Yellow Magic Orchestra was a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The group is considered influential and innovative in the field of popular electronic music. They were pioneers in their use of synthesizers, samplers, sequencers, drum machines, computers, and digital recording technology, and effectively anticipated the "electropop boom" of the 1980s. They are credited with playing a key role in the development of several electronic genres, including synthpop, J-pop, electro, and techno, while exploring subversive sociopolitical themes throughout their career.
Yukihiro Takahashi was a Japanese musician, singer, record producer, and actor, who was best known internationally as the drummer and lead vocalist of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, and as the former drummer of the Sadistic Mika Band. He was also a member of the group METAFIVE.
×∞Multiplies is a mini-album and the third studio album by Yellow Magic Orchestra released in 1980. It contains a mixture of songs and instrumentals by YMO, interspersed with comedy sketches. These sketches are performed by Snakeman Show in both Japanese and English, with YMO participating in some of them.
Solid State Survivor is the second album by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, released in 1979. Later, Solid State Survivor was released in 1982 in the UK on LP and cassette, also in 1992 in the United States on CD, but many of the songs from this album were compiled for release in the US as the US pressing of ×∞Multiplies (1980), including the tracks "Behind the Mask", "Rydeen", "Day Tripper", and "Technopolis". Solid State Survivor is only one of a handful of YMO albums in which the track titles do not have a Japanese equivalent.
Technodelic is the fifth studio album by Yellow Magic Orchestra, released in 1981. The album is notable for its experimental approach and heavy use of digital samplers which were not commonly used until the mid-to-late 1980s, resulting in a more minimalist and avant-garde sound compared to their previous work.
Naughty Boys is the sixth album by Yellow Magic Orchestra, recorded from October 1982 to March 1983, and released on May 24, 1983. It contains the pop-oriented single "Kimi ni Mune Kyun", as well as a "preview" of "You've Got to Help Yourself", which was released in its full version on the companion album Naughty Boys Instrumental, and again with vocals on Service.
After Service is the second live album by Yellow Magic Orchestra, directly following their final studio album, Service. The album features former ABC member David Palmer on additional drums. A film version was released alongside the album. After Service features "Kageki na Shukujo", which was released in a studio version as a single, but does not feature on any of their albums.
Sadistic Mika Band (サディスティック・ミカ・バンド) was a Japanese rock band formed in 1972. Its name is a parody of the late 60s band Plastic Ono Band. Produced by Masatoshi Hashiba on Toshiba-EMI Records, the band was led by guitarist Kazuhiko Katō and singer Mika Fukui, who were a married couple at the time. The word "sadistic" is reported to be inspired by Mika's sadistic way of using knives in the kitchen.
Neuromantic is Yukihiro Takahashi's self-produced 1981 album and featured his YMO colleagues Haruomi Hosono and Ryuichi Sakamoto on keyboards, as well as contributions from Tony Mansfield of New Musik and Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera and Andy Mackay. The title is a pun on the early 1980s British fashion movement, the New Romantics.
Technodon is the eighth and final studio album 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. For the tour that followed, they were billed as Not YMO. Future releases by the band would be made under the names Human Audio Sponge and HASYMO.
UC 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. The premium edition came with a long-sleeved white shirt emblazed with the yMo logo as well as a yMo bandana that the band wore on the 1980 world tour 'From Tokio to Tokyo', along with a special Liner Notes Booklet and an autographed print by drummer and sometimes singer, Yukihiro Takahashi. It was cataloged as MHCL 291-4 and sold in Japan for 21,000 yen.
WORLD TOUR 1980 is a live album by Yellow Magic Orchestra. It was recorded during the band's 1980 international tour. This is the only YMO live album to include songs originally released on X∞Multiplies; it also features six songs from YMO members made for other projects and two covers. It was released, with a book with photographs taken during the tour, as both a 2-CD set and a 3-LP set, which had a bonus track. "Jiseiki Hirake Kokoro" was originally made for a Fujifilm cassette commercial. It was included in Snakeman Show's self-titled album in mono so that the lyrics, which reference Fujifilm cassettes, could not be understood properly; it was presented here in stereo, and was included in the UC YMO compilation.
WINTER LIVE 1981 is a live album by Yellow Magic Orchestra. It was recorded during the band's 1981 tour of Japan during the winter season of November and December 1981. A set of performances were first released in Betamax and VHS in 1983, featuring illustrations by Yakov Chernikhov. This is the only YMO live album from the BGM/Technodelic era of the group ; although this album only features one song that wasn't in either BGM or Technodelic, YMO also performed "Technopolis" and "Rydeen", as well as more songs from BGM and Technodelic and the unreleased "Loop".
Technodon Live is a live album by Yellow Magic Orchestra. It was recorded on the band's second and last show at the Tokyo Dome in 1993, and is the only full music album of the band's Technodon era. It is composed mostly of Technodon material with a few songs from Yellow Magic Orchestra and Solid State Survivor performed in the Technodon style. During the live performance, special audio effects were performed by Goh Hotoda, who also mixed both Technodon & this album, and computer graphics created by Daisaburo Harada were projected on a screen on the back of the stage.
Wild Sketch Show is a live video album by Sketch Show. It features a mix of Sketch Show songs and Yellow Magic Orchestra songs performed in the Sketch Show style. Sketch Show were joined by fellow YMO member Ryuichi Sakamoto, as well as two guitarists and two keyboardists. This is the only live show released under Sketch Show's name.
EUYMO – Yellow Magic Orchestra Live in London + Gijón 2008 is a live album compilation by Yellow Magic Orchestra. It collects two live double-disc YMO albums, LONDONYMO - Yellow Magic Orchestra Live in London 15/6 08 and GIJÓNYMO – Yellow Magic Orchestra Live in Gijón 19/6 08. It is performed in the style that the group built up as Sketch Show and as HASYMO. Unlike all other YMO live albums, these only have three songs from YMO albums. Most of the songs played are Sketch Show/HASYMO material, as well as songs from the individual members' solo careers. Two tracks are performed in the way they were on the "Tribute to Haruomi Hosono" album. Both albums are very similar, with the main distinction between them being GIJÓNYMO having its songs on a different order, fewer songs, and "Riot in Lagos" being performed differently.
Paraiso is Haruomi Hosono's fourth solo album and Yellow Magic Band 's first album. This album continues the tropical style of Hosono House, Tropical Dandy and Bon Voyage co., while being influenced by the music of Hawaii and Okinawa, incorporating electronic sounds that would be later developed on Hosono's and YMO's careers. YMO, The Yellow Magic Band at this point in time, was composed of Tin Pan Alley members and studio musicians, such as Hosono's former Happy End bandmate Shigeru Suzuki and future YMO members Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi, as well as guitarist Hirofumi Tokutake.
Summer Nerves is an album which recorded so called "Martial arts session" between Jazz fusion musicians and Japanese rock musicians, led by Ryuichi Sakamoto at the time of the formation of Yellow Magic Orchestra. "Martial arts session" of this album is regarded as a prototype of Kazumi Watanabe's "Kylyn session".
Murdered by the Music is Yukihiro Takahashi's second solo album, released when he was a member of YMO. As well as his YMO bandmates Ryuichi Sakamoto and Haruomi Hosono, and longtime YMO collaborator Hideki Matsutake this album also features contributions from Sandii and Makoto Ayukawa of Sheena & the Rokkets.
What, Me Worry?, released in 1982, is Yukihiro Takahashi's fourth solo album. As well as his YMO bandmates Ryuichi Sakamoto and Haruomi Hosono, this album features guest appearances by Zaine Griff, Tony Mansfield, and Bill Nelson.
