Yellow Magic Orchestra
Encyclopedia
Sakamoto first worked with Hosono as a member of his live band in 1976, while Takahashi recruited Sakamoto to produce his debut solo recording in 1977 following the split of the Sadistic Mika Band
. Hosono invited both to work on his exotica
-flavoured album Paraiso, which included electronic songs
produced using various electronic equipment such as the Yamaha CS-80
polyphonic synthesizer, Roland
and ARP Odyssey
synthesizers, the Yamaha CP-30 and Rhodes
electric piano
s, and electric guitar. The band was named "Harry Hosono and the Yellow Magic Band" and in late 1977 they began recording Paraiso, which was released in 1978. The three worked together again for the 1978 electronic album Pacific, which included an early version of the song "Cosmic Surfin". Hosono and Sakamoto also worked together alongside Hideki Matsutake
in early 1978 for Hosono's experimental "electro-exotica" fusion
album Cochin Moon, which fused electronic music with Indian music
(reminiscent of Ravi Shankar
and Bollywood music
), including an early "synth raga
" song "Hum Ghar Sajan". The same year, Sakamoto released his own solo album, The Thousand Knives of Ryuichi Sakamoto, experimenting with a similar fusion between electronic music and traditional Japanese music
in early 1978. Hosono also contributed to one of Sakamoto's songs, "Thousand Knives", in the album. Thousand Knives was also notable for its early use of the microprocessor
-based Roland MC-8 Microcomposer
music sequencer
, with Matsutake as its music programmer
for the album. Hosono, Sakamoto and Takahashi eventually collaborated again to form the Yellow Magic Orchestra and they began recording their self-titled album at a Shibaura
studio in July 1978.
The band was initially conceived as a one-off studio project by Hosono, the other two members being recruited session musicians—the idea was to produce an album fusing orientalist exotica
with modern electronics, as a subversion
of Orientalism
and exoticization, while exploring similar themes such as Asianness
. The album would eventually be called Yellow Magic Orchestra, as a satire of Japan's obsession with black magic
at the time. The album featured the use of computer technology (along with synthesizers) which, according to Billboard
, allowed the group to create a new sound that was not possible until then.
Following an advertising deal with Fuji Cassette
, the group sparked a boom in the popularity of electronic pop music, called "Technopop" in Japan, where they had an impact similar to that of The Beatles
and Merseybeat
in 1960s Britain. For some time, YMO was the most popular band in Japan. A testament to the influence of YMO on fashion is how many middle-aged Japanese businessmen still have the "Techno cut" haircut, modeled after the group. Successful solo act Akiko Yano
(later married to Sakamoto) joined the band for its live performances in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but did not participate in the studio recordings. On the other hand, the YMO trio contributed to her own albums and became part of her live band, during these same years.
Making abundant use of new synthesizers, samplers
, sequencers
, drum machine
s, computers and digital recording technology as it became available, as well as utilizing cyberpunk
-ish lyrics sung mostly in English, they extended their popularity and influence beyond Japan.
Solid State Survivor
, released in 1979, was YMO's pinnacle recording in Japan, winning the 1980 Best Album Award in the Japan Record Awards. It featured English lyrics by Chris Mosdell
, whose sci-fi themes often depicted a human condition alienated by dystopic futures, much like the emerging cyberpunk
movement in fiction at that time. One of the album's major singles, and one of the band's biggest international hits, was "Behind the Mask
", which YMO had first produced in 1978 for a Seiko
quartz
wristwatch commercial, and then for Solid State Survivor with lyrics penned by Chris Mosdell
. The song was later revised by Michael Jackson
, who added new lyrics in the early 1980s. Jackson's version was never released until his first posthumous album, Michael
, though his additional lyrics were included in later cover versions of the song by Greg Phillinganes
, Eric Clapton
, and Ryuichi Sakamoto
himself in his 1986 solo release Media Bahn Live.
Their second album Solid State Survivor went on to sell over 2 million records worldwide. By 1980, YMO had become the most popular group in Japan, where they were performing to sold out crowds. Their first live album Public Pressure set a record in Japan, topping the charts and selling 250,000 copies within two weeks, while their next studio album X∞Multiplies had 200,000 pre-orders before release. The same year, their albums Solid State Survivor and X∞Multiplies held the top two spots on the Oricon
charts for seven consecutive weeks, making YMO the only band in Japanese chart history to achieve this feat.
They also had similar success abroad, performing to sold-out crowds during tours in the United States and Europe. The single "Computer Game" had sold 400,000 copies in the United States and reached No. 17 in the UK Charts. The group also performed "Firecracker" and "Tighten Up" live on the Soul Train
television show. At around the same time, the 1980 song "Riot in Lagos" by YMO member Sakamoto pioneered the beats and sounds of electro music. The band was particularly popular with the emerging hip hop
community, which appreciated the group's electronic sounds, and in the Bronx
where "Firecracker" was a success and sampled in the famous Death Mix (1983) by Afrika Bambaataa
. Meanwhile in Japan, YMO remained the best-selling music act there up until 1982.
motion picture Propaganda, the three members returning to their solo careers. The group were careful to avoid saying they had "split up", preferring to use the Japanese phrase meaning , and in fact the trio continued to play on each other's recordings and made guest appearances at live shows. Takahashi, in particular, would play YMO material in his concerts and as "lead singer" was arguably best placed to do so. Meanwhile, Sakamoto would gain international success for his work as a solo artist, actor, and film composer, winning Grammy
, Oscar and Golden Globe
awards.
The trio would eventually release a one-off reunion album, Technodon
, and credited it to 'NOT YMO' (YMO crossed out with a calligraphy X) orYMO in 1993. Instead of traditional vocals, about half of it features field audio recordings and samples of authors and scientists reading their work. During their brief reunion in the early 1990s, they continued to experiment with new styles of electronic music, playing an instrumental role in the techno
and acid house
movements of the era.
. On a number of occasions Ryuichi Sakamoto has joined in on Sketch Show performances and recording sessions. He later proposed they rename the group Human Audio Sponge when he participates. Barcelona performance at Sonar festival and Wild Sketch Show DVDs chronicle these reunions, and include a tongue-in-cheek Japanese text only history of the group that spans to 2036.
The band have reunited in 2007 for an advertising campaign for Kirin
Lager which lampooned their longevity and charted No.1 on various Japanese digital download charts (including iTunes Store
chart) with the song "Rydeen 79/07", released on Sakamoto's new label commmons
. Recently performing live as Human Audio Sponge; Hosono, Sakamoto and Takahashi did a live performance together as Yellow Magic Orchestra for the Live Earth
, Kyoto event
on July 7, 2007, which raised money and awareness of a "climate in crisis."
In August 2007, the band once again reformed, taking the name HASYMO or HAS/YMO, combining the names of Human Audio Sponge and Yellow Magic Orchestra. Their first single under this name, "Rescue", was written for the film Appleseed EX Machina
. They released a new two song single titled "The City of Light/Tokyo Town Pages" on August 6, 2008. HASYMO played two live concerts in Europe in the summer of 2008, one at the Royal Festival Hall
, London on June 15, as part of the Meltdown
festival of music curated by Massive Attack
and another in Gijon
, Spain on the 19th. Although the primary YMO members (Yukihiro Takahashi, Haruomi Hosono, and Ryuichi Sakamoto) are effectively known as HASYMO and played both these concerts, these concerts were billed simply as "YMO" but featured only 4 YMO songs in each concert while the rest of the concert featured Sketch Show, HASYMO music and member's solo works.
In August 2009, the band played the World Happiness festival in Japan, featuring many Japanese artists. The band closed the night, and confirmed that "Yellow Magic Orchestra" is their official name, dropping the HASYMO title. They opened with a cover of "Hello, Goodbye" and performed old YMO songs along with their newer songs.
In August 2010, YMO once again closed their World Happiness festival. They added classic songs from their back catalog into their set list. They also covered "Hello, Goodbye" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
". In January 2011, KCRW
announced for their World Festival concert series that Yellow Magic Orchestra will perform at the Hollywood Bowl
on June 26, 2011. Not long after, a concert for June 27, 2011 at The Warfield
was added. It was announced in February that YMO will perform at the Fuji Rock festival in July and the World Happiness festival 2011 on August 7 where they will debut new songs.
technicians the world has produced" and further argued that "without them (and Kraftwerk
) today's music would still sound like yesterday's music." In 2001, Jason Ankeny of the Allmusic Guide to Electronica described Yellow Magic Orchestra as "a seminal influence on contemporary electronic music – hugely popular both at home and abroad" and placed them "second only to Kraftwerk as innovators of today's electronic culture." In HMV Japan
's list of top 100 Japanese musicians of all time, YMO were voted second place, behind only Southern All Stars
, a pop-rock
band who remain largely unknown outside of Japan.
, sequencers
, drum machine
s, computers, and digital recording
technology in popular music, during a time when these technologies were seen as novelties. The band is considered "ahead of their time," for anticipating the global trend towards drum machines and sampling
, for having anticipated the "electropop boom" of the 1980s, their "pro-technological viewpoint," their use of video game sounds and bleeps
(as in 1978's "Computer Game", for example), and for experimenting
heavily with computers and electronic instruments
. Their approach to sampling music was a precursor to the contemporary approach of constructing music by cutting fragments of sounds and looping
them using computer technology. Their 1978 hit "Computer Game / Firecracker", for example, sampled Martin Denny
's 1959 exotica
melody "Firecracker" and arcade
game sounds from Space Invaders
and Circus
. According to The Vinyl District magazine, they also released the first album to feature mostly samples and loops (1981's Technodelic
). The pace at which the band's music evolved has been compared to that of The Beatles
during the 1960s, according to SF Weekly
, from "zany exotica-disco spoofs" and "bleeps and blips" in the 1970s to "sensuous musique concrète
perfected" in their 1983 albums Naughty Boys
and Service
.
According to music writer Piero Scaruffi
, YMO were pioneers of synthpop
, a genre development he believes to be "perhaps the single most significant event in melodic music
since Mersey-beat
" with its influence still evident in contemporary rock and pop music. While their contemporaries in Düsseldorf
, and later Detroit, were using synthesizer technology to create bleak dystopia
n music, YMO introduced a more "joyous and liberating" approach to electronic music, something that Sakamoto regards as "a Japanese thing." In contrast to Kraftwerk's "robot pop" which was more minimalistic
and statuesque, YMO's template for electronic pop was less minimalistic and made more varying use of synthesizer lines, while introducing "fun-loving and breezy" sounds, and with a strong focus on melody
. The band also drew from a wider range of influences than had been employed by Kraftwerk. These influences on YMO included Japanese electronic music (such as Isao Tomita
), European electronic music (such as Kraftwerk), exotica
(such as Martin Denny
), traditional Japanese music
, experimental Chinese music
(of the Cultural Revolution
era), Indian music
(such as Ravi Shankar
and Bollywood music
), disco
(such as Giorgio Moroder
), video game samples (such as Space Invaders), American rap
, British pop rock
(such as The Beatles), Caribbean ska, classical music, animal sounds
(such as the horse-running rhythms in 1979's "Rydeen
"), and noise. Sakamoto referred to the band's fusion
of many different sounds and styles as the musical equivalent to a Japanese bento
box, and has expressed that his "concept when making music is that there is no border between music and noise."
