Tag: Japan (Page 10 of 12)

25 CLASSIC STANDALONE SYNTH SINGLES

2 August 2016 / electricityclub

The single is the lifeblood of pop music, serving the purpose of a trailer to an artist’s new album or as an entity on its own.

The non-album single first came to prominence with THE BEATLES and THE WALKER BROTHERS, but as rock music in particular got more serious, bands like PINK FLOYD and LED ZEPPELIN looked down on the shorter format, refusing to even release singles and focussing only on albums.

With punk and new wave, acts like THE JAM, THE CLASH and SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES frequently issued standalone singles, often as a document of developing ideals or even to indulge in the occasional cover version. But others like Ian Dury saw it as statement of not ripping-off their audience by effectively making them buy the same song twice.

All the singles listed here were released in 7 inch format and not included on any of the artist’s original edition albums in the UK. Songs that were singles to promote compilation albums, remix collections or films are permitted, but singles by bands that did not actually get round to releasing a full length album are not included.

So here are ELECTRICITYCLUB’CO.UK’s 25 Classic Standalone Synth Singles presented in chronological, and then alphabetical order.

FAD GADGET Ricky’s Hand (1980)

The unsettling second single by former Leeds Polytechnic art student Frank Tovey was a commentary on the dangers of drink driving as “Ricky contravened the Highway Code”. Featuring an electric drill alongside assorted synths and industrial rhythms, ‘Ricky’s Hand’ was not included on the debut FAD GADGET long player ‘Fireside Favourites’ that came out a few months later, but it helped establish Mute Records’ credentials as an early champion of independent electronic music.

Now available on the album ‘The Best Of’ via Mute Records

http://www.fadgadget.co.uk

JOHN FOXX Miles Away (1980)

John Foxx’s first release after the ‘Metamatic’ period recalled his twilight years with ULTRAVOX and in particular ‘Slow Motion’. Featuring live drums from Edward Case, guitars were replicated by treated layers of ARP Odyssey. While not as accomplished as ‘Slow Motion’, ‘Miles Away’ was a worthy transitional recording although where Foxx headed next was the more romantic and band oriented textures of ‘The Garden’.

Now available on the album ’20th Century: The Noise’ via Metamatic Records

http://www.metamatic.com/

JAPAN I Second That Emotion (1980)

With JAPAN not making any headway in the UK singles charts, their manager Simon Napier-Bell felt the only solution was to doa cover version. David Sylvian visited his parents’ Motown collection and the song he chose was a lively Smokey Robinson number. Slowed down and given a more arty Ferry-ish treatment, ‘I Second That Emotion’ was not a hit on its original release, but the world belatedly caught up when a remixed reissue reached No11 in 1982.

Now available on the album ‘‘The Very Best Of’ via Virgin Records

JOY DIVISION Love Will Tear Us Apart (1980)

With a haunting string line from an ARP Omni, ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ was the posthumous hit single that documented the relationship turmoil which JOY DIVISION’s lead singer Ian Curtis was facing prior to his suicide. The initial attempt at recording had been much faster and tighter, but producer Martin Hannett slowed the band down and suggested Curtis take on a more Sinatra based drawl. The looser end result added further poignancy.

Now available on the album ‘Substance’ via Rhino

http://joydivisionofficial.com/

GARY NUMAN I Die: You Die (1980)

A statement on his fractious relationship with the press, incessant riffs, flanged guitar and swooping Polymoog provided melody, grit and tension in equal measures. Meanwhile, real drums and a Roland Compurhythm combined to provide a solid but unusual backbone. It was not included on the original LP version of ‘Telekon’, but did feature on the cassette. Numan felt he was giving value to his fans, but casual followers didn’t buy the album as a result and it affected wider sales momentum.

Now available on the album ‘Premier Hits’ via Beggars Banquet

http://www.garynuman.co.uk/

THE BLUE NILE I Love This Life (1981)

‘I Love This Life’ was the first release from THE BLUE NILE and the esoteric template that later emerged on ‘A Walk Across The Rooftops’ was already omnipresent. Rawer and more aggressive than songs like ‘Stay’ and ‘Tinseltown In The Rain’, this was a fine opening gambit from the enigmatic Glaswegian trio who had met at university. Originally self-released, the single was picked up by RSO who promptly folded after its re-release.

Now available on the deluxe edition album ‘A Walk Across The Rooftops’ via Virgin Records

http://www.thebluenile.net

THE CURE Charlotte Sometimes (1981)

Smothered in ARP Quartet and electronic drums but maintaining the claustrophobic feel of that year’s ‘Faith’ album, the haunting ‘Charlotte Sometimes’ co-produced by Mike Hedges was an interim 45 prior to the doomfest of ‘Pornography’. The band’s potential for success now looked like a real threat as The Raincoat Brigade seeked out a successor to JOY DIVISION. But in late 1982, THE CURE lightened up for the first of their fantasy singles, ‘Let’s Go to Bed’.

Now available on the album ‘Staring At The Sea’ via Fiction Records

http://www.thecure.com/

HEAVEN 17 I’m Your Money (1981)

Following the politically charged electro-funk of ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh returned to their roots in THE HUMAN LEAGUE with the more exclusively synth driven ‘I’m Your Money’. The multi-lingual phrases highlighted an expanding world market while Glenn Gregory provided commentary on how personal relationships were like business transactions.

12 inch version now available on the album ‘Penthouse & Pavement’ via Virgin Records

http://www.heaven17.com

JON & VANGELIS I’ll Find My Way Home (1981)

Having scored an unexpected UK hit with the beautiful synth laden ‘I Hear You Now’, Jon & Vangelis did it again with ‘I’ll Find My Way Home’, a song that had not been originally included on their second album ‘The Friends Of Mr Cairo’. Jon Anderson’s lyrics were almost spiritual while the widescreen sonic backing from his Greek chum complimented the mood. Vangelis himself was about to enter his most high profile period with ‘Chariots Of Fire’ and ‘Blade Runner’.

Now available on the album ‘The Friends Of Mr Cairo’ via Polydor Records / Universal Music

https://www.facebook.com/VangelisOfficial/

CHINA CRISIS Scream Down At Me (1982)

It’s strange to think now that when CHINA CRISIS first emerged with ‘African & White’, they were quite uptempo and percussive, influenced by TALKING HEADS and MAGAZINE. ‘Scream Down At Me’ was unusual in many respects, being more dynamic than most of the material that featured on their debut album ‘Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms…’; the single showcased a degree of frantic art funk tension that was never to be repeated by the band.

Now available on the album ‘Ultimate Crisis’ via Music Club Deluxe

http://www.facebook.com/pages/China-Crisis/295592467251068

THOMAS DOLBY She Blinded Me With Science (1982)

Following the cult success of his debut album ‘The Golden Age Of Wireless’, Thomas Dolby sent up the mad scientist image he had accquired by actually employing a real mad scientist in Doctor Magnus Pyke for his next single. Produced by Tim Friese-Greene, this slice of gloriously eccentric synthpop had been recorded as a non-LP one-off, but its chart success in America led to ‘She Blinded Me With Science’ being appended to the album.

Now available on the album ‘The Golden Age Of Wireless’ via EMI Music

http://www.thomasdolby.com

SOFT CELL What! (1982)

‘What!’ effectively bookended Marc Almond and Dave Ball’s imperial pop period which had started with ‘Tainted Love’. Another song that came via the Northern Soul scene, it was originally recorded by Judy Street and had more than a passing resemblance to ‘Always Something There To Remind Me’. The recording was quickly disowned and was to be SOFT CELL’s last Top10 single before the duo entered much darker musical territory and on the path to ‘Mr Self Destruct’.

Now available on the album ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ via Phonogram / Universal Music

http://www.softcell.co.uk

YAZOO The Other Side Of Love (1982)

An occasional trait of standalone singles was how they were often quickly recorded and rush-released, due to an impending tour or greatest hits. In the case of YAZOO, it was the former. One of only three co-writes by Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke, this bright if almost forgettable tune has been described by Moyet as “hateful”. However, ‘The Other Side of Love’ allowed Clarke to put his new Fairlight CMI through its paces, while a gospel flavour came from SYLVIA & THE SAPPHIRES.

Now available on the album ‘The Collection’ via Music Club Deluxe

http://www.yazooinfo.com/

DURAN DURAN Is There Something I Should Know? (1983)

Released in the interim between the ‘Rio’ and ‘Seven & The Ragged Tiger’ albums, ‘Is There Something I Should Know?’ was a cynical attempt to ensure DURAN DURAN got a UK No1. Nick Rhodes made it clear the song was not going to be on the next album while completely different versions featured on the 7 and 12 inch formats. This synth laden single featured that dreadfully unforgettable line “You’re about as easy as a nuclear war”!

Now available on the album ‘Greatest’ via EMI Music

http://www.duranduran.com

THE HUMAN LEAGUE Fascination (1983)

THE HUMAN LEAGUE were in limbo after the departure of producer Martin Rushent from the sessions to record a follow-up to the massive selling ‘Dare’. A song he worked on was prepared for single release to buy the band some extra time. Subsequently remixed by Chris Thomas, ‘Fascination’ featured a charming four way call-and-response vocal while the huge use of portamento on the lead synth line fooled buyers into returning their singles to the shops thinking it was warped!

Now available on the album ‘Greatest Hits’ via Virgin Records

http://www.thehumanleague.com

KRAFTWERK Tour De France (1983)

Borrowed from Paul Hindemith’s ‘Heiter Bewegt – Sonate Für Flöte Und Klavier’ composed in 1936, an Emulator was used to synchronise voices and mechanical sounds to a marvellous electronic percussion pattern. ‘Tour De France’ successfully reinforced KRAFTWERK’s credibility within Urban America. But feeling left behind in comparison to THE ART OF NOISE, Ralf Hütter demanded their upcoming ‘Technopop’ album to be reworked with a Synclavier’…

Alternate 2003 version now available on the album ‘Tour De France Soundtracks’ via EMI Music

http://www.kraftwerk.com

ROBERT GÖRL Mit Dir (1984)

Dark and brooding, the debut single from the DAF drummer became a highly regarded cult classic. The slow stark Teutonic electro of ‘Mit Dir’ was considerably less harsh than his band’s pioneering electronic body music. Although not featured on Görl’s first solo album ‘Night Full Of Tension’, ‘Mit Dir’ did much to help lighten his mood considerably that he was attempting synthpop with EURYTHMICS’ Annie Lennox on songs like ‘Darling Don’t Leave Me’.

12 inch version now available on the album ‘Night Full Of Tension’ via Mute Records

http://www.robert-goerl.de

ULTRAVOX Love’s Great Adventure (1984)

ULTRAVOX had a run of 11 successive Top30 singles in their classic Midge Ure-fronted incarnation so when ‘The Collection’ was being prepared by Chrysalis Records, the band suggested including a new track which was an unusual move for the time. Based on a demo rejected by Levi’s for an ad campaign, the huge symphonic pomp of ‘Loves Great Adventure’ was a brilliantly glorious statement with Billy Currie’s OSCar interventions being its undoubted musical highlight.

