Vinyl Me, Please (VMP) announced today The Story of Vanguard anthology, limited to 1000 copies on six 180g colored vinyl box set pressed at GZ Media. The mono box set was cut by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound, Nashville from original master tapes.
This is the part one of a multi-part exploration of Japanese synthpop pioneer Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) previewed in the recent “Yellow Magic Orchestra: Prologue”. This week, I’m dissecting the group’s albums from the 1978 self-titled debut through November 1981’s Technodelic. While I did as much research as possible, in the English-speaking world little verifiable information about YMO exists. Earlier this year, Ryuichi Sakamoto associate Eiichi Yoshimura published YMO 1978-2043: Definitive Story Of Yellow Magic Orchestra, but no English translation exists (and I’ve not yet learned Japanese). Much of what’s on Wikipedia has no traceable citation; to avoid inaccuracies any info from there will be mentioned as “supposed” or “presumed”.
Based upon six years of electro-mechanical analysis EMT's new "Novel" moving coil cartridge line features a new multi-layer core transducer that includes a sapphire cantilever inserted within a coated high-strength titanium structure and a double-layer core designed to reduce eddy current loss. The stylus is a "multi-radial diamond.
When Rhino released in 2016 John Coltrane—The Atlantic Years—in Mono box set, one LP was missing: My Favorite Things. The set did include a 7" 45rpm single of the title track. The long thought destroyed in the Atlantic fire (yes, they had one too) has been found, according to The Electric Recording Company's Pete Hutchison.
This week, AnalogPlanet begins a multi-part exploration of Japanese synthpop pioneers Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). Through reviews of their core releases and YMO-era side projects, we’ll dissect how, by incorporating elements of exotica, video game music, musique concrete, and more, the trio of Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi, and Ryuichi Sakamoto transformed electronic music. They gained massive success in Japan but are also credited for influencing hip-hop and Detroit techno. First, however, we’ll explore the individual members’ pre-YMO work.
"Today, Ghostly International, Numero Group and Secretly Group record labels Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar and Secretly Canadian all join forces to announce Paved Paradise, a traveling expo bringing their music to parking lots this fall. Over the course of September 9th-26th, a 24-foot Penske truck helmed by several of Secretly's sonic specialists will visit 15 cities in the eastern United States. From the birthplaces of Secretly, Ghostly and Numero in Bloomington, Detroit and Chicago, to Third Man Records in Nashville, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, and a community of breweries, flea markets and independent venues in between, Paved Paradise will take the record store experience outdoors, with special guests and local collaborations set for every stop."
The Los Angeles & Orange County Audio Society just announced AUDIOcon—a new "world-class" international high-end audio show at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach Hotel, January 14th-16th, 2022, organized under the direction of Sarah Tremblay and Michel Plate, the duo behind the successful and long-running Montreal and Toronto Audiofests.
Third Man Records recently announced this 4 LP box set containing 42 tracks not available on the Sony/Legacy 2 LP set edition of Bob Dylan-Springtime In New York: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 16 (1980-1985) (the tracks will be included in the deluxe 5 CD box set). To purchase this set you must subscribe to Third Man Records Vault ($65/quarter) and you'll automatically receive it.
Glaring errors in music criticism, whether out of ignorance, misunderstanding, rushed deadlines, personal happenings, or whatever else, are at some point in the fields unfortunately commonplace; at some point in the field, you’re bound to make mistakes. When revisiting my past reviews, I balked at my original review of The 1975’s 2020 double LP art pop extravaganza Notes On A Conditional Form. Back then, I called it “frontman Matty Healy’s overblown vanity project [...] a miserably scattered, fake deep musical torture session.” How did that happen? Before dissecting my oversight, however, I’ll provide extended context and a much-needed reassessment.