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BGM (album)

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BGM
Studio album by
Yellow Magic Orchestra
ReleasedMarch 21, 1981
RecordedJanuary 15, 1981
StudioAlfa Studio "A", Shibaura, Minato, Tokyo
Length47:06
Label
ProducerHaruomi Hosono
Yellow Magic Orchestra chronology
x∞Multiplies
(1980) 		BGM
(1981) 		Technodelic
(1981)
Singles from BGM
  1. "Cue" / "U•T"
    Released: April 21, 1981
  2. "Mass" / "Camouflage"
    Released: September 5, 1981

BGM is the fourth studio album by Yellow Magic Orchestra, released on March 21, 1981. The title stands for "Background music",[1] though Japanese TV and press advertising alternately used "Beautiful Grotesque Music".[2] This album was produced by Haruomi Hosono. Recording started on January 15, 1981, in an effort to release the album by March 21, 1981.

It was one of the first albums to feature the Roland TR-808,[3] the most influential early programmable drum machine, along with YMO member Ryuichi Sakamoto's solo album B-2 Unit (1980).[4][5][6] YMO was the first band to use the device, featuring it on stage in 1980.[7][8] In addition to the TR-808, this was also their first studio album recorded with the Roland MC-4 Microcomposer.

Overview

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Alfa Records, YMO's record company, had installed a 3M 32-track digital recorder in its studio shortly before YMO started recording BGM. Since Hosono was not fond of its overly sharp sound quality, he recorded all the rhythm sections for BGM on a TASCAM 80-8 analog recorder first and copied them with the 3M machine, resulting in the fuller, much compressed rhythm tracks. Unfortunately, no known working samples of the 3M recorder exist in Japan today, making it quite difficult to play the master tape.

The then brand new Roland TR-808, prior to the drum machine's official release in 1980, was rented out to YMO. One of the earliest uses of the TR-808 for a live performance was by Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1980 for the song "1000 Knives", an electro rendition of member Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Thousand Knives" (1978). The 808's chief engineer Tadao Kikumoto was unaware Roland had rented out the machine to YMO before release and was surprised to hear it on a live FM radio broadcast of YMO's Budokan 1980 performance.[9] The hand-clap sound was later publicized on this album, being used again on "1000 Knives" and in "Music Plans", another of Sakamoto's songs.

Peter Barakan debuts as YMO's co-lyricist, replacing Chris Mosdell. Barakan had previously provided lyrics for Ryuichi Sakamoto's solo track "Thatness and Thereness".[10] Sakamoto himself was often absent from the BGM recording sessions due to creative differences with Hosono; he notably refused to play on "Cue", and his distaste of the song was so strong that he refused to play the song's keyboard parts live, instead switching to drums while Takahashi played keyboards. Sakamoto turns in "Music Plans" as his only new composition for the album, since "1000 Knives" (from his 1978 debut album Thousand Knives of Ryuichi Sakamoto) and "Happy End" were new recordings of his earlier materials.[10] Sakamoto's version of "Happy End" was released as the B-side to his solo single "Front Line" in April 1981. Another song, "Rap Phenomena", was an early attempt at electronic rap.[1] "Loom" is a re-working of "The Infinite Space Octave" by YMO computer programmer Hideki Matsutake, and features a slow, upward Shepard tone glissando similar to the Deep Note, THX's audio logo. A similar sound was previously used by YMO members Haruomi Hosono and Ryuichi Sakamoto for their 1978 album Cochin Moon. Like most YMO albums, song titles were printed in both Japanese and English, as listed below. "来たるべきもの" more accurately translates to "What should come".

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Pitchfork9.2/10[10]

When released in 1981, the album's reception was positive. Stereo Review described the recording as "crystalline" and the performance as "the twain meet", praising the album for its "remarkable" blend between "East and West", its "catchy tunes", its "ambitious collection of electronics" and for "pushing at the frontiers of electronic rock", but noted that this affected the album's accessibility.[11]

Track listing

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Side one
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Ballet" (バレエ)Yukihiro Takahashi, Peter BarakanTakahashi4:34
2."Music Plans" (音楽の計画; "Ongaku no keikaku")Ryuichi Sakamoto, BarakanSakamoto4:34
3."Rap phenomena" (ラップ現象; "RAP genshou")Haruomi Hosono, BarakanHosono4:33
4."Happy End" (ハッピー・エンド) Sakamoto4:33
5."1000 Knives" (千のナイフ; "Sen no KNIFE") Sakamoto5:24
Side two
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Cue" (キュー)Takahashi, Hosono, BarakanTakahashi, Hosono4:33
2."U•T" (ユーティー) Yellow Magic Orchestra4:34
3."Camouflage" (カムフラージュ)Takahashi, BarakanTakahashi4:34
4."Mass" (マス)Hosono, BarakanHosono4:32
5."Loom" (来たるべきもの; "Kitaru beki mono") YMO, Hideki Matsutake5:21
  • All CDs released between 1984 and 1998 feature an alternate take of "Happy End", with audible differences throughout the second half of the track. The original version appears on all CD and later vinyl releases from 1999 onwards.

Personnel

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"Music Plans"
"Music Plans" is an electro track demonstrating the extensive use of the Roland TR-808 drum machine.
"1000 Knives"
"1000 Knives" is an electro cover of Ryuichi Sakamoto's electronic track "Thousand Knives" (1978). YMO's 1980 Budokan performance of this track was one of the earliest uses of the TR-808 in a live performance.
Problems playing these files? See media help.

Yellow Magic Orchestra – Arrangements, Electronics, Vocals, Voices on "U•T", Mixing engineers

Guest musicians

Staff

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Mills, Ted. "BGM – Yellow Magic Orchestra". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  2. ^ the ultimate visual data of YMO 1978-1984 1993 / PERIOD. Japan: 徳間書店. 1993. ISBN 4-19-860001-5.
  3. ^ Jones, Mikey IQ (22 January 2015). "The Essential... Yellow Magic Orchestra". FACT Magazine. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  4. ^ McNamee, David (November 2016). "Dance moves: Riots in Lagos and the birth of electro". The Long and Short. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  5. ^ Shamoon, Evan (31 July 2020). "How Yellow Magic Orchestra Launched the 808 Revolution". Roland Articles. Roland Corporation. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  6. ^ Mullen, Matt (16 May 2023). "The quiet genius of Ryuichi Sakamoto". MusicRadar. Future plc. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  7. ^ Jason Anderson (November 28, 2008). "Slaves to the rhythm: Kanye West is the latest to pay tribute to a classic drum machine". CBC News. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  8. ^ Mickey Hess (2007), Icons of hip hop: an encyclopedia of the movement, music, and culture, Volume 1, ABC-CLIO, p. 75, ISBN 978-0-313-33903-5, retrieved 2011-05-29
  9. ^ McCabe, Paul (31 July 2020). "Tadao Kikumoto: An Exclusive Conversation". Roland Articles. Roland Corporation. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  10. ^ a b c Yoo, Noah (7 March 2021). "Yellow Magic Orchestra: BGM". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Yellow Magic Orchestra: BGM". Stereo Review. 46. CBS Magazines: 38. 1981. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
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