Now available on the album ‘The Very Best Of’ via EMI Records

http://www.ultravox.org.uk

DEPECHE MODE Shake The Disease (1985)

An important interim single for DEPECHE MODE, ‘Shake The Disease’ was the bridge between the industrial flavoured synthpop of ‘Some Great Reward’ and the darker aesthetics of ‘Black Celebration’. Much more accomplished than the more throwaway standalones like ‘It’s Called A Heart’ and ‘But Not Tonight’ which followed, ‘Shake The Disease’ continues to be performed live at DM shows in a less interesting stripped down form with Martin Gore on lead vocals.

Now available on the album ‘The Singles 81-85’ via Mute Records

http://www.depechemode.com

SIMPLE MINDS Don’t You (1985)

With ambitions to break the US market, SIMPLE MINDS were offered a song written by Steve Chiff and producer Keith Forsey for a John Hughes movie ‘The Breakfast Club’. The song had already been rejected by Billy Idol and Bryan Ferry, so was reluctantly recorded by the band at a studio in Wembley. With the right balance of synths and FM rock, ‘Don’t You’ became an unexpected American No1 on the back of the movie’s success and took Jim Kerr and Co into the stadiums of the world.

Now available on the album ‘Celebrate: The Greatest Hits’ via Virgin Records

http://www.simpleminds.com

SPARKS Change (1985)

Post-Moroder, SPARKS had returned Stateside to hone a more rock-orientated sound. But they returned to their more eccentric side with ‘Change’, a one-off for London Records. Engineered by Dan Lacksman of TELEX, it featured a sonic passage that would have made Trevor Horn proud. Lines such as “I’ve been thinking we’ll get back together again someday – your hair will be some weird color by then…” reminded European audiences of how quirky SPARKS could be.

Now available on the album ‘New Music For Amnesiacs – The Essential Collection’ via Lil Beethoven Records

http://www.allsparks.com

OMD If You Leave (1986)

Love it or loathe it, OMD’s contribution to the ‘Pretty In Pink’ soundtrack was a massive US hit and the reason why youngsters are still discovering the band. Produced by Tom Lord-Alge, while the Fairlight assisted sound appears at odds with Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey’s pioneering synthpop, the intro of ‘If You Leave’ actually follows a chord progression very similar to ‘Enola Gay’. Interestingly, the song failed to enter the Top40 on its release in the UK.

Now available on the album ‘Messages’ via Virgin Records

http://www.metamatic.com

NEW ORDER Touched By The Hand Of God (1987)

When NEW ORDER issued their ‘Substance’ 12 inch singles collection, 9 out of its 12 songs had not featured on their previous albums. The Diego Maradona inspired ‘Touched By The Hand Of God’ is one of the Mancunian’s combo’s more underrated singles. With a synth riff borrowed from Shannon’s ‘Let The Music Play’, it successfully combined some gritty rock energy to a solid Italo disco backbone featuring a great sequenced bassline.

Now available on the album ‘Singles’ via Rhino

http://www.neworder.com

ERASURE Stop! (1988)

Recorded for the ‘Crackers International’ EP between ‘The Innocents’ and ‘Wild!’, ‘Stop!’ was a throbbing Moroder-inspired disco tune that borrowed counter-melodies from Donna Summer’s ‘Love’s Unkind’. Independent labels such as Mute and Factory were more likely to indulge in releases that weren’t specifically tied in to albums, and it proved to be a perfect move to maintain ERASURE’s profile while they were preparing their next plan of action.

Now available on the album ‘Total Pop! The First 40 Hits’ via Mute Records

http://www.erasure.com

PET SHOP BOYS Where The Streets Have No Name (1991)

Chris Lowe felt that the opener on U2’s ‘The Joshua Tree’ would make a good HI-NRG track. A cheeky send-up of how Bono and Co would often drop snippets of covers into live versions, ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You’ made famous by Andy Williams was segued into ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’. It all seemed so camp and ridiculous in the video when Neil Tennant was singing it wearing a Stetson, but then in 1992, out popped Bono doing something similar on their ‘Zoo TV’ tour!

Now available on the album ‘Pop Art’ via EMI Music

http://www.petshopboys.co.uk/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
2nd August 2016

A Beginner’s Guide To JAPAN

8 July 2015 / electricityclub

Although their recorded output covered just over four years, JAPAN are one of the most acclaimed bands from the period many have called the New Romantic era.

DURAN DURAN undoubtedly owe a debt to JAPAN’s arty aspirational poise. Bassist Mick Karn had a playing style that would later be replicated in the music of bands like TALK TALK, ULTRAVOX, CHINA CRISIS as well as Gary Numan and Paul Young. Meanwhile, enigmatic and moody front man David Sylvian was the ultimate pin-up for that flamboyant period, but subsequently developed a solo career with parallels to Scott Walker, proving that there was life after pretty boy pop stardom.

Hailing from Catford in South London, it all began as a three piece comprising of school friends David Batt and Andonis Michaelides plus Batt’s younger brother Steve on drums. The older Batt had been wearing make up as a form of “passive confrontation” while Michaelides, who was similarly confrontational, played bassoon in the school orchestra before taking up bass guitar. They were to eventually change their names to the more aesthetically pleasing David Sylvian, Mick Karn and Steve Jansen.

Adopting the moniker JAPAN, after a number of gigs in 1975, they recruited keyboardist Richard Barbieri and Hackney based guitarist Rob Dean to the line-up. Developing an aggressive funk laden glam rock sound with a straggly image not dissimilar to NEW YORK DOLLS, the band soon caught the attention of Simon Napier-Bell who had previously managed THE YARDBIRDS and JOHN’S CHILDREN featuring a pre-fame Marc Bolan.

He saw Sylvian as “a cross between Mick Jagger and Brigitte Bardot” and offered him a solo management deal. Sylvian declined, but convinced he had a major star on his hands, Napier-Bell signed the whole group. In 1977, Napier-Bell entered JAPAN in a talent contest held by Ariola Hansa, the German label that had steered BONEY M to great success. The winners were the band who would become THE CURE, but JAPAN were also offered a recording contract despite coming second.

The debut album ‘Adolescent Sex’ was released in April 1978 and while it achieved little impact in Britain, it was a surprise success with teenage girls in the country of Japan. UK critics were quick to accuse the band of cynically choosing their name purely to crack the Japanese market, but as Mick Karn pointed out to Smash Hits in Autumn 1981: “I can’t imagine a Japanese band called ENGLAND doing very well over here!”

Despite the success in Japan, the band could make no headway either back home or the US. JAPAN’s success in Japan led to the band’s exposure to South East Asian culture and its fascination with modern technology. This began to have an effect on the music and the band started to mellow, adopting the more mannered textures of ROXY MUSIC and electronic prowess of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA. This new direction led to the recording of ‘Life In Tokyo’ with Giorgio Moroder in April 1979.

Their look also changed with stylish suits, heavier make-up and shorter hair very much in evidence for an effeminate demeanour similar to the New Romantics who were now frequenting The Blitz Club. To exploit this unexpected fashion synchronicity, Simon Napier-Bell concocted a number of dubious stunts in the name of promotion. One was an announcement that Sylvian had been voted ‘The World’s Most Beautiful Man’… but it was a pretty one sided as the contest was the work of Napier-Bell and JAPAN’s publicist Connie Filapello!

Following the release of their third album ‘Quiet Life’ in January 1980, JAPAN started to gain the respect of the serious Japanese music press who had previously turned its nose up at their teenybop audience. Ryuichi Sakamoto of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA met Sylvian during the subsequent tour, resulting in their first collaboration ‘Taking Islands In Africa’ on the next album ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’ and a long standing friendship.

Richard Barbieri was also seriously getting into technology with the Roland System 700, ARP Omni, Oberheim OBX, Micromoog, Polymoog, Roland Jupiter 4 and Sequential Prophet 5 among the synths used on the album. But steadily, Sylvian was taking more control of proceedings, a stance that would ultimately make and break the band.

JAPAN decamped to Virgin Records and reached No60 in the UK singles charts with an edit of the ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’ title track. This should have been considered promising, although much more was expected by their new label. The UK was still not yet totally ready for the suave melancholy muzak of David Sylvian and co.

But momentum was building and one party that noticed was JAPAN’s former label Ariola Hansa. In Autumn 1981, they cashed-in with the release of the ‘Quiet Life’ song as a single which reached No17 in the UK charts. For JAPAN’s fifth album in November 1981, the band took the influences of the Far East even further with the Chinese flavoured ‘Tin Drum’. It was to be the band’s biggest UK success, both commercially and critically.

But all was not well within the band. Rob Dean had already left prior to the recording of ‘Tin Drum’, while frustrations about publishing and personal differences came to a head when Karn’s girlfriend, photographer Yuka Fujii moved in with Sylvian on the eve of their UK tour. Tensions boiled over and led to the various individual band members undertaking their own projects in 1982 while JAPAN was put on hiatus.

Despite this, JAPAN became chart regulars in 1982, notching up a further six Top40 singles including a surprise Top5 hit in ‘Ghosts’. As a result, a world tour was pencilled in for the end of the year. Although the majority of the shows were sell-outs, the band called it a day with a final performance in Nagoya, Japan on 16th December 1982. Sylvian and Karn continued their solo careers as well as collaborating with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Midge Ure respectively. Meanwhile Jansen and Barbieri worked with both their former bandmates, and together as THE DOLPHIN BROTHERS.

By 1987, relations had thawed enough between Sylvian and Karn for them to record two tracks together for the latter’s second solo album ‘Dreams Of Reason Produce Monsters’. So in 1989 with wounds largely healed, the quartet gathered together at Studio Miraval in France for what many considered to be a JAPAN reunion in all but name.

Under the Sylvian inspired Native American moniker RAIN TREE CROW, the idea had been to compose and record as a group through improvisation, as opposed Sylvian being sole songwriter and studio dictator which had previously been the case during the JAPAN days. However, Sylvian’s stubborn imposing character led to a return to old ways and a major falling out with his band mates. Jansen, Barbieri and Karn formed a new project JBK and in 1993, founded Medium Productions as a platform to release their work free from label interference.

But the quartet that comprised JAPAN would never work together again and with Mick Karn’s sad passing in January 2011, never will. One of the reasons JAPAN are perhaps still held in high regard is partly due to their artistic legacy not being exploited on the nostalgia circuit. Even when performing live in their various incarnations, JAPAN material has been notable by its absence, other than JBK’s occasional renditions of the B-side ‘Life Without Buildings’ and Sylvian’s neo-acoustic airings of ‘The Other Side Of Life’, ‘Nightporter’ and ’Ghosts’.

