Archive for June, 2018

The Devo Live Album Time Forgot

Tuesday, June 26th, 2018

It’s been a while, but tonight here is some music by an artist you might actually know the name of!

Seriously though, I got a few really nice comments on my past few more out there posts, and those do mean a lot to me! So thanks for that.

Anyways….

WE ARE DEVO.

Devo
Jocko Homo (Live)
It Doesn’t Matter To Me (Live)
Going Under (Live)
Somewhere With Devo: Shout/Disco Dancer (Live)
These cuts are from the live album Now It Can Be Told: DEVO At The Palace 12/9/88. I’m going to go out on a limb and say this record has become completely forgotten in the years since its release; I had never seen it in any used store ever until I stumbled upon it a few weeks back, in the middle of nowhere at a used hardware store outside of Tokyo. And the Wikipedia page for the album was rife with typos, listing the album’s recording and release dates in the late-90s and not the late-80s…big difference. I cleaned it up a bit last night.

I suppose the lack of oversight makes sense, this album came out when Devo was a bit past their prime. It was recorded during the tour for Total Devo, an album that in itself is mostly forgotten now, and was poorly-received at the time. Critics then attacked it for being derivative of the group’s earlier (and better) work, but if Devo’s attitude on this album is any indication, they blamed their waning popularity more on changing trends (looking in hindsight, both are probably true). The first three tracks on this album (which I’m sharing here tonight) are acoustic numbers. My suspicion is that Devo was playing with the fact that acts like Tracey Chapman, R.E.M., and The Pixies were replacing acts like them on the indie/alternative charts: the synthpop-backlash was already in effect. At one point in this album Mark even says that “it takes courage to be a Devo fan these days.” This is the attitude of a band that was obviously over it.

But it doesn’t show in their performance, this is a fantastic record. While I would’ve been bummed to the laid-back acoustic version of “Jocko Homo” in concert, having this strange alternative version on my computer is a treat. And when the band cuts the acoustic charade and plugs in the synthesizers, they still sound like prime Devo. And they also still focus on material from their older albums, a rather telling sign. However, the band closes a medley of “Shout” and “Disco Dancer,” two of their more recent (and failed) singles. But both those tracks were standouts on their respective albums (“Disco Dancer” should be a fucking classic) and these epic 11 minute combination of them both is just awesome and should’ve remained a Devo set closer for their reunion tour in the 2010s, I would’ve been happy.

The public has forgotten this record and I think that Devo has too. It’s listed on their website alongside their other albums, but its never been re-issued and is not available on any digital storefront. Devo’s re-released and remastered damn near everything in their catalog over the years, and have even released other live albums since then, so I doubt them skipping this record was an unintentional oversight. Perhaps it’s a time in their career they’d wish to forget. It’s a shame, as the record is quality. If you like the tracks I’m sharing tonight, maybe consider picking it up used. It’s pretty cheap online.

Next post: strange synthy music no one has ever heard of.

Sorry.

Posted in Devo, live | 2 Comments »

Happy Dopey Synths

Saturday, June 23rd, 2018

A few year back I first heard the term “synthwave” and kind of scoffed at it. Seemed to me like another made-up genre like “Nu-Rave” and “grindie.” But it stuck around long enough and I begrudgingly accept it now. Shit, even a few of my favorite artists, such as Survive and Power Glove, fall under the synthwave banner. But as much as I love synthwave, its omnipresent feeling of never-ending foreboding can be just a bit much at times. Like, I get it guys, you all like John Carpenter and Blade Runner. Would it kill you to give your songs more of an upbeat vibe just once in a while?

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve recently been scouring the record bins for obscure prog and prog-adjacent acts that heavily feature keyboards, sequencers and other early electronic instruments. Through my purchases, I’ve discovered some real gems. I shared Lutz Rahn last time, but I also want to give a shout out to Zeus. His album Europium seriously blows my mind. It’s a perfect amalgamation of late-70s prog and early-80s synthpop. Totally amazing stuff that, much like Rahn, takes concepts and themes you’d find in 70s electronic music and places them firmly in a pop environment.

I’m also currently in love with Roland Romanelli’s 1982 album Connecting Flight. It’s like it was created in a vacuum. It seems to completely ignore the synthpop trends of the era and instead goes for a super energetic and over-the-top sound that sounds a bit like the purely instrumental disco of the early 70s, just played entirely on electronic instruments. Makes sense that this dude was in Space, a group with a similar upbeat and fun style (who I also recommend).

All of these bands are on iTunes. They’re easy to find and at affordable prices, so I won’t share them here. Instead I’m going to share an album that also gives me similar vibes, times a million.

Osamu Shoji
The Pumpkin Wine (complete album download)
The Pumpkin Wine was a manga from the early 80s that got turned into an anime series in 1982, followed by an animated movie in 1984 and a live-action movie in 2007. This is the soundtrack to the manga I believe. That was actually a fairly common thing in Japan in the 80s. They gave manga their own soundtracks. I guess you were supposed to read the manga while listening to the LP.

