Yellow Magic Orchestra (album)

1978 album by Yellow Magic Orchestra

Yellow Magic Orchestra

Studio album by

Yellow Magic Orchestra

Released| November 25, 1978 (1978-11-25)
Recorded| July 10 – September 5, 1978
Studio| Alfa Studio A, Shibaura, Minato, Tokyo
Genre|

* Electronic[1]
* synth-pop[2]
* funk[3]

Length| 37:35
Label| Alfa
Producer| Harry Hosono
Yellow Magic Orchestra chronology
|  | Yellow Magic Orchestra
(1978)  | Solid State Survivor
(1979)

|
|

Singles from  Yellow Magic Orchestra

1. "Tong Poo" / "Firecracker"
Released: 1978 (promo only)
2. "Computer Game" / "Fire Cracker"
Released: 1978, 1979
3. "Cosmic Surfin'"
Released: 1979
4. "La femme chinoise"
Released: 1979
5. "Tong Poo"
Released: 1979

Yellow Magic Orchestra is the first official studio album by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, who were previously known as the Yellow Magic Band. Originally released by Alfa Records, in Japan in 1978, the album was released by A&M Records in Europe and the United States and Canada in early 1979, with the US version featuring new cover art but without the closing track of "Acrobat". Both versions would later be re-issued in 2003 as a double-disc format, with the American version as the first disc.

The album was an early example of synth-pop,[1][4] a genre that the band helped pioneer. It contributed to the development of electro, hip hop,[5] techno,[6] and bleep techno.[7] The album's innovations in electronic music included its use of the microprocessor-based Roland MC-8 Microcomposer music sequencer, which allowed the creation of new electronic sounds,[8] and its sampling of video game sounds.[4][9]

The album sold 250,000 copies in Japan and entered the Billboard 200 and R&B Albums charts in the United States.[10] Its most successful single was "Computer Game / Firecracker", which sold over 400,000 records in the United States[11] and was a top 20 hit in the United Kingdom.[12]

## Production

[edit]

The album was intended to be a one-off project for producer and bass player Haruomi Hosono and the two session musicians he had hired: drummer Yukihiro Takahashi and keyboard player Ryuichi Sakamoto. The trio were to create their own cover version of Martin Denny's 1959 exotica melody "Firecracker" with modern electronics, as a subversion of the exoticisation and Orientalism of the original tune, along with various original compositions also exploring themes of Asianness, exoticisation and Orientalism from a Japanese perspective.[13][14] The album would eventually be called Yellow Magic Orchestra, as a satire of Japan's obsession with black magic at the time.[13] The project proved highly popular, culminating in a career for the three musicians; one that would last until 1983, followed by successful solo careers and reunions over the decades to come.

They began recording the album in July 1978 at a Shibaura studio in Tokyo. It utilized a wide variety of electronic music equipment (as well as electric), including the Roland MC-8 Microcomposer, the Korg PS-3100 polyphonic synthesizer, the Korg VC-10 vocoder, the Yamaha Drums and Syn-Drums electronic drum kits, the Moog III-C and Minimoog monosynths, the Polymoog and ARP Odyssey analog synthesizers, the Oberheim Eight Voice synthesizer, the Fender Rhodes electric piano, and the Fender Jazz Bass. Besides the electronic equipment, the only acoustic instruments used in the album were a Steinway piano, drum set, and a marimba.

It was the earliest known popular music album to use the Roland MC-8 Microcomposer, which was programmed by Hideki Matsutake during recording sessions. The swingy funk element present throughout the album was expressed by Matsutake programming through subtle variations of the MC-8's input.[3] At the time, Billboard noted that the use of such computer-based technology in conjunction with synthesizers allowed Yellow Magic Orchestra to create new sounds that were not possible until then.[8] The band later described both the MC-8 and Matsutake as an "inevitable factor" in both their music production and live performances.[15]

The album was an early example of synth-pop,[1][4] a genre that Yellow Magic Orchestra helped pioneer. Yellow Magic Orchestra experiments with different styles of electronic music, such as Asian melodies played over an "electro-disco" foundation in "Firecracker"[16] and "Tong Poo",[1] and the extensive use of video game sounds in "Computer Game". Both "Computer Game" tracks proper contain the same audio and were made to sound as if both games were being played in the same room; each track being from the perspective of its titular arcade game unit: Circus and Space Invaders. The song also samples the opening chiptune used in the arcade game Gun Fight (1975). Both Circus and Space Invaders, along with several other popular arcade video games, were also featured in the promotional film for "Tong Poo".[9]

## Release history

[edit]

The album was first released in Japan in 1978. It was released in the US on 30 May 1979 by A&M Records on the Horizon label with a new mix by Al Schmitt, new cover art and a slightly different track listing. This "US version" was subsequently released in Japan on 25 July 1979 by Alfa. Promotional A&M copies were pressed on yellow vinyl.

