YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA

The tunes and vocals are actually very pleasant to my ears, but I'm sure most Prog aficionados will have their hair standing on end and toes curled up in a cramp whilst listening to this synthetic plastic android mess.

The last Yellow Magic Orchestra worth finding. Even then, it may alienate many fans due solely to it's easy listening pop sensibilities. Brilliant production, excellent keyboard separation with decent tunes, but YMO really were light hearted buffoons at this point in their careers, with the singular aim of fame and fortune.

It didn't really quite come off, but Ryuichi Sakamoto did have his 15 minutes of glory while starring with Bowie in the excellent film 'Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence' from the same year.

Fans of electronic music will love this. There are quite a few elements of 'Sylvian's Japan' present which is understandable considering it was released in the same year as 'Tin Dum' with the help of Sakamoto. 'BGM' is, however, far more electronic and seems to exist in a world of its own. The drums and percussion are as straight as a die, the vocals are androgynous and surprisingly Steve Strange-like. The keyboards are colourful but very early 80's sounding. All of which points in the direction of Kraftwerk.

A more than decent album like all of their recordings up until 1983.

For something fun, weird and silly, I would think Japan is the first place I would go to! Yellow Magic Orchestra is widely considered to be the Kraftwerk of Japan, artistic innovators in the realm of electronic music, back when it was new(er than it is today.) Although undeniably progressive in the way they make use of textures here, the Yellow Magic Orchestra is in fact a progenitor of light synthpop here. There is plenty of catchy weirdness to enjoy here, although it can be said that the campy nature of the work gets out of hand at parts.

I have never been much of an expert in electronic music, but Yellow Magic Orchestra sound certainly ahead of their time. Most notably, this is because the music that Yellow Magic Orchestra are making here sounds like a direct precursor to video game soundtracks. Although Super Mario Bros, Pokemon and Star Fox would not gain popularity for about twenty years yet, the music and sounds used here sound like a total influence or the music and sounds in video games. On a contemporary note, Yellow Magic Orchestra is operating on a similar scope to Kraftwerk, albeit with a much more upbeat sound. 'Space music' was the trend of electronic music in the 1970s, but the sounds of galaxies and nebulae are not overt. Instead of densely orchestrated soundscapes, Yellow Magic Orchestra are using these strange sounds to make incredibly catchy and fun music.

'Live' instruments are kept to a minimum here, and instead, the majority of Yellow Magic Orchestra's compositions are left to the sounds of synths and some scarce vocals, the latter of which aren't usually that good. The most melodic moments of this album are magic, being equal parts quirky, fun, and memorable. There is also the feeling that the music does not take itself too seriously, which can be a good thing in parts, but the silliness sometimes gets out of hand, and this results in a sometimes bumpy experience. While Yellow Magic Orchestra are masters of quaint techno-pop, there are loose sound experiments here that revolve around the musicians dabbling with little more than beeps and boops. The experimentalism is appreciated, but not wholly successful.

If I was going to explain the effect of this music, I may label it as incredibly surreal elevator music. The melodies are light, the rhythms are soothing, and everything is doused in a layer of (potentially drug-laced) icing. 'Yellow Magic Orchestra' is a debut album that is certain only suitable for occasional listening, although it stands as one of the most memorable vintage electronic albums I have yet listened to.

Not prog, but still is one of the only '80s albums that I can enjoy at least a little bit. It's sad that this album had to be the follow up to very awesome selt-titled debut.

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.

'Light in Darkness' begins off sounding like the intro to 'Rio' by Duran Duran - but in a far cooler way - before lurching off with Sakamoto's airy keyboards which create a memorable instrumental tune.

Everything sounds ahead of its time for 1981. It's true that they're sometimes compared with Kraftwerk - but they're more lively and less robotic. Full of catchy tunes, with particular praise going to Sakamoto with his superbly played 'Prophet' keyboard.

Not recommended to Prog fans, but a big thumbs up if you're into New Romantic New Wave (which I've always had a soft spot for).

I've been listening to this trying to cheer myself up during the unfolding tragic events in Japan. Unhappily, this doesn't help, and it's no fault of 'Technodelic' - which on any other day I'd be shouting it's praise from the rooftops.

Music is just music. It feels a waste of time even writing a review for an album at the moment. My mind keeps wandering to more important things. One thing's for sure, the Japanese have gone right up in my estimations with the way they've comported themselves during this calamity. Civilised, ordered, polite and calm. Now, if this happened in Britain, there'd be looting and unruly behaviour everywhere. Guaranteed...

Not to worry... things kick off again with 'Tighten Up ' which should bring a smile to the most miserable of faces, this time there's added female vocals to boot.

Uh-oh... we're back with another spoken word bit from the 'Snakeman Show'. Now this one is too weird to be funny. I wonder if it got lost in translation between Japanese and English? All this talk of 'yellow pigs and small cocks' leaves me a bit uneasy to tell you the truth. Maybe we Brits just have a different sense of humour.

A strange little album which is alternately upbeat, juxtaposed with the spoken word awkwardness of 'Snakeman Show'.

Another criminally short album which barely breaks 29 minutes.