With so much material recorded, what tracks would act as a beginner’s guide to JAPAN and its many offshoots? After much deliberation and leaving out the collaborations with Midge Ure and members of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA which have been documented on ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, here are our 20 choices, with a restriction of one track per album or EP, to tell a rather complex story…

Dedicated to the memory of MICK KARN 1958-2011

JAPAN Communist China (1978)

Unusually for a new British band, JAPAN achieved major success in Japan. Playing to packed houses of screaming teenage girls at big venues such as Tokyo’s Budokan, back in Britain they could barely fill pubs and were pelted with missiles while supporting BLUE OYSTER CULT at Hammersmith Odeon. ‘Communist China’ can now be considered a pivotal track in hindsight, not only because of the eventual title subject inspiring most of ‘Tin Drum’ but Sylvian’s impending croon appears for the first time. But quite what “pumping, pumping and resisting – inserting love into you” has to do with Chairman Mao’s regime is anyone’s guess!

Available on the JAPAN album ‘Assemblage’ via Sony BMG Music

http://www.lifeintokyo.net/

JAPAN Life In Tokyo (1979)

The band briefly worked with Giorgio Moroder, who co-wrote and produced a one-off single ‘Life in Tokyo’. The bridge between growly funk-rock JAPAN and the more familiar, mannered and artier version of the group, David Sylvian had originally submitted ‘European Son’ for the session in Los Angeles, but it was rejected by Moroder. Instead, the Italian offered several of his demos, of which Sylvian picked the one he considered to be the worst so that he could stamp more of his own vision. With JAPAN’s developing synthesized sound, it was a significant change in musical style that was to set the tone for the band’s future direction.

Available on the JAPAN album ‘The Very Best Of’ via Virgin Records

http://www.giorgiomoroder.com/

JAPAN Halloween (1980)

By their third album ‘Quiet Life’, the electronically assisted template showcased on ‘Life In Tokyo’ was in full swing, with David Sylvian’s taking on a more Ferry-ish baritone style of singing and Mick Karn’s distinctively fluid fretless bass pushed right up to the front. The sound of the fretless would soon become ubiquitous in the mainstream. Despite Rob Dean’s guitar becoming more textural thanks to some E-bowed embellishments, the band could still snarl with some aggressive tension. ‘Halloween’ was an eerie uptempo tune about the rise of East European communism following the end of the Second World War.

Available on the JAPAN album ‘Quiet Life’ via Sony BMG Music

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Japan/46554936008

JAPAN Obscure Alternatives – Live In Japan (1980)

While ‘Quiet Life’ was met with apathy back home, the album was to become JAPAN’s biggest album yet in The Land of the Rising Sun. With this success came even bigger shows. To document the tour, a live EP was recorded in Tokyo featuring three songs that originally came from the second album ‘Obscure Alternatives’. These featured completely new arrangements using Sylvian’s revised singing style plus the addition of guest musician Jane Shorter on saxophone. With Steve Jansen’s intricate and colourful percussion work over a reggae inflicted backbone, the song ‘Obscure Alternatives’ attained a moodier gravitas while the climax was enhanced by a blasting sax break in the manner of PINK FLOYD’s ‘Money’.

Available on the JAPAN album ‘Obscure Alternatives’ via Sony BMG Music

https://www.facebook.com/lifeintokyo

JAPAN Nightporter (1980)

The ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’ sessions were particularly fraught with Sylvian getting increasingly confident and fighting with producer John Punter. By now, he was also writing on keyboards instead of guitar. This led to the exclusion of some band members from the recording process, particularly Rob Dean who ended up playing on just four tracks. But Sylvian was aiming for a sparser sound and this was achieved with the mournful Erik Satie influenced ‘Nightporter’. Featuring just Sylvian and Barbieri with session musicians Barry Guy on string bass and Andrew Cauthery on oboe, it was to prove to be a pivotal track. But the quintet were falling apart and the first to leave was Rob Dean.

Available on the JAPAN album ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’ via Virgin Records

http://www.nightporter.co.uk/

JAPAN Cantonese Boy (1981)

JAPAN’s slimmed down four piece line-up was reflected on ‘Tin Drum’. There was hardly any guitar while the synths used were restricted to an Oberheim OBX and Prophet 5. While Mick Karn was becoming slightly more isolated having not played on ‘Ghosts’, he still provided some memorable bass runs. The lyrical themes flirted with Chinese Communism as Brian Eno had done on ‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)’, with Sylvian appearing to be taking inspiration from the Little Red Book of Chairman Mao. Produced by Steve Nye, the acoustic sounding synth derived overtones of ‘Tin Drum’ were a masterclass in keyboard programming, as exemplified by ‘Cantonese Boy’.

Available on the JAPAN album ‘Tin Drum’ via Virgin Records

https://www.instagram.com/davidsylvian258/

MICK KARN The Sound Of Waves (1982)

When the individual members of JAPAN started undertaking solo projects, first blood went to Mick Karn. However, his debut solo single was a disappointment. Produced by Ricky Wilde, ‘Sensitive’ was a bass heavy cover of Brazilian singer and composer Roberto Carlos’ ‘La Distancia’, but with new English lyrics. Reactions were muted, but much better was the atmospherically textural B-side ‘The Sound Of Waves’, a marvellously cinematic instrumental. Showing off the unique melodic prowess of Karn’s fretless work, he could have gone on to have a lucrative career as a session musician. But he chose not to, leaving that opportunity as an open goal for a certain Pino Palladino.

Available on the MICK KARN album ‘Titles’ via Virgin Records

http://mickkarn.net/

DALIS CAR The Judgement Is The Mirror (1984)

With goth rockers BAUHAUS now having split, their charismatic vocalist Peter Murphy was in need of a new musical partner. He found a willing conspirator in Mick Karn. Named after a CAPTAIN BEEFHEART song on ‘Trout Mask Replica’, the pair set about recording a seven track album by sending tapes back and forth to each other while communicating via answerphone! Other than the rhythms constructed by Peter Vincent Lawford, Murphy and Karn each worked alone. ‘The Judgement Is The Mirror’ certainly showcased the artier pretences that DALIS CAR aspired to, although the reaction to this unique Middle Eastern flavoured aural sculpture from critics and fans was somewhat mixed.

Available on the DALIS CAR album ‘The Waking Hour’ via Beggars Banquet Records

http://www.petermurphy.info/

DAVID SYLVIAN Weathered Wall (1984)

Following the disbandment of JAPAN, Sylvian’s style became even more esoteric and while his JAPAN days saw him aping Bryan Ferry, musically he was now leaning more towards that other key ROXY MUSIC member Brian Eno. This came to its zenith with ‘Weathered Wall’, a track which took its lead from ‘Fourth World Vol 1: Possible Musics’, Eno’s collaboration with the avant garde trumpeter Jon Hassell. For added authenticity, Sylvian even recruited the American into the collaborative process. The haunting track also featured Steve Jansen, Richard Barbieri, Ryuichi Sakamoto and the abstract dictaphone of CAN’s Holger Czukay.

Available on the DAVID SYLVIAN album ‘Brilliant Trees’ via Virgin Records

http://www.davidsylvian.com/

MICK KARN featuring DAVID SYLVIAN Buoy (1987)

There were signs that Sylvian and Karn were beginning to move towards a reconciliation when all four former JAPAN members were photographed together at the reception of Sylvian’s ‘Perspectives’ polaroid montage exhibition in 1984. Recorded for Karn’s second album ‘Dreams Of Reason Produce Monsters’, ‘Buoy’ was his and Sylvian’s second joint composition after ‘Sons Of Pioneers’ from ‘Tin Drum’. The album featured another Sylvian lead vocal on ‘When Love Walks In’. With both tracks also featuring Steve Jansen, it fuelled excitement that JAPAN might finally reform… close but no cigar!

Available on the MICK KARN album ‘Dreams Of Reason Produce Monsters’ via Virgin Records

http://www.lulu.com/shop/mick-karn/japan-and-self-existence/paperback/product-5538416.html

DAVID SYLVIAN Pop Song (1989)

Sylvian’s 1987 opus ‘Secrets Of The Beehive’ featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto had a much more acoustic flavour and much to Virgin’s disdain, the album had failed to yield any hits. So the label started putting pressure on him to write a pop song. True to Sylvian’s belligerent manner, he responded by writing a very unorthodox, atonal electronic number with influences drawn from maverick composer John Cage. “Each weekend beckoned like Ulysses’s sirens” he pondered… with noted jazz pianist John Taylor and Steve Jansen’s hesitant offbeat rhythms also thrown in the avant mix, ‘Pop Song’ wasn’t perhaps quite what Virgin had been hoping for!

Available on the DAVID SYLVIAN album ‘A Victim of Stars 1982-2012’ via Virgin Records

http://www.sylvianbiography.com/

DAVID SYLVIAN & HOLGER CZUKAY Flux (1989)

David Sylvian expanded his partnership with Holger Czukay, which had first started on ‘Brilliant Trees’ and continued on the ‘Words With The Shaman’ EP, with two ethereal ambient long players ‘Plight & Premonition’ and ‘Flux & Mutability’, recorded at CAN’s 220 square metre Inner Space Studio near Cologne. Czukay introduced Sylvian to a variety of expansive loop and pre-recorded radio techniques that could be used in more freeform improvisation. From the second of their album collaborations, the 17 minute ‘Flux’ notably featured Jaki Liebezeit providing a subtle percussive template and Michael Karoli sound painting with his guitar. The track also featured Markus Stockhausen, son of the electronic pioneer Karl-Heinz on flugelhorn.

Available on the DAVID SYLVIAN & HOLGER CZUKAY album ‘Plight & Premonition / Flux & Mutability’ via Grönland Records

http://www.czukay.com/

RAIN TREE CROW Blackwater (1991)

Largely perceived to be a JAPAN reformation, the RAIN TREE CROW project was supported by a huge budget from Virgin Records, but it was exceeded. So Virgin gave the quartet an ultimatum where no more money would be forthcoming unless the project was presented under the name of JAPAN. Karn, Jansen and Barbieri agreed but Sylvian refused. Sylvian then walked off with the tapes to mix the album under his own finance and supervision, without any of his bandmates present! A rift ensued and the result was a disappointing collection of progressive avant jazz and self-indulgent ethnic instrumental pieces. Only the magnificent single ‘Blackwater’ bore any kind of relation to JAPAN’s brilliant legacy.

Available on the RAIN TREE CROW album ‘Rain Tree Crow’ via Virgin Records

http://www.davidsylvian.net/

DAVID SYLVIAN & ROBERT FRIPP Darshan (1993)

Having worked successfully together on Sylvian’s second solo album ‘Gone To Earth’, a further collaboration between Sylvian and the former KING CRIMSON guitarist was always in the offing. With Trey Gunn as silent partner on Chapman Stick, the trio procured a set of grooves which allowed Fripp free to experiment with his distinctive Frippertronics while Sylvian added his thoughtful lyricism. ‘Darshan’ was a funk laden rock out that never became boring despite its 17 minute length. Driven by an incessant drum loop, it was a trip “kneeling on the road to Graceland”. Indeed, when the atmospheric synths made their presence felt, it sounded rather like THE STONE ROSES jamming over ‘Ghosts’!