Of course, I could be entirely wrong as it should be said that I know squat about The Pumpkin Wine in either anime or manga form. I bought this solely for the composer, the legendary Osamu Shoji. He sadly passed away this year, and I long for the day when his robust, eclectic and downright bizarre discography is rightfully rediscovered. He’s mostly known for his score to Wicked City, but I feel that this soundtrack is more indicative of his greater body of work; what I mean is, it’s goofy as hell.

One of the best things about Osamu Shoji was that he wasn’t afraid to go all out with his synthesizers and really try all the sounds they could produce. You don’t just hear the basic synth strings and drum beats on an Osamu Shoji piece, you get weird electronic bongos, non-stop slap bass effects, faux guitar, artificial bells, the works. This album has a track with not one, but two short synth-bongo drum solos. That’s the kind of idiosyncratic delights that Osamu Shoji specialized in.

The result is music that is cheery and upbeat. Sparkly and breezy. It’s not City Pop, it’s not jazzy enough for that, but it’s definitely a close cousin. This is music for a Sunday drive by the beach, or a stroll through an exceptionally charming neighborhood. It’s what you hear when you roll up to a town in an RPG. I get that the tones and textures used by Shoji may not be for everyone, especially those whose only exposure to synthesizer music is grimdark synthwave, but for me it’s a refreshing breath of fresh digital air. Music can be an escape sometimes. I don’t always need to be reminded that the world is a dark and scary place. Sometimes I want to be reminded that it can still, just sometimes, be a fun and happy place. Music like this does that for me. Maybe it’ll do it for you too.

Posted in Complete Albums, Osamu Shoji | 5 Comments »

Lutz Rahn and his Proto-Synthwave

Monday, June 18th, 2018

Prog is big in Japan. Really big. It’s crazy. The prog section at any used record store here is always massive, and it’s always filled with insanely rare and expensive records that sell like hotcakes. I’ve seen prog albums by acts I’ve never heard of fetch over $1,000. I think that prog is big here because there’s a devoted subset of Japanese music fans who really care about technical ability. And the kind of person whose really into technical skill and musicianship (let’s say, over songwriting and personality) is often going to be the kind of person who’s into prog.

That means that in addition to insanely rare and expensive prog albums for sale, you often seen bargain bin sales of obscure prog you’d never find otherwise. Those bins have been my hunting grounds as of late. I really enjoy digging through those crates to see what turns up. But prog is a pretty diverse genre. You got jazz-influenced prog, funky organ-based prog, space prog, whatever the fuck Styx is, and so on.

It can be a little overwhelming at first, so many albums from so many bands, it’s hard to even know where to begin. I’ve got a system that works for me though; I usually check the back of the record or the liner notes until I find the credits. If they went through the trouble to list by name the different keyboards, synthesizers and other electronic components used on the album, then that tells me that the record has a heavy keyboard and/or electronic bent, and that’s really what I’m into the most at the moment. My flirtation with jazz-rock is done, I got burned too many times. Give me all the sequencers all the time.

Lutz Rahn
Galaxy Taxi
September
Jubel-Trubel
Yes. The cover of this album is equal parts horrible and terrifying. Don’t let that turn you off.

Lutz Rahn (and can we just acknowledge for a second that incredible name) is a German keyboardist. He’s a member of the prog group Novalis, and is in fact just one of two people who have performed on every single album by the group. That’s quite a feat as Novalis put out a shitload of records, 15 in total between 1973 and 1985!

I am entirely unfamiliar with Novalis, but this album really makes me want to dive in to their back catalog. This is an damn amazing record. It’s one of the best purely instrumental electronic albums of the era that I’ve ever bought. Keyboardist solo albums can really be a crapshoot. I like me some Rick Wakeman, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not exactly strong when it comes to hooks or memorable melodies. Of course, if you want rock operas on ice, he’s your man.

Lutz Rahn, on the other hand, is crafting sleek songs with strong hooks. These tracks stick with you. It’s like someone took 80s Tangerine Dream (think Le Parc) with 70s analog production. Stunning stuff through and through. If you’ve always wanted to get into acts like Tangerine Dream, Tim Blake or Jean-Michel Jarre but you found their discographies rather daunting or their stuff too droning or drawn-out, this might be the record for you.

Strangely, there seem to be two versions of this record out there. When I look up the songs on YouTube I find very different versions than the ones on my copy. I have a first pressing (Japanese) LP. Anyone out there have a different version and care to compare? I want to know if YouTube rips are taken from the relatively recent CD re-release. The ones I found on YouTube have way more drums. It’s really jarring, and I prefer the versions on my copy. They’re minimal in way that I find really soothing. Especially “Galaxy Taxi,” this shit is my late-night, walk through the backstreets of Tokyo jam.

 

Posted in Lutz Rahn | 2 Comments »

Koto Vivaldi

Friday, June 15th, 2018

What’s your go to music when you need to calm the fuck down? Not chill the fuck out, but calm the fuck down? If I need to chill out, I got plenty. Banks, KLF, The Orb, a multitude of sub-standard prog, lots.

But when I need to calm down, when I need to put the anxiety dogs at bay or I need to stop thinking about any of the multitude of existential crises humanity is currently ignoring, I always gravitate to the same thing.