"Firecracker" was released as a single under the name "Computer Game". As such, on early US pressings of the album, "Computer Game 'Theme from The Circus'" and "Firecracker" were combined as one track, while the firecracker sound effect at the end of the track was indexed by itself as "Firecracker". This was corrected on later pressings. The 1979 version also featured new mixing, highlighting a punchier equalization and heavy use of gated reverb. Several of the segues on the second side of the album were edited differently, while "Bridge over Troubled Music" was given an additional electric piano solo over top of the introductory percussion.

Region  | Date  | Label  | Format  | Catalog

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|
|
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Japan  | 25 November 1978  | Alfa | 12" LP; cassette | LP: ALR-6012; cassette: ALC-1511
Europe  | 1979  | A&M | LP  | AMLH 68506, PSP 736
North America  | 30 May 1979  | A&M, Horizon Records & Tapes | 12" LP, cassette  | SP-736, CS-736
Japan  | 25 July 1979  | Alfa  | 12" LP; cassette (US version)  | LP: ALR-6020; cassette: ALC-1533
United Kingdom  | 2004  | Epic | CD  | 513445 2

## Critical reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [1]
Analog Planet| 8/10[17]
The Guardian| [18]
Mojo| [19]
Smash Hits| 3/10[20]
Uncut| [21]

From contemporary reviews, Rosalind Russell of Record Mirror compared the group to Giorgio Moroder and Kraftwerk stating that the group "might resign themselves to coming a poor second", finding that the group's ethnicity and accents "may put off this nation's xenophobes. But who needs the UK? In the disco world we're small stakes anyway: the sons of Nihon are probably casting their eyes to the States and Germany."[22]

## Track listing

[edit]

### Original pressing

[edit]

Side oneNo.| Title| Lyrics| Music| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Computer Game 'Theme from The Circus' (コンピューター・ゲーム —サーカスのテーマ—)"|  | Yellow Magic Orchestra| 1:48
2.| "Firecracker (ファイアークラッカー)"|  | Yellow Magic Orchestra, Martin Denny| 4:50
3.| "Simoon (シムーン)"| Chris Mosdell| Haruomi Hosono| 6:27
4.| "Cosmic Surfin' (コズミック・サーフィン)"|  | Hosono| 4:51
5.| "Computer Game 'Theme from The Invader' (コンピューター・ゲーム —インベーダーのテーマ—)"|  | YMO| 0:43

Side twoNo.| Title| Lyrics| Music| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Tong Poo (東風, tonpū; "east wind")"|  | Ryuichi Sakamoto| 6:15
2.| "La femme chinoise (中国女, Chūgoku-onna)"| Mosdell| Yukihiro Takahashi| 5:52
3.| "Bridge over Troubled Music (ブリッジ・オーバー・トラブルド・ミュージック)"|  | YMO| 1:17
4.| "Mad Pierrot (マッド・ピエロ)"| uncredited| Hosono| 4:20
5.| "Acrobat (アクロバット)"|  | Hosono| 1:12

### US pressing

[edit]

Side oneNo.| Title| Lyrics| Music| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Computer Game 'Theme from The Circus'"|  | Yellow Magic Orchestra| 1:48
2.| "Firecracker"|  | Martin Denny| 4:50
3.| "Simoon"| Chris Mosdell| Haruomi Hosono| 6:27
4.| "Cosmic Surfin'"|  | Hosono| 4:28
5.| "Computer Game 'Theme from The Invader'"|  | YMO| 1:01

Side twoNo.| Title| Lyrics| Music| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Yellow Magic (Tong Poo)"|  | Ryuichi Sakamoto| 6:17
2.| "La femme chinoise"| Mosdell| Yukihiro Takahashi| 5:55
3.| "Bridge over Troubled Music"|  | YMO| 1:18
4.| "Mad Pierrot"| uncredited| Hosono| 4:05

## Personnel

[edit]

Yellow Magic Orchestra – arrangements, electronics

* Haruomi Hosono – bass guitar, synth bass, synthesizers, production, mixing engineer (credited as "Harry Hosono" for latter two)
* Ryuichi Sakamoto – synthesizers, piano, electric piano, percussion, orchestration
* Yukihiro Takahashi – vocals, drums, electronic drums, marimba, percussion

Guest musicians

* Hideki Matsutake – Microcomposer programming
* Chris Mosdell – lyrics
* Shun'ichi "Tyrone" Hashimoto – vocoded vocals on "Simoon"
* Masayoshi Takanaka – electric guitar on "Cosmic Surfin'" and "La femme chinoise"
* Tomoko Nunoi (uncredited on earliest issues) – French narration (credited as "Sexy Voice") on "La femme chinoise"

