yellow magic orchestra

although I hear 'ABBA' in some parts (with the piano, and maybe only this one great ABBA instrumental called 'intermezzo no.1) and definitely a huge influence on 'justice' in their funk-bass-driven tracks, which I both like, I was never a big fan of neither wave pop nor housey electronic music.

the good thing with albums like YMO is their history. just because I'm always interested in stories of music genres. It really sounds fresh and modern, something what they have in common with 'kraftwerk', which tells me several things. one thing is, that a stomping 4/4 beat, a thin snare, hihat and handclaps don't give room for too much variations. means, that a present electro track with an 80s flavour sounds like one of the early electro tracks from bands of the 80s, like YMO. the other thing is what we call 'influence' or sometimes 'huge impact' in music, which often does not mean 'progress'.
this is not a bad thing, I mean, millions of people love electronic music, Berlins clubs are full of that. it just changed the way of performance a bit, today it's mostly DJing, no 'live band' performance on stage.

for that, the comparison with 'justice' came to my mind because one part of their idea is that they want you to think you hear a live band playing. I'm not sure if I imagine a live show of YMO right but I guess they want to be considered as a band, and that's the interesting part of them I think. at least for me. but that's just the performance.

the broad field of fusion music between electronica and other stuff can quickly come off of the mainstream and that's what I find interesting. the last song 'mad pierrot' for example, has a really cool harmonic progression and might show some of their further compositions, showing not only the use of once really modern technical equipment but carrying the experiment 'back' to the music itself.
the one with the chinese traditional theme ('tong poo?') shows this potential as well.

I would say, these 'pioneers' were introducing new and never heard before sounds to a broader audience, along with 'kraftwerk'. songwise kraftwerk isn't a perfect comparison to YMO because 'kraftwerk' wanted to sound artificial and arty, YMO wants to deliver an illusion of a funky band through new sounds, produced with wicked sequencer machines. In a way, these early electronic bands couldn't do no wrong, they did something new. YMO had that link to funk music (and to theatrical computer game themes) to introduce new sounds to an audience, with a chance to step forward, away from the well known, mainstream structures. I haven't heard any other albums by them yet, maybe you can tell something about later releases, drinky.

altogether it's a fun album, fits well into the sticky summer here right now. thank you!

Wow, nice, insightful review there! Especially how you describe the difference between YMO and Kraftwerk. I think you're spot on.

Unfortunately this is the only YMO release I've gotten so far. I plan to work my forward through their discography but haven't yet taken the next step.

I wanted to give the Miriodor album one more listen before reviewing. I should be able to do that today.

Good album and a good review.
By the way, have either of you seen this curiosity?

<---- waiting for someone to do something with this low hanging fruit.

That's about the best we can expect around here, isn't it.

And Todd, it's kind of neat that the events depicted in that video actually transpired, and kind of awful at the same time. Maybe a little more awful than neat.

this video is awesome because of two things:
1. Clapton's suit
2. Collins on drums

I'm still waiting...

He actually recorded a studio version, as well. On this record:

That suit is great, too. not even hipsters wear such pyjama-style comfortable suits these days. why?

sorry about the delay here, berliner...


Miriodor - Avanti!

So this is, I think, sort of "avant-prog", or a modern jazz-rock album. It's all instrumental, played I guess on mostly traditional rock instruments with some flourishes of other things here and there. It's a little on the "noodly" side, but it's much more composed than jammy. It's a relatively smooth and slick record but not without some edge and bite, and maybe some almost-grooves here and there.

Clearly these are some top notch musicians, capable of all sorts of odd time signatures and sudden tempo changes, playing all sorts of knotty progressions in weird keys. They get downright wacky at times. Some of it sounds like a busier, more technical Tortoise, or like a more frenetic take on Frank Zappa's jazzier stuff. I'm sure there are much better reference points than that, but this isn't a segment of music I've ever really delved into.

And while this isn't the sort of thing I'd ever seek out on my own, it's really made for great music to listen to while working. It's plenty lively, but not necessarily distracting. Maybe if I was doing a lot of reading it might not work out so well, but for the kind of stuff I do, it's kind of helped me concentrate and stay busy.

So it's a pretty neat record. I've given it a few listens already, and I'm sure I'll listen to it some more. Thanks, berliner!

Great review, drinky! I'm glad that I found something 'progressive' that you like. you're right, it works well as a background for concentrated work. I listen to stuff like that through headphones at work and it keeps me focused.
I think it's mainly because it is instumetal and because it's got sort of a chamber music sound, productionwise.
I've listened to this album quite a lot of times and I can tell it's incredibly groovy. once you get used to the songs and know them, the groove shines through all the odd compositions. maybe, when you come back to this album after a while you will see that, too.

I agree with you mentioning tortoise, maybe that was the initial link for me to keep me interested.

for the obner recommendation game I call our turn success.