When released in 1981, the album's reception was positive. [12] Following the break-up of his band Happy End in 1972, Hosono became involved in the recording of several early electronic rock records, including Yōsui Inoue's folk pop rock album Kōri no Sekai (1973) and Osamu Kitajima's progressive psychedelic rock album Benzaiten (1974), both of which utilized synthesizers, electric guitars, electric bass, and in the latter, electronic drums and rhythm machines. [75] In 2006, Senor Coconut paid tribute to the band with his Yellow Fever! [54] Their 1978 hit "Computer Game / Firecracker", for example, sampled Martin Denny's 1959 exotica melody "Firecracker"[16] and arcade game sounds from Space Invaders and Circus. [73] In 2009, a cover of "Kimi ni Mune Kyun" was used as the ending theme song for the anime adaptation of Maria Holic, sung by Asami Sanada, Marina Inoue, and Yū Kobayashi, the voice actresses of the main characters. The group is considered influential and innovative in the field of popular electronic music. "Rap Phenomena" from the album was an early attempt at electronic rap. [29] They influenced many early British synthpop acts, including Ultravox, John Foxx, Gary Numan, Duran Duran,[16] Depeche Mode,[4] Camouflage,[4][85] OMD, The Human League,[45] Visage,[86] and Art of Noise,[87] as well as American rock musicians such as Todd Rundgren. [20] Thousand Knives was also notable for its early use of the microprocessor-based Roland MC-8 Microcomposer music sequencer, with Matsutake as its music programmer for the album. [60] While it was commercially unsuccessful due to its high price,[60] the band were among the few bands at the time to utilize the MC-8, which they described as, along with its music programmer Hideki Matsutake, an "inevitable factor" in both their music production and live performances. For additional information, see the Global Shipping Program. [84], YMO's success with music technology encouraged many others, with their influence strongly felt in the British electronic scene of the early 1980s in particular. Please enter 5 or 9 numbers for the ZIP Code. According to Sakamoto, they were "tired" of Japanese musicians imitating Western and American music at the time and so they wanted to "make something very original from Japan. Will ship within 5 business days of receiving cleared payment. The title stands for "Background music". [31], The band was popular with the emerging hip hop community, which appreciated the group's new electronic sounds, and in the Bronx where "Firecracker" was a success and sampled in the famous Death Mix by Afrika Bambaataa. [92] The 1980 release of "Riot in Lagos" was also listed by The Guardian in 2011 as one of the 50 key events in the history of dance music. [62] While the machine was initially unsuccessful due to its lack of digital sampling that the rival Linn LM-1 offered, the TR-808 featured various unique artificial percussion sounds,[62] including a deep bass kick drum,[63][64] "tinny handclap sounds",[64] "the ticky snare, the tishy hi-hats (open and closed)", and "the spacey cowbell",[62] which YMO utilized and demonstrated in their music, as early as its year of release in 1980, paving the way for the TR-808's mainstream popularity several years later,[62][63] after which it would be used for more hit records than any other drum machine[65] and continue to be widely used through to the present day. 17 in the UK Charts. [16] Successful solo act Akiko Yano (later married to Sakamoto) joined the band for its live performances in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but did not participate in the studio recordings. No additional import charges at delivery! 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[97] They also inspired early ambient techno artists such as Tetsu Inoue,[98] and the classical music composer Joe Hisaishi. ), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yellow_Magic_Orchestra&oldid=988010228, Articles with dead external links from August 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2014, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2011, Articles containing Japanese-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2011, Articles needing additional references from February 2011, All articles needing additional references, Articles with failed verification from March 2017, Articles with Japanese-language sources (ja), Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers, Wikipedia articles with CINII identifiers, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, (US version has no skits, includes the songs from Solid State Survivor), This page was last edited on 10 November 2020, at 15:10. For additional information, see the Global Shipping Program, This amount includes applicable customs duties, taxes, brokerage and other fees. by Yukihiro Takahashi", "Yellow Magic Orchestra Versus Human League, The – YMO Versus The Human League", "Mariah 'Ripped Off' Twice on Same Record", "Derrick May on the roots of techno at RBMA Bass Camp Japan 2010", Hi-Tech/No Crime: Yellow Magic Orchestra Reconstructed, "Ikonika interview: Producer and DJ, Ikonika had an incredible 2010", "Camouflage Emphasizes That It Is Its Own Band", "Yellow Magic Orchestra & Friends: The Influence of Japanese Technopop", "Nothin' Like the Reel Thing: Soundtrack & Film Score News", "Popular Computer's Top 5 Japanese Music Artists", EUYMO – Yellow Magic Orchestra Live in London + Gijón 2008, UC YMO: Ultimate Collection of Yellow Magic Orchestra, Tighten Up (Japanese Gentlemen Stand Up Please! [16] Their albums Solid State Survivor and X∞Multiplies held the top two spots on the Oricon charts for seven consecutive weeks in 1980, making YMO the only band in Japanese chart history to achieve this feat. In HMV Japan's list of top 100 Japanese musicians of all time, YMO were voted second place, behind only Southern All Stars, a pop-rock band who remain largely unknown outside Japan. [16] For some time, YMO was the most popular band in Japan. [5], Yellow Magic Orchestra – Arrangements, Electronics, Vocals, Voices on "U•T", Mixing engineers, 1981 studio album by Yellow Magic Orchestra, "Slaves to the rhythm: Kanye West is the latest to pay tribute to a classic drum machine", EUYMO – Yellow Magic Orchestra Live in London + Gijón 2008, UC YMO: Ultimate Collection of Yellow Magic Orchestra, Tighten Up (Japanese Gentlemen Stand Up Please! The most popular international hit from the album was "Firecracker", which would be released as a single the following year and again as "Computer Game", which became a success in the United States and Europe.