For their album Yellow Magic Orchestra (1978), the band utilized a wide variety of electronic music equipment
, including the Korg PS-3100
polyphonic synthesizer, Moog III-C
and Minimoog
monosynth
s, Polymoog
and ARP Odyssey
analog synthesizer
s, Oberheim Eight-Voice
synthesizer, Fender Rhodes electric piano
, Korg VC-10
vocoder
, the electronic drum
kits
Yamaha Drums
and Syn-Drums
, and the Fender Bass electric bass. It was also one of the earliest popular music
albums to utilize the Roland MC-8 Microcomposer
, which was programmed by Hideki Matsutake
during recording sessions; the other early popular music record to utilize it was Sakamoto's solo album Thousand Knives, where it was also programmed by Matsutake. Roland called the MC-8 a "computer music
composer" and it was the first stand-alone microprocessor
-based music sequencer
. It also introduced features such as a keypad
to enter note information and 16 KB
of RAM which allowed a maximum sequence length of 5200 notes, a huge step forward from the 8–16 step sequencers of the era. While it was commercially unsuccessful due to its high price, the band were among the few bands at the time to utilize the MC-8, which they described as, along with its music programmer
Hideki Matsutake, an "inevitable factor" in both their music production and live performances
. At the time, Billboard
noted that the use of such computer-based technology in conjunction with synthesizers allowed Yellow Magic Orchestra to create new sounds that were not possible until then. Yellow Magic Orchestra was also the first computer-themed music album, coming before Kraftwerk's Computer World
(1981) by several years. As a result of such innovations, YMO were credited at the time for having "ushered in the age of the computer programmer as rock star."
They were also the first band to utilize the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer
, one of the first and most influential programmable drum machines, as soon as it was released in 1980. While the machine was initially unsuccessful due to its lack of digital sampling that the rival Linn LM-1
offered, the TR-808 featured various unique artificial percussion sounds, including a deep bass kick drum
, "tinny handclap
sounds," "the ticky snare
, the tishy hi-hat
s (open and closed)," and "the spacey cowbell," which YMO utilized and demonstrated in their music, paving the way for the TR-808's mainstream popularity several years later, after which it would be used for more hit records than any other drum machine and continue to be widely used through to the present day.
The band has been described as "the original cyberpunk
s" and their early work has been described as "proto-techno
" music. "Technopolis
" (1979) was a tribute to Tokyo as an electronic mecca, used the term "techno" in its title, and foreshadowed concepts that Juan Atkins
and Rick Davis
would later have with have with Cybotron. The 1979 Solid State Survivor
album also included several early computerized synth rock songs, including a mechanized cover version of "Day Tripper
" by The Beatles
. The 1980 song "Multiplies" was an early experiment in electronic ska
. The beats and sounds of electro music were pioneered by Sakamoto's 1980 song "Riot in Lagos". "Rap Phenomena" from YMO's 1981 album BGM
was an early attempt at electronic rap. By the 1990s, YMO were also frequently cited as pioneers of ambient house
music.
ed or sampled
by modern artists, including electronica
acts Yamantaka Eye
and LFO, jungle
band 4hero, electrolatino artist Senor Coconut
, ambient house
pioneers The Orb
and 808 State
, electronic music groups Orbital
and The Human League
, hip hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa
, and mainstream pop musicians such as Michael Jackson
, Quincy Jones
, Greg Phillinganes
, Eric Clapton
,, Mariah Carey
, and Jennifer Lopez
.
YMO's success with music technology encouraged many others, with their influence strongly felt in the British electronic scene
of the early 1980s in particular. They influenced many early British synthpop acts, including Ultravox
, John Foxx
, Gary Numan
, Duran Duran
, Eric Clapton, Depeche Mode
, Camouflage
, OMD
, The Human League, and Art of Noise, as well as American rock musicians such as Todd Rundgren
. They also influenced the New Romantic movement, including British bands Duran Duran and Japan
, whose member Steve Jansen
was influenced by drummer Takahashi, while another member David Sylvian
was influenced by Sakamoto, who would later collaborate with Sylvian. YMO also popularized a style of live performance
that eschewed human movement in favour of electronics such as rhythm boxes
and samplers. The band also influenced the heavy use of sampling and looping in popular music
.
The 1978 song "Behind the Mask
" was an international hit covered by various later artists, most famously Michael Jackson
. Alongside Quincy Jones
, Jackson produced a slightly more dance
-funk
version of the techno classic with additional lyrics, originally intended for his best-selling album Thriller
(1982). Despite the approval of songwriter Sakamoto and lyricist Chris Mosdell
, it was eventually removed from the album due to legal issues with YMO's management. Nevertheless, various cover versions were later performed by Greg Phillinganes
, Eric Clapton
, Orbital
, and The Human League
, among others, before Jackson's cover version eventually appeared on the posthumous Michael
album in 2010.
The band was popular with the emerging hip hop
community, which appreciated the group's new electronic sounds, and in the Bronx
where "Firecracker" was a success and sampled in the famous Death Mix by Afrika Bambaataa
. According to The Guardian
, they "may have just invented hip-hop"; the hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa credited the band as an inspiration and once remarked that YMO invented hip hop music
(in a half-joking manner). Afrika Bambaataa's influential song "Planet Rock
" was partly inspired by YMO. The "terse videogame-funk
" sounds of YMO's "Computer Game" would have a strong influence on the emerging electro and hip hop genres. Sakamoto's "Riot in Lagos" was cited by Kurtis Mantronik as a major influence on his early electro hip hop group Mantronix
; he included both "Computer Game" and "Riot in Lagos" in his compilation album That's My Beat
(2002) which consists of the songs that influenced his early career. The song was also later included in Playgroup
's compilation album
Kings of Electro (2007), alongside later electro classics such as Hashim's "Al-Nafyish" (1983). The 1980 release of "Riot in Lagos" was also listed by The Guardian
in 2011 as one of the 50 key events in the history of dance music
. YMO's use of video game sounds and bleeps
also had a particularly big influence on 1980s hip hop and pop music. Beyond electro acts, "Computer Game / Firecracker" was also sampled by a number of other later artists, including 2 Live Crew
's "Mega-Mixx II
" (1987), " De La Soul
's "Funky Towel" (for the 1996 film Joe's Apartment
), Jennifer Lopez
's worldwide hit "I'm Real" (2001), and the original unreleased version of Mariah Carey
's "Loverboy
" (2001).
YMO also had an impact on techno
music, including its pioneers Juan Atkins
, Kevin Saunderson
, and Derrick May, as well as later techno musicians such as Surgeon
, μ-Ziq
, and Cosmic Baby. "Technopolis
" (1979) in particular is considered an "interesting contribution" to the development of Detroit techno
and the group Cybotron. "Computer Game" (1978) also influenced Sheffield's bleep techno music; the Warp record, Sweet Exorcist
's "Testone
" (1990), defined Sheffield's techno sound by making playful use of sampled sounds from "Computer Game" along with dialogues from the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind
(1977). "Computer Game" (1978) was later included in Carl Craig
's compilation album Kings of Techno (2006). Also in the 1990s, YMO had an impact on ambient house
pioneers such as The Orb
and 808 State
, as well as Ultramarine
and other ambient/house artists. This resulted in the release of the tribute remix album Yellow Magic Orchestra: Hi-Tech/No Crime in 1993, by leading ambient
, house
and techno musicians at the time, including The Orb, 808 State, and Orbital. The music YMO produced during their comeback in the early 1990s also played an instrumental role in the techno and acid house
movements towards the end of the 20th century. The band's use of oriental musical scales and video game sounds has continued to be an influence on 21st-century electronica
acts such as Dizzee Rascal
, Kieran Hebden, and Ikonika
. In 2006, Senor Coconut
paid tribute to the band with his Yellow Fever!
album.
The band has also been very influential in its homeland Japan, where they had become more popular than The Beatles
during the late 1970s and 1980s. Their albums Solid State Survivor and X∞Multiplies held the top two spots on the Oricon
charts for seven consecutive weeks in 1980, making YMO the only band in Japanese chart history to achieve this feat. Young fans of their music during this period became known as the . The band had a significant impact on Japanese pop music, which started becoming increasingly dominated by electronic and computer music due to YMO's influence. YMO were one of the most important acts in Japan's "New Music" movement and paved the way for the emergence of contemporary J-pop
in the 1980s. They also inspired ambient techno artists such as Tetsu Inoue
.
YMO also influenced many video game composers and had a major impact on the sounds used in much of the chiptune
and video game music produced during the 8-bit
and 16-bit eras
. As a result, several video game composers, including Shinji Hosoe
and Nobuyoshi Sano
, formed a parody band called "Oriental Magnetic Yellow" (OMY) in 1994, producing parody cover versions of various YMO records. Various cover versions of "Kimi ni Mune Kyun
" (1983) have also been produced by other artists, including The Human League
in 1993 ("YMO Versus The Human League
") and Asako Toki in 2006. In 2009, a cover of "Kimi ni Mune Kyun" was used as the ending theme song
for the anime
series Maria Holic
, sung by Asami Sanada
, Marina Inoue
, and Yū Kobayashi
, the voice actresses
of the main characters.
Sadistic Mika Band
was a Japanese rock group formed in 1972. Its name is a parody of the "Plastic Ono Band". Produced by Masatoshi Hashiba on Toshiba-EMI Records , the band was led by the then husband and wife team of guitarist Kazuhiko Kato, and his wife, singer Mika Fukui...
. Hosono invited both to work on his exotica
Exotica
Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same title, popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s, typically with the suburban set who came of age during World War II. The musical colloquialism, exotica, means tropical ersatz: the non-native, pseudo experience of Oceania...