Available on the DAVID SYLVIAN & ROBERT FRIPP album ‘The First Day’ via Virgin Records

http://www.dgmlive.com/

STEVE JANSEN & RICHARD BARBIERI Sleepers Awake – Live at The Milky Way (1997)

Already a fabulously progressive instrumental from the ‘Stone To Flesh’ album, this mightily spirited live rendition of ‘Sleepers Awake’ was recorded at Amsterdam’s Melkweg in November 1996 for Dutch Magazine OOR’s 25th anniversary celebrations. Bolstered by the appearance of Mick Karn and guitarist Steven Wilson who Barbieri had been working with since 1993 in PORCUPINE TREE, the concert was never intended for release. But Jansen and Barbieri found that the direct-to-desk recording possessed a special quality that brought the tracks to life. So it was released by Medium Productions as a limited edition of 500 cassettes entitled ‘Live At The Milky Way’. In 2015, the recording was reissued under the title of ‘Lumen’.

Available on the STEVE JANSEN & RICHARD BARBIERI EP ‘Lumen’ via KScope

http://www.richardbarbieri.net/

DAVID SYLVIAN & JAPAN Some Kind Of Fool (2000)

Although there have been demos recorded for Ariola Hansa like the hilarious ‘Body Rhythm’ from 1977 and the cheerful ‘Can’t Get Enough’ from 1979, very little unreleased JAPAN material has remained in the Virgin vaults. But one song was the lengthy orchestral laden ballad ‘Some Kind Of Fool’. Intended for inclusion on ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’, it was replaced by ‘Burning Bridges’. ‘Some Kind Of Fool’ was then scheduled for release as a single in 1982, but was pulled for a Steve Nye remix of ‘Nightporter’. However, for his 2000 career retrospective ‘Everything & Nothing’, Sylvian decided to include this lost JAPAN number. But ever the tinkerer, he re-recorded the vocals with his wife Ingrid Chavez and added several overdubs. Always the bridesmaid and never the bride, the original JAPAN version has yet to see the light of day.

Available on the DAVID SYLVIAN album ‘Everything & Nothing’ via Virgin Records

https://www.facebook.com/DavidSylvianOfficial

DAVID SYLVIAN A Fire In The Forest (2003)

Sylvian’s long relationship with Virgin came to an end in 2003, prompting him to launch his own label Samadhisound. Uncompromising from the start, his first independently released solo album was ‘Blemish’. It explored a more unconventional style of composition with free jazz guitarist Derek Bailey and ambient exponent Christian Fennesz. The album was built around simple six string improvisations. Intensely minimal, the album documented the end of his relationship with Ingrid Chavez. It was a challenging listen. However, possibly the most accessible track on the album was the emotive closer ‘A Fire In The Forest’ with its haunting electronica backbone constructed by Fennesz.

Available on the DAVID SYLVIAN album ‘Blemish’ via Samadhisound

http://www.samadhisound.com/

NINE HORSES Serotonin (2005)

NINE HORSES were an electronic ensemble featuring Sylvian, Jansen and German producer Burnt Friedman. The project was fundamentally more immediate and less stripped down than ‘Blemish’, with programmed beats and livelier tempos also part of the equation. The end result was the ‘Snow Borne Sorrow’ album. Guests included Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen, Swedish vocalist Stina Nordenstam and the always dependable Ryuichi Sakamoto on piano. The excellent ‘Serotonin’ featured the clarinet of Hayden Chisholm over Jansen’s jazzy, almost danceable groove in unison with Friedman’s spacey electronics and Daniel Schroeter’s subtle bass runs.

Available on the NINE HORSES album ‘Snow Borne Sorrow’ via Samadhisound

http://www.ninehorses.com/

STEVE JANSEN Featuring DAVID SYLVIAN Playground Martyrs (2007)

Originally issued on Sylvian’s Samadhisound, Steve Jansen’s first solo album ‘Slope’, with its fabulous artwork using cardboard music instruments constructed by Dan McPharlin, explored various electronic soundscapes held together using “unrelated sounds, music samples, rhythms and events”. Despite Jansen already having proved himself as a competent singer in THE DOLPHIN BROTHERS and JBK, ‘Slope’ was noted for including a number of guest vocalists including Joan Wasser and Anja Garbarek. Jansen’s older brother also lent his voice to the sparse, piano laden beauty of ‘Playground Martyrs’.

Available on the STEVE JANSEN album ‘Slope’ via https://stevejansen.bandcamp.com/album/slope

http://www.stevejansen.com/

DALIS CAR If You Go Away (2012)

In August 2010, Peter Murphy announced he and Karn were working on the second DALIS CAR album. However, the project was cut short when Karn was diagnosed with cancer. He sadly passed away on 4th January 2011. To commemorate what would have been Karn’s 53rd birthday on 24th July 2011, ‘Artemis Rise’ was posthumously issued as a download. A rework of the instrumental ‘Artemis’ from ‘The Waking Hour’, it featured added vocals from Murphy and drums by Steve Jansen. The four tracks that had already been recorded were later mixed by Jansen and released as an EP entitled ‘InGladAloneness’. Closing it was the poignant, sad cover of Jacques Brel’s ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’. It was a fitting, solemn farewell to Karn.

Available on the DALIS CAR EP ‘InGladAloneness’ via KScope

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jan/05/mick-karn-obituary

Text by Chi Ming Lai
8th July 2015

A Beginner’s Guide To YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA

4 June 2015 / electricityclub

When YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA formed in 1978, it was intended to be a one-off project for producer / bassist Haruomi Hosono and the two session musicians he had hired: drummer Yukihiro Takahashi and keyboardist Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Prior to the group’s formation, the classically trained Sakamoto had experimented with electronic music at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Hosono had been involved in the recording of several early electronic rock records in Japan. Meanwhile, Takahashi was in THE SADISTIC MIKA BAND, a prog outfit who were signed to PINK FLOYD’s label Harvest and had appeared on ‘Old Grey Whistle Test’.

Hosono began formulating the idea of an instrumental disco band which could have the potential to succeed internationally. The format was formally defined when Sakamoto introduced the music of KRAFTWERK to the other two. KRAFTWERK’s artistic outlook, along with acts such as TANGERINE DREAM, NEU! and LA DÜSSELDORF had helped restore a sense of Germanic identity in reaction to the Americanisation of European post-war culture.

The trio were feeling this was needed in Japan too, so they endeavoured to make something very original using electronics. As Sakamoto remarked, this involved using the “very Japanese” approach of merging many different styles like a Bento box in a reliable, forward thinking fashion.

The technology used on their 1978 debut album included the Moog III-C, Korg PS-3100, Polymoog, ARP Odyssey, Oberheim Eight Voice, Minimoog, Korg VC-10 Vocoder and Roland MC-8 Micro Composer. With the latter programmed by fourth member Hideki Matsutake, the result was a crisp, exotic pop sound that was unusual and ahead of its time, even in the synthesizer heartland of Europe.

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA scored a UK Top 20 hit single in 1980 with ‘Computer Game (Theme From The Invader)’ . Recorded in 1978, the main section of the track was actually ‘Firecracker’, a cover of a 1959 composition by Martin Denny. The single also gained traction in America where the trio made a memorable appearance on the prestigious music show ‘Soul Train’. It subsequently made an impact out on the block as it was later sampled by Hip-Hop godfather Afrika Bambaataa on ‘Death Mix’ and then in 2001, it was used again by Jennifer Lopez on ‘I’m Real’.

The international popularity of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA (or YMO as they came to be known) coincided with the burgeoning synthpop scene in Britain which had embraced the affordable synthesizers from Japanese manufacturers such as Roland, Korg and Yamaha. VISAGE’s Rusty Egan in his dual role as DJ at the legendary Blitz Club in London had been spinning YMO tunes while acts such as TUBEWAY ARMY, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, ULTRAVOX, OMD, SOFT CELL and DEPECHE MODE started achieving mainstream success.

YMO went on to be the one of the most popular bands in South East Asia, but despite this success, the trio went into hiatus in 1984, with each member continuing their already established parallel solo careers. While the trio said they were “spreading out” rather than splitting, they continued to play on each other’s recordings and made guest appearances at various live shows.

Sakamoto achieved the highest international profile from his ventures into acting and soundtrack work. His Oscar winning success for ‘The Last Emperor’ in 1988 helped expand his soundtrack portfolio to include films such as ‘Black Rain’, ‘The Sheltering Sky’ and ‘Little Buddha’, while he also composed music for events like the Opening Ceremony of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

A short reunion took place in 1993 for the ‘Technodon’ album where the band had to be known as ~~YMO~~, but there was no further activity until 2007 when Hosono, Sakamoto and Takahashi were reunited for a Kirin Lager advertising campaign, performing one of their most popular numbers ‘Rydeen’.

Hosono and Takahashi had been working together in a project called SKETCH SHOW and on a number of occasions, Sakamoto was invited to join in. As a result, he proposed that the group rename itself HUMAN AUDIO SPONGE (HAS) for whenever he was involved. Inevitably, YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA reformed again when they played the 2007 Kyoto Live Earth event, although for recording purposes they combined names and went out as HASYMO.

In Summer 2008, the trio played the Meltdown Festival curated by MASSIVE ATTACK billed as YMO, although only four YMO songs were played while the rest of the set comprised of SKETCH SHOW, HASYMO and solo material. However in 2009, the trio performed at the World Happiness festival in Japan and confirmed that YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA was their official name, while there was a further appearance at the 2010 event. Despite the confusion over names, it would appear YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA are still a going concern, although Sakamoto is presently taking an extended break recuperating from illness.

So with their place in electronic music history assured, what twenty tracks would make up an imaginary CD compilation album to act as Beginner’s Guide to the iconic trio? ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK made the following selections for its YMO Bento box…

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA Tong Poo (1978)

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA’s debut self-titled album was noted for its use of the then brand new computerised Roland MC8 Micro-Composer to control the synthesizers. With their use of modern technology, they became standard bearers for what eventually became known in Japan as technopop. Despite its pulsing electronic disco bassline, the Sakamoto penned ‘Tong Poo’ was inspired by the music from China’s Cultural Revolution.

Available on the YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA album ‘Yellow Magic Orchestra’ via Alfa Music

http://www.ymo.org/

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA Behind The Mask (1979)

With ‘Behind The Mask’, YMO’s influence touched rock, pop and soul. Michael Jackson loved the track so much, he penned additional lyrics to it during the ‘Thriller’ sessions. Unable to be released at the time by Jackson himself, he gave the reworked track to his musical director Greg Phillinganes who had a surprise Top 5 hit in the US R’n’B charts in 1985. This proxy collaboration was then later covered by Eric Clapton in 1987. The remixed MJ demo appeared on the posthumous album ‘Michael’.