Staff

* Kunihiko Murai – executive producer
* Norio Yoshizawa & Atsushi Saito – recording engineers
* Shunsuke Miyasumi – recording coordinator
* Masako Hikasa & Akira Ikuta – management
* Aijiro Wakita – design, art director
* Kazuo Hakamada – illustrations

US version alternative staff

* Minako Yoshida – vocals on "Yellow Magic (Tong Poo)"
* Tommy LiPuma – supervisor
* Al Schmitt – mixing engineer
* Mike Reese – mastering engineer
* Roland Young – art director
* Amy Nagasawa & Chuck Beeson – design
* Lou Beach – front cover art
* Masayoshi Sukita – back cover art

## Charts

[edit]

Year  | Release  | Chart  | Peak position  | Weeks  | Sales

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|
|
|
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1978  | LP  | Japan Oricon LP Chart[23] | 20  | 73  | 187,000
Cassette  | Japan Oricon CT Chart[23] | 17  | 35  | 63,000
2022  | Album  | Japan Oricon Albums Chart[23] | 68  | 6  | 14,000
|  | Japan  |  |  | 264,000
1980  | LP  | US Billboard 200[10][24] | 81  | 21  | —
US R&B Albums[10][24] | 37  | 22

## "Computer Game / Firecracker"

[edit]

The song "Firecracker" was released as a single in Japan in 1978 and in the United States and United Kingdom in 1979, becoming a major R&B hit in the United States.[13] The same year, the song was released as the "Computer Game" single, which combined the "Computer Game" and "Firecracker" tracks together. The "Computer Game" single was an even greater international success, selling over 400,000 copies in the United States[11] and entering the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart.[12]

### Charts

[edit]

Chart (1980)  | Peak position[25] | Weeks  | Sales

|
|
|

UK Singles Chart[12] | 17  | 11  | —
US Billboard Hot 100[24] | 60  | 9  | 400,000[11]
US Dance Club Singles | 42  | 13
US R&B Singles[24] | 18  | 18

### In popular culture

[edit]

The song was popular with the emerging hip hop community, which appreciated the new electronic sounds, and in the Bronx, where it was later sampled by pioneering hip hop artist Afrika Bambaataa in his famous 1983 debut album Death Mix (1983).[26] The "terse video-game funk" sounds of "Computer Game" influenced the emerging electro and hip hop music genres;[5] the song's use of video game sounds and bleeps has been described as "ahead of their time"[27] and as having a strong influence on 1980s hip hop[28] and pop music.[4] It was later included in electro hip hop artist Kurtis Mantronik's compilation album That's My Beat (2002), which consists of electro music that influenced his early career.[29]

The song was also an influence on early techno, specifically Detroit techno, for which it was included in Carl Craig's compilation album Kings of Techno (2006).[6] The song also influenced Sheffield's bleep techno music; Warp's third record, "Testone" (1990) by Sweet Exorcist, defined Sheffield's techno sound, by making playful use of sampled sounds from "Computer Game" along with dialogues from the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).[7]