-flavoured album Paraiso, which included electronic songs
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
produced using various electronic equipment such as the Yamaha CS-80
Yamaha CS-80
The Yamaha CS-80 was a polyphonic analog synthesizer released in 1977. It supports true 8-voice polyphony as well as a primitive settings memory based on a bank of micropotentiometers , and exceptionally complete performer expression features, such...
polyphonic synthesizer, Roland
Roland Corporation
is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...
and ARP Odyssey
ARP Odyssey
The ARP Odyssey was an analog synthesizer introduced in 1972. Responding to pressure from Moog Music to create a portable, affordable "performance" synthesizer, ARP scaled down its popular 2600 synthesizer and created the Odyssey, which became the best-selling synthesizer they made.The Odyssey is...
synthesizers, the Yamaha CP-30 and Rhodes
Rhodes piano
The Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS....
electric piano
Electric piano
An electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
s, and electric guitar. The band was named "Harry Hosono and the Yellow Magic Band" and in late 1977 they began recording Paraiso, which was released in 1978. The three worked together again for the 1978 electronic album Pacific, which included an early version of the song "Cosmic Surfin". Hosono and Sakamoto also worked together alongside Hideki Matsutake
Hideki Matsutake
Hideki Matsutake is a Japanese composer, arranger, and computer programmer. He is known for his pioneering work in electronic music and particularly music programming, as the assistant of Isao Tomita during the early 1970s and as the "fourth member" of the band Yellow Magic Orchestra during the...
in early 1978 for Hosono's experimental "electro-exotica" fusion
Fusion (music)
A fusion genre is music that combines two or more styles. For example, rock and roll originally developed as a fusion of blues, gospel and country music. The main characteristics of fusion genres are variations in tempo, rhythm, i a sometimes the use of long musical "journeys" that can be divided...
album Cochin Moon, which fused electronic music with Indian music
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
(reminiscent of Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
and Bollywood music
Filmi
Filmi is Indian popular music as written and performed for Indian cinema. Music directors make up the main body of composers; the songs are performed by playback singers and it makes up 72% of the music sales in India....
), including an early "synth raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
" song "Hum Ghar Sajan". The same year, Sakamoto released his own solo album, The Thousand Knives of Ryuichi Sakamoto, experimenting with a similar fusion between electronic music and traditional Japanese music
Music of Japan
The music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern. The word for music in Japanese is 音楽 , combining the kanji 音 with the kanji 楽...
in early 1978. Hosono also contributed to one of Sakamoto's songs, "Thousand Knives", in the album. Thousand Knives was also notable for its early use of the microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
-based Roland MC-8 Microcomposer
Roland MC-8 Microcomposer
The Roland MC-8 MicroComposer by the Roland Corporation, introduced in 1977 at a price of around US$8,000, was one of the earliest stand-alone microprocessor-driven CV/Gate music sequencer, following EMS Sequencer 256 in 1971 and New England Digital's ABLE computer in 1975...
music sequencer
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
, with Matsutake as its music programmer
Programming (music)
Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
for the album. Hosono, Sakamoto and Takahashi eventually collaborated again to form the Yellow Magic Orchestra and they began recording their self-titled album at a Shibaura
Shibaura
is a district of Minato ward located in Tokyo, Japan. The district is located between the eastern side of the Yamanote Line train and Tokyo Bay.Shibaura is the home to a number of major Japanese corporations including Toshiba and Oki...
studio in July 1978.
The band was initially conceived as a one-off studio project by Hosono, the other two members being recruited session musicians—the idea was to produce an album fusing orientalist exotica
Exotica
Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same title, popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s, typically with the suburban set who came of age during World War II. The musical colloquialism, exotica, means tropical ersatz: the non-native, pseudo experience of Oceania...
with modern electronics, as a subversion
Subversion
Apache Subversion is a software versioning and a revision control system distributed under a free license. Developers use Subversion to maintain current and historical versions of files such as source code, web pages, and documentation...
of Orientalism
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
and exoticization, while exploring similar themes such as Asianness
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
. The album would eventually be called Yellow Magic Orchestra, as a satire of Japan's obsession with black magic
Black magic
Black magic is the type of magic that draws on assumed malevolent powers or is used with the intention to kill, steal, injure, cause misfortune or destruction, or for personal gain without regard to harmful consequences. As a term, "black magic" is normally used by those that do not approve of its...
at the time. The album featured the use of computer technology (along with synthesizers) which, according to Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, allowed the group to create a new sound that was not possible until then.
National and international success (1978–1983)
The band's 1978 self-titled album Yellow Magic Orchestra, with its cutting-edge production, was very popular, and the studio project grew into a fully fledged touring band and career for its three members. Following the release of the album Yellow Magic Orchestra, a live date at the Roppongi Pit Inn was seen by executives of A&M Records of the USA who were in the process of setting up a partnership deal with Alfa Records. This led to the YMO being offered an international deal, at which point (early 1979) the three members decided the group would be given priority over their solo careers. The most popular international hit from the album was "Firecracker", which would be released as a single the following year and again as "Computer Game", which became a success in the United States and Europe.Following an advertising deal with Fuji Cassette
Fujifilm
is a multinational photography and imaging company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.Fujifilm's principal activities are the development, production, sale and servicing of color photographic film, digital cameras, photofinishing equipment, color paper, photofinishing chemicals, medical imaging...
, the group sparked a boom in the popularity of electronic pop music, called "Technopop" in Japan, where they had an impact similar to that of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and Merseybeat
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
in 1960s Britain. For some time, YMO was the most popular band in Japan. A testament to the influence of YMO on fashion is how many middle-aged Japanese businessmen still have the "Techno cut" haircut, modeled after the group. Successful solo act Akiko Yano
Akiko Yano
is a Japanese pop and jazz musician and singer. She was born as Akiko Suzuki in Tokyo and raised in Aomori, Aomori, and later began her singing career in the mid-1970s...
(later married to Sakamoto) joined the band for its live performances in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but did not participate in the studio recordings. On the other hand, the YMO trio contributed to her own albums and became part of her live band, during these same years.
Making abundant use of new synthesizers, samplers
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
, sequencers
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
, drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
s, computers and digital recording technology as it became available, as well as utilizing cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
-ish lyrics sung mostly in English, they extended their popularity and influence beyond Japan.
Solid State Survivor
Solid State Survivor
Solid State Survivor was the second album by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, released in 1979. Solid State Survivor was never released in the United States, but many of the songs from this album were compiled for release in the States as the US pressing of ×∞Multiplies ,...
, released in 1979, was YMO's pinnacle recording in Japan, winning the 1980 Best Album Award in the Japan Record Awards. It featured English lyrics by Chris Mosdell
Chris Mosdell
Chris Mosdell is a British lyricist, poet, author, composer, vocalist and illustrator, based in Tokyo, Japan, and Boulder, Colorado, USA.He has worked with a wide range of Japanese musicians and artists—the documentary Ink Music: In the Land of the Hundred-Tongued Lyricist bills him as the...
, whose sci-fi themes often depicted a human condition alienated by dystopic futures, much like the emerging cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
movement in fiction at that time. One of the album's major singles, and one of the band's biggest international hits, was "Behind the Mask
Behind the Mask (song)
"Behind the Mask" is a synthpop song by electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, written by member Ryuichi Sakamoto and first produced in 1978 for a Seiko commercial. It was later released in 1979 as part of the band's Solid State Survivor album with English lyrics added by Chris Mosdell. The...
", which YMO had first produced in 1978 for a Seiko
Seiko
, more commonly known simply as Seiko , is a Japanese watch company.-History and ongoing developments:The company was founded in 1881, when Kintarō Hattori opened a watch and jewelry shop called in the Ginza area of Tokyo, Japan. Eleven years later, in 1892, he began to produce clocks under the...
quartz
Quartz clock
A quartz clock is a clock that uses an electronic oscillator that is regulated by a quartz crystal to keep time. This crystal oscillator creates a signal with very precise frequency, so that quartz clocks are at least an order of magnitude more accurate than good mechanical clocks...
wristwatch commercial, and then for Solid State Survivor with lyrics penned by Chris Mosdell
Chris Mosdell
Chris Mosdell is a British lyricist, poet, author, composer, vocalist and illustrator, based in Tokyo, Japan, and Boulder, Colorado, USA.He has worked with a wide range of Japanese musicians and artists—the documentary Ink Music: In the Land of the Hundred-Tongued Lyricist bills him as the...
. The song was later revised by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, who added new lyrics in the early 1980s. Jackson's version was never released until his first posthumous album, Michael
Michael (album)
Michael is a posthumous album of previously unreleased tracks by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released from December 10, 2010 - January 14, 2011 by Epic Records and Sony Music Entertainment and features guest performances by Akon, 50 Cent, Lenny Kravitz and Dave Grohl...
, though his additional lyrics were included in later cover versions of the song by Greg Phillinganes
Greg Phillinganes
Greg Phillinganes is an active session keyboardist in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of Cass Technical High School, Detroit Michigan....
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, and Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto
After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
himself in his 1986 solo release Media Bahn Live.
Their second album Solid State Survivor went on to sell over 2 million records worldwide. By 1980, YMO had become the most popular group in Japan, where they were performing to sold out crowds. Their first live album Public Pressure set a record in Japan, topping the charts and selling 250,000 copies within two weeks, while their next studio album X∞Multiplies had 200,000 pre-orders before release. The same year, their albums Solid State Survivor and X∞Multiplies held the top two spots on the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts for seven consecutive weeks, making YMO the only band in Japanese chart history to achieve this feat.
They also had similar success abroad, performing to sold-out crowds during tours in the United States and Europe. The single "Computer Game" had sold 400,000 copies in the United States and reached No. 17 in the UK Charts. The group also performed "Firecracker" and "Tighten Up" live on the Soul Train
Soul Train
Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...
television show. At around the same time, the 1980 song "Riot in Lagos" by YMO member Sakamoto pioneered the beats and sounds of electro music. The band was particularly popular with the emerging hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
community, which appreciated the group's electronic sounds, and in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
where "Firecracker" was a success and sampled in the famous Death Mix (1983) by Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
. Meanwhile in Japan, YMO remained the best-selling music act there up until 1982.
Breakup and brief reunion (1984–1993)
The band had stopped working as a group by 1984, after the release of their musicalMusical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
motion picture Propaganda, the three members returning to their solo careers. The group were careful to avoid saying they had "split up", preferring to use the Japanese phrase meaning , and in fact the trio continued to play on each other's recordings and made guest appearances at live shows. Takahashi, in particular, would play YMO material in his concerts and as "lead singer" was arguably best placed to do so. Meanwhile, Sakamoto would gain international success for his work as a solo artist, actor, and film composer, winning Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
, Oscar and Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
awards.
The trio would eventually release a one-off reunion album, Technodon
Technodon
Technodon is the seventh and final studio album to date by Yellow Magic Orchestra and released in 1993, a decade after the band's original breakup. Because the name Yellow Magic Orchestra was owned by former record label Alfa Records, the band were forced to release the album under the name YMO....
