg

nice tune!! i like madcap stuff like that

btw is she the one who sings "Baby Universe" on one of the Katamari soundtracks?? love that song

http://technopop.info/pm/st2.GIFhttp://technopop.info/pm/bb2.GIF

P-Model (1992) and Big Body (1993)

P-Model's original run was from 1979-1986, but after six years they reformed into a more focused, techno-oriented unit while retaining their original style. They're very high-quality and are a good intro to the band (or Hirasawa in general). Unlike later albums this is still grounded heavily in technopop, with lots of sequencers and blippy noises. I was only going to post the 1992 album but decided to post them both for two reasons - one, Big Body has "Chevron", one of the greatest technopop songs ever, and two, both of them are short and sort of form a set. I might wind up posting another album but for now both of these are pretty worthwhile. P-Model is more straight-up techno, while Big Body has some more epic (and harsh) style of music. In addition to "Chevron", "Wire Self" (from the s/t) is an incredible tune that deserves repeat listens. If you get to the end "No Room" is a neat update on their first single "Art Mania".

Still not a Spotify link

Cool — I've been meaning to listen to P-Model. "Techno-oriented" sounds up my alley.

hey frogbs is this a private party or can anybody join in? i've been living in Japan since November and buying up this kinda vinyl like crazy. would enjoy sharing w/ you guyz

I have an album I'd like to post after you missingNO

you should go before me since you've been posting already !

I would love to hear some of the more psychedelic, pre-ymo stuff that's working with a primarily electronic palette.

not exactly pre-YMO, but Vanity Records put out some of the strangest electronic music I've ever heard. the Sympathy Nervous and Tolerance LPs especially are a must for all BGM disciples (they even put out a record by group called BGM iirc), super austere submerged tape loops, primitive drum boxes, insane synth programming. the Alfa/Yen Records axis gets most of the attention especially going towards the digital era but there's a lot of weird stuff out there that kinda went under the radar. there's a cool Vanity Records comp that came out last year that's highly recommended

http://youtu.be/V0oKkgiiJlo

http://youtu.be/KHYpx5ucIQc

it's like weird euro minimal synth but with better synths and psychedelic drugs

there's def a Cochin Moon/Zuckerzeit/Curiosum kinda vibe

That Sympathy Nervous track is great. I'd never heard of any of these before, so thanks.

missingNO; by all means, especially if you can get away from the Alfa/Yen Records axis of everything...nothing against that label but sometimes its hard to remember that there was other stuff out there. I haven't heard anything on the Vanity label so fire away!

If you guys want to go next week be my guest (or just throw them up whenever), if you can't post up two albums let me know because I still have a good amount and can put up one more if you like. Really appreciated...for a while I didn't think anyone was going to help me out!!

I'm pretty cool with this being like two or three people just trading records or whatever. :)

absolutely, as much as I want to share these albums, I was definitely hoping to find some lurkers with weirder tastes than me

I would love to contribute but I'm really just dipping my toes in at this point. knowledge definitely isn't v. deep right now but I am really loving everything on this thread so far.

No problem — the fun of sharing stuff I already know is seeing the reactions of those not already familiar. It's always awesome to see more people get into BGM.

Yeah...it's kind of the Sgt. Pepper or whatever of the genre; one of the few early synth albums that really "plays up" to whatever speakers you have...if you have subs, there's such a big kick-thump on tracks like "Ballet"...not even Kraftwerk had that! And "Mass" continues to scare the shit out of me in any situation

yeah it's one of the few records of that era that lets the bass in the 808 kick come through in the mix. compare BGM to a Soft Cell record from the same period and you'll see what I mean

there's a different mix of "Happy End" w/ a straight 4x4 808 kick drum that's well worth tracking down

is that the one on Sakamoto's Arrangement EP?

btw "1000 Knives" is definitely one of the high watermarks of 808 beats

agreed on BGM. just played it on my living room setup last week and it sounded great.

that sympathy nervous track is excellent!

Read somewhere that YMO playing "1000 Knives" live was the first concert appearance of an 808? Not sure if that's true or not but I believe it.

Who else was using them in 1980/1981? It didn't really become popular until the mid-to-late 80's.

Roland (coincidence?) Bocquet's "Robot Bleu" has a few tracks that use it. Tangerine Dream was using them too in their live shows, but they were using them essentially as "rhythm boxes" and not really realizing their programming potential the way YMO did.

I'm thinking the Germans would have been among the first, thought maybe Cluster had used them at some point but I guess not. I thought Kraftwerk used them for Electric Cafe but just found out it was a Linn drum machine.

Oh wait, it was on "Musique Non Stop"

xxxxxxp; i really like the Sympathy Nervous track; seems to have ties to some of the really old experimental electronic stuff I've heard...not a dig on the music, but I'm kind of surprised it came out as late as 1980

my favorite japanese new wave song, talk back by logic system. first heard it in the late '90s and i still find it fresh today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXO5IIIhVy8

was thinking about uploading that album some day; that one's pretty good but I haven't really found any of the other Logic System albums worthwhile. he doesn't strike me as much of a composer...

so are you guys going to take over next week or should I keep going?

I'll do Monday.

i'll take the week after then, if that's cool

Does anyone have any early Maki Nomiya or Portable Rock? That YT upthread is great, would love to hear more, SLSK not yielding any results.

I actually don't have time to do this atm, but if someone else wants to go they're more than welcome. Sorry :\

that's ok; if anyone else wants to post something up go ahead
otherwise i'll maybe put something up

anyone doing next week?? or should I put a few more up?

until then, here's a song that's kind of taken over my life lately...I even had a dream about it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oE903xV53E

uh yeah i was gonna do tomorrow but i have to pull out now, as soon as i get a home internet connection i'm back in

ok, here are a couple more:

Haruomi Hosono - Paraiso (1978)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WdV28slTW00/SsYG7zwzh4I/AAAAAAAAAFM/xLAJZTRHlpQ/s400/front.jpg

Not really "new wave" per se but still one of my very favorite albums. Hosono was the founding member of YMO and wound up quite famous as a composer of ambient and electronic music. However, before that, he was the bassist in a couple of rock bands (including Happy End) before taking an interest in tropical and exotica music. By 1978, he was starting to incorporate electronics into his work, most famously on Cochin Moon, released the same year. This is more song-based, and holy cow is it magical. It's catchy, relaxing, and otherworldly. Has the feel of a good exotica/folk album but the electronic textures make everything off-balance. And then you have Hosono's goofy vocals, which are charming (if not very good on a technical scale). Hey, I like his voice. Check out the cover of the Okinawan folk song "Asatoya Yunta", which almost sounds as though the vocals are sung backwards. Creepy, but in a good way. Lots of great music here.

