The YMO Music Computer

video upload by Alex Ball

"A look at the revolutionary Roland MC-8 from 1977 which was one of the earliest microprocessor-controlled digital sequencers. Around 200 of these units were made and they were extremely expensive.

As I've covered the history of this unit several times, I thought it would be interesting to follow in the footsteps of a band that made significant use of the MC-8, which was Yellow Magic Orchestra.

In the video we look at how the MC-8 works and use it to compose a track in the style of YMO using the techniques and (where possible) instruments that they used in the late 70s.

Thank you to my Patrons for their support. The track, stems and MC-8 data are available there.
https://www.patreon.com/AlexBallMusic

You can buy the track on my Bandcamp: https://alexball.bandcamp.com

0:00 Intro
0:47 YMO, Hideki Matsutake and the MC-8
2:25 The MC-8 Interface
5:12 Programming the MC-8
10:43 Transport and Saving
12:20 Overdub and Sync
13:15 MPX Programming
15:10 Summary
15:50 The Feature Track - Lovers in Tokyo"

【Machine & Performance】Behind the Mask's symbolic Synth Sound with novation mininova

video upload by nicolai maruhama

"This is the demo of mininova.

This time is about the synths sound of Behind the Mask.
I like the LIVE at THEATRE LE PALACE in 1979 of YMO.
It was sensational live for me was at 14 YO.
Akiko Yano's intro sound of OB SEM 8Voice, R. Sakamoto's polymoog and VP-330 sound, still everything have been shining.
At that time, SYNTHESIZER was so expensive but nowadays, even cheap one can sounds gorgeous!! But on the other hands, it's difficult to recreate the Analogue sound. So, I tried recreate the vintage sound with mininova because of this machine has a lot of special function on Oscillators and Filters.

Please Enjoy thanks!
nicolai maruhama"

KDJ-ONE YMO Rydeen Cover

video upload by Mush

And the original:

Yellow Magic Orchestra – “Rydeen“ (Official Music Video)
video upload by

"Official music video for 'Rydeen' by Yellow Magic Orchestra ©1980 ALFA MUSIC

'Rydeen' was first introduced in YMO's second album Solid State Survivor in 1979, and was released as a 7 inch single on June 21, 1980, coupled with 'Cosmic Surfin' in Japan.

Stream the song here: https://smdr.lnk.to/YMO_Rydeen"

芝麻布乐队翻唱坂本龙一 名曲 Toon poo | Hi-Fans

video upload by Hi-Fans

Starting the day with some YMO featuring the Modal Cobalt 5S, DSI Mopho x4, & Moog Subsequent 25. KORG MS10 in the background.

Famous 80s Synth Bass Lines

video upload by RetroSound

"(c)2007-23 by RetroSound
supported by UVI: http://bit.ly/retrosound-uvi

❤️ Support #RetroSound​ channel: https://retrosound.creator-spring.com

Famous 80s Synth Bass Lines part1
0:05 Trans-X Living On Video
0:23 Yazoo Don`t Go
0:46 Yazoo Bring Your Love Down
1:07 Berlin Metro
1:20 YMO Solid State Survivor
1:33 Yazoo Goodbye 70s"

Roland SH-101, Sequential Circuits Pro-One, ARP Odyssey.

Ryuichi Sakamoto Has Passed Away

via @KorgUSA

"We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Ryuichi Sakamoto. He was a trailblazing composer and producer who scored films such as the 'Last Emperor' and 'The Revenant' to name a few. He was a pioneer of electronic pop music by founding the 'Yellow Magic Orchestra' which produced hits on synthesizers and sequencers in the 70s and 80s. He will be missed 😔"

Indeed. He created magic.

Two of my favorites below.

via Wikipedia:

"Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本 龍一[a], Sakamoto Ryūichi, January 17, 1952 – March 28, 2023) was a Japanese composer, record producer, and actor who pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto influenced and pioneered a number of electronic music genres.

Sakamoto began his career while at university in the 1970s as a session musician, producer, and arranger. His first major success came in 1978 as co-founder of YMO. He concurrently pursued a solo career, releasing the experimental electronic fusion album Thousand Knives in 1978. Two years later, he released the album B-2 Unit. It included the track "Riot in Lagos", which was significant in the development of electro and hip hop music. He went on to produce more solo records, and collaborate with many international artists, David Sylvian, Carsten Nicolai, Youssou N'Dour, and Fennesz among them. Sakamoto composed music for the opening ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and his composition "Energy Flow" (1999) was the first instrumental number-one single in Japan's Oricon charts history.

As a film-score composer, Sakamoto won an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Grammy, and 2 Golden Globe Awards. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) marked his debut as both an actor and a film-score composer; its main theme was adapted into the single "Forbidden Colours" which became an international hit. His most successful work as a film composer was The Last Emperor (1987), after which he continued earning accolades composing for films such as The Sheltering Sky (1990), Little Buddha (1993), and The Revenant (2015). On occasion, Sakamoto also worked as a composer and a scenario writer on anime and video games. In 2009, he was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the Ministry of Culture of France for his contributions to music."
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

video upload by Decca Records

"Official music video for Ryuichi Sakamoto's 'Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence'."

YMO Technopolis Live

video upload by matrixsynth

YMO - Expected Way - cover by AtomoSynth

video upload by Atomosynth

"All sounds are made with the AtomoSynth Mochika X5 (except drums and strings). The lyrics were