That’s right, obscure renditions of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

I know, you were totally going to guess that.

Tadao Sawai & Hozan Yamamoto
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (Complete album download)
Tadao Sawai was a Japanese koto player. From what I can gather, dude was the Japanese koto player. The Clapton of Koto, expect with dramatically less cocaine (I assume). Hozan Yamamoto was a renowned Shakukachi (bamboo flute) performer who was well-known for his performances and original compositions.

Both often worked outside the realms of traditional Japanese music, and were some of the first classically trained Japanese musicians to work with westerners and perform western music on their respective traditional instruments. Yamamoto was performing with Japanese jazz acts in the late 60s, and in 1968 Sawai released an album of covers, featuring Koto renditions of pop tracks like “Over The Rainbow” and “Johnny Guitar.”

That same year, the two teamed up for Koto Sebastian Bach, a collection of Bach covers (duh) and this album, a full performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The album isn’t just koto and shakukachi, there’s some drum, guitar, bass along for the ride, but the koto and shakukuchi are definitely given the spotlight. It’s a wonderful interpretation, it goes well with glass of sake.

This is probably not your thing. And that’s okay! But it might be someone else’s thing, and it is my thing. So please think about that before you leave a comment whining about the music I’m sharing for free. And regardless if this is your thing or not, don’t expect many more posts like this in the future. I just thought it would be a good change of pace. Nice relaxing music for your weekend. Maybe it’ll help you calm down too.

Sure is plenty of stuff not to be calm about lately, it seems.

 

Posted in Complete Albums | 1 Comment »

Yoshinori Sunahara’s Airport Of The Future

Monday, June 11th, 2018

I rarely buy albums because they look cool. I’ve probably said this before, but owning over 4,000 records spread across two continents quickly cures you of that habit.

Sometimes though, you come across something so odd or peculiar, that you feel the need to add it to your collection. Last week I came across such a record.

Yoshinori Sunahara
Tokyo Underground Airport
Music For Chicago
Preview
Stinger Stingray
Yoshinori Sunahara is a Japanese musician. I’ve mentioned him tangentially a few times now. He’s a member of Yukihiro Takahashi’s supergroup Metafive, and he’s also a collaborator on Towa Tei’s upcoming album Sweet Robot Against The Machine. Before all that, he was a member Denki Groove, an electronic act here in Japan that is oddly incredibly popular.

Yoshinori left Denki Groove in the mid-90s to go solo. He released albums at a pretty steady clip in the late-90s, but he’s slowed down his solo output as of late. His last album proper came out in 2011. I haven’t listened to all of work, but the stuff I have come across certainly has a flavor of its own, somewhat aligning with the more electronic acts of the 90s “Shibuya Kei” scene that made slight waves in the states at the time, with acts like Pizzacato Five and Cornelius getting some attention internationally.

During the late-90s, Yoshinori went full “lounge pop,” just like his frequent collaborator Towa Tei. I bet their house parties were dope as fuck. In 1998, he released two albums that I feel real exemplify his lounge dance-pop style; The Sound of the 70s, followed by Take Off and Landing. Both are obsessed with the international jet set culture of the 60s and 70s, specifically the style of Pan Am airlines. Hell, The Sound Of 70’s opens with a remix of music Pan Am would play on their flights.

Yoshinori took this obsession to the next level for this single promoting The Sound Of Take Off and Landing, which I’m sharing tonight, an over-the-top deluxe style package that goes out of its way to express the magical retrofuturistic world he wanted to surround himself in.

The presentation outweighs the music. Everything here is created to promote the fantastical Tokyo Underground Airport. The booklet inside features a detailed (future) history of the airport, and includes schematics showcasing the airport’s layout (complete with a list of businesses contained in the shopping center) as well as descriptions of every country serviced by the mythical flight center. The package even includes a sticker sheet with the (real) airlines that would travel through the underground depot. This single was available on CD, but I can’t imagine it would carry the same weight or work as well to transport you to the world Yoshinori was trying so hard to create.

The world-building continues onto the record proper. The first track is a nearly 14-minute guide to the Tokyo Underground Airport, and it goes into an insane amount of detail, giving the minutia an in-and-outs of nearly every aspect of the airport. The recording occasionally gets distorted and twisted, giving it a found object feel, like it’s some sort of damaged recording found by archeologists in the distant future.

Track two is a b-side “Music For Chicago,” that I believe is exclusive to this release. It has a vibe that I can’t pin down. But I feel like it’s something that would’ve played at an exhibit in a World’s Fair or something. “Preview” is a preview of the future featuring narration about the uptopian world Sunihara dreamed of, with music from the album proper. Finally, “Stinger Stingray” is an album cut from Yoshinori’s solo debut Crossover, albeit in a slightly different mix. While it’s not taken from the same thematic piece as the rest of the recordings, it’s style fits well enough.

What an amazing piece of design. A lot of deluxe packages today don’t come close to the level of detail in this. And damn, imagining this dream airport of the future does it Narita Airport suck even more.

 

Posted in Complete Albums, Yoshinori Sunahara | 2 Comments »