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BGM (album)
''BGM'' is the fourth studio album by Yellow Magic Orchestra, released on March 21, 1981. The electronic music album, whose title stands for "Background music", 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, the most influential early programmable drum machine, along with YMO member Ryuichi Sakamoto's solo album '' B-2 Unit'' (1980). YMO was the first band to use the device, featuring it on stage in 1980. In addition to the TR-808, this was also their first studio album recorded with the Roland MC-4 Microcomposer music sequencer. The album, particularly its use of the TR-808, was influential on the development of electronic, hip hop and dance music. Overview The title stands for "Background music". However, Japanese TV and press advertising alternately used "Beautiful Grotesque Music". Alfa Records, YMO's record company, had installed a 3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow Magic Orchestra
Yellow Magic Orchestra (abbreviated to YMO) was a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals, occasional keyboards) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals). The group is considered influential and innovative in the field of popular electronic music. They were pioneers in their use of synthesizers, samplers, sequencers, drum machines, computers, and digital recording technology, and effectively anticipated the "electropop boom" of the 1980s. They are credited with influencing the development of various electronic genres, including synth-pop, city pop, dance, electro, hip-hop, J-pop and techno. They also explored subversive socio-political themes throughout their career. The three members were veterans of the music industry before coming together as YMO, and were inspired by eclectic sources, including the electronic music of Isao Tomita and Kraftwerk, Japanese traditional music, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfa Records
, originally a publisher known as Alfa Music Ltd. and later succeeded by record company Alfa Music Inc., was established in 1969 by composer and record producer Kunihiko Murai. It was formed into an independent record label known as Alfa Records in 1977. A short-lived American subsidiary operated from 1980 to 1982. History In December 1980, Alfa Records opened a U.S. subsidiary in Los Angeles, planning to specialize in a "global approach to music". The label had some U.S. Top 40 successes in 1981 with Lulu, whose two-year-old recording of " I Could Never Miss You (More Than I Do)" became a Top 20 hit on Alfa, as well as former The Guess Who singer Burton Cummings ("You Saved My Soul") and Billy Vera and the Beaters ("I Can Take Care Of Myself"). Vera's "At This Moment" was also originally released on Alfa and reached No. 79 on the Billboard chart in late 1981, five years before it was re-released on Rhino Records and became a nationwide No. 1 smash. Other U.S. Hot 100 success ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MusicRadar
Future plc is a British publishing company. It was started in 1985 by Chris Anderson. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History 1985–2012 The company was founded by Chris Anderson as Future Publishing in Somerton, Somerset, England, with the sole magazine '' Amstrad Action'' in 1985. An early innovation was the inclusion of free software on magazine covers. It acquired GP Publications and established what would become Future US in 1994. Anderson sold the company to Pearson plc for £52.7m in 1994, but bought it back in 1998, for £142 million. The company was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1999. Anderson left the company in 2001. In 2004, the company was accused of corruption when it published positive reviews for the video game '' Driver 3'' in two of its owned magazines, '' Xbox World'' and '' PSM2''. 2012–2015 Future published the official magazines for the consoles of all three major games conso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roland Corporation
is a Japanese multinational manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on 18 April 1972. In 2005, its headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. It has factories in Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, and the United States. As of December 2022, it employed 2,783 people. In 2014, it was subject to a management buyout by its CEO, Junichi Miki, supported by Taiyo Pacific Partners. Roland has manufactured numerous instruments that have had lasting impacts on music, such as the Juno-106 synthesizer, TB-303 bass synthesizer, and TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines. It was also instrumental in the development of MIDI, a standardized means of synchronizing electronic instruments manufactured by different companies. In 2016, ''Fact'' wrote that Roland had arguably had more influence on electronic music than any other company. History Background Roland founder Ikutaro Kakehashi had founded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
B-2 Unit
'' B-2 Unit '' is the second solo electronic music album by Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, released in 1980. The lead single "Riot in Lagos" was a highly influential cult hit, significant to the development of electro, hip hop and techno music, and considered one of the most important tracks in the history of electronic dance music. It is also one of the first albums to feature the influential Roland TR-808 drum machine, which "Riot in Lagos" is credited for introducing to clubs. Production The then brand new Roland TR-808, prior to the drum machine's official release in 1980, was rented out to Sakamoto's band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). Sakamoto's solo album ''B-2 Unit'' was one of the first albums to use the 808, while its lead single "Riot in Lagos" was one of the first tracks featuring the 808. Sakamoto drew inspiration from Afrobeat music, notably Nigerian musicians such as Fela Kuti and Tony Allen, reinterpreting the genre's rhythmic structures in the context of electr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ryuichi Sakamoto