click here to get it

Akiko Yano - Japanese Girl (1976)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WdV28slTW00/StJvfF833tI/AAAAAAAAAF8/jQGDQZk0dPk/s400/624daceb.jpg

You might recognize Yano's name from her husband of nearly two decades, Ryuichi Sakamoto (they have since split). She often played live with the group, especially in their 79-80 era, and they would sometimes perform a few of her songs ("Kang Tong Boy" is probably the one you've heard if you follow YMO). She's also a pretty prolific solo artist, regularly releasing solo albums since 1976. On this, her debut, she must have been a teenager when she wrote most of the songs. But it's a very enjoyable listen with some very memorable tunes and a lot of neat Japanese instrumentation. It was recorded in L.A. with members of Little Feat. The tune "Helicopter" in particular is stunning. Rolling Stone rated it the 26th best Japanese album of all time, whatever that means.

click here to get it

japanese girl is a stone classic, easily as good as anything YMO ever did. good picks

Love that Akiko record, iirc it has *all* of Little Feat as a backing band.

yeah I wasn't sure whether to put that or Gohan Ga Dekitayo up, as it has a lot more electronics and definitely is more of a New Wave album, but ultimately it lost out because it's so damn long...right now I only really have her early stuff, are the later albums worth getting?

Trying to catch up on this thread. Love this stuff so much.

XP - I have 'Honto No Kimoch' from 2004 which is pretty great, has elements of the first album sound I guess, haven't listened to it in a while, will revisit.

Later Akiko Yano albums are great! Highly recommended.

any in particular?? i'm trying to go chronologically but theres just sooo much of it

Try 'Honto No Kimochi', I'd be interested to see what you think.

i'm way behind on this thread but i just wanna say that i'm am completely and utterly in love with Sim City

yeah, sim city is so, so good. been spinning it a bunch.

you guys should check out the P-Model albums I posted a few weeks back then
definitely much more technopop oriented, but they're also really good.
later P-Model albums sound a lot like the solo ones, very epic and dense, maybe I'll put some of those up

I did, actually. sorry that I didn't comment. was a bit of a crazy work week and mostly listened while doing crazy work stuff. liked em tho!

that p-model youtube sounds pretty great. that's from the later era I'm assuming?

Yeah, it's from their last album. That tune hits me in a weird way - it's currently my ringtone and is always running through my head. It's the only real straightforward song on the entire album IIRC.

yeah, I dig the way this goofy keyboard riff anchors the whole thing but much of the rest of the track is almost arranged like a ballad.

japanese girl is quite nice btw.

The BGM thread kind of goes into the great later Akiko Yano's but "Gohan Ga Gekitayo" and "Ai Ga Nakucha Ne" are awesome and have more YMO interaction plus Sakamoto produced them ( I think).

Sorry - "Gohan Ga Dekitayo". And "Tadaima" is excellent, too. All very synthy and Akiko Yano at this time was the closest I've heard to someone reaching those sort of eccentric young woman with keyboards vibe that early Kate Bush mined.

my fav Akiko Yano album is Brooch, just minimal note perfect piano/voice arrangements of Schubert and Debussy and Stravinsky and stuff -- later sampled by Carl Stone on Mom's

check this shit out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK0XJ-09ZYU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixKpH17Zz9g

*heart emoticon*

couldn't watch the second video (embedding disabled?) but that first one is very nice! she definitely has quite an amazing voice. one of the first times I heard her was on the song "Radio Silence" by Thomas Dolby...even now I question why anyone would want to use her as a background singer. I do have a really good live album of hers from 78 or so; all the YMO members are on it, it has some really cool versions of some of her album tracks and some tunes I haven't heard yet. the best part is that she really sounds like she's having a lot of fun on it.

yeah... "good heavens, miss Sakamoto, you're beautiful!". just another example of how fucking cool this YMO satellite scene was in the early 80s -- Thomas Dolby, Andy Partridge, Japan, Bill Nelson, Arto Lindsay, Ippu Do, Hajime Tachibane, Kiyohike Semba etcetcetc, all hanging out w/ each other and playing on each other's records. so cool yet so rarely celebrated

here's her English version of Ravel's "Chanson Française". such a beautiful beautiful voice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=463r4pdC7Co&feature=youtu.be

afaik Partridge is credited on B-2 Unit, which didn't make sense to me until I realized that he did that dub album around that time.

also, P-Model used to open for XTC in their White Music phase - not at all surprising, the two bands used to be quite similar!!

After reading missingNO's post above I was wondering, could we compile a straight-up list of people to check out?

I know a fair few names (although finding the music is hard) but I know there's a load more out there and I'm really interested in delving further.

Also, frogbs, might I hit you up on slsk? I know you offered a while ago when we were talking about that big P-Model t0rr3nt that's around, but I can't seem to find the post to get yr username.

Also any J-wave blog sites/t0rr3nt sites that are worth knowing about?

I'm on as JAMOOL, send me a message and I'll add.

This site hasn't been updated in a while, but it has a lot of good stuff and the links mostly still work
http://saltyka.blogspot.com/ (its more of a general New Wave blog but it sorta revolves around the YMO axis)

Jpopsuki has a ton of stuff on it, although it's hard to find anything you wouldn't on slsk, it does surprise me sometimes ; I think you need an invite though, luckily I should have a ton (because who do you give them to?)