De La Soul's "Funky Towel" (for the 1996 film Joe's Apartment),[30] Jennifer Lopez's hit "I'm Real" (2001), and the original version of Mariah Carey's "Loverboy" (for the 2001 film soundtrack Glitter),[31] which was released as part of the 2020 compilation album The Rarities on October 2, 2020, also sampled the song.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Bush, John. "Yellow Magic Orchestra – Yellow Magic Orchestra". AllMusic. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
2. ^ Lufkin, Bryan (June 16, 2012). "Proto Synthpop Turned Yellow Magic Orchestra Into Godfathers of Electro". Wired. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
3. ^ a b Tanaka, Yuji (November 11, 2014). "Yellow Magic Orchestra: The Pre-MIDI Technology Behind Their Anthems". Red Bull Music Academy. Archived from the original on November 23, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
4. ^ a b c d Stout, Andrew (June 24, 2011). "Yellow Magic Orchestra on Kraftwerk and How to Write a Melody During a Cultural Revolution". SF Weekly. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
5. ^ a b Dayal, Geeta (July 7, 2006). "Yellow Magic Orchestra". The Original Soundtrack. Archived from the original on November 20, 2006. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
6. ^ a b The Kings of Techno: Carl Craig at AllMusic
7. ^ a b Sicko, Dan (2010). Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electronic Funk (2nd ed.). Wayne State University Press. p. 76\. ISBN 978-0-8143-3438-6.
8. ^ a b Fukatsu, Kazu (May 26, 1979). "Artists and producers strive for inroads overseas". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 20\. pp. J-14, J-31. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
9. ^ a b Robson, Daniel (February 29, 2008). "YMCK takes 'chiptune' revolution major". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on August 22, 2010. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
10. ^ a b c "Yellow Magic Orchestra: Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
11. ^ a b c Inaba, Minoru (August 18, 1980). "Computer rock music gaining fans". Sarasota Journal. p. 11-A. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
12. ^ a b c "Computer Game (Theme From 'the Invaders')". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
13. ^ a b c Lewis, John (July 4, 2008). "Back to the future: Yellow Magic Orchestra helped usher in electronica – and they may just have invented hip-hop, too". The Guardian. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
14. ^ Adams, Luke (April 6, 2023). "Nuclear Fusion: "Firecracker" by Yellow Magic Orchestra". Impact 89FM. WDBM. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
15. ^ Sound International, Issues 33-40. Sound International. 1981. p. 147. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
16. ^ Reynolds, Simon (2 April 2023). "Ryuichi Sakamoto's Borderless Brilliance". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
17. ^ Lui, Malachi (6 August 2021). "Yellow Magic Orchestra: Explorations, Part 1 (1978-1981)". Analog Planet. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
18. ^ Sweeting, Adam (January 9, 2004). "Yellow Magic Orchestra, Yellow Magic Orchestra". The Guardian. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
19. ^ "Yellow Magic Orchestra: Yellow Magic Orchestra". Mojo. No. 124\. March 2004. p. 115.
20. ^ Starr, Red (September 6–19, 1979). "Albums". Smash Hits. Vol. 1, no. 20\. p. 25.
21. ^ "Yellow Magic Orchestra: Yellow Magic Orchestra". Uncut. No. 82\. March 2004. p. 108.
22. ^ Russell 1979.
23. ^ a b c "Yellow Magic Orchestra (Albums)". Yamachan Land (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2007-11-11. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
24. ^ a b c d "Yellow Magic Orchestra". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
25. ^ "Yellow Magic Orchestra: Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
26. ^ Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 901\. ISBN 1-84353-105-4. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
27. ^ V. Vale & Andrea Juno (1994). Incredibly Strange Music, Volume 15. RE/Search Publications. p. 89\. ISBN 0-940642-21-2. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
28. ^ David Toop (2000). Rap attack 3: African rap to global hip hop, Issue 3 (3rd ed.). Serpent's Tail. p. 129\. ISBN 1-85242-627-6. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
29. ^ That's My Beat: Mantronix at AllMusic
30. ^ David Sprague (29 June 1996), "Nothin' Like the Reel Thing: Soundtrack & Film Score News", Billboard, vol. 108, no. 26, p. 68, ISSN 0006-2510, retrieved 2011-06-13
31. ^ "Mariah 'Ripped Off' Twice on Same Record". Fox News. April 4, 2002. Retrieved 2011-05-28.

### Sources

[edit]

* Russell, Rosalind (June 30, 1979). "Yellow Magic Orchestra: Yellow Magic Orchestra (A&M)". Record Mirror. Retrieved December 8, 2021 - via Rock's Backpages.

* v
* t
* e

Yellow Magic Orchestra

* Haruomi Hosono
* Ryuichi Sakamoto
* Yukihiro Takahashi

Studio albums|

* Yellow Magic Orchestra
* Solid State Survivor
* ×∞Multiplies
* BGM
* Technodelic
* Naughty Boys (Instrumental)
* Service
* Technodon

Live albums|

* Public Pressure
* After Service
* Faker Holic
* Complete Service
* Technodon Live
* Winter Live 1981
* World Tour 1980
* EUYMO – Yellow Magic Orchestra Live in London + Gijón 2008

Compilation albums|

* Sealed
* Kyoretsu Na Rhythm
* UC YMO: Ultimate Collection of Yellow Magic Orchestra

Singles|

* "Computer Game/Firecracker"
* "Behind the Mask"
* "Tighten Up (Japanese Gentlemen Stand Up Please!)"
* "Pocketful of Rainbows"

Session musicians|

* Christian Fennesz
* Cornelius
* Ichiko Hashimoto
* Hideki Matsutake
* Bill Nelson
* Sandii
* Akiko Yano
* Kazumi Watanabe

Related|

| People|

* Makoto Ayukawa
* Peter Barakan
* Miharu Koshi
* Takashi Matsumoto
* Chris Mosdell
* David Palmer
* Hiroshi Takano

|

Bands|

* Harry Hosono and The Yellow Magic Band
* Sketch Show
* Happy End
* Sadistic Mika Band
* The Beatniks

Labels|

* Commmons (Avex Group)
* Sony Music House
* Restless
* EMI Japan
* UMG Japan/A&M Japan
* Alfa

Albums|

* Thousand Knives
* YMO Versus The Human League
* Audio Sponge
* Tronika
* Wild Sketch Show
* Loophole

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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