Available on the YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA album ‘Solid State Survivor’ via Alfa Music

https://www.facebook.com/YMOofficial

RIUICHI SAKAMOTO Riot in Lagos (1980)

Back from when Sakamoto spelt his first name as ‘Riuichi’, ‘Riot in Lagos’ has often been seen as a pivotal track that anticipated the beats and pulses of house music. A frantic but danceable instrumental that conveyed the rhythmic tension and violence of the title, it was a fine example of the visual narrative of Sakamoto’s compositional mind. It would serve him well in a burgeoning career that would eventually lead him to the cinema.

Available on the RIUICHI SAKAMOTO album ‘B-2 Unit’ via GT Music Japan

https://www.sitesakamoto.com/

JAPAN Taking Islands In Africa (1980)

Following the success of JAPAN’s third album ‘Quiet Life’, Sakamoto was assigned by a magazine to interview David Sylvian. The meeting led to the beginnings of a long standing friendship and a magnificent collaboration entitled ‘Taking Islands In Africa’ which ended up closing the long player. The music was entirely Sakamoto’s while Sylvian contributed the worldly lyrics. There were to be further collaborations between the pair, the most recent being ‘World Citizen’ in 2004.

Available on the JAPAN album ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’ via Virgin Records

http://www.nightporter.co.uk/

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA Camouflage (1981)

‘BGM’ was the first album to use the now iconic Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer and a 3M 32-track digital recorder. But Hosono did not like the latter’s aural sharpness and preferred to record the rhythm sections on analogue tape first before copying them to the 3M machine. ‘Camouflage’ was a curious beat laden blend of Eastern pentatonics and Western metallics. German trio CAMOUFLAGE took their name from this song.

Available on the YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA album ‘BGM’ via Alfa Music

https://www.facebook.com/YMOofficial/

LOGIC SYSTEM Domino Dance (1981)

The Roland MC-8 Micro-Composer programmed by fourth member Hideki Matsutake was a key part of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA’s early production and live performances. In 1981, Matsutake formed his own project LOGIC SYSTEM. Inspired after hearing Wendy Carlos’ ‘Switched-On Bach’, he went on to be the technical assistant of Isao Tomita. ‘Domino Dance’ was from the acclaimed ‘Logic’ and while less immediate, it was worthy of his better known employers.

Available on the LOGIC SYSTEM album ‘Logic’ via Express Japan / Toshiba EMI

https://www.facebook.com/logicsystem

SANDII & THE SUNSETZ The Great Wall (1981)

After guesting on ‘Absolute Ego Dance’ from ‘Solid State Survivor’, Hawaiian Japanese vocalist Sandy O’Neal began working with Hosono, who was producing called THE SUNSET GANG. Convincing the all-male combo that her Kate Bush influenced vocals would be ideal fortheir brand of chunky music, SANDII & THE SUNSETZ were born. The highlight of the album ‘Heat Scale’ was the Chinese infleunced ‘The Great Wall’.

Available on the SANDII & THE SUNSETZ album ‘Heat Scale’ via Alfa Music

http://sandii.info/

YUKIHIRO TAKAHASHI Something In The Air (1981)

Being YMO’s main vocalist did not necessarily mean Takahashi-san was a great singer and indeed, it very much had a Marmite effect. With his solo albums of course, his voice took centre stage. And with his afflicted, semi-croon in the vein of Bryan Ferry, he showed his passionate side on ‘Something In The Air’. Not a cover of the THUNDERCLAP NEWMAN song, it came from ‘Neuromantic’, considered to be one of Takahashi’s best; it featured Tony Mansfield, Phil Manzanera and Andy Mackay.

Available on the YUKIHIRO TAKAHASHI album ‘Neuromantic’ via GT Music Japan

http://intenzio.co.jp/yukihiro/room66plus/

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA Neue Tanz (1981)

YMO’s experimental fourth LP ‘Technodelic’ was notable for its use of an LMD-649, a hand-made sampler developed by Toshiba EMI engineer Kenji Murata. Although ‘Neue Tanz’ was a tribute to KRAFTWERK, Hosono played bass guitar on the track, adding a dark funkiness that once merged with the Indonesian Kecak chanting samples, recalled David Byrne and Brian Eno’s ‘My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts’. KRAFTWERK borrowed back the concept for ‘Musique Non Stop’.

Available on the YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA album ‘Technodelic’ via Alfa Music

http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/Info/ymo/

SUSAN I Only Come Out at Night (1982)

Franco-Japanese beauty Susam was a protégée of Takahashi and ‘I Only Come Out At Night’ was produced and written by him with lyrical assistance from Peter Barakan. Gloriously detuned and pentatonic, this was a example of how new technology was allowing the smarter than average drummer to challenge their perceived role in pop. Takahashi provided a heavier, more leftfield sound compared with Hosono’s production work for Idol singers such as Seiko Matsuda.

Available on the SUSAN album ‘Complete’ via Sony Music Japan

http://www.susanweb.jp/

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA Kimi Ni Mune Kyun (1983)

‘Naughty Boys’ was YMO’s most commercial album of their career. On the massively popular and joyous lead single ‘Kimi Ni Mune Kyun’, the trio were the oldest J-Pop boy band in town, looking like ARASHI’s great uncles! A YMO vs THE HUMAN LEAGUE EP featuring a remix with new English lyrics and vocals by Phil Oakey was released in 1993. In 2009, the song was the closing theme to the Anime series ‘Maria Holic’, sung by the voice cast.

Available on the YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA album ‘Naughty Boys’ via Alfa Music

http://www.discogs.com/artist/22061-Yellow-Magic-Orchestra

DAVID SYLVIAN & RIUICHI SAKAMOTO Forbidden Colours (1983)

Following a joint single with David Sylvian entitled ‘Bamboo Music’ in 1982, Sakamoto made his acting debut alongside David Bowie in ‘Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence’. He also composed the soundtrack with Sylvian providing lead vocals on the single version of the WWII drama’s haunting theme tune. Retitled ‘Forbidden Colours’, the lyrics reflected the taboo love story of the Nagisa Oshima directed film.

Available on the RYUICHI SAKAMOTO album ‘Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence’ via Editions Milan Music / BMG

http://www.davidsylvian.com/

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA You’ve Got To Help Yourself (1983)

Like the polarising ‘∞Multiplies’ mini-album from 1980, ‘Service’ contained YMO songs alongside various skits, performed by the comedy combo SUPER ECCENTRIC THEATER. Whether this was an ironic act of cultural subversion is a mystery to Western ears, as the sketches were all in Japanese! The best song on ‘Service’ though was the poppy ‘You’ve Got To Help Yourself’ which tellingly had previously featured in instrumental taster form on ‘Naughty Boys’.

Available on the YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA album ‘Service’ via Alfa Music

http://www.factmag.com/2015/01/22/the-essential-yellow-magic-orchestra/

HARUOMI HOSONO Gaplus (1984)

Hosono was one of the first to acknowledge the appeal of video game sounds and arranged an album containing Namco arcade game music. ‘Video Game Music’ was acknowledged as being the first chiptune record. A subsequent maxi single release ‘Super Xevious’ had Hosono actually composing and performing around original game music by Yuriko Keino and Junko Ozawa. ‘Gaplus’ with its phased gunshots, blips and classical overtones was the undoubted highlight.

Available on the HARUOMI HOSONO EP ‘Super Xevious’ via Scitron Digital Content

http://www.daisyworld.co.jp/

RYUICHI SAKAMOTO featuring THOMAS DOLBY Field Work (1986)

Most of the tracks for what was to become ‘Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia’ were originally recorded in 1984 and as the title suggested, saw Sakamoto exploring a variety of styles and genres including jazz and soca. Initially only released in Japan, the album was altered for the international market with some new tracks. One of these was this great collaboration with Thomas Dolby. Entitled ‘Field Work’, it united both artists’ concerns for the environment.

Available on the RYUICHI SAKAMOTO album ‘Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia’ via 10 / Virgin Records

http://www.thomasdolby.com/

YUKIHIRO TAKAHASHI & STEVE JANSEN Stay Close (1986)

Takahashi’s solo albums featured JAPAN’s bassist Mick Karn and drummer Steve Jansen. In 1986, Jansen and Takahashi released a brilliant joint single ‘Stay Close’. Additionally featuring the talents of legendary rhythm guitarist Carlos Alomar, Jansen in particular did a very able impression of his older brother David Sylvian, while Takahashi provided his usual mannered “will he make it – won’t he?” vocals. It remains possibly the best song that JAPAN and YMO never recorded.

Available on the YUKIHIRO TAKAHASHI album ‘Once A Fool…’ via Pony Canyon

http://www.stevejansen.com/

SYLVIAN / SAKAMOTO Heartbeat (1992)

The dreamy ‘Heartbeat (Tainai Kaiki II)’ saw David Sylvian give a raw passionate vocal performance which was counterpointed by a whispery spoken word passage from Ingrid Chavez. The two emotionally connected in real life and got married after the recording. More organic than previous Sylvian / Sakamoto collaborations, the bed of the song was Sakamoto-san’s eerie piano and ‘Twin Peaks’ strings, while out of nowhere came a rousing solo from noted jazz guitarist Bill Frisell.

Available on the RYUICHI SAKAMOTO album ‘Heartbeat’ via Virgin Records

https://www.facebook.com/ryuichisakamoto

~~YMO~~ Pocketful Of Rainbows (1993)

For their comeback ‘Technodon’, the band were forced to release it under the moniker ~~YMO~~ as the name YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA was owned by Alfa Records. Songs like ‘Hi-tech Hippies’ had more straightforward techno arrangements than any of the trio’s more recent solo work. The album was also sample free to save any potential copyright infringements. ‘Pocket Full Of Rainbows’ was a Japanese language cover of the tune made famous by Elvis Presley in ‘GI Blues’.

Available on the ~~YMO~~ album ‘Technodon’ via Toshiba EMI

https://twitter.com/ymo

RYUICHI SAKAMOTO Anger – Rare Force 2 Meg Remix (1998)

Sakamoto’s soundtrack success led him to sign with Sony Classical. His first work for the label ‘Discord’ was a four movement avant-garde composition exploring dissonant musical structures. Two of the tracks ‘Anger’ and ‘Grief’ were given out to remixers, thus cementing the link Sakamoto had with dance culture since ‘Riot In Lagos’. The aggressive, almost industrial ‘Anger’ was given a dark breakbeat treatment by Skint Records signings RARE FORCE which got the adrenaline pumping.

