Yellow Magic Orchestra - Technodelic (1981)

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Yellow Magic Orchestra - Technodelic (1981)

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Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) was formed in 1978 and is a major influence in Japanese popular music and for pioneering the technopop music genre. Making abundant use of new synthesizers, samplers, sequencers and digital recording technology as it became available, as well as utilizing cyberpunk-ish lyrics sung mostly in English, their popularity and influence extended beyond Japan. Generally the band are highly regarded as pioneers of electronic music, and continue to be remixed and sampled by modern artists. Widening their vision of synth-pop to include the darker strains of urban/R&B as well as a few vocals indebted to Roxy Music, 1981's Technodelic proved a high-quality album that showed Yellow Magic Orchestra had the talent and inspiration to grow beyond Kraftwerk-derived electronic pop heavy on the novelty but a bit light on bending genres. Though they aren't exactly melancholy, "Neue Tanz" and "Pure Jam" distinguish themselves through a clever use of synth and effects rather than through the simplistic melodies of previous work. There are some acknowledgements to acoustic music (such as the piano on "Stairs"), but for the most part YMO pursues a new direction with the same synthesizers they'd been using previously.