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)

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