, and credited it to 'NOT YMO' (YMO crossed out with a calligraphy X) or
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
and acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
movements of the era.
Post-breakup and reformation (1994–present)
The early 2000s saw Hosono & Takahashi reunited in a project called Sketch ShowSketch Show (band)
Sketch Show is a Japanese duo formed in 2002 by two of the three former members of Yellow Magic Orchestra, Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi...
. On a number of occasions Ryuichi Sakamoto has joined in on Sketch Show performances and recording sessions. He later proposed they rename the group Human Audio Sponge when he participates. Barcelona performance at Sonar festival and Wild Sketch Show DVDs chronicle these reunions, and include a tongue-in-cheek Japanese text only history of the group that spans to 2036.
The band have reunited in 2007 for an advertising campaign for Kirin
Kirin Brewery Company
is a Japanese company. It is a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu.-Overview:Kirin sells two of the most popular beers in Japan, Kirin Lager--the country's oldest beer brand--and Ichiban Shibori. In the happoshu category, Kirin Tanrei is the top seller. Kirin handles domestic distribution for...
Lager which lampooned their longevity and charted No.1 on various Japanese digital download charts (including iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
chart) with the song "Rydeen 79/07", released on Sakamoto's new label commmons
Avex Trax
, listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange as 7860 and abbreviated as AGHD, is the holding company for a group of entertainment-related subsidiaries based in Japan...
. Recently performing live as Human Audio Sponge; Hosono, Sakamoto and Takahashi did a live performance together as Yellow Magic Orchestra for the Live Earth
Live Earth (2007 concert)
Live Earth is an annual event developed to combat climate change. The first series of benefit concerts were held on July 7, 2007. The concerts brought together more than 150 musical acts in eleven locations around the world which were broadcast to a mass global audience through televisions, radio,...
, Kyoto event
Live Earth concert, Kyoto
One of the Live Earth concerts in Japan was held at Tō-ji, Kyoto on 7 July 2007.-Running order:*Rip Slyme - "Solo intro", "Nettaiya ", "Rakuen Baby ", "Unmei Kyodotai "...
on July 7, 2007, which raised money and awareness of a "climate in crisis."
In August 2007, the band once again reformed, taking the name HASYMO or HAS/YMO, combining the names of Human Audio Sponge and Yellow Magic Orchestra. Their first single under this name, "Rescue", was written for the film Appleseed EX Machina
Appleseed Ex Machina
Appleseed Ex Machina is a 2007 Japanese animated CG film and is the sequel to the 2004 Appleseed film, similarly directed by Shinji Aramaki, and was produced by Hong Kong director and producer John Woo. It was released on October 20, 2007 in Japan and made its American premiere at the Jules Verne...
. They released a new two song single titled "The City of Light/Tokyo Town Pages" on August 6, 2008. HASYMO played two live concerts in Europe in the summer of 2008, one at the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
, London on June 15, as part of the Meltdown
Meltdown (festival)
Meltdown is an annual, English festival, held in London, featuring a mix of music, art, performance and film. Meltdown is held in June at Southbank Centre, the arts complex covering and including the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and The Hayward...
festival of music curated by Massive Attack
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
and another in Gijon
Gijón
Gijón , officially Gijón / Xixón, is a coastal industrial city and a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain. Early mediaeval texts mention it as "Gigia". It was an important regional Roman city, although the area has been settled since earliest history...
, Spain on the 19th. Although the primary YMO members (Yukihiro Takahashi, Haruomi Hosono, and Ryuichi Sakamoto) are effectively known as HASYMO and played both these concerts, these concerts were billed simply as "YMO" but featured only 4 YMO songs in each concert while the rest of the concert featured Sketch Show, HASYMO music and member's solo works.
In August 2009, the band played the World Happiness festival in Japan, featuring many Japanese artists. The band closed the night, and confirmed that "Yellow Magic Orchestra" is their official name, dropping the HASYMO title. They opened with a cover of "Hello, Goodbye" and performed old YMO songs along with their newer songs.
In August 2010, YMO once again closed their World Happiness festival. They added classic songs from their back catalog into their set list. They also covered "Hello, Goodbye" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
"Thank You " is a 1969 hit single recorded by Sly and the Family Stone, recognized as one of the greatest and most influential funk songs of all time. The song, double a-sided with "Everybody Is a Star", reached number one on the soul single charts for five weeks, and reached number one on the...
". In January 2011, KCRW
KCRW
KCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...
announced for their World Festival concert series that Yellow Magic Orchestra will perform at the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
on June 26, 2011. Not long after, a concert for June 27, 2011 at The Warfield
The Warfield
The Warfield, also known as The Warfield Theater, is a 2,300 seat music venue located at 982 Market Street, San Francisco, California. It was built as a vaudeville theater, and opened as the Loews Warfield on May 13, 1922.-History:...
was added. It was announced in February that YMO will perform at the Fuji Rock festival in July and the World Happiness festival 2011 on August 7 where they will debut new songs.
Legacy
In 1993, Johnny Black of Hi-Fi News, in a review for the record Hi-Tech/No Crime, described Yellow Magic Orchestra as "the most adventurous and influential electro-techno-danceElectronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
technicians the world has produced" and further argued that "without them (and Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
) today's music would still sound like yesterday's music." In 2001, Jason Ankeny of the Allmusic Guide to Electronica described Yellow Magic Orchestra as "a seminal influence on contemporary electronic music – hugely popular both at home and abroad" and placed them "second only to Kraftwerk as innovators of today's electronic culture." In HMV Japan
HMV Group
HMV is a British global entertainment retail chain and is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company also operates in Hong Kong and Singapore. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index...
's list of top 100 Japanese musicians of all time, YMO were voted second place, behind only Southern All Stars
Southern All Stars
, also known by the abbreviations or SAS, is a Japanese pop/rock band that formed in the mid 1970s.The band is composed of Keisuke Kuwata , Yuko Hara , Kazuyuki Sekiguchi , Hiroshi Matsuda and Hideyuki "Kegani" Nozawa...
, a pop-rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
band who remain largely unknown outside of Japan.
Innovations
Yellow Magic Orchestra were pioneers in their use of synthesizers, samplersSampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
, sequencers
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
, drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
s, computers, and digital recording
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
technology in popular music, during a time when these technologies were seen as novelties. The band is considered "ahead of their time," for anticipating the global trend towards drum machines and sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
, for having anticipated the "electropop boom" of the 1980s, their "pro-technological viewpoint," their use of video game sounds and bleeps
Beep (sound)
A beep is a single tone onomatopoeia, generally made by a computer or a machine.-Use in computers:In some computer terminals, the ASCII character code 7, bell character, outputs an audible beep. The beep is also sometimes used to notify the user when the BIOS is not working or there is some other...
(as in 1978's "Computer Game", for example), and for experimenting
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
heavily with computers and electronic instruments
Electronic musical instrument
An electronic musical instrument is a musical instrument that produces its sounds using electronics. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical audio signal that ultimately drives a loudspeaker....
. Their approach to sampling music was a precursor to the contemporary approach of constructing music by cutting fragments of sounds and looping
Music loop
In electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
them using computer technology. Their 1978 hit "Computer Game / Firecracker", for example, sampled Martin Denny
Martin Denny
Martin Denny was an American piano-player and composer best known as the "father of exotica." In a long career that saw him performing well into his 80s, he toured the world popularizing his brand of lounge music which included exotic percussion, imaginative rearrangements of popular songs, and...
's 1959 exotica
Exotica
Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same title, popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s, typically with the suburban set who came of age during World War II. The musical colloquialism, exotica, means tropical ersatz: the non-native, pseudo experience of Oceania...
melody "Firecracker" and arcade
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
game sounds from Space Invaders
Space Invaders
is an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to...
and Circus
Circus (video game)
is an arcade game released by Exidy in 1977. The game is an arranged version of Breakout, where the player controls a seesaw and clown in order to destroy all of the targets in the level...
. According to The Vinyl District magazine, they also released the first album to feature mostly samples and loops (1981's Technodelic
Technodelic
-Personnel:*Ryuichi Sakamoto: keyboards, vocals*Yukihiro Takahashi: drums, vocals*Haruomi Hosono: Bass, keyboards, vocals*Peter Barakan: Lyrics *Hideki Matsutake: Technical assistance...
). The pace at which the band's music evolved has been compared to that of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
during the 1960s, according to SF Weekly
SF Weekly
SF Weekly is a free alternative weekly newspaper in San Francisco, California. The newspaper, distributed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area every Wednesday, is published by Village Voice Media, a 16-paper alt weekly newspaper chain that also includes the New York City Village Voice and the Los...
, from "zany exotica-disco spoofs" and "bleeps and blips" in the 1970s to "sensuous musique concrète
Musique concrète
Musique concrète is a form of electroacoustic music that utilises acousmatic sound as a compositional resource. The compositional material is not restricted to the inclusion of sounds derived from musical instruments or voices, nor to elements traditionally thought of as "musical"...
perfected" in their 1983 albums Naughty Boys
Naughty Boys
- Translation notes :As on some other YMO albums, song titles are provided in both Japanese and English, and some have different translations all together:* "君に、胸キュン。" translates to "My Heart Beats for You."...
and Service
Service (album)
- Personnel :*Ryuichi Sakamoto: keyboards, vocals*Yukihiro Takahashi: drums, vocals*Haruomi Hosono: Bass, keyboards, vocals*Peter Barakan: Lyrics...
.
According to music writer Piero Scaruffi
Piero Scaruffi
Piero Scaruffi received a degree in Mathematics in 1982 from University of Turin, where he did work on the General Theory of Relativity. For a number of years he was the head of the Artificial Intelligence Center at Olivetti, based in Cupertino, California. He has been a visiting scholar at...
, YMO were pioneers of synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
, a genre development he believes to be "perhaps the single most significant event in melodic music
Melodic music
Melodic Imitation is a term that covers various genres of non-classical music which are primarily characterised by the dominance of a single strong melody line. Rhythm, tempo and beat are subordinate to the melody line or tune, which is generally easily memorable, and followed without great...
since Mersey-beat
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
" with its influence still evident in contemporary rock and pop music. While their contemporaries in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, and later Detroit, were using synthesizer technology to create bleak dystopia
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n music, YMO introduced a more "joyous and liberating" approach to electronic music, something that Sakamoto regards as "a Japanese thing." In contrast to Kraftwerk's "robot pop" which was more minimalistic
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
and statuesque, YMO's template for electronic pop was less minimalistic and made more varying use of synthesizer lines, while introducing "fun-loving and breezy" sounds, and with a strong focus on melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
. The band also drew from a wider range of influences than had been employed by Kraftwerk. These influences on YMO included Japanese electronic music (such as Isao Tomita
Isao Tomita
, often known simply as Tomita, is a Japanese music composer, regarded as one of the pioneers of electronic music and space music, and as one of the most famous producers of analog synthesizer arrangements...
