The Top 100: YMO

[Original HMV Japan post]

Yellow Magic Orchestra, made up of Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi, and Ryuuichi Sakamoto – three representative Japanese artists and creators - brought about the cutting edge Techno-pop sound in Japan and created a massive boom in the 80s. With that, at Number 2, it’s YMO.

Due to their life-long popularity, the “YMO children” who received that influence in their childhood or adolescence are now active in the music scene. The Techno-pop that they birthed was on one hand adopted by Idol music from the 80s onward, but also has had a large effect on the Band Boom and current techno scene as well. While methods of expressing it may differ, the influence of these artists who are currently solo acts is perhaps incalculable.

The creators of Techno-pop, Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) formed a concept group in 1978 around exotic sounds from synthesizers. The participation of Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuuichi Sakamoto on World Music pioneer Haruomi Hosono’s album Haraisoni was the impetuous of the group’s formation. YMO was formed as an extension of this album's theme of “Trying to revise the outside image of Japanese people from Japan’s side” by appealing to the unconscious inside humanity’s collective consciousness. YMO released their first album Yellow Magic Orchestra with the aim of technofying Martin Denny in the same year, but at the time this pioneering sound didn’t make much of a stir in Japan. However, once this remix album had a big break overseas, it started to garner attention inside Japan as well.

In 1979, their 2nd album Solid State Survivor was released. With its more poppy, catchy sound and the freshness of its jacket photo of the band wearing red Mao suits, it made a strong impact and became a big hit. Even the cleanly, evenly cut hairstyle that came to be known as the ‘Techno Bob’ became extremely popular, with that wave going so far as to be a social phenomenon. It became popular even with elementary school students of the time, with the term ‘Techno Bob’ becoming acknowledged as an ordinary word. Their goal was to perform poppy techno that resembled Kayōkyoku [an early form of Japanese pop -ed], but perhaps the fact that it didn’t just stop there is due to how it manifested the three artists’ talent and inspiration as composers, arrangers, and performers.

Entering the 80s, Techno Pop and New Wave bands such as Plastics, Hikashu, Halmens, Guernica, P-Model and so on debuted one after another. In 1980, YMO released a live album of recordings from the previous year’s world tour, Kouteki Yokuatsu [also known as Public Pressure -ed]. Moreover, they also released Zoushoku [aka X∞Multiplies -ed], an album that clearly displayed YMO’s cynical pop sensibilities and incorporated gags from Snakeman Show [a music unit and also a radio music show that ran from 1976 to 1983 – ed]. After that, their 4th album BGM and 5th album Technodelic were released in 1981. These two albums had less of their previous pop influence and were heavier, more melancholy experimental works. As expected, while they did not achieve the hit status of their previous works, it may be for this reason that fans rate the albums so highly.

After this, the three took a break from activities as YMO, instead ambitiously devoting themselves to solo activities. In 1982, Ryuuichi Sakamoto and Kiyoshiro Imawano released the single Ikenai Ruujumajikku together. Partly as a result of a tie-up as a makeup commercial song, the song reached the #1 position on the charts, but the extremeness of their TV performance of the song also stirred up controversy. Haruomi Hosono and Moichi Kuwahara co-produced a Snakeman Show novelty album made up of a combination of rock and comedy. Katsuya Kobayashi and Masatō Ibu’s masochistic jokes made it a big hit.

In 1983, one year into their break, YMO resumed activities magnificently with Kimi ni Mune Kyun, an ultra-pop song that must also be called Kayō Techno [From Kayōkyoku, mentioned above – ed]. Inside their sixth album Uwaki na Bokura [aka Naughty Boys -ed] they search around for a bright, catchy techno-pop that makes the contents easy to get intimate with.

However, after 1983's end-of-the-year Nippon Budokan concert they finally broke up. The three artists that had led the 80s music scene with the slogan of 'Techno-pop' and had also had a major influence on fashion made their 7th album Service their final and started walking their separate paths of solo activities. 10 years after this breakup in 1993, they temporarily reunited and released their final original album, Technodon. With an evolved techno-pop sound that received stimulus from the contemporary techno scene, this album has been reevaluated as an encapsulation of the evolution of 20th century pop.

2003 marks YMO’s 25th anniversary from forming, 20th anniversary of their split, and 10 years since their revival. In 2002, Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi’s SKETCH SHOW /Audio Sponge was released to high expectations as well as the video compilation DVD Visual YMO the Best. Yukihiro Takahashi produced, chose the songs, and did editing direction for this project, which centered on live video from their 1979 inaugural world tour all the way through their 1983 farewell performance at Budokan, including clips and video of their TV appearances. Following through and encompassing all of YMO’s history, this was their first best collection on DVD. At the same time, reprints of 10 of their out-of-print original albums such as Yellow Magic Orchestra, Sold State Survivor, Public Pressure, Zoushoku, and so on went on sale.

And so came 2003, the 25th anniversary from forming, 20th anniversary of their split, and 10 years since their revival. Their dream-like double-album best collection Uc YMO Premium was released. The main attraction is the ultimate double disc best collection with songs chosen, edited, commented on, and remastered by World Professor Ryuuichi Sakamoto, but I must also recommend the limited edition packaged with a T shirt and bandanna.
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