Available on the RYUICHI SAKAMOTO album ‘Moto.tronic’ via Sony Music

https://twitter.com/ryuichisakamoto

HASYMO Rescue (2007)

Producing a single ‘Rescue’ for the Anime film ‘Appleseed Ex Machina’, Hosono, Sakamoto and Takahashi utilised a leftfield jazz techno sound and the pretty female voice of Chiho Shibaoka. The soundtrack featured two further HASYMO tracks ‘Method’ and ‘Weather’ as well as solo contributions from Hosono. The recorded reunion put YMO back into the public eye and led to invitations for a variety of prestigious events.

Available on the HASYMO single ‘Rescue’ via Commmons ‎/ Avex Trax

https://myspace.com/hasymo

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has compiled a playlist entitled ‘Yellow Magic Axis’ which features the work of Hosono – Sakamoto – Takahashi in their various guises and productions 🎹🥁🎹🇯🇵 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6RketGtiWJruVvzkY4r3az

Text by Chi Ming Lai
4th June 2015

MIDGE URE Interview

1 June 2015 / electricityclub

Like many graduates of Synth Britannia, Midge Ure first became interested in electronic music when in 1975, KRAFTWERK’s ‘Autobahn’ hit the UK singles charts.

Already using Yamaha’s flagship SG2000 guitar, in 1977 he was able to negotiate with the Japanese company to make his first synth purchase, a CS50, at half price. At the time, he was a member of THE RICH KIDS with Glen Matlock, but with THE SEX PISTOLS refugee preferring Hammond organs and brass sections to Minimoogs, the inevitable musical differences ensued.

Breaking away with drummer Rusty Egan in 1978, the pair recruited Steve Strange as vocalist and formed VISAGE. It became a platform to create modern electronic dance music influenced by the likes of DAVID BOWIE, KRAFTWERK, LA DÜSSELDORF, YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA that could be played at Egan and Strange’s ‘Club For Heroes’. Another band who Egan and Ure loved from that period was ULTRAVOX; their multi-instrumentalist Billy Currie was invited to join the sessions for VISAGE’s debut album and this eventually led to Ure joining ULTRAVOX.

In 1985 while juggling ULTRAVOX and his work with the Band Aid Trust, Ure released his debut solo album ‘The Gift’ which spawned the rousing No1 single ‘If I Was’. Two further albums ‘Answers To Nothing’ and ‘Pure’ followed.

But in 1993, he went ‘Out Alone’ on an intimate tour which saw Ure performing on his own, accompanying himself primarily on just an acoustic guitar. In 1995, his fourth solo album ‘Breathe’ signalled a new direction with a more Celtic feel and traditional instrumentation. Although initially the album had a slow start, Swatch chose the title track to accompany a well-received advertising campaign. As a result, the album became a massive seller all over Europe.

Ure has been particularly busy over the last 6 years. The successful live reunion of ULTRAVOX with the classic line-up of Warren Cann, Chris Cross and Billy Currie in 2009 led to the recording of 2012’s ‘Brilliant’ album. 2014 saw the release of ‘Fragile’, his first solo album of original material for over 12 years. A striking return to form, it included a number of poignant songs such as ‘Become’, ‘Dark Dark Night’, ‘For All You Know’ and ‘I Survived’.

But for 2015, 20 years on from its original release, Midge Ure is performing the ‘Breathe’ album its entirety as part of an ongoing concert tour, augmented on stage by Cole Stacey and Joseph O’Keefe from INDIA ELECTRIC CO. He kindly took time out from rehearsals and chatted about the ‘Breathe Again’ tour and much more…

Out of your solo albums, why have you chosen ‘Breathe’ as the one for the full length live showcase treatment?

A lot of my solo albums go through hell before they’re actually released. ‘Fragile’ took a long time to come and ‘Breathe’ was one of those albums where the record company, in their infinite wisdom, decided to A&R me after all these years! They wanted me to not use the same musicians, not to record in the same studios, not to produce the album myself… so they asked me to gather a whole bunch of songs which I did and I ended up with a producer I could work with, Richard Feldman who had done an album for the model and actress Milla Jovovich which was a great album.

So I made ‘Breathe’, it was fantastic and I delivered the album, only to have it sit on a shelf for a year while BMG started sorting out their internal problems. It was a hideously frustrating process to go through, and when it finally came out, the first two years of its life, it was the worst selling record I’d ever made.

So until Swatch came along and picked up the title track thanks to a fan in Italy, the album was an absolute disaster. But because of a TV commercial, it turned the entire thing round. It bounced all around Europe and was a big record eventually. I thought how good it would be to play the album in its entirety because I’ve never done that before.

At the time it was released, it was a departure from what you were known for, with a lot of traditional instrumentation?

It was more organic… there was still electronics involved with samples and stuff like that, but I think it’s just what you end up doing. You try to run a million miles from what you’re known for and it’s all part of the process of finding your own feet and trying to decide what you are and what you want to do. Part of that process would have been turning my back on the standard synthesis and rediscover my Scottish roots.

So the idea of doing something more organic had a bit of oomph to it, and was quite appealing at the time. I don’t think you’re the same person your entire life and you go through phases like chapters in a book. So when you get to chapter twenty five, you’re a very different person to the one who started off in chapter one. It was just another phase of discovery. To me, the important part of it was the quality of the songs, not just necessarily the instruments enhancing the songs.

A lot of ‘Breathe’ was recorded in America?

It was, yes… Richard Feldman is an American guitarist / producer and we did an awful lot of it at his place but a good chunk of it at mine in Bath.

There appeared to be some Country music vibes creeping in?

You know what, I’m not quite sure about that… I think Country and traditional music are all very intermingled. Country music is just music from the country it’s sourced from. So country music would be Scottish or Irish or whatever, and it was when it got to America, it became Western. Country & Western music is based in roots music, it’s all the stuff I would have been taught as a kid in school.

The title song turned out to be one of the biggest songs of your career internationally, yet it is one of your lesser known ones in the UK?

Yeah, very much so… quite simply, the TV advert didn’t run in the UK, only on satellite channels so it didn’t get the same exposure here. And of course, good ol’ Great Britain, the radio didn’t play it even though it was No1 in the whole of Europe.

There was a European chart that was an overall one for the whole continent including the UK, and for months and months, it was the No1 record! Yet UK radio chose not to play it! So there’s nothing much you can do about situations like that. You put it out and hope for the best. And sometimes you don’t get the best…

You roped in Robert Fripp to play on ‘Guns & Arrows’. What was it like working with him?

It was great, he’s lovely guy and a brilliant guitarist. You know, to have the guy who played on ‘Heroes’ play on one of your tunes is quite spectacular. It was very fortuitous actually, because he was in Los Angeles when I was recording there and I went to Dave Stewart’s studio just across the road from where I was. Robert was there and he said “of course I’ll play on the track, but do you mind if I bring 20 Japanese guitar students?”; I said it was fine and I had this bizarre scenario of Robert playing his fabulous Frippertronics thing in the recording room and in the control room looking through the glass window were these Japanese kids, all jotting down everything he did and said, with him lecturing “this is Midge… this is his song… I’ve known Midge a while… what I’m going to do is this…” – so he’s playing these textures and explaining it to these Japanese kids, it was most surreal but a great thing to happen.

You also had Shankar playing a blistering violin solo on ‘Live Forever’, how are you reinterpreting the album on the ‘Breathe Again’ tour with the guys from INDIA ELECTRIC CO?

The INDIA ELECTRIC CO guys play a variety of instrumentation and there’s only two of them. So there’s three of us on stage but we manage to cover a lot of stuff. For three people, we’re making quite a big noise. Joseph O’Keefe who plays violin is just spectacularly good as a musician. He’s one of these guys who can hear in a cacophony that one string is out of tune. Him and Cole Stacey are both incredible, but they’re so versatile and jump between instruments all the time.

I’m very pleased with how it’s gone. Even though the album wasn’t a huge success in the UK, the reaction it’s had so far has been phenomenal. The response of people has just been great, whether they knew the album or not. I was a little wary of going in and playing an entire album live of material that some of the audience wouldn’t know at all, but it seems to be irrelevant. They seem to be hooked on the textures, the melodies and the atmospheres. So maybe I’m just under estimating the audiences taste.

Of course, ‘Breathe’ is only so long, so you will also be playing material from throughout your career. How are you deciding which songs to play, especially as a fair number of your best known songs are synth based and are being rearranged for a more organic setting?

Well, I think that the song itself will dictate whether it can fit in that format or not, but I’ve been quite surprised at the ones which really sell; ‘Fade To Grey’ works brilliantly in this format as does ‘Lament’. And ‘Vienna’ works well! You would think, how could you recreate a song like that and get away with no drums, no bass, no whatever… you treat it differently, you just look at the song as an entity, it is its own thing and it’s like a salad; it changes flavour depending on what dressing you put on it.

So a song just changes it flavour by whatever dressing you put on it, so it changes whether you’re doing it electronically, doing it with a rock band or doing it with acoustic instruments. The song should be malleable and pliable, and still work as a song. But I have to say, some stuff we’re doing that’s not from the ‘Breathe’ album is working a treat. In fact, some of it is going down better than the ones designed to be played in that format.

Has there been a song you’ve loved and tried to do in this organic three piece line-up but that hasn’t worked?

Not really, although I shied away from doing ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’, because I’m not quite sure how it would work in that format… maybe that’s just me being a coward. But then again, I’ve been doing it solo acoustic for quite a long time now and it seems to work when it’s stripped right down. It’s down to the quality of the song.

I remember when the ‘Breathe’ album came out at first, and with the band I’d got to back it up, we couldn’t get ‘Live Forever’ to work. It just didn’t sound right and I scrapped it. So we never played ‘Live Forever’ live; but with the three piece, it works brilliantly! Don’t ask me why! It just does, it gels and has become a firm favourite in the current shows. I don’t know, maybe the ones you suspect will work, don’t! And the ones that won’t, do! You just have to be surprised and go with the flow! *laughs*

You released the excellent album ‘Fragile’ in 2014, how do you look back on its reception?

It was better than I expected in a lot of areas and no worse than I kind of expected. Some of the great stuff was really great. But there was one review that called it “Ultravox lite”; I didn’t get that at all because I think it’s a very different animal to ULTRAVOX.

A lot of places got it, The Huffington Post review put it in the Top 10 albums of 2014, even in America which is spectacular for an album that maybe a lot of people in America wouldn’t understand. But I think because it was something real, raw and honest, I think I came up with a very interesting album with a very good, strong batch of songs. I think some of the songs are the best that I’ve ever done. I spent a long time on it and poured my heart and soul into it. I didn’t listen to anybody outside telling me or guiding me how to do it, I just did exactly what I felt at the time.

Tracks like ‘Wire & Wood’ and ‘Bridges’ reminded people of your aptitude for instrumentals, so would soundtrack work interest you in the future?

It’s always interested me but it’s never come my way properly, other than a few small independent movies, that was good fun and great to do. I always thought ULTRAVOX should have been doing soundtracks with that Germanic synthesizer feel.