), European electronic music (such as Kraftwerk), exotica
Exotica
Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same title, popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s, typically with the suburban set who came of age during World War II. The musical colloquialism, exotica, means tropical ersatz: the non-native, pseudo experience of Oceania...
(such as Martin Denny
Martin Denny
Martin Denny was an American piano-player and composer best known as the "father of exotica." In a long career that saw him performing well into his 80s, he toured the world popularizing his brand of lounge music which included exotic percussion, imaginative rearrangements of popular songs, and...
), traditional Japanese music
Music of Japan
The music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern. The word for music in Japanese is 音楽 , combining the kanji 音 with the kanji 楽...
, experimental Chinese music
Music of China
Chinese Music has been made since the dawn of Chinese civilization with documents and artifacts providing evidence of a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty...
(of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
era), Indian music
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
(such as Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
and Bollywood music
Filmi
Filmi is Indian popular music as written and performed for Indian cinema. Music directors make up the main body of composers; the songs are performed by playback singers and it makes up 72% of the music sales in India....
), disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
(such as Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
), video game samples (such as Space Invaders), American rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
, British pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
(such as The Beatles), Caribbean ska, classical music, animal sounds
Zoomusicology
Zoomusicology is a field of musicology and zoology or more specifically, zoosemiotics. Zoomusicology is the study of the music of animals, or rather the musical aspects of sound or communication produced and received by animals....
(such as the horse-running rhythms in 1979's "Rydeen
Solid State Survivor
Solid State Survivor was the second album by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, released in 1979. Solid State Survivor was never released in the United States, but many of the songs from this album were compiled for release in the States as the US pressing of ×∞Multiplies ,...
"), and noise. Sakamoto referred to the band's fusion
Fusion (music)
A fusion genre is music that combines two or more styles. For example, rock and roll originally developed as a fusion of blues, gospel and country music. The main characteristics of fusion genres are variations in tempo, rhythm, i a sometimes the use of long musical "journeys" that can be divided...
of many different sounds and styles as the musical equivalent to a Japanese bento
Bento
is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware...
box, and has expressed that his "concept when making music is that there is no border between music and noise."
For their album Yellow Magic Orchestra (1978), the band utilized a wide variety of electronic music equipment
Electronic musical instrument
An electronic musical instrument is a musical instrument that produces its sounds using electronics. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical audio signal that ultimately drives a loudspeaker....
, including the Korg PS-3100
Korg PS-3300
The Korg PS-3300 is a polyphonic analog synthesizer produced by Korg, between 1977 and 1981.- History :The Korg PS-3300 is one of the biggest and rarest synthesizers ever made. Only around 50 units were produced by Korg over a 4-year period from 1977 to 1981 after which it was discontinued...
polyphonic synthesizer, Moog III-C
Moog modular synthesizer
Moog modular synthesizer refers to any of a number of monophonic analog modular synthesizers designed by the late electronic instrument pioneer Dr. Robert Moog and manufactured by R.A Moog Co...
and Minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
monosynth
Monosynth
A monophonic synthesizer or monosynth is a synthesizer that produces only one note at a time, making it smaller and cheaper than a polysynth, a synthesizer which can play multiple notes at once; most later synthesizers are polysynths....
s, Polymoog
Polymoog
The Polymoog is a polyphonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on divide-down oscillator technology similar to electronic organs and string synthesizers of the time, and this led to a certain lack of flexibility compared to later...
and ARP Odyssey
ARP Odyssey
The ARP Odyssey was an analog synthesizer introduced in 1972. Responding to pressure from Moog Music to create a portable, affordable "performance" synthesizer, ARP scaled down its popular 2600 synthesizer and created the Odyssey, which became the best-selling synthesizer they made.The Odyssey is...
analog synthesizer
Analog synthesizer
An analog or analogue synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s such as the Trautonium were built with a variety of vacuum-tube and electro-mechanical technologies...
s, Oberheim Eight-Voice
Oberheim polyphonic
The Oberheim polyphonic is an analog music synthesizer that was produced from 1974 to 1979 by Oberheim electronics. Tom Oberheim, the founder, knew that musicians needed a way to play chords on the synthesizers that were becoming popular in all styles of music in the 1970s. Except for huge, custom,...
synthesizer, Fender Rhodes electric piano
Electric piano
An electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
, Korg VC-10
Korg VC-10
The Korg VC-10 is an analogue vocoder from the 1970s. Vocoding refers to voice encoding of speech and singing with musical synthesis. It gained popularity in the '70s following utilisation by bands such as Kraftwerk and ELO. The VC-10 allows basic functionality in operation and modulation of signal...
vocoder
Vocoder
A vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
, the electronic drum
Electronic drum
An electronic drum is an electronic synthesizer which mimics an acoustic drum kit.The electronic drum usually consists of a set of pads mounted on a stand in a disposition similar to an acoustic drum kit. The pads are discs with a rubber or cloth-like coating. Each pad has a sensor which generates...
kits
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Yamaha Drums
Yamaha Drums
Yamaha Drums is a subsidiary of the Yamaha Corporation founded in 1967. The company manufactures acoustic and electronic drum kits as well as percussion instruments, marching band equipment, and drum hardware.-Production:...
and Syn-Drums
Pollard Syndrum
The Pollard Syndrum was one of the first electronic drums. It was invented by Joe Pollard, a drummer for the Beach Boys and Grass Roots . In 1976, he met Mark Barton, who had designed and built some working prototypes which were previewed to some prominent drummers...
, and the Fender Bass electric bass. It was also one of the earliest popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
albums to utilize the Roland MC-8 Microcomposer
Roland MC-8 Microcomposer
The Roland MC-8 MicroComposer by the Roland Corporation, introduced in 1977 at a price of around US$8,000, was one of the earliest stand-alone microprocessor-driven CV/Gate music sequencer, following EMS Sequencer 256 in 1971 and New England Digital's ABLE computer in 1975...
, which was programmed by Hideki Matsutake
Hideki Matsutake
Hideki Matsutake is a Japanese composer, arranger, and computer programmer. He is known for his pioneering work in electronic music and particularly music programming, as the assistant of Isao Tomita during the early 1970s and as the "fourth member" of the band Yellow Magic Orchestra during the...
during recording sessions; the other early popular music record to utilize it was Sakamoto's solo album Thousand Knives, where it was also programmed by Matsutake. Roland called the MC-8 a "computer music
Computer music
Computer music is a term that was originally used within academia to describe a field of study relating to the applications of computing technology in music composition; particularly that stemming from the Western art music tradition...
composer" and it was the first stand-alone microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
-based music sequencer
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
. It also introduced features such as a keypad
Keypad
A keypad is a set of buttons arranged in a block or "pad" which usually bear digits, symbols and usually a complete set of alphabetical letters. If it mostly contains numbers then it can also be called a numeric keypad...
to enter note information and 16 KB
Kilobyte
The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...
of RAM which allowed a maximum sequence length of 5200 notes, a huge step forward from the 8–16 step sequencers of the era. While it was commercially unsuccessful due to its high price, the band were among the few bands at the time to utilize the MC-8, which they described as, along with its music programmer
Programming (music)
Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
Hideki Matsutake, an "inevitable factor" in both their music production and live performances
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
. At the time, Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
noted that the use of such computer-based technology in conjunction with synthesizers allowed Yellow Magic Orchestra to create new sounds that were not possible until then. Yellow Magic Orchestra was also the first computer-themed music album, coming before Kraftwerk's Computer World
Computer World
Computer World is the eighth studio album by the German electronic music band Kraftwerk, released in May 1981. The album deals with the themes of the rise of computers within society. Critics see this album as a peak in the career of Kraftwerk, along with Autobahn and Trans-Europe Express...
(1981) by several years. As a result of such innovations, YMO were credited at the time for having "ushered in the age of the computer programmer as rock star."
Roland TR-808
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was one of the first programmable drum machines . Introduced by the Roland Corporation in early 1980, it was originally manufactured for use as a tool for studio musicians to create demos. Like earlier Roland drum machines, it does not sound very much like a real...
, one of the first and most influential programmable drum machines, as soon as it was released in 1980. While the machine was initially unsuccessful due to its lack of digital sampling that the rival Linn LM-1
Linn LM-1
The LM-1 Drum Computer, manufactured by Linn Electronics Inc., was the first drum machine to use digital samples of acoustic drums. Conceived and designed by Roger Linn, it was also one of the first programmable drum machines...
offered, the TR-808 featured various unique artificial percussion sounds, including a deep bass kick drum
Bass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
, "tinny handclap
Clapping
A clap is the sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often in a constant drone to express appreciation or approval , but also in rhythm to match sounds in music and dance...
sounds," "the ticky snare
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
, the tishy hi-hat
Hi-hat
A hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in R&B, hip-hop, disco, jazz, rock and roll, house, reggae and other forms of contemporary popular music.- Operation :...
s (open and closed)," and "the spacey cowbell," which YMO utilized and demonstrated in their music, paving the way for the TR-808's mainstream popularity several years later, after which it would be used for more hit records than any other drum machine and continue to be widely used through to the present day.
The band has been described as "the original cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
s" and their early work has been described as "proto-techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
" music. "Technopolis
Solid State Survivor
Solid State Survivor was the second album by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, released in 1979. Solid State Survivor was never released in the United States, but many of the songs from this album were compiled for release in the States as the US pressing of ×∞Multiplies ,...
" (1979) was a tribute to Tokyo as an electronic mecca, used the term "techno" in its title, and foreshadowed concepts that Juan Atkins
Juan Atkins
Juan Atkins is an American musician. He is widely credited as the originator of techno music, specifically Detroit techno along with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson...
and Rick Davis
Rick Davis
Richard Dean Davis is a retired American soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. National Team for much of the 1980s...
would later have with have with Cybotron. The 1979 Solid State Survivor
Solid State Survivor
Solid State Survivor was the second album by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, released in 1979. Solid State Survivor was never released in the United States, but many of the songs from this album were compiled for release in the States as the US pressing of ×∞Multiplies ,...
album also included several early computerized synth rock songs, including a mechanized cover version of "Day Tripper
Day Tripper
"Day Tripper" is a song by The Beatles, released as a double A-side single with "We Can Work It Out". Both songs were recorded during the sessions for the Rubber Soul album...