Hey frogbs, thanks man, I'd really appreciate an invite to Jpopsuki.

i can put a couple of albums up today

unless somebody else plans to?

go ahead doog

ok

phew - phew (1981)

http://www.geocities.jp/pinkytanaka/img034.jpg

http://www.discogs.com/Phew-Phew/release/807330

this fucking album. fresh from her collab w/ Ryuichi Sakamoto, ex-Aunt Sally singer Phew went into Conny Plank's studio with Jaki Liebezeit and Holger Czukay. brutal synths, sick drumming, insane vocals

grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/#/album/Phew/5538132?src=5

jun togawa unit - kyokutou ian shouka (1986)

http://ex-img.com/AC-109/May09409.JPG

http://www.discogs.com/戸川純-極東慰安唱歌/release/2040839

another in the long tradition of unique Japanese female vocalists, this might be Jun Togawa's best album. straight up j-pop ballads, Okinawan folk, ukuleles, cartoon military marches, Casio keyboard demos, an EBM song about losing one's virginity, an Egyptian pop song about picnics. highlight is "kyokutou hanayome" -- monster movie sampled strings, goth-y atmospheric pads, clanking 808, ridiculously funky fretless courtesy of Hosono, and Jun Togawa singing about feeling like a cattle girl or something. crazy and great

dunno how cool ilm is w/ posting links to full albums so i'll leo it if anybody is interested

yeah i'm not really too sure about it either but no ones said anything to me; i guess it doesn't hurt that these albums are usually impossible to find in the US without paying ridiculous ebay prices

pretty interested in the Jaki/Holger collab

just posted Jun Togawa album on leo thread

the Phew record is beyond classic, especially if you're a fan of some of the other Conny Plank stuff from that period -- it's a great companion to Zero Set, for inst.

Whats a leo thread?

noize borad

but it seems like posting full albums is fair game so i guess i'll put it here. it's very out of print anyways

http://www.sendspace.com/file/leoldy

bonus listening: "urahara" from the Phew 7" w/ Sakamoto

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh9JQCXUPIw

you can also find some of what i guess are out-takes from the same session in the yt suggestions column, sounds like early TG

Thanks! Actually I've just found a few Phew records on the mut@nt s0unds blog, so yay.

Have to give props to this blog, some great stuff here.

http://kiwi-dodo.blogspot.com/

not very new wave though, that blog

bonus beats pt ii: Jun Togawa singing "Yumemiru Yakusoku" on some tv program. Prophet 5!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWGuc6E2UaI

Oh I don't know, there's lots of Phew, Jun and I'm just grabbing this at the moment.

http://kiwi-dodo.blogspot.com/2011/01/va-burst-new-wave-1980-1980.html

oh cool, i guess i didn't go far back enough in the archives. you should grab that Geinoh Yamashirogumi album as well while you're there, not really suitable for this thread but very very good

The blogger has helpfully separated all his posts into specific countries, most of which are Japanese. I'll def check out the Yamashirogumi, thanks.

Hard to believe Jaki and Holger were on that Phew album - it has a neat, almost haunting sound to it, a far cry from the real Can 80's reunion

I have one album from GY, called "Osorezan" or something (afaik it's their debut); I always loved how the first thing you hear is this woman screaming at the top of her lungs and it turns out to be a good primer for the rest of the album. Not sure if that's the one you're talking about but I enjoyed that one quite a bit! (though, it's a pretty far cry from "New Wave" anything)

Am crapping myself over the Phew record - what a line-up. Got it d/ling now.

<3 Togawa, got the Guernica record and her third solo LP ordered at the moment, hopefully coming soon. Unfortunately I've got so into her so quickly I just want to buy *everything*. Argh.

she put out a lot of great music. have you checked out her other band Yapoos yet? their first three albums are all classics, insane mutant pop. there's a good 3 cd comp called Togawa Legend, might be Japan only but it's well worth tracking down, covers everything from the early punk-y new wave stuff to Guernica and Yapoos to the later noise stuff in the 90s

i love how she was able to so freely move between pop and experimental music -- even the purest of her 80s j-pop stuff tends to have something just slightly off about it. def laid some of the groundwork for Shiina Ringo in the 00s

Only heard three or so Yapoos songs so far, all from youtube. Really wanted to get the first solo LP but that sold while I was dithering about finances, the third one has some of the most poppy stuff I've heard, but it's still kind of deranged. Been listening to Halmens quite a bit, which I love, but not sure how much she's actually in there.

Bear in mind that the first thing I heard from her was her absolutely mental cover of 'Casablanca Moon', too. Crazy woman, crazy talented.

yay togawa

missingno, thanks for akiko yano links. offhand do you know the name / album of the schubert song carl sampled for 'shing kee'? I've heard carl's piece countless times but never heard the original.

Here is the Togawa 3cd comp MNO mentioned above.

http://kiwi-dodo.blogspot.com/2011/01/jun-togawa.html

Yeah I'm not sure what to make of that Togawa disc so far; at first it kind of reminds me of the sort of sparse and personality-rich synthpop that say, Miharu Koshi does, but it changes so much from track to track that I'm not really sure what it's all about yet

I do have all the Yapoos albums though, she's definitely a weird one

Just to link everything together, she does appear on some of Hirasawa's early albums and AFAIK he wrote a few of the Yapoos tunes on Dadadaism that are done in a P-Model style

hey Milton, it's Schubert's "Der Lindenbaum" from Akiko Yano's 1986 album Brooch

http://www.sendspace.com/file/e30stc

btw here's the Carl Stone piece that samples Akiko Yano, for those who've never heard it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsQ4UdJ-Vww

might want to light one up first

thanks for the yano post, sir

the midpoint of carl's piece when it pivots into the second half of the sample, never get tired of that. and didn't know the yano sample came out the same year he wrote the piece -- man, he just got right to work on it

man, I am in love with that togawa "yumemiru yakusoku" track. incredibly catchy. looks like hosono produced too.

the whole album is all over the place but consistently high quality. one track sounds a bit like jon hassel! I think it's the one singled out in your write-up ("yokutou hanayome").

some cursory listens of yapoos material as well. VERY promising so far... :-o

phew is, weirdly, not really doing it for me. I've actually heard this one before due to the krautrock pedigree. basically like just about any krautrock record no matter how bad, so I'm not sure what my problem is. I'm going to hold off for now and re-visit.

also checked out the latest p-model album referenced above - Music Industrial Waste - P-MODEL or DIE. it's excellent.

definitely going on a hirasawa binge in the near future.

loved this track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOPXyL5hqFE

and is that a sample 55 seconds in? sounds familiar.

carl stone track is brilliant too. thanks for that.

