"La Movida Madrileña" refers to the mid-to-late 70s flowering of subcultural rebellion in post-fascism Spain. With Madrid at core, the movement inspired the creation of liberated music, cinema, comics, literature, etc. By the 80s, the music had mutated beyond punk into various zones and waves. This mix spans the decade, representing new wave and synth pop, power pop, and general upbeat weirdness and provocation. '83 seems to be the peak of creativity, considering how many tracks on this mix were released in that year. I've included some tunes which sound more old-garde classicist pop (Parchis, Jeanette), as well as some late decade, mild mainstream jams. While I stand by all the music on a sonic level, I imagine that the orchestral pop hits here provided the space to move "from" for Alaska and the other scene stars of the movement, with lush production and simple love-song themes. Landing full circle, the jams from '85 and beyond (a decade post-Franco) perhaps represent the dilution of earlier transgressive material. I encourage readers to research individual artists, as riches will surely be discovered. I don't speak Spanish, and I am by no means an expert on this music or its context, so this broad selection will likely seem odd and unfocused to the expert listener. That said, this is an incredibly thrilling 24-track survey of some brilliant music, I can promise that.
I'm very psyched to present the first in a series of Wax Mask era-specific mixes. I put a lot of work into this, so check it out! While a lot of this music I found trawling forums and Filestube, I want to specifically thank the blogs Nuevaola 80s and Toda mi Musik.
Nearly ecstatic to discover this "homage" to the Sakamoto/Sylvain classic by Sandy Marton, belter of the undeniable "People from Ibiza" track. Not every day do I find such a link between two of my particular cultural obsessions. Check out both songs, and hear one of the most emotionally wrenching songs--built from Sakamoto's score for the brutally heart-rending Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence--morphed into a goofball utopian Italo-jam, complete with typically incomprehensible, mildly offensive lyrics.
The "Forbidden Colours" melody is basically used as an intro and bridge in the Marton version, but its influence is definitely felt throughout... Sandy was definitely feeling the vibe!
And here's the soundtrack, by Saeko Suzuki. Will have more of her work (with info) in the coming days and weeks.
Tracklist:
01. Life King 2:42
02. S-8 To T-8 2:55
03. A Ripple 1:45
04. Fat's 0:58
05. Life King - Vision 1 2:15
06. OtokoEOnnaESeiEShiEMugendai 4:30
07. T-8 To S-8 2:58
08. Feel Or Deal 3:27
09. Mother 2:32
10. Hello 2:39
11. Forbidden Mode 4:33
12. Party Attack 2:48
13. A Stone Of Wiseman 3:53
14. Reset 2:28
15. Real 10:35
Label: Midi Inc.
Catalog#: 28MD-1008
Format: CD, Album
Here is another album which I've unearthed that illustrates YMO's seemingly ubiquitous clutch on the 1980s Japanese "Technopop" (and assorted non-mainstream) landscape. Ryuichi Sakamoto produced only a few tracks on this album (I think), but Sakamoto's work actually stands in opposition to much of the album. Unlike some of the other Yen-associated female singers of the era, Koharu Kisaragi is clearly the mind behind the project, and Tokai no Seikatsu is an singular musical experience for it. Sakamoto's "Neo-Plant" production feels primarily like functional studio experimentation. This makes sense in the context of the original 12" single, but in the context of this album it's a bit jarring, even despite it's three-part framing of the album, and the admittedly appealing music itself.
While "Neo-Plant" is moderately known, this full-length album (her only?) seems obscure, and is absent from her Discogs page. The two parts of "Neo-Plant" and "Plant Posi" feature funky, mildly-dated hip hop-influenced production from Sakamoto, the sound of experimentation as I have posited. The rest of the album is a real mixed-bag, style-wise, but a quality bag for sure. No word on production or players for the other songs on Tokai no Seikatsu, but since Discogs credits Kisaragi with production on most of the 12" single, I assume she wrote the majority of these songs as well.
In contrast to Sakamoto's contributions and the wild + funky, cut & paste maximalism of much of Tokai no Seikatsu, my personal favorite track is "Traumerei", an haunted and restrained fugue, with subtle male backing vocals and piano, bassoon and click-track instrumentation. I assume Kisaragi provided the arrangement, I'd love to find out for sure.
If anybody has a rip of the single, let me know. I'd like to hear b-side "Tail", which is absent, despite Neo Plant's inclusion of "Traumerei", the other track on Neo-Plant's second side.
According to Artcontext, Kisaragi "died a few years ago". Like so much of the information in this post and in this blog, I can't substantiate that claim. If any Japanese readers have more information on Koharu Kisaragi, please comment or message me directly. Anyway, enjoy this eclectic and rewarding album.
Stay tuned, I've got A LOT of music to post in the coming weeks. (I apologize for the extravagant file size)
Here is Miharu Koshi's excellent album Boy Soprano, released by Non-Standard Records in 1985. This album is produced by Koshi's constant collaborator Haruomi Hosono, and the two split composition duties on the original tracks. Aside from the six originals, Koshi really pushes her vocals with two Schubert tracks, "Heidenröslein" and "Ave Maria", inspiring the album's title. As with most of her work, Koshi sings in several languages here. Hopefully I'll have more of her albums to share in the coming weeks.