" by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. The 1980 song "Multiplies" was an early experiment in electronic ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
. The beats and sounds of electro music were pioneered by Sakamoto's 1980 song "Riot in Lagos". "Rap Phenomena" from YMO's 1981 album BGM
BGM (album)
-Personnel:*Ryuichi Sakamoto: keyboards, vocals*Yukihiro Takahashi: drums, vocals*Haruomi Hosono: Bass, keyboards, vocals*Peter Barakan: Lyrics*Hideki Matsutake: Computer programming...
was an early attempt at electronic rap. By the 1990s, YMO were also frequently cited as pioneers of ambient house
Ambient house
Ambient house, a music genre that first emerged in the late 1980s, is a sub-genre of house music, combining elements of acid house and ambient music...
music.
Influence
Yellow Magic Orchestra are considered pioneers in the field of popular electronic music, and continue to be remixRemix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed or sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
by modern artists, including electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
acts Yamantaka Eye
Yamantaka Eye
, real name , born February 13, 1964 in Kobe, is a Japanese vocalist and visual artist, best known as a member of Boredoms. He has changed his name three times, from Yamatsuka Eye, to Yamantaka Eye, to Yamataka Eye, and sometimes calls himself eYe or EYヨ...
and LFO, jungle
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
band 4hero, electrolatino artist Senor Coconut
Uwe Schmidt
Uwe Schmidt , is a German composer, musician and producer of electronic music. He is often regarded as the father of electrolatino, electrogospel and acitón music.- Career :...
, ambient house
Ambient house
Ambient house, a music genre that first emerged in the late 1980s, is a sub-genre of house music, combining elements of acid house and ambient music...
pioneers The Orb
The Orb
Throughout 1989, the Orb, along with Martin Glover, developed the musical genre of ambient house through the use of a diverse array of samples and recordings. The culmination of its musical work came toward the end of the year when the group recorded a session for John Peel on BBC Radio 1...
and 808 State
808 State
808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...
, electronic music groups Orbital
Orbital (band)
Orbital are a British electronic dance music duo from Sevenoaks, England consisting of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll. Their career initially ran from 1989 until 2004, but in 2009 they announced that they would be reforming and headlining The Big Chill, in addition to a number of other live shows...
and The Human League
The Human League
The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...
, hip hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
, and mainstream pop musicians such as Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Greg Phillinganes
Greg Phillinganes
Greg Phillinganes is an active session keyboardist in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of Cass Technical High School, Detroit Michigan....
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
,, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, and Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
.
YMO's success with music technology encouraged many others, with their influence strongly felt in the British electronic scene
Second British Invasion
The term Second British Invasion refers to British music acts that became popular in the United States during the 1980s primarily due to the cable music channel MTV...
of the early 1980s in particular. They influenced many early British synthpop acts, including Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
, John Foxx
John Foxx
John Foxx is an English singer, artist, photographer and teacher. He was the original lead singer of the band Ultravox before being replaced by Midge Ure, when he left to embark on a solo career in 1979...
, Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
, Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
, Eric Clapton, Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, Camouflage
Camouflage (band)
Camouflage is a German New Wave trio consisting of Marcus Meyn, Heiko Maile and Oliver Kreyssig. Their only Billboard Hot 100 hit was "The Great Commandment" which climbed to #59 in 1988, though it did spend three weeks at #1 on the US dance chart...
, OMD
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
, The Human League, and Art of Noise, as well as American rock musicians such as Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
. They also influenced the New Romantic movement, including British bands Duran Duran and Japan
Japan (band)
Japan were a British New Wave group, formed in 1974 in Catford, South London. The band achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they were often associated with the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement .- History :The band began as a group of friends...
, whose member Steve Jansen
Steve Jansen
Steve Jansen is an English drummer, percussionist, singer and composer. He was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London, where he failed academically, leaving at 16....
was influenced by drummer Takahashi, while another member David Sylvian
David Sylvian
David Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
was influenced by Sakamoto, who would later collaborate with Sylvian. YMO also popularized a style of live performance
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
that eschewed human movement in favour of electronics such as rhythm boxes
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
and samplers. The band also influenced the heavy use of sampling and looping in popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
.
The 1978 song "Behind the Mask
Behind the Mask (song)
"Behind the Mask" is a synthpop song by electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, written by member Ryuichi Sakamoto and first produced in 1978 for a Seiko commercial. It was later released in 1979 as part of the band's Solid State Survivor album with English lyrics added by Chris Mosdell. The...
" was an international hit covered by various later artists, most famously Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
. Alongside Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Jackson produced a slightly more dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
-funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
version of the techno classic with additional lyrics, originally intended for his best-selling album Thriller
Thriller (album)
Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...
(1982). Despite the approval of songwriter Sakamoto and lyricist Chris Mosdell
Chris Mosdell
Chris Mosdell is a British lyricist, poet, author, composer, vocalist and illustrator, based in Tokyo, Japan, and Boulder, Colorado, USA.He has worked with a wide range of Japanese musicians and artists—the documentary Ink Music: In the Land of the Hundred-Tongued Lyricist bills him as the...
, it was eventually removed from the album due to legal issues with YMO's management. Nevertheless, various cover versions were later performed by Greg Phillinganes
Greg Phillinganes
Greg Phillinganes is an active session keyboardist in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of Cass Technical High School, Detroit Michigan....
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Orbital
Orbital (band)
Orbital are a British electronic dance music duo from Sevenoaks, England consisting of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll. Their career initially ran from 1989 until 2004, but in 2009 they announced that they would be reforming and headlining The Big Chill, in addition to a number of other live shows...
, and The Human League
The Human League
The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...
, among others, before Jackson's cover version eventually appeared on the posthumous Michael
Michael (album)
Michael is a posthumous album of previously unreleased tracks by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released from December 10, 2010 - January 14, 2011 by Epic Records and Sony Music Entertainment and features guest performances by Akon, 50 Cent, Lenny Kravitz and Dave Grohl...
album in 2010.
The band was popular with the emerging hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
community, which appreciated the group's new electronic sounds, and in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
where "Firecracker" was a success and sampled in the famous Death Mix by Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
. According to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, they "may have just invented hip-hop"; the hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa credited the band as an inspiration and once remarked that YMO invented hip hop music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
(in a half-joking manner). Afrika Bambaataa's influential song "Planet Rock
Planet Rock (song)
"Planet Rock" is a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force. In the background and hooks featured Marvella Murray, Yvette Murray, Melissa Johnson and Sandra Wheeler. Although it was only a minor hit in the US, Canada, and UK, it helped change the foundations of hip-hop and dance music...
" was partly inspired by YMO. The "terse videogame-funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
" sounds of YMO's "Computer Game" would have a strong influence on the emerging electro and hip hop genres. Sakamoto's "Riot in Lagos" was cited by Kurtis Mantronik as a major influence on his early electro hip hop group Mantronix
Mantronix
Mantronix was an influential 1980s hip hop and electro funk music group founded by DJ Kurtis Mantronik , and rapper MC Tee...
; he included both "Computer Game" and "Riot in Lagos" in his compilation album That's My Beat
That's My Beat
That's My Beat is a compilation album by hip hop/electo funk musician, Kurtis Mantronik and features tracks selected by Mantronik and cited as influences to his work with his hip hop/electro funk group Mantronix...
(2002) which consists of the songs that influenced his early career. The song was also later included in Playgroup
Playgroup (band)
Playgroup is a British dance act. Basically the project of musician and designer Trevor Jackson, they were associated with the electroclash movement.Jackson has also performed under the names Underdog and Skull.-Albums:...
's compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
Kings of Electro (2007), alongside later electro classics such as Hashim's "Al-Nafyish" (1983). The 1980 release of "Riot in Lagos" was also listed by The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
in 2011 as one of the 50 key events in the history of dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
. YMO's use of video game sounds and bleeps
Beep (sound)
A beep is a single tone onomatopoeia, generally made by a computer or a machine.-Use in computers:In some computer terminals, the ASCII character code 7, bell character, outputs an audible beep. The beep is also sometimes used to notify the user when the BIOS is not working or there is some other...
also had a particularly big influence on 1980s hip hop and pop music. Beyond electro acts, "Computer Game / Firecracker" was also sampled by a number of other later artists, including 2 Live Crew
2 Live Crew
2 Live Crew was a hip hop group from Miami, Florida. They caused considerable controversy with the sexual themes in their work, particularly on their 1989 album As Nasty As They Wanna Be.- Early career :...
's "Mega-Mixx II
Move Somethin' (album)
Move Somethin' is the second album by Miami rap group 2 Live Crew. The album was released in 1987 for Luke Records and was produced by Luke Skyywalker and Mr. Mixx. The album was certified Gold and featured the singles, "Move Somethin' and "Do Wah Diddy Diddy"...
" (1987), " De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
's "Funky Towel" (for the 1996 film Joe's Apartment
Joe's Apartment
Joe's Apartment is a 1996 musical-serio-comedy film starring Jerry O'Connell and Megan Ward and the first film produced by MTV Films. It was based on a 1992 short film first made for MTV , but was also inspired by both the 1987 Japanese film Gokiburi-tachi No Tasogare and...
), Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
's worldwide hit "I'm Real" (2001), and the original unreleased version of Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
's "Loverboy
Loverboy (Mariah Carey song)
"Loverboy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on July 16, 2001 by Virgin Records as the lead single from Carey's eighth studio album, Glitter . Written and produced by Carey, Larry Blackmon, Thomas Jenkins, Clark Kent, "Loverboy" is built around a sample from...
" (2001).
YMO also had an impact on techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
music, including its pioneers Juan Atkins
Juan Atkins
Juan Atkins is an American musician. He is widely credited as the originator of techno music, specifically Detroit techno along with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson...
, Kevin Saunderson
Kevin Saunderson
Kevin Saunderson is an American electronic music producer. At the age of nine he moved to Belleville, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit where he attended Belleville High School and befriended two students, Derrick May and Juan Atkins...
, and Derrick May, as well as later techno musicians such as Surgeon
Surgeon (musician)
Surgeon is the pseudonym of Anthony Child, an English electronic musician and DJ. Child releases music on his own labels Counterbalance and Dynamic Tension. Established imprints, such as Tresor, Soma, and Harthouse, have also released Surgeon's original material and remixes...
, μ-Ziq
Mike Paradinas
Michael Paradinas , who works primarily under the name μ-Ziq in addition to a large number of aliases, is a British musician in the field of electronic music.-History:...
, and Cosmic Baby. "Technopolis
Solid State Survivor
Solid State Survivor was the second album by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, released in 1979. Solid State Survivor was never released in the United States, but many of the songs from this album were compiled for release in the States as the US pressing of ×∞Multiplies ,...