LOVE this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=933H611lAq8

that simple but super-dramatic synth melody reminds me hirasawa's stuff

that's no coincidence, Hirasawa appears on the last few Yapoos record AFAIK and even wrote a few of the songs

Don't know if there's any interest in this, but I thought I'd post this up since it's a very tough album to find and very well worth tracking down:

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/2882f999b770065244191313a8bf2581/1186588.jpg

This is Harry Hosono's first soundtrack (if I recall correctly), for an animated movie called "Nokto de la Galaskia Fervojo", based on an old Japanese fable. I don't think the music here really got showcased, I've heard that this one got rejected in favor of a more "mainstream" soundtrack, or something like that. Anyway, if you've heard any of the four Monad albums that Hosono did around this time (1985), you'll know what to expect here. This is fairly minimal and chilling, not necessarily a downbeat soundtrack but it portrays feelings of loneliness and isolation very well. All the track names are in Esperanto. The whole thing is great but Track 14 ("La Travida Malgojo De Giovanni") is a stunning piano piece that's one of my favorite pieces by him. Miharu Koshi also appears ("La Gojo"). If you're a fan of his Monad period, this is a must have, as it beats all four of those albums in my opinion. If you have "The Endless Talking" you may find portions of this familiar.

click here

yeah, this is nice.

glad to have this thread back.

is there any interest in this thread yet? it's kinda been stagnant for a while and I'm debating just letting it die

no offense Alan but you can just message me on soulseek if you're looking for anything

I pop onto this thread every so often to have a listen to stuff, but don't have much more to contribute at the moment other than 'this is nice' about most things.

Not sure how much longer you'll have a choice about whether to let the thread die, so if you've got more goodies then bung 'em up here!

I could prob do a week if y'all think this is worth keeping up but I am still a dabbler and my picks will not be particularly "new wave."

if anyone's interested I did chuck up another SH album to megaupload to share with someone because I think it's really really good. it's called "Technique of Relief" and it's similar to "Sim City" but it has more of an "orchestral techno" feel. i don't have many words to describe it, just d/l it because it's such a neat album. i will point out that "Niwashi King" is really one of the best songs ever. could listen to that one for an hour on repeat.

http://www.mclub.com.ua/images/alb/cover17231_68788.jpg

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NPYP9WUO

played "the man from narcissus space" 3x in a row on my first listen. thanks for this.

WB frogbs

xp thats a great one but I like the next track "Stange Night of the Omnifiscience" even better. maybe the "biggest" song he's ever done

btw MaresNest - whatever happened to acoulethic?? I used to get you guys confused a lot but he seems to have fallen off the board lately

AN INTRODUCTION RO EARTHLING
----------------------------
Earthling's choice of name is as self-confident as their 
performance. The Japanese trio defines itself as a worldly 
representative, capable of creative exploration without
limits. The group calls their first album DANCE to express
the fullest flowers of rhytmic movement, attending to both
physical and spiritual needs.
Earthling consists of lead vocalist/guitarist John, his wife,
bass guitarist Yoko Fujiwara, and keyboard/sythesizer player
Jin Haijama. The group was formed in Tokyo one years ago
when John and Yoko, who had been fashion and textile designers,
felt the desire to give the music they'd written a more
permanent environment. They recruited Jim, who was working in
an amusement park, and evolved a musical form which pulsed with
a steady beat, yet was tempered by hypnotic vocal chanting. 
The electronic power that sustains DANCE is complemented by
Johns's introspective delivery, the natural result of his 
training as a Buddhist priest.
The sound of Earthling is dedicated to reinforceing the
subtle and sensitive connections which link modern music to
dance. While the group utilizes a rhythm-machine to epitomize
the sustained beat of their society's ordered technology,
the emotional vocal impact of songs like "Heavy Feeling in
My mind" and "The Guard of Sensitivity" add an urgent, street-
wise dimension to their precise instrumental presentation. 
Although Earthling are not fluent in English, the write in 
our language for its universality and appropiateness.
Earthling are sound pioneers, painting future dreams that
transcend the present day. They understand that the future 
cannot be easiliy classified, and that tomorrow is not simply
another today.
####
LP: Dance, King K28A-154 (japan)
45: "Slow Down the World" b/w "Urbanitrops" King EA-01 (Japan)

Toby Goldstein, 1981

stolen from
http://elcaunegre.blogspot.com/2011/04/earthling-dance-1981-king-records.html

XP - frogbs, he says hi from afar, I think he is maybe self banned at the moment.

that sucks, why'd he do that?

anyway, make him d/l that megaupload link above anyway

listening to the keiichi ohta (of guernica) solo album. I have actually never listened to guernica (tho they are on my list) but I'm enjoying this quite a bit. the synthesized classical arrangements with live piano mixed in are wonderful.

also feel like zeuhl prog fans could get into this. and I'm a huge magma and koenjihyakkei fan, so...

post it up!!

dig the cover too:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eUmHkK0XMpg/TTcFaF22PoI/AAAAAAAAC80/ROyHPBUN0U0/s1600/KEIICHIOHTAohtakeiichinojingaidaimaikyou.jpg

sure. I'll do it in a few hours when I'm by my computer.

yeah, i'd seen that cover before but never was able to track down the album

i can't speak for guernica's 2nd (and more popular album), but the 1st one is a real headtrip. kinda has a troutmask wtf vibe going throughout the whole thing. wild synths + togawa and a lot of intentional camp. you might like it.

sounds like I might.

this one is v. weird as well. all over the place and things can get a bit chaotic. but always in a playful way, there's no malice here. strangely, it's also a pretty mellow listen due to the sparse palette. mostly voice, synths, and piano.

hosono's on a track too.

http://www.mediafire.com/?5rtrq1g0huxvcmy

first song on this sounds a lot like the first Guernica album. this is all pretty strange. it almost reminds me of Zappa how the music follows the strange vocal arrangments (or is it the other way around?)

oh yeah , found the Hosono track quite easily

it almost reminds me of Zappa how the music follows the strange vocal arrangments (or is it the other way around?)

yeah, where I was coming from with the zeuhl comparison. loads of magma, ruins, etc. tunes do this. guess it all goes back to opera?

is there a thread out there for japanese jazz/funk/soul? late70s early80s stuff like tatsuro yamashita and such? kinda smooth steely dan-ish kinda stuff? i'm totally into this genre, but want to know more.

I've never heard of any of that stuff - I do have the Happy End album "Kaze Machi Roman" which has a neat folky vibe, I like that one a lot.

Alan - definitely check out some Guernica if you're into Zuehl stuff, they're not very noisy but melodically they're all over the place and pretty much anything Togawa sings on is going to be wild

here are a few. i'm too lazy to start a thread

tatsuro yamashita - solid slider

Tatsuro Yamashita - Dancer

yasuko agawa - la nights

yutaka yokokura - the rest of my life (favorite song of past few months)

kimiko kasai - butterfly (produced by herbie hancock i think)

dude. should this be revived

i scored a copy of Yukihiro Takahashi's Neuromantic last week for like $5 and have been playing it NONSTOP

Hai

Z S - you got Takahashi's other YMO-period solo albums? (Murdered by the Music and What, Me Worry are both maybe even better)

nope! yeah, i've always heard that Murdered by the Music is even better, so i'm really pumped to hear it. but i think i'm going to take my time with Neuromantic for a while before moving on. to me, it's just as enjoyable a listen as anything YMO put out!