People like Trent Reznor who have been involved in electronics are doing soundtrack work… it never came ULTRAVOX’s way, but maybe we wouldn’t have been very good at it! Who knows? But the music kind of lent itself to that cinematic openness and atmospherics.

Are there any intentions to perform songs from ‘Fragile’ with a full band rather than in an acoustic setting?

We’re doing ‘Become’ and ‘Fragile’ in the ‘Breathe Again’ show… ‘Fragile’ lends itself well to that format because it’s a delicate little thing. I would LOVE to do the entire ‘Fragile’ album with a band, but it’s down to necessity, demand and cost… putting a full band together and major rehearsals, it’s a very costly thing to do. And I’m wary of piling on the ticket price to make an audience pay for it. So it’s something that would have to be well thought out, to do it properly and do it well. But I’d love to get my teeth in there and play the entire album.

You used Melodyne for both ‘Fragile’ and ULTRAVOX’s ‘Brilliant’ album but got some criticism for it. I find it quite strange that some electronic music fans have a problem with voice processing technology, especially when you used the equivalent period aesthetic on the third verse of ‘New Europeans’ for example… how do you see it?

I think anyone who cuts out processing or techniques in any form is just stupid! It like saying “why would you want to record on a computer when you’ve got tape machines?” or “why would you want to record digitally when you’ve got analogue?”. People don’t progress that way!

If I was somebody who couldn’t sing and had to pitch vocals or do all sorts of stuff to make it sound in tune, of course, then I should be pilloried for it! But I’m not!

I use it for effect… my hearing pitch has got better and more refined over the years, so anything that’s slightly out for me, I want to get that right! But that nobody else can hear it… I used to drive ULTRAVOX crazy! It’s a bit like with my new glasses that are scratched in the middle of the lens, nobody can see it but I can!

So there’s nothing wrong with effecting something to make it the best it can possibly be, if that’s what you want to achieve. It’s very different hiding behind something because you’re not good enough. And it’s very different from being good enough, and making it better.

I don’t use it all the time, it’s a tool and no different from any of the plug-ins that I use when I make music. It’s a bit like saying “why do you use reverb on your voice?”… well, it’s because it suits the song and makes it more interesting.

And when you you’ve already recorded something and then think “oh, I wish I’d played that as a minor!”, why wouldn’t you use a tool that would allow you to do that without having to re-record the entire thing? You can adapt it and change it… music should be malleable, you should be able to play it ‘til you’re blue in the face. Some people are just anal to tell you the truth! *laughs*

How was the ‘Brilliant’ experience for you and recording with ULTRAVOX again? It seemed reinvigorate you?

Yeah, it’s funny because people think I did ‘Fragile’ after ‘Brilliant’, it was 80% there! But ‘Brilliant’ was what sparked me up to actually finish it.

So a lot of the textures, sounds and character of the ‘Brilliant’ album kind of stemmed from my dabblings on ‘Fragile’ where I’d run out of steam… I didn’t see the point of finishing it, I was making an album that only a handful of people would appreciate.

It was just me being a twat really, but that’s the feeling you get! You think “what’s the point of putting your heart and soul in it?” So doing the ‘Brilliant’ album with the guys was the spark that I needed. It gave me the incentive to think “WOW! There’s something still there!”, because any artist is full of self-doubt… the first thing you think isn’t “the record company were crap” or “the radio are rubbish for not playing it”, but “maybe I’m not good enough”. You look at yourself first and foremost.

That’s the process I went through and the whole get-together with ULTRAVOX was just such an enjoyable thing. I’m very proud of that record, I think we did a great job and it gave me the boost I needed to get on and finish my own record.

What is the state of play with ULTRAVOX?

I haven’t seen Billy since we walked out of the O2 after the SIMPLE MINDS show, I haven’t seen Warren as he’s in Los Angeles but Chris has just texted me. We always said we were never getting back together to take over the world as a band and pretend we were a bunch of teenagers, we all have other things that we do.

And we said that if and when something interesting pops up, we would get-together and do it. But right now, there’s no “yes, we’re doing something” and there’s no “no, we’re never doing anything again”. It’s just there resting on a shelf.

You’ve under taken quite a number of collaborations recently with MOBY, SCHILLER, LICHTMOND and JAM & SPOON, have you any more planned?

I’ve never planned a collaboration to tell you the truth, it sort of lands on your lap. All of those you mentioned, they approached me and if I find it interesting, I’ll work on something, especially these days when it doesn’t involve jumping on a plane and disappearing from home for a week. It’s all done via the internet these days, someone sends you an idea for a track and you stick it on your computer. You start chopping it around, write new bits for it, do some lyrics, record a vocal, email it back to them and they assemble it at their place. It’s making collaborations much easier.

What’s been your favourite collaboration?

My favourite collaboration? KATE BUSH ‘Sister & Brother’… what a joy to go to my grave knowing that KATE BUSH and I are on the same piece of music, how cool is that?

Photo by Paul Cox

Was further collaboration with the late Mick Karn ever a realistic proposition following ‘After A Fashion’ in 1983, other than those aborted JBK sessions that spawned ‘Get A Life’ and ‘Cry’ on your ‘Little Orphans’ rarities CD?

We did some stuff in Montserrat, Mick came out for a couple of weeks and did some basic grooves, textures and backing tracks… there’s a copy of it somewhere but I’ve never tried to complete any of it. We never got round to doing it, it was just one of those things. We talked about various projects, but we never got over the dabbling stage and never got seriously into it, which is a pity.

The JBK thing never got any further than those two tracks, all those guys who were in JAPAN are incredibly talented, and that would have been an interesting collaboration, but it never really happened. The idea was to put a band together, but I didn’t want to be the singer and we could never come up with someone who could take over the vocals. If I sang it, it would have been too much like me or ULTRAVOX, so it kind of fizzled out.

You wrote ‘Personal Heaven’ with Glenn Gregory of HEAVEN 17 and recorded it with X-PERIENCE, have you ever considered doing a collaborative EP or anything with him?

We’re probably better mates than collaborators! But yes, nothing is out of the question, especially with somebody like Glenn, he’s such a joy to be around and a lovely guy. And these days, you can do it without confusing people… you can go off and just do a little sideline. But back in the ULTRAVOX days, you couldn’t really do it, that’s your band, that’s what you do and you should never step outside that. So these days, it’s great to just go out and collaborate with people, I fully enjoy the whole process. So it’s a good idea Glenn and I getting together and doing a few songs ever so often, to see what we come up with.

Photo by Gabor Scott

Of course, your best known collaborative project was VISAGE and we lost Steve Strange recently. Have you had a chance to reflect back on that clourful period at The Blitz Club?

You can’t help for all that stuff to go around your head, it was a major part of my life and Steve was a major part of that period. It was just dreadfully sad, the whole thing… it was just pathetic and horrible. Y’know, I’m not sure what he was doing towards the end, VISAGE was never meant to be a live act.

It was a studio project and meant to be a ‘Willo The Wisp’ thing that you couldn’t really grab hold of it cos it disappeared… that was the whole concept Rusty Egan and I came up with, it was just a passing thing. But Steve looked like he was having fun doing it.

I hadn’t seen Steve for a year and a half, two years or whatever prior to his passing, so it sparked off all the memories and all the fun stuff. Like the challenge of putting something like VISAGE together from a variety of different bands who were all still in existence and touring. So trying to put them all in the same place at the same time was a tall order.

The majority of the initial VISAGE recordings were done in Martin Rushent’s studio which was a little house in the bottom of his garden which had all his equipment in. Martin used to come down and watch we were doing, he’d never seen or heard anything like it, all these electronics. He used to hang about every night watching what Rusty and I were up to, watching Billy doing his sequencing and things like that, it was great. He was coming down with notebooks to learn how it all worked, and then went off and made THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Dare’ album! *laughs*

It was very beneficial, he gave us studio time because it was his label who was originally putting the stuff out, but he won because he got to make ‘Dare’ which was fantastic.

What’s next for you after the ‘Breathe Again’ tour?

There’s some dates in Germany and Dubai at the end of the year. But I’ve got to get back in the studio and carry on writing, now that I’m fired up. I want to keep that momentum going, I don’t want it to be another 12 years… I’m not sure I’ve got another 12 years, so I just want to get on with it! *laughs*

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Midge Ure

The ‘Breathe Again’ Tour 2015 includes:

Gateshead Sage (27th June), Southport Atkinson (28th June), Bury St. Edmunds Apex (17th September), Andover The Lights (September 18th), Redhill Harlequin (19th September), Falmouth Princess Pavilion (1st October), Porthcawl Grand Pavilion (2nd October), Cheltenham Tithe Barn (3rd October), Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall (4th October), Preston Guildhall Charter Theatre (14th October), Ulverston Coronation Hall (15th October), Leamington Spa Assembly Rooms (16th October), Hunstanton Princess Theatre (17th October), Lincoln Drill Hall (22nd October), London Union Chapel (23rd October)

http://www.midgeure.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/midge.ure/

https://twitter.com/midgeure1

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
1st June 2015

LIKE LUKEWARM WATER… Poor Singles by Great Acts

17 January 2015 / electricityclub

Artists are not infallible creatures and even on great albums, there’s often a duff song that somehow gets released as a single and becomes a hit.

Some of these inferior singles though get found out early on and deservedly fail to capture the public’s imagination. However, sometimes the artists themselves will realise the errors of their ways with these less than satisfactory offerings.

They might quickly drop the track from the live set or rewrite history by excluding the said offending item from greatest hits packages. As a singular follow-up to the ‘We Hope You Enjoy Our New Direction’ albums article, here are twenty singles by your favourite acts who really should have known better.

Arranged in chronological and then alphabetical order with a restriction of one release per artist, these singles are, in the words of SPINAL TAP’s Nigel Tufnel, “like lukewarm water…” – a Spotify playlist is therefore not required 😉

JAPAN Don’t Rain On My Parade (1978)

Was this really the band who were to record ‘Ghosts’ four years later? You certainly wouldn’t have put your money on JAPAN becoming chart regulars by 1982 based on ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade’, a cover of BARBRA STREISAND’s set piece from ‘Funny Girl’ This hilarious two fingers rock thrash, with an unrecognisable David Sylvian snarling away, found an audience in Japan itself, which subsequently allowed them to develop into the artful combo they are better known as.

Available on the album ‘Adolescent Sex’ via Sony BMG Records

http://www.nightporter.co.uk/

TEARS FOR FEARS The Way You Are (1983)

After the success of their debut ‘The Hurting’, TEARS FOR FEARS’ label wanted an interim release. But after several months exploring their artier aspirations, the resultant single was poor. ‘The Way You Are’ was Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal trying to be JAPAN, only they weren’t very good at it! Smith said it was “probably one of the worst recordings I think we’ve done”. The change of direction to produce the rockier, more MTV friendly opus ‘Songs From The Big Chair’ proved to be far more fruitful.