" (1979) in particular is considered an "interesting contribution" to the development of Detroit techno
Detroit techno
Detroit techno is an early style of electronic music beginning in the 1980s. Detroit, Michigan has been cited as the birthplace of techno music. Prominent Detroit Techno artists include Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson...
and the group Cybotron. "Computer Game" (1978) also influenced Sheffield's bleep techno music; the Warp record, Sweet Exorcist
Richard H. Kirk
Richard H. Kirk is an English musician specialising in electronic music since the 1970s.-Background:Richard H. Kirk first came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the seminal industrial band Cabaret Voltaire...
's "Testone
WarpVision
WarpVision: The Videos 1989-2004 is a DVD released by British record label Warp Records on September 27, 2004, which features most of the music videos produced for their artists in the 1989-2004 period...
" (1990), defined Sheffield's techno sound by making playful use of sampled sounds from "Computer Game" along with dialogues from the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, and Cary Guffey...
(1977). "Computer Game" (1978) was later included in Carl Craig
Carl Craig
Carl Craig is a Detroit-based producer of techno music, and is considered to be one of the most important names in the Detroit second generation of techno producers and DJs...
's compilation album Kings of Techno (2006). Also in the 1990s, YMO had an impact on ambient house
Ambient house
Ambient house, a music genre that first emerged in the late 1980s, is a sub-genre of house music, combining elements of acid house and ambient music...
pioneers such as The Orb
The Orb
Throughout 1989, the Orb, along with Martin Glover, developed the musical genre of ambient house through the use of a diverse array of samples and recordings. The culmination of its musical work came toward the end of the year when the group recorded a session for John Peel on BBC Radio 1...
and 808 State
808 State
808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...
, as well as Ultramarine
Ultramarine (band)
Ultramarine are a UK-based ambient / ambient house band, formed in the early 1990s by Paul Hammond and Ian Cooper.-Biography:Hammond and Cooper first worked together in the band A Primary Industry during the mid-1980s. Following the split of this band, they formed Ultramarine and released...
and other ambient/house artists. This resulted in the release of the tribute remix album Yellow Magic Orchestra: Hi-Tech/No Crime in 1993, by leading ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and techno musicians at the time, including The Orb, 808 State, and Orbital. The music YMO produced during their comeback in the early 1990s also played an instrumental role in the techno and acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
movements towards the end of the 20th century. The band's use of oriental musical scales and video game sounds has continued to be an influence on 21st-century electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
acts such as Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a Ghanaian British rapper, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of garage, hip hop, grime, ragga, pop and electronic music, with eclectic samples and more exotic styles...
, Kieran Hebden, and Ikonika
Ikonika
Ikonika is an electronic musician, producer and DJ often associated with Hyperdub Records and the Dubstep genre.Her debut 12", "Please/Simulacrum" was released in 2008 on Hyperdub Records. She has released music on Planet Mu, as well as a remix of DJ Mujava’s "Township Funk", released by Warp...
. In 2006, Senor Coconut
Uwe Schmidt
Uwe Schmidt , is a German composer, musician and producer of electronic music. He is often regarded as the father of electrolatino, electrogospel and acitón music.- Career :...
paid tribute to the band with his Yellow Fever!
Yellow Fever!
Yellow Fever! is a 2006 tribute album by Señor Coconut Y Su Conjunto . It is an album of covers done in a Latin American style....
album.
The band has also been very influential in its homeland Japan, where they had become more popular than The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
during the late 1970s and 1980s. Their albums Solid State Survivor and X∞Multiplies held the top two spots on the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts for seven consecutive weeks in 1980, making YMO the only band in Japanese chart history to achieve this feat. Young fans of their music during this period became known as the . The band had a significant impact on Japanese pop music, which started becoming increasingly dominated by electronic and computer music due to YMO's influence. YMO were one of the most important acts in Japan's "New Music" movement and paved the way for the emergence of contemporary J-pop
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
in the 1980s. They also inspired ambient techno artists such as Tetsu Inoue
Tetsu Inoue
Tetsu Inoue is a producer of electronic music. His style could be described as ambient with a heavy minimalist influence. He has lived in Japan, San Francisco, and New York, and has collaborated with musicians such as Pete Namlook, Bill Laswell, Andrew Deutsch, Jonah Sharp, and Taylor Deupree.His...
.
YMO also influenced many video game composers and had a major impact on the sounds used in much of the chiptune
Chiptune
A chiptune, also known as chip music, is synthesized electronic music often produced with the sound chips of vintage computers and video game consoles, as well as with other methods such as emulation. In the early 1980s, personal computers became cheaper and more accessible than they had previously...
and video game music produced during the 8-bit
History of video game consoles (third generation)
In the history of computer and video games, the third generation began on July 15, 1983, with the Japanese release of both the Nintendo Family Computer and Sega SG-1000...
and 16-bit eras
History of video game consoles (fourth generation)
In the history of computer and video games, the fourth generation began on October 30, 1987 with the Japanese release of Nippon Electric Company's PC Engine...
. As a result, several video game composers, including Shinji Hosoe
Shinji Hosoe
, also known as MEGATEN and SamplingMasters MEGA, is a Japanese video game composer and musician most famous for scoring Ridge Racer, Keyboardmania 3rd mix and many early 1990s Namco arcade games. He also created the in-game music for Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse...
and Nobuyoshi Sano
Nobuyoshi Sano
is a Japanese video game composer, musician and record producer most famous for scoring some songs for Ridge Racer and Tekken series, most notably Tekken 3, where he composed most of the soundtrack. He worked for Namco and Cavia, he actually works for the company Detune, he designed and produced ...
, formed a parody band called "Oriental Magnetic Yellow" (OMY) in 1994, producing parody cover versions of various YMO records. Various cover versions of "Kimi ni Mune Kyun
Naughty Boys
- Translation notes :As on some other YMO albums, song titles are provided in both Japanese and English, and some have different translations all together:* "君に、胸キュン。" translates to "My Heart Beats for You."...
" (1983) have also been produced by other artists, including The Human League
The Human League
The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...
in 1993 ("YMO Versus The Human League
YMO Versus The Human League
YMO Versus The Human League is an EP released in Japan and Asia in April 1993. It was released by Alfa Records and is a collaboration between Japanese electropop/synthpop band Yellow Magic Orchestra and British synthpop band The Human League....
") and Asako Toki in 2006. In 2009, a cover of "Kimi ni Mune Kyun" was used as the ending theme song
Music in Japanese animation
Music in Japanese animation is often closely tied to the Japanese music industry, but is also a significant industry, and genre in its own right, with genre often referred to as "anison", a portmanteau of "animation" and "song", or "anime song"...
for the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series Maria Holic
Maria Holic
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Minari Endō, the author of Dazzle. The manga was first serialized in the Japanese seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive on June 27, 2006, and is published by Media Factory. The manga was licensed by Tokyopop with the first volume in English...
, sung by Asami Sanada
Asami Sanada
is a Japanese voice actress, best known as the voices of Vita in the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series, Jun Sakurada in Rozen Maiden, and her debut role as Dejiko in Di Gi Charat.-Notable voice roles:Lead roles are in bold....
, Marina Inoue
Marina Inoue
is a voice actress and singer. She is signed onto Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex division. As for voice acting career, she's employed by Sigma Seven...
, and Yū Kobayashi
Yu Kobayashi
is a female voice actress from Tokyo, Japan and is affiliated with HolyPeak. She also occasionally works as a key animator.-Anime:*12Riven - Yuyu Hoshino*Air Gear: Kuro no Hane to Nemuri no Mori - Emily Adachi*Amatsuki - Benitobi...
, the voice actresses
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
of the main characters.
Studio albums and variations
- 1978 Yellow Magic Orchestra – JapanOricon, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
#17, USBillboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
#81 - 1979 Solid State SurvivorSolid State SurvivorSolid State Survivor was the second album by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, released in 1979. Solid State Survivor was never released in the United States, but many of the songs from this album were compiled for release in the States as the US pressing of ×∞Multiplies ,...
– Japan #1 - 1980 ×∞ Multiplies (a.k.a Zoshoku) – Japan #1, US #177
- 1981 BGMBGM (album)-Personnel:*Ryuichi Sakamoto: keyboards, vocals*Yukihiro Takahashi: drums, vocals*Haruomi Hosono: Bass, keyboards, vocals*Peter Barakan: Lyrics*Hideki Matsutake: Computer programming...
– Japan #2 - 1981 TechnodelicTechnodelic-Personnel:*Ryuichi Sakamoto: keyboards, vocals*Yukihiro Takahashi: drums, vocals*Haruomi Hosono: Bass, keyboards, vocals*Peter Barakan: Lyrics *Hideki Matsutake: Technical assistance...
– Japan #4 - 1983 Naughty BoysNaughty Boys- Translation notes :As on some other YMO albums, song titles are provided in both Japanese and English, and some have different translations all together:* "君に、胸キュン。" translates to "My Heart Beats for You."...
– Japan #1 - 1983 Naughty Boys InstrumentalNaughty Boys Instrumentalis the first remix album by Yellow Magic Orchestra. It contained nearly the entire Naughty Boys album as instrumental tracks in an entirely different running order, as well as the b-side to "Kimi ni, mune kyun.", "Chaos Panic"; and the full instrumental version of "You've Got to Help Yourself",...
– Japan #18 - 1983 ServiceService (album)- Personnel :*Ryuichi Sakamoto: keyboards, vocals*Yukihiro Takahashi: drums, vocals*Haruomi Hosono: Bass, keyboards, vocals*Peter Barakan: Lyrics...
– Japan #5 - 1993 TechnodonTechnodonTechnodon is the seventh and final studio album to date by Yellow Magic Orchestra and released in 1993, a decade after the band's original breakup. Because the name Yellow Magic Orchestra was owned by former record label Alfa Records, the band were forced to release the album under the name YMO....
– Japan #2
Live albums
- 1980 Public Pressure – Japan #1
- 1984 After ServiceAfter ServiceAfter Service is the second live album by Yellow Magic Orchestra, directly following their final studio album, Service. The album features David Palmer on additional drums. A film version was released alongside the album...
– Japan #2 - 1991 Faker Holic (Transatlantic Tour 1979) – Japan #50
- 1992 Complete Service (mixed by Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
) – Japan #37 - 1993 Technodon Live – Japan #12
- 1993 Live At The Budokan 1980 – Japan #87
- 1993 Live At Kinokuniya Hall 1978 – Japan #55
- 1995 Winter Live 1981
- 1996 World Tour 1980 – Japan #59
- 1997 Live At The Greek Theatre 1979
- 2008 Euymo – Yellow Magic Orchestra Live in London + Gijon 2008
- 2008 LONDONYMO - Yellow Magic Orchestra Live in London 15/6 08LONDONYMO - Yellow Magic Orchestra Live in London 15/6 08LONDONYMO – Yellow Magic Orchestra Live in London 15/6 08 is a double live album by Yellow Magic Orchestra.-Track listing:CD 1# "I-Shen Den-Shin" # "Sportsmen" # "Fly Me To The River" # "Mars" # "Flakes"...