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

my sole contribution. singer has a david sylvian thing going on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwZYjqch5gw

oh yeah, this too.

ohhh, z s just cited this above. good stuff.

whoa, the cover to that in the youtube video on the bottom looks way different than the copy i have, which looks like this:

http://991.com/NewGallery/Yukihiro-Takahashi-Neuromantic-523610.jpg

takahashi looks similarly mopey in his photo on the back of the record, too! awwww, poor yukihiro

I really have no idea how Sakamoto became the sex symbol of YMO

i want to know more about this

I don't really have a lot of facts but based on a bunch of stuff I've read about YMO I guess Sakamoto was the most popular one with the ladies, I don't get it

Really, someone needs to write a book in English on YMO. They don't get even a quarter of the recognition that Kraftwerk does around here and yet in my mind they're the greater band (as much as it pains me to say)

I got really obsessed with some of Yukihiro Takahashi's albums last year. Tomorrow's Just Another Day is by far my favourite album. It's probably his most straight forward pop album but the songs are just so moving and the production is perfect, not sure why it's never really mentioned.

This is a great performance of one of the best tracks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kNrcFtGRcc

I really like "Coincidence" off that album. His later albums are mostly in that style too; I've heard them all up to 1992 or so and outside of his soundtrack stuff it's all mostly the same, agreeable pop with one or two great tracks per release. I was pretty shocked by one track called "MIS" which was done in his "Pure Jam" technopop style, because otherwise he's pretty far away from that. Though I heard his recent stuff was more electronic/glitchy. Anyone heard any his latest albums?

"Disposable Love" (off of What Me Worry) is a real Takahashi gem.

I've been really into Sakamoto's Works 1 disc, a bunch of really tuneful commercial jingles. Also been digging Akiko Yano's Tougue No Wagaya album from '86, which is just terrific slick pop with some neat detours.

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

you guys want to hear a really great Takahashi song, this is one of my favorites

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GYMjGX28ew

Really, someone needs to write a book in English on YMO. They don't get even a quarter of the recognition that Kraftwerk does around here and yet in my mind they're the greater band (as much as it pains me to say)

This needs to happen. Have there been any good Japanese YMO books?

I recall there being talk of someone who lived in Japan for a great while writing a giant book about the whole Japanese technopop scene circa, say, 1976-1986. Obviously such a book would have to have a big YMO focus, as Japan is a small country and it seems like nearly every New Wave album they produced in that era had Hosono (or Takahashi) on it as a guest artist, producer, or writer. Maybe just a history of YEN records. Hell, I've kept up my fanaticism for so long that I could probably write one myself!!

can anyone explain to me what's happening in this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=840MRwgM040

Alright. Time for a new one. This one's from Keiichi Suzuki, who you may have heard of. For one, he's the leader of Moonriders, who have released some 20 albums since 1976. Secondly, he made a few albums with Yukihiro Takahashi as the Beatniks (which YMO fans may have heard). Thirdly, he worked on a lot of the music for Earthbound/Mother. Some of which was also in the Smash Bros games. Fourthly, he did "Satellite Serenade", which got a high-profile remix by the Orb, and became the first track on Northern Exposure. So chances are you've probably heard something by him. Anyway, this is his first true solo album, released in 1991 (his next one wouldn't be until 2008!) You need this because it contains the original version of "Satellite Serenade" (as well as the remix), which is incredible. I like a lot of Suzuki's work but this is one of my favorite songs, period. The rest of the album is pretty good too - there are some early 90's dance beats, but most of the album sounds relatively current. If you've heard the original Mother soundtrack, a lot of the music here resembles the arranged versions on that album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XIuogHN46U

Tracklist:

1. God Save the Men
2. The Japanese "It's Alright" song
3. Me and My Girl in a Saladbowl
4. White and Black
5. Left Bank
6. Words, Colours, Noises, and Booms
7. Satellite Serenade
8. Satellite Serenade (Trans Asian Express)
9. Still Find Another Day to Smile

http://www.mediafire.com/?9fr7v8i19de9oeh

Name of the album is SUZUKI White Report

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UpRfwthdpHI/TOW9KhTs7LI/AAAAAAAACCw/oqNCwBsMgoI/s1600/cover.jpg

oh, word. I just listened to this for the first time this week.

it's uneven (the ballads in the middle are pretty dire) but I'm into it overall. and this is pretty cool if you've played earthbound:
http://earthboundcentral.com/2008/02/the-origin-of-dalaams-music/

have any moonriders recommendations? I've only heard Hinotama Boy which I believe was their first. it's pretty goofy and fun and sounds A LOT like early hosono it also struck me as being a little slight.

"BUT it also struck me as..." grrr I should learn to proofread things

I've heard everything up to '86 or so. Their sound is tough to describe since they use quite a variety of instruments and sounds. I really like a lot of their stuff but a lot of what they do is goofy but slight. My favorite release is the 2-disc set "The Worst of the Moonriders" which is a collection of live recordings with a lot of great songs that don't show up elsewhere. It's actually a little nuts how many great songs they never recorded in studio. And the stuff that is from the studio is often very different, often better. They just came out with another 2-disc set but from a single show and I'm really into that one too. I'll up one if you're interested. As far as studio albums go, most of them are around the same quality as Hinotama Boy, some more New Wave than others, and as I understand their sound really changed a lot over the years. They are more of a great song band than a great album band. I'd post some Youtubes but they don't really have any.

cool. I'll look into those. particularly interested in the new wave material.

guessing you've already heard suzuki's zatoichi score, but in case you haven't, check this out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNW3kedP2JY

intro has a huge earthbound feel to it; the synth sound and the composition in general. earthbound ost is just one of my favorite things, so I'm just disposed to enjoy the material he's done that skews closer to that sound. haven't found much else tbh.

been jamming this a lot lately. gorgeous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqlzC9x_ozc

yeah the SNES sound chip really was something wasn't it? Sakamoto's Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence soundtrack is kind of along these lines as well, though it's about 10 years older. still the music resembles what I remember from "A Link to the Past" which is a pretty impressive feat.

the thing about Moonriders is that they were always kind of a collective and the songwriting was all over the place. so if you're interested in just Suzuki I don't really know which of the albums is the one to get. lots of individual songs have that Earthbound vibe to them but there is so little of it on Youtube. the first one he did with Takahashi (as the Beatniks) was really good. they just did another one last month which I'm very interested to hear.

oh man, haven't heard sakamoto's Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence soundtrack (or seen the movie) but super interested now.

btw check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjJp95qsEe4

that's the first track off of this lp ft. someone that was on a couple p-model albums (kenji konishi):
http://www.discogs.com/Shifukudan-Chiputan/release/2059641

it was kind of blowing my mind last night.