was a Music of Japan, Japanese musician, composer, keyboardist, record producer, singer and actor. He pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the Synthesizer, synth-based band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his YMO bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto influenced and pioneered a number of electronic music genres. As a film score composer, Sakamoto won an Academy Awards, Academy Award (Oscar), British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA, Grammy Award, Grammy and two Golden Globe Awards. Sakamoto began his career as a session musician, producer, and arranger while he was at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in the mid 1970s. His first major success came in 1978 as co-founder of YMO. He pursued a solo career at the same time, releasing the Experimental music, experimental electronic Fusion (music), fusion album ''Thousand Knives'' in that year, and the album ''B-2 Unit'' in 1980. ''B-2 Unit'' includes the track "Riot i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drum Machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A drum machine often has pre-programmed beats and patterns for popular genres and styles, such as pop music, rock music, and dance music. Most modern drum machines made in the 2010s and 2020s also allow users to program their own rhythms and beats. Drum machines may create sounds using Analog synthesizer, analog synthesis or play prerecorded Sampling (music), samples. While a distinction is generally made between drum machines (which can play back pre-programmed or user-programmed beats or patterns) and electronic drums (which have pads that can be struck and played like an acoustic drum kit), there are some drum machines that have buttons or pads that allow the performer to play drum sounds "live", either on top of a programmed drum beat or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fact (UK Magazine)
''Fact'' is a music publication that launched in the UK in 2003. It covers UK, US, and international music and youth culture topics, with particular focus on electronic, pop, rap, and experimental artists. Having started as a bi-monthly print magazine, ''Fact'' went digital in 2008, focusing on its website and online TV channel ''Fact TV'', which produces documentaries and videos including the series ''Against the Clock''. In November 2020 it returned to publishing a bi-annual print magazine. ''Fact'' produces weekly Fact Mixes. It previously produced the Singles Club review series, and Make Music, aimed at inspiring producers and bedroom musicians. ''Fact'' operates out of a London office, with additional full-time staff in Los Angeles and New York City. It is part of The Vinyl Factory group. History ''Fact'' was founded in 2003 as a print magazine. It commissioned covers by artists including M.I.A., Bat for Lashes, Shepard Fairey, Barry McGee, Peter Saville, T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roland TR-808
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patterns. Unlike its nearest competitor at the time, the more expensive Linn LM-1, the 808 generates sounds using analog synthesis rather than by playing samples. The 808 was a commercial failure, as electronic music had yet to become mainstream and many producers wanted more realistic drum sounds. After building approximately 12,000 units, Roland discontinued the 808 after its semiconductors became impossible to restock. It was succeeded by the TR-909 in 1983. Over the course of the 1980s, the 808 attracted a cult following among underground musicians for its affordability on the used market, ease of use and idiosyncratic sounds, particularly its deep, booming bass drum. It became a cornerstone of the emerging electronic, dance and hip-hop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Background Music
Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behavioral and emotional responses in humans such as concentration, relaxation, distraction, and excitement. Listeners are uniquely subject to background music with no control over its volume and content. The range of responses created are of great variety, and even opposite, depending on numerous factors such as, setting, culture, audience, and even time of day. Background music is commonly played where there is no audience at all, such as empty hallways, restrooms and fitting rooms. It is also used in artificial space, such as music played while on hold during a telephone call, and virtual space, as in the ambient sounds or thematic music in video games. It is typically played at low volumes from multiple small speakers distributing the musi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electronic Music
Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means (electroacoustic music). Pure electronic instruments depend entirely on circuitry-based sound generation, for instance using devices such as an electronic oscillator, theremin, or synthesizer: no acoustic waves need to be previously generated by mechanical means and then converted into electrical signals. On the other hand, electromechanical instruments have mechanical parts such as strings or hammers that generate the sound waves, together with electric elements including pickup (music technology), magnetic pickups, power amplifiers and loudspeakers that convert the acoustic waves into electrical signals, process them and convert them back into sound waves. Such electromechanical devices in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Technodelic
''Technodelic'' is the fifth studio album by Yellow Magic Orchestra, released in 1981. The electronic music album is notable for its experimental approach and heavy use of digital samplers, which were not commonly used until the mid-to-late 1980s, resulting in a more minimalist and avant-garde sound compared with its previous work. It is considered the first released album to feature mostly samples and loops, influencing the heavy use of sampling and looping in popular music. Yellow Magic Orchestra's approach to sampling music was a precursor to the contemporary approach of constructing music by cutting fragments of sounds and looping them using computer technology. In 2008, Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore provided a cover of "Gradated Grey" for the Haruomi Hosono tribute album ''Strange Songbook (Tribute To Haruomi Hosono 2)''. In 2016, the Canadian post-punk group Preoccupations covered the track "Key" as a part of a 7" vinyl that came with pre-orders of their self-t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