- 2008 Gijonymo – Yellow Magic Orchestra Live in Gijon 19/6 08
Compilation albums
- 1984 Sealed
- 1992 Technobible
- 1992 Kyoretsu Na RhythmKyoretsu Na RhythmKyoretsu Na Rhythm is a 1992 compilation album by Yellow Magic Orchestra.-Track listing:# Lotus Love# Chaos Panic#Key# Cue# Computer Game# Pure Jam# Nice Age# Lighten Up# Rydeen# Megamix: Yellow Magic Orchestra in the 90's-Personnel:...
- 2000 YMO Go Home! : The Best of Yellow Magic Orchestra, (compiled by Haruomi Hosono)
- 2001 One More YMO: The Best of YMO Live (compiled by Yukihiro Takahashi)
- 2003 UC YMO: Ultimate Collection of Yellow Magic OrchestraUC YMO: Ultimate Collection of Yellow Magic OrchestraUC YMO: Ultimate Collection of Yellow Magic Orchestra is a compilation album by Yellow Magic Orchestra. The songs were selected by keyboardist and pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto. The album was also released as a premium edition...
(compiled by Ryuichi Sakamoto) - 2011 YMO (compiled by YMO)
Remix albums
- 1992 Hi-tech/No Crime (Yellow Magic Orchestra Reconstructed) (UK compilation of remixes by British artists)
- 2000 YMO Remixes Technopolis 2000-00 (Japanese compilation of remixes by Japanese artists)
Original singles
- "Firecracker" (1978, Japan; 1979, US, UK)
- "Yellow Magic (Tong Poo)" (1978, Japan; 1979, UK)
- "Computer Game" (1979, US, Canada, Europe) – UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#17, USBillboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
#60 - "Cosmic Surfin" (1979, US)
- "La Femme Chinoise" (1979, Europe) (Lyrics: Chris MosdellChris MosdellChris Mosdell is a British lyricist, poet, author, composer, vocalist and illustrator, based in Tokyo, Japan, and Boulder, Colorado, USA.He has worked with a wide range of Japanese musicians and artists—the documentary Ink Music: In the Land of the Hundred-Tongued Lyricist bills him as the...
) - "TechnopolisSolid State SurvivorSolid State Survivor was the second album by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, released in 1979. Solid State Survivor was never released in the United States, but many of the songs from this album were compiled for release in the States as the US pressing of ×∞Multiplies ,...
" (1979, Japan) – JapanOricon, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
#9 - "RydeenSolid State SurvivorSolid State Survivor was the second album by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, released in 1979. Solid State Survivor was never released in the United States, but many of the songs from this album were compiled for release in the States as the US pressing of ×∞Multiplies ,...
" (1980, Japan; 1982, UK) – Japan #15 - "Behind the MaskBehind the Mask (song)"Behind the Mask" is a synthpop song by electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, written by member Ryuichi Sakamoto and first produced in 1978 for a Seiko commercial. It was later released in 1979 as part of the band's Solid State Survivor album with English lyrics added by Chris Mosdell. The...
" (1979, US; 1980, UK, Italy) (Lyrics: Chris Mosdell) - "Nice Age" (1980, UK, Netherlands) (Lyrics: Chris Mosdell)
- "Tighten Up (Japanese Gentlemen Stand Up Please)Tighten Up (Archie Bell & the Drells song)"Tighten Up" was a 1968 song by Houston, Texas based R&B vocal group Archie Bell & the Drells. It reached #1 on both the Billboard R&B and pop charts in the spring of 1968. It is ranked #265 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is one of the earliest funk hits in music...
" (cover version of Archie Bell & the DrellsArchie Bell & the DrellsArchie Bell & the Drells was a R&B vocal group from Houston, Texas, and one of the main acts on Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International Records...
hit; 1980, Japan, US, UK) – Japan #43 - "CueBGM (album)-Personnel:*Ryuichi Sakamoto: keyboards, vocals*Yukihiro Takahashi: drums, vocals*Haruomi Hosono: Bass, keyboards, vocals*Peter Barakan: Lyrics*Hideki Matsutake: Computer programming...
" (1981, Japan, US) - "MassBGM (album)-Personnel:*Ryuichi Sakamoto: keyboards, vocals*Yukihiro Takahashi: drums, vocals*Haruomi Hosono: Bass, keyboards, vocals*Peter Barakan: Lyrics*Hideki Matsutake: Computer programming...
" (1981, Japan) - "TaisoTechnodelic-Personnel:*Ryuichi Sakamoto: keyboards, vocals*Yukihiro Takahashi: drums, vocals*Haruomi Hosono: Bass, keyboards, vocals*Peter Barakan: Lyrics *Hideki Matsutake: Technical assistance...
" (1982, Australia, Japan) - "Pure JamTechnodelic-Personnel:*Ryuichi Sakamoto: keyboards, vocals*Yukihiro Takahashi: drums, vocals*Haruomi Hosono: Bass, keyboards, vocals*Peter Barakan: Lyrics *Hideki Matsutake: Technical assistance...
" (1982, Spain) - "Kimi ni Mune KyunNaughty Boys- Translation notes :As on some other YMO albums, song titles are provided in both Japanese and English, and some have different translations all together:* "君に、胸キュン。" translates to "My Heart Beats for You."...
" (1983, Japan) – Japan #2 - "The Spirit of Techno / Kageki na ShukujoAfter ServiceAfter Service is the second live album by Yellow Magic Orchestra, directly following their final studio album, Service. The album features David Palmer on additional drums. A film version was released alongside the album...
" (1983, Japan) – Japan #15 - "Ishin Denshin (You've Got To Help Yourself)Service (album)- Personnel :*Ryuichi Sakamoto: keyboards, vocals*Yukihiro Takahashi: drums, vocals*Haruomi Hosono: Bass, keyboards, vocals*Peter Barakan: Lyrics...
" (1983, Japan) – Japan #23 - "Every Time I Look Around (I Hear The Madmen Call)Service (album)- Personnel :*Ryuichi Sakamoto: keyboards, vocals*Yukihiro Takahashi: drums, vocals*Haruomi Hosono: Bass, keyboards, vocals*Peter Barakan: Lyrics...
" (1983, Holland) - Reconstructions EP (1992, UK)
- "Pocketful of RainbowsTechnodonTechnodon is the seventh and final studio album to date by Yellow Magic Orchestra and released in 1993, a decade after the band's original breakup. Because the name Yellow Magic Orchestra was owned by former record label Alfa Records, the band were forced to release the album under the name YMO....
" (1993, Japan) – Japan #13 - "Be A SupermanTechnodonTechnodon is the seventh and final studio album to date by Yellow Magic Orchestra and released in 1993, a decade after the band's original breakup. Because the name Yellow Magic Orchestra was owned by former record label Alfa Records, the band were forced to release the album under the name YMO....
" (1993, Japan) – Japan #76 - "Rescue / Rydeen 79/07Rescue / Rydeen 79/07Rescue / Rydeen 79/07 is a CD single by Japanese band HASYMO. It was released in 2007 and includes "Rescue", the opening theme to the anime film Appleseed Ex Machina; and a new version of one of YMO's most popular songs, "Rydeen".-Personnel:...
" (2007, Japan) – Digital download release: March 10, 2007, CD release: August 22, 2007 - "The City of Light / Tokyo Town PagesThe City of Light / Tokyo Town PagesThe City of Light / Tokyo Town Pages is an ambient CD single by HASYMO .It includes two new tracks later re-arranged with slight changes...
" (2008, Japan) - "Good Morning, Good Night" (2009, Japan) – by HASYMO
See also
- Sketch ShowSketch Show (band)Sketch Show is a Japanese duo formed in 2002 by two of the three former members of Yellow Magic Orchestra, Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi...
(Takahashi & Hosono) - Sadistic Mika BandSadistic Mika Bandwas a Japanese rock group formed in 1972. Its name is a parody of the "Plastic Ono Band". Produced by Masatoshi Hashiba on Toshiba-EMI Records , the band was led by the then husband and wife team of guitarist Kazuhiko Kato, and his wife, singer Mika Fukui...
(Takahashi & Mosdell) - Happy End (band) (Hosono)
- Haruomi HosonoHaruomi Hosono, also known as Harry Hosono, is a Japanese popular musician, best known internationally as a key member of the rock band Happy End and the pioneering electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra.-Biography:...
- Ryuichi SakamotoRyuichi SakamotoAfter working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
- Yukihiro TakahashiYukihiro TakahashiYukihiro Takahashi is a Japanese musician, who is best known as the drummer and lead vocalist of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, and as the former drummer of the Sadistic Mika Band.-Biography:...
- Hideki MatsutakeHideki MatsutakeHideki Matsutake is a Japanese composer, arranger, and computer programmer. He is known for his pioneering work in electronic music and particularly music programming, as the assistant of Isao Tomita during the early 1970s and as the "fourth member" of the band Yellow Magic Orchestra during the...
- Chris MosdellChris MosdellChris Mosdell is a British lyricist, poet, author, composer, vocalist and illustrator, based in Tokyo, Japan, and Boulder, Colorado, USA.He has worked with a wide range of Japanese musicians and artists—the documentary Ink Music: In the Land of the Hundred-Tongued Lyricist bills him as the...
- Akiko YanoAkiko Yanois a Japanese pop and jazz musician and singer. She was born as Akiko Suzuki in Tokyo and raised in Aomori, Aomori, and later began her singing career in the mid-1970s...
- Sandii & the SunsetzSandii & the SunsetzSandii & the Sunsetz were a Japanese technopop band that collaborated from 1979 until the 1990s. The Sunsetz, led by Makoto Kubota, and Sandii started as separate artists, and each have a separate discography...
- Sheena & The RokketsSheena & The Rokketsare a Japanese guitar rock band. They are one of the Mentai Rock artists who were popular in the late 1970s. Their single Lemon Tea is widely covered in Japan, by, for example, Mad Soldiers, the Red Pepper Girls and Hitomi.- Singles :#涙のハイウェイ...
- Susan (Japanese singer)Susan (Japanese singer)Susan was a pop singer who recorded in Japan in the early 1980s. She is half-French and half-Japanese. Her music is technopop in style, mainly featuring synthesisers and drum machines....