239 views. seems about right. I think this is part of that giant P-Model torrent but I haven't heard it yet. Definitely has that 90's P-Model vibe especially in that it's all over the place. I don't even know how you parse something like this, I keep waiting for the "main" part to start up, only to find there really isn't one. I'll listen to the album though this is about 60% of it isn't it? I know Konishi was a big part of "Fune" but I haven't heard anything else by him outside of that cut-n-scratch instrumental "Install World" on some live video. Ex-P-Modelers are tough to track down. The Teruo Nakano album "User Unknown" is surprisingly good, more of a "deep" techno-pop sound.

http://www.discogs.com/Teruo-Nakano-User-Unknown/release/2065394

I have been able to get a few albums by Kotobuki Hikaru which are usually pretty entertaining. He is the creator of "Phnonpenh Model" and one of his albums has new versions of "LAB=01" and "Neotony Box" leading me to believe that those are his compositions. This live video is pretty entertaining:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ2KlWEXS3I

Also wanted to say that "Nokori Giri Giri" (I think called "Be in a Fix") is such an incredible tune, the studio version is good but doesn't go it justice. The version called "No Bird" that was part of the boxset is one of my favorite recordings, period. I was dicking around online and found this band website that had a bunch of P-Model/SH MP3s hidden away including a live bootleg from 1985 - sadly, the sound quality is absolute shit, but the version of "Nokori Giri Giri" has these ridiculous rapid-fire vocals, maybe the most frantic I've ever heard Hirasawa on anything, which is saying something. I really wish I could find that site again but I think I grabbed all the relevant junk!

haha whoa, that video

Teruo Nakano album sounds cool.

the whole shifukudan lp is definitely worth a listen, but yeah, that's a good chunk of it and the rest is not radically different. v. much in a weird 'industrial collage' style and I can get with that. the constant shifting of gears keeps things interesting but the shorter tracks do dial this down a bit.

Fun fact: member intros on two Moonriders LPs (including 1991's "Christ, Who's Gonna Die First?") is done by none other than Andy Partridge, who also guested on a Ryuichi Sakamoto album, and toured with P-Model back in 1979 - White Music and In a Model Room have a remarkably similar sound.

This is a great mix of music I know nothing about: http://intothewoods.tv/2013/01/spencer-doran

came to post this https://soundcloud.com/musicissf/the-melody-of-the-sky new stuff but i think it's relevant here.

now listening to the spencer doran mix, nice stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4q1szn8o_c

I saw some Soft Ballet videos a year ago which were really serene and lovely that I cant find but this will do fine. Fun. The frontman is super handsome.

ha! I was wondering where Japan's gothic bands were!

They remind me of Depeche Mode in lots of songs. After watching loads of videos of them, I think the main keyboard player is the campest guy I've ever seen in pop/rock. There is a few videos of Susumu Hirasawa playing live with them.

There is quite a lot of Visual Kei stuff that does goth, but I dont like the sound or image of most Visual Kei. I thought Malice Mizer sounded extremely impressive in places with the intricate harpsichord/pipe organ stuff. Jack Or Jive are a pretty good 4AD style goth band. Lucifer Luscious Violenoue and a band called something like Gille' Loves or something like that.

I got the Depeche Mode vibe too. I wonder if any of their albums are good. Like most of these bands there's almost nothing written about them on RYM. I can see why Hirasawa would like them, the 92-93 P-Model band had that same vibe to it, not quite gothic but sort of ambiguously dark, and their keyboard dude was real eccentric too.

Has this been on here yet?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an4l15LlCJo

There's a hayase yukako youtube playlist here but it only seems to have three videos left intact:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL50963F3242978C8D

Is anyone here familiar with the Pop Academy website? I came across it in 2001 when I was googling some electro pop bands at school and it was like my Bible for years, it introduced me to so many bands.

http://park10.wakwak.com/~techno/

These two lists helped me find quite a lot of stuff, although I actually havent actually went much beyond listening to youtube clips of most of them.

The first list is pretty unconventional but read the start of the post for the explanation. It has very little of the japanese bands that are popular with western alternative fans except Boredoms and a few others.
http://www.kurutta.com/2009/10/150-greatest-albums-of-japanese-rock-n.html

http://www.kurutta.com/2009/04/this-is-visual-kei.html

Wow, that is excellent. I've never heard of any of the visual-kei stuff. This list will keep me busy for a while (any suggestions?)

As for the top 150 - I've heard maybe 20% of that. From what I have heard though just saying "rock" is really a broad definition for this stuff. I've been playing a lot of Yasuyuki Okamura lately and it's been great though a little uneven. The album he did with Takkyu Ishino is great, and even has a cover of an obscure Can B-side ("Turtles Have Short Legs"). Tastes definitely run different here (having Perspective as your highest ranked P-Model album is quite interesting) and I'm kinda surprised that YMO just gets one mention at the bottom of the list.

I've heard so little visual kei stuff, and the only thing that really grabbed me is Malice Mizer's final album which was a tribute to a dead band member, but I've only heard songs on youtube.
I doubt I would like much of the genre. I actually really dislike the image and think it has ruined a lot of manga/anime/videogame character design; I think a lot of japanese alternative musicians see visual kei as the enemy. Maybe japanese fans of YMO, P-Model, Boris, Ruins, Keiji Haino, Acid Mothers Temple, Boredoms, Melt Banana etc wouldnt be caught dead listening to it, I dont know. But I think it does look mostly very superficial, I've heard it compared to 80s glam metal in a negative way. I've also heard that the "visual" part means that the image is far more important than the music.

"Like most of these bands there's almost nothing written about them on RYM."

Yes, it always saddens me when one of my favorite bands have no reviews at all. I've started to feel like music fans (or fans of anything) should take more responsibility for the promotion of their favorite bands. I havent written RYM or Amazon reviews in years but I should really start doing it more zealously. There is endless reviews of the worst extreme metal bands and schlocky films but so few reviews of many brilliant things.