Available on the album ‘Songs From The Big Chair – Deluxe Edition’ via Mercury Records

http://tearsforfears.com/

VISAGE Beat Boy (1984)

The lack of input from departed founder member Midge Ure as producer really exposed itself on VISAGE’s third long player ‘Beat Boy’. Most of the songs went on for far too long while Steve Strange’s flat, tuneless vocals and banal lyrics were allowed to run riot. Running for a painful six minutes on the album, even in edited single form, the title track really needed a ‘Go Faster’ stripe as the attempt to merge rock guitars with Fairlight stabs and industrialised percussion failed miserably.

Album version available on the album ‘Beat Boy’ via Cherry Pop

http://www.visage.cc/

BRONSKI BEAT & MARC ALMOND I Feel Love / Johnny Remember Me (1985)

‘I Feel Love’ looked like a dream combination for Jimmy Somerville’s swansong with BRONSKI BEAT to be paired with the one-time SOFT CELL front man. With ‘Love To Love You Baby’ and ‘Johnny Remember Me’ segued onto the main act, the well intentioned recording ended up a total cut ‘n’ paste mess with the poor stop / start edit into ‘Johnny Remember Me’ being particularly embarrassing. Meanwhile, the screaming match between Somerville and Almond was painful to the ears.

Available on the album ‘The Singles Collection 1984/1990’ via London Records

http://www.jimmysomerville.co.uk/

http://www.marcalmond.co.uk/

JOHN FOXX Enter The Angel (1985)

An attempt at crossing ‘Endlessly’ with ‘Like A Miracle’, the lukewarm ‘Enter The Angel’ from the ‘In Mysterious Ways’ album had none of the electro innovation of ‘Metamatic’ or the neu romance of ‘The Garden’. Featuring Eddi Reader from FAIRGROUND ATTRACTION on backing vocals, Foxx had gone all conventional and no longer stood out from the crowd like he once had. And the result was that the quiet man effectively retired from music until his 1997 re-emergence.

Available on the album ‘Modern Art: The Best Of’ via Music Club

http://www.metamatic.com

HOWARD JONES Look Mama (1985)

Howard Jones did much to further the cause of electronic music with his one-man synth act. But ‘Look Mama’, the second single from his second album ‘Dream Into Action’ was a tedious narrative about an interfering mother that was one of the weakest songs on the collection. Featuring a plethora of state-of-the-art digital sounds, their prominence was quite obviously to cover a weak tune. Amazingly, this one got into the UK Top 10!

Available on the album ‘Best: 1983 – 2017’ via Cherry Red

http://www.howardjones.com

THE HUMAN LEAGUE I Need Your Loving (1986)

THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s fifth album ‘Crash’ was largely rotten, save ‘Human’ and ‘Love Is All That Matters’, two Jam and Lewis numbers that were totally unrepresentative of Da League’s own sound. ‘I Need Your Loving’ had a crew of six on the writing credits, none of them members of the band! This had to have been a Janet Jackson cast-off from ‘Control’… Phil Oakey has been many things but Alexander O’Neal he certainly wasn’t while Joanne and Susanne could never sound like Cherelle!

Available on the album ‘Crash’ via Virgin Records

http://www.thehumanleague.co.uk

GARY NUMAN I Can’t Stop (1986)

A toss-up between this and ‘This Is Love’, these two singles from the below-par ‘Strange Charm’ both actually got in the UK Top 40… quite shocking when far superior singles from previous album ‘The Fury’ failed to make any chart impact. By 1986, Numan wasn’t sure if he wanted to be THE POWER STATION or Prince so ‘I Can’t Stop’ was frankly, all over the place! Whatever, flying took more of an interest in his life, Gary Numan’s career dip would not be reversed until 1994’s ‘Sacrifice’.

Available on the album ‘Strange Charm’ via Eagle Records

http://www.numan.co.uk

ULTRAVOX Same Old Story (1986)

The signs had not been good when drummer Warren Cann was fired from the band for preferring to use programmed percussion. With the success of his solo career, Midge Ure was dictating a more conventional back-to-basics approach. But while the soulful backing vocalists, live drums and brass section on ‘Same Old Story’ kept ULTRAVOX sounding with the times, the bland played on. The poor title of the parent album ‘U-Vox’ summed it all up… a band with something missing!

Album version available on the album ‘U-Vox’ via EMI Music

http://www.ultravox.org.uk

A-HA Touchy! (1988)

Such is life, the brilliant predecessor ‘The Blood That Moves The Body’ only reached No28 in the UK singles chart. Instead, the public took its rather ordinary and annoying follow-up ‘Touchy!’ to No11! Devoid of the usual emotive but melodic melancholy that had made songs such as ‘The Sun Always Shines On TV’ and ‘Hunting High & Low’ so dramatically appealing, the lead synth brass line, which ubiquitous for the time, was particularly annoying!

Available on the album ‘Stay On These Roads’ via Warner Music

http://a-ha.com/

HEAVEN 17 The Ballad Of Go Go Brown (1988)

When Glenn Gregory appeared on the single sleeve wearing a Stetson, the writing was on the wall. ‘The Ballad Of Go Go Brown’ with its slide guitar and harmonica was the antithesis of the funky modernism that HEAVEN 17 had previously stood for. Martyn Ware’s success as a producer for artists such as TINA TURNER and TERENCE D’ARBY around this time proved he hadn’t lost his creative nous… the once innovative trio had run out of steam.

Available on the album ‘Play To Win: The Best Of’ via Music Club Deluxe

http://www.heaven17.com

NEW ORDER Fine Time (1988)

NEW ORDER were acknowledged as a supreme singles act… until this! ‘Fine Time’ spoilt an otherwise brilliant album in ‘Technique’. A sly send-up of the acid house scene, even Bernard Sumner admitted it was “a novelty record”. A pitch shifted vocal was made to sound like an inebriate jackmaster impersonating Barry White, while the messy backing track was complimented by some bleeting sheep. One thing good about the single edit though is that it’s shorter!

Available on the album ‘Singles’ via Rhino Records

http://www.neworder.com/

EURYTHMICS Revival (1989)

1987’s ‘Savage’ album was a laudable attempt by Annie Lennox and David A Stewart’s to get back to their electronic roots after their overt flirtation with America for their previous two long players ‘Be Yourself Tonight’ and ‘Revenge’. But to launch the 1989 album ‘We Two Are One’, EURYTHMICS got all bland again on ‘Revival’. The squelchy synth bass could not disguise a lifeless tune that ironically, despite its rhythm ‘n’ blues influences, was lacking in soul.

Available on the album ‘We Too Are One’ via RCA / Sony BMG Records

http://eurythmics.com/

DURAN DURAN Violence of Summer (1990)

DURAN DURAN’s cover of ‘White Lines (Don’t Do It)’ is more comical than awful! But ‘Violence Of Summer (Love’s Taking Over)’ was a poor relaunch of their classic five-piece band format with guitarist Warren Cuccurullo and drummer Sterling Campbell joining the fold, following two albums as a trio. What they forgot to add to the line-up though was some tunes… unsurprisingly, ‘The Violence Of Summer’ has never made it onto any DURAN DURAN compilation CDs.

Available on the album ‘Liberty’ via EMI Music

http://www.duranduran.com

SIMPLE MINDS She’s A River (1995)

For SIMPLE MINDS’ worst commitment to the singular format, it was tempting to list ‘Belfast Child’ or their cover of PRINCE’s ‘Sign O’ The Times’, but the ploddy ‘She’s A River’ wins out. With overblown guitar histrionics, big drums and a virtually anonymous verse with no hook. Bizarrely, pop duo HURTS revived the template of ‘She’s A River’ for the even more appalling ‘Miracle’ in 2013!

Available on the album ‘Good News from the Next World’ via Virgin Records

http://www.simpleminds.com

PET SHOP BOYS New York City Boy (1999)

PET SHOP BOYS are as perfect singles act as you can get, but even they were not flawless. For their worst offering, it was a close race between the inappropriately titled ‘Winner’ and the camp OASIS of ‘I Get Along’. But ‘New York City Boy’ has to be Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe’s least convincing single. While ‘Go West’ took a VILLAGE PEOPLE song and applied an elegiac PET SHOP BOYS template, ‘New York City Boy’ was misguided attempt to try and actually be New York’s favourite disco queens.

Available on the album ‘Nightlife’ via EMI Music

http://www.petshopboys.co.uk

KRAFTWERK Expo 2000 (2000)

In a scandal equivalent to the UK’s Millenium Dome project, KRAFTWERK pocketed 400,000 Deutsch Marks for a five syllable processed voice jingle for Expo 2000! At the time, it was their first new composition for 14 years. Lacking the percussive drive previously provided by the now-absent Karl Bartos and Wolfgang Flür, ‘Expo 2000’ was a meandering, formless ditty which lacked the klassik melodicism that made KRAFTWERK great.

Available on the single ‘Expo 2000’ via EMI Music

http://www.kraftwerk.com

DEPECHE MODE Peace (2009)

‘Sounds Of The Universe’ is such a dire body of work. So surreally imagine as a diversion from its uninspired electro blues rock, John Lennon trying to write a KRAFTWERK song during THE BEATLES sessions that produced ‘Across The Universe’? Sounds interesting doesn’t it? DEPECHE MODE worked on the concept but came up with the ghastly ‘Peace’. No pleasures remained as the strained and nauseating chorus, attached to a lame verse, was more likely to harm diplomatic relations.

Available on the album ‘Sounds Of The Universe’ via Sony Music

http://www.depechemode.com

OMD If You Want It (2010)

For anyone who had loved OMD’s pioneering early catalogue, ‘If You Want It’ was horrid. An attempt at a soaring OASIS styled anthem, ‘If You Want It’ was not what fans were expecting. With an excruciatingly high key and a joint compositional credit to Tracey Carmen, who had worked with Andy McCluskey’s girl group creation ATOMIC KITTEN, its true origins can only be guessed at. But thankfully, OMD managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with 2013’s ‘English Electric’ opus.

Available on the album ‘History Of Modern’ via Blue Noise

http://www.omd.uk.com

ERASURE When I Start To (2011)

On paper, things were not promising as the severely over rated FRANKMUZIK was recruited to apply his modern dance production aesthetic to Andy Bell and Vince Clarke’s classic synthpop on the ‘Tomorrow’s World’ album. But its first single ‘When I Start To (Break It All Down)’ sounded like a rather anodyne TAKE THAT ballad and Bell’s voice was strained to an auto tuned flatness, lacking power and soul.

Available on the album ‘Tomorrow’s World’ via Mute Artists

http://www.erasureinfo.com

Text by Chi Ming Lai
17th January 2015, updated 22nd January 2018

Tag: Japan (Page 10 of 12)

25 CLASSIC STANDALONE SYNTH SINGLES

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A Beginner’s Guide To YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA

MIDGE URE Interview

LIKE LUKEWARM WATER… Poor Singles by Great Acts

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