Tracklisting: 01. Heidenröslein 02. Prie-Dieu [Yube No Inori] 03. Ave Maria 04. Marie-Ange 05. Mademoiselle Juju 06. La Nokto De La Cattleya [Cattleya No Yoru] 07. Vite, Usagi [Hashire Usagi] 08. Lip Shütz
Not sure what the song at the very beginning is. This clip (series of clips?) really expresses the romance of the collaboration.
From the comments section:
"I vividly remember seeing the second one on TV (I was only 10!) Both of them were live TV shows. The first one is from "Yoru no HIt Studio" ("Hit Studio At Night" in Japanese) by Fuji TV, the second one is from "The Best Ten" by TBS (Tokyo Broadcast Station.) Kiyoshiro was one of the few Japanese rock stars who I cared. (Rest in peace.) Thank you for uploading this."
Back in June of this year, Jiro at Ying Yangspostedthis song by Japanese synthesizer-based "fusion" band Cosmos, "Mai Muse", which you can hear by watching the above video. This track really impressed me so I've been searching for the entire album Musitopia ever since, having only found "Mai Muse" and the opener "Spiral Dream." Both are exciting, maximalist pieces of synth-driven island-exploration Nintendo jazz-fusion.
Well, I'm very excited to say that I've finally located the entire album, and it's excellent. I don't have a lot of information, but I know that the album was released by Canyon Records in 1983. You can read about Cosmos and founding member Keiko Matsui here on her Wikipedia entry (I swear there used to be a stand-alone entry for Cosmos). A complete members list will hopefully follow, as I actually found several other Cosmos albums, and a more in-depth post is coming. Stay tuned for it later this week. In the meantime, please enjoy Musitopia!
Tracklisting: 1. Spiral Dream 3:40 2. Hoppy Pampy 4:44 3. Faerie 5:01 4. Mai Muse 4:50 5. Ai No Kakehashi 4:29 6. Epicurean Carnival 4:12 7. Shiawasena Asa 3:25 8. Ai Land Dance 3:21 9. Musitopia 4:13
"Chart Topping Videos Being Air-played on the Superficial Adventure"
While writing about Dip In the Poolseveral weeks ago, I promised a focused article about late 80s/early 90s Japanese video-countdown show Music Tomato Japan. There seems to be little information about the show online, in English or Japanese. There are a few pages like this one, which collect videos recorded from the show, and dozens and dozens of videos on Youtube. Aside from this primary source material, I cannot find any historical information about the show.
In the promo bumper at the top of this post, the enigmatic host/narrator identifies himself as Michael Tamayuko (sp?), and references "Music Communication" as perhaps the parent or benefactor of "MTJ" and clarifies the "domestic music" focus of the show, which is the key feature that makes the program interesting to me, as it currently serves as a deep source for an era of music in Japan which is still woefully undocumented beyond the YMO and Idol galaxies.
This clip features the only original content aside from the narration I can find, a sort-of interview segment with the legendary RC Succession, featuring the band mugging and noisemaking, before introducing the "paradise track with satisfaction guaranteed" Michael T promises. "I Like You" Is a pretty phenomenal track, and the animated bits are fantastic. RC Succession are a unique group for MTJ, having a catalog and longevity rare in Japanese pop music. This video represents the very end of the band's run, as they split in 1991. Founding member Kiyoshiro Imawano deserves his own post, as a singular and endearing figure in the Japanese popular music scene, who sadly passed away just last year after a long battle with cancer.
Michael T's strange, perfectly enunciated yet stilted English is what really makes the presentation vital, with lines like "Chart-topping video selections, being air-played, on the superficial adventure", which he says at the intro to this Kawamura Kaori video. Kawamura also died in '09 from cancer, as it turns out.
While there are many many MTJ videos on Youtube, only a small number of the songs are very interesting. Predictably, most of the videos are from interchangeable Idol singers plugging into the specific tropes of broad genres (hair metal, acoustic rock, bubblegum etc.), although some of the weaker songs still have fine videos. The following clips are the best I've seen, as songs and as music videos.
Up first is this SOV clip from ZIG ZAG, 限界恋心 or Love Limits. My friend Carrie sent me this video a few months ago, and it's still my favorite. ZIG ZAG's other material doesn't live up to this bittersweet New Wave jam. The song, the sublime quality of the video--as in video tape--and Mike's enthusiastic narration at the start really hyped me to find out more about MTJ. There's a heart-warming emphasis on public service in Michael's plaintive, apologetic declaration of "If you haven't found any of your type, let us know right away!" The video itself, with its primitive digital effects, blown-out color palette, creepy-yet-playful voyeurism narrative and ambiguous conclusion, deserves its own focused post.
Here's another one with great video effects from Jadoes, a Tatsuro Yamashita-esque funky jam called "Friday Night". "Here are the Jadoes... Friday Night!"
"Sayonara, So Long" from D-Project is an austere, "high rise living" neon jam in the vein of mainstream American New Wave. Written for the 1992 CLAMP anime Tokyo Babylon, "Sayonara, So Long" is the type of song and video I wish available MTJ materials featured more of.
Finally, here's a really strange video from Nakagawa Katsuhiko, popular actor and musician (and father of contemporary Idol Shoko Nakagawa) whose name remains stamped in the middle of the screen for the duration, obscurring the abstract imagery of the video, which is mostly center-frame behind the NK brand.
"I have to leave now with today's final, hope you found the music you like, and always be aware of the latest from Music Tomato Japan. Closing out with Nakagawa Katsuhiko, 'Please Understand.'"