I need to overcome my fear of paypal and start buying from CD Japan, because I'm really not seeing more mp3 options for japanese bands.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPiAnHgUAh0
I think this might have been the video I was looking for, but I remember it differently, but it's scary how differently I've remembered so many songs and film scenes recently. I've started to think that if you are taken aback by some encounter with art that impresses you, you'll probably have a distorted memory of it.

That Hayase Yukako song is really impressive, cant find anything else of hers like that on some quick youtube searches.

Wow, great voice!

There is a video with lots of cgi model penises spinning around in one of their live video shows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGuQ1XLikKU

I feel uncomfortable making fun of bands but this video illustrates what I don't like about visual kei.

A band called Dip In The Pool. Not sure what to make of them. It sometimes seems like too little is going on, but I'm still curious enough to keep listening. There is also a collab with them and Hosono.
This is pretty nice...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_0guvM2DFM

Odd video/song concept...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spRXxU81WI0

I spent a very long time searching youtube and last fm for good Japanese goth music and found very little of interest. Mostly serviceable/okayish early goth/post-punk or downright crappy sounding stuff.
One of the better bands was G-Schmitt, but I'm not sure they were much more than a Siouxsie and the Banshees soundalike. But I found this fun tune from the solo career of singer Syoko that fits this thread...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyZCmnnjksE

yeah Dip in the Pool is pretty neat...they are kind of like a Japanese Mecano. maybe a little too New Age for my tastes.

I have heard their first album. I really don't understand what they're all about. That video is really hard to watch.

Why hard to watch?

all the flashing color changes!

Thanks for recommending Hirasawa's Sim City, I bought it recently and it is fantastic and beautiful; well worth the 30 quid I paid.

I'll always remember when I first listened to it; I was driving back from the airport, seriously sleep-deprived, really taken by it all (I specifically remember feeling like the music was being broadcast from five miles out) - by the time "Caravan" came on it felt like an aural hallucination!

so much cool music in this thread. Recently been really enjoying the music of Oorutaichi. it is contemporary and i certainly wouldn't call it new wave, but you might like it if you have a love of japanese electronic music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvS5SLGAzpU

discovered him via a great set on Beats in Space last year.

Yeah, I was trying to think of how to describe the sense of scale in Sim City and the word "distance" is makes sense. Sometimes I pictured this immense river of sound/energy.

this is the single most kinetic & danceworthy thing I have heard in a very, very long time & i can restrain these restless limbs no longer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGdUpPE60rg

oh man, the synths on that one

only Koshi album I have is the one with "Pussy Cat" on it, which is a hell of a tune

Wait, isn't there a TV performance of this song with Harry Hosono and some other luminaries playing? Where did I see that?

Can anybody school me a little on Tatsuro Yamashita?

Revive. Was watching some Sandii & the Sunsetz videos on YouTube. Found a compilation with them, YMO solo, and some other people I don't recognized on a used LP.

We should totally get this going again!

finally picked up on that Oorutaichi rec above, and yeah, this is maybe sort of a modern take on Zolo? definitely love "Pan 1 Nonaki" a ton, total headfuck from start to finish

starting to catch up on some of the bands mentioned here, Soft Ballet has been really sticking out as a potentially great band - can definitely see why Hirasawa seemed to like them. this early track is really cool. sound like Nitzer Ebb + Human League to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rIC84HEqMA

Nice one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKY38Nx8dSo&t=1802s

huh, anyway that link was supposed to be: Yasuaki Shimizu - Kakashi.

https://youtu.be/HKY38Nx8dSo

That's the one that comes up on a load of people's yt recs. Pretty nice record.

ha, yeah thats how i discovered it. cheers to the yt reccomendation engine and the hive-mind for it's excellent taste. a very ahead of its time record. hope someone reissues it at some point.

speaking of which just picked up a new pressing of this which was another yt sidebar discovery uploaded by the same guy . on the transcendent forest gamelan tip:

Midori Takada - Through The Looking Glass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWGjYg2LmZQ

https://youtu.be/DWGjYg2LmZQ

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2017/04/11/music/hard-core-vinyl-fans-fueling-revival-obscure-japanese-music-1980s/#disqus_thread

Just realised that I've never seen a foreign documentary on a foreign band or genre. You'd think there'd be lots of subtitled documentaries on youtube.

I am deep in a Mishio Ogawa rabbit hole right now -

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

good find

have you heard 4 to 3 yet? love that record.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P43Q3xzbX-s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv2tS46rl1k

mishio live with haniwa all stars

lol, I love that Haniwa live record but never actually watched any live footage before, those are some magnificent solo faces right there. Also I was somehow unaware that Mishio Ogawa had solo records though I really like Wha-ha-ha and Chakra, so I ought to get on that

I love Chakra but I never realised that she had a solo career until recently and I've liked everything I've heard so far including 4 to 3, which is ace.

Why do I ignore this thread? Afraid people will yell Devo at me out their car windows?

The Love, Peace, and Trance album (Mishio + the lady from dip in the pool + one other lady + Haroumi Hosono) is quite lovely

There's a track by Shoukichi Kina and Champloose that I'm dying to share here because it's totally brilliant, it's a mix of traditional Okinawan music and loose folk with crazy monosynths recorded live in 1977, however it's not anywhere I can share :(

Some great selections here. Anyone heard those Fairlights Mallets & Bamboo compilations? I generally don't like various artists compilations but these might be pretty helpful.

Those compilations are great yes!

I see they were brought up in the YMO BGM thread and a bunch of non-genre threads. I'll get them someday. Wasn't there a few related compilations?

This from the JT link upthread, it seems they've been part of the catalyst that has resulted in the renewed interest in some dusty areas of 80s J music.

"He helped artists such as Prins Thomas acquire copies of “Utakata,” who then put songs from it into mixes shared online, helping turn the record from virtual unknown to secret gem. Beyond Shimizu, the internet played a central role in spreading older Japanese sounds. Portland-based producer Spencer Doran’s 2010 mix “Fairlights, Mallets and Bamboo — Fourth-World Japan, Years 1980-1986” attracted attention, while Gorchov says YouTube’s “suggested” algorithm kept highlighting ’80s Japanese songs."

We play a bunch of this type of stuff on our little show and it's def become easier to track down and to get information on over the last year too, which is great, we're going to interview Patrick St Michel soon and ask him whats going on.

http://rateyourmusic.com/release/djmix/bo_en/plastic_platform__c67___bo_en/

This is the other one I was thinking of but it's not all Japanese.

http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/various_artists_f2/ymo_rewake/

Anyone heard this?

Decided to bump this thread to up some Yasuyuki Okamura, who is not really YMO-adjacent like most of the stuff here but does fit into the funkier division of the New Wave scene. He appears on albums by Cornelius and Denki Groove and if you're into J-pop you may see his name crop up a lot. He reminds me a lot of Falco, but with Prince's falsetto and Michael Jackson's sense of rhythm. He actually borrows a ton from Prince but that's obviously not a bad thing. Anyway, he was pretty huge from 1987 to 1990, during which he released four albums, a greatest hits, some singles, and starred in a film. He's slowed down considerably since then, always "active" in some sense (mostly as a producer and songwriter) but he's only released three actual solo albums after 1990, plus some self-cover discs and collaborations. Partially this is due to two drug arrests which derailed his career; if you know anything about Japanese drug law, getting caught with anything is bad news, even if you're a celebrity. But he's actually managed to become a hot name again these last few years, mostly due to the success of the single "Viva Namida" which wound up a high-profile anime theme.

I find his music to be totally addictive, but I couldn't really figure out what album to upload here; in my opinion they're all pretty good, but he's one of those artists where there's a large gulf between his best work and everything else. So I decided to make a playlist, which I've been jamming like every day this month so far. It starts off with his early hits and more pop-oriented work and then goes into his funkier and stranger material. Included are covers of "Burning Down the House" and "Turtles Have Short Legs", the latter of which is from a collaboration with Takkyu Ishino of Denki Groove. Enjoy!!!

Link: https://mega.nz/#F!4qxw1KCJ!Cp2zeKsnP4-SRb3fISUKuw

sounds great, thanks!

Why is the seach function in this place so bad? I don't know if OP is still doing this listening club

I knew i had read about Soft Ballet somewhere on this forum. But the only posts that were coming up were about the Autechre remixes. (SB did have impeccable taste in remixers.)

Was really looking for discussion of this tangle of bands - Soft Ballet / Der Zibet / Buck-Tick and their dozens of collaborations and solo and side projects. kinda gothic, kinda queer, but with a dance / pop sensibility. Adjacent to Visual Kei, but not metal enough to be that genre.

Soft Ballet were one of those bands who honestly should not have worked on paper. One keyboard player (Fujii Maki) was into extremely hard German industrial and experimental music. The type of guy who would literally get an angle grinder out onstage. He's the one who pushed them to work with Coil and Autechre. The other keyboard player (Mokioka Ken) was into eurodance - Pet Shop Boys, Stock Aitken Waterman synthpop. They had their later albums mixed at Pete Waterman's Hit Factory in Borough to get that shiny, shiny eurodance sound. And then on top of that, they had this extremely operatic, shamanic Jim Morrison wannabe singer. Yes - very handsome. If you're into the handsome singers of the androgynous goth variety, you should really look into Buck-Tick and Der Zibet, lol. (Buck-Tick are so goth they have a theremin player, if that tempts you.)

This music has become more accessible since a lot of it has come onto Spotify now, but is there enough interest to justify starting a new discussion? I don't know how active this forum is.

I remember getting into Buck-Tick years and years ago, in my early j-rock phase (the anime OP/ED providers: L'arc~en~Ciel, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, etc). I remember liking what I heard but no further details. I'd be interested in some pointers for sure. (You could also -- shameless plug -- force some people to listen over in the 7gp thread, as long as you're willing to get into other folks' deeper explorations!)

It was me and someone else discussing Soft Ballet, but I never went beyond clicking around youtube to hear their stuff. I discovered them on some alternative manga tumblr page and there was a really gorgeous song that I was struggling to find again. The main vocal influence had to be Depeche Mode and my only complaint about the band was that the vocal influence was just a bit too obvious, maybe that fades away later? Susumu Hirasawa worked with them too.

I'll keep those other bands in mind, that Der Zibet guy is vampire handsome.

https://liveikoze.com/images/report_20150603_01_03.jpg

https://liveikoze.com/images/report_20150603_01_03.jpg

https://liveikoze.com/images/report_20150603_01_03.jpg

Oh wow

Haha definitely - ISSAY is the daddy of Endo Ryoichi and Sakurai Atsushi and every other handsome vampire type singer in Visual Kei and J-rock in general!

I like the idea of the 7GP thread - but I think I'll hold off a bit untiL I get more of a sense of this place, what the other posters are into and what their taste in music is like? I can be quite fussy about music. I think I will lurk on the thread and learn for a bit first.

But if you are at all interested, TheNuNuNu and Robert Adam Gilmour, I would love to start a thread specifically for these bands, as opposed to general Japanese New Wave?

Please do!

Etherwave,

many x posts
I find the best way to search the site is using Google (or another search engine) and adding
site:ilxor.com
along with your search terms.

Thanks for the tip, bryan - I will definitely try that in future.

I have created a new thread for discussion here:

This is NOT Visual Kei: BUCK-TICK, Soft Ballet, Der Zibet / ISSAY and their associated 90s J-Rock side projects

Random request: I know there are many people on this board who know more about Japanese music that I do.

The people in this image. The man is obviously Fujii Maki of Soft Ballet. Does anyone know who the two drummers are?

pic.twitter.com/r1QxPihKkQ

— VANILLA (@DGJ3LrW9H6OTCLt) April 1, 2025

Tried reverse google and got nothing.

Not much to do with any of the previous: The Willard has a compilation called Rubbish Stories Happened.

After someone on a Soft Ballet forum posted live video of Maki playing with the two live drummers above (phenomenal show BTW) I finally got an answer on who they are! And this is going to send me down a rabbit hole of more great music.

The woman on the right is Yamaguchi Miyoko from BimBamBoom, an all-female funk band. Absurdly catchy and danceable stuff:

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

The woman on the left is Yuumi from DE BESO, their YT channel looks more like dub plus a bit of funk, but again, super fun:

http://www.youtube.com/@DEBESO

Plus - Cross Power Flower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDAzM_Nre64
https://www.fondsound.com/plus-%E3%83%97%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B9-cross-power-flower-%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AD%E3%82%B9%E3%83%91%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%95%E3%83%A9%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC-1992/
Just bumped into this on youtube, really fascinating, dreampop but a whole lot of other things, a shame they didn't make more albums