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Yellow Magic Orchestra - Yellow Magic Orchestra CD (album) cover

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA

Yellow Magic Orchestra

 

Progressive Electronic

3.79 | 49 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

colorofmoney91
Prog Reviewer
5 stars Yellow Magic Orchestra is the debut album by the group of the same name, and I really can't believe how much I like it. Anyone who's been paying attention to my reviews probably understands that I really hate the '80s, and that goes double for '80s electronic music. However, this group's sound is based almost entirely around '80s synth-pop, and I absolutely love it.

The synth-pop flare is very obvious upon first listen, but so are elements taken from classical, jazz, funk, and light usage of traditional Japanese music (all thoroughly electrified, of course). As far as synth-pop goes, the compositions on this album are very sophisticated. A strong mechanical vibe is present throughout the album, and really sounds like the modern- Japanese answer to Kraftwerk, and it works extremely well. Some tracks also include very strong electro-jazz touches that sound similar to Weather Report or the electro-funk era Herbie Hancock.

I tend to enjoy anything funky, jazzy, or Japanese, so this uniquely Japanese-sounding robo- electro-jazz-funk-pop album was something that spoke to me in the sweetest way. This is one of the only '80s albums that I feel is truly essential in the work of progressive electronic, though it may be an acquired taste for people looking for the stark experimentalism of Conrad Schnitzler or the drawn-out cold landscapes of Tangerine Dream.

Definitely recommended for fans of Squarepusher or Ryuichi Sakamoto's solo work.

colorofmoney91 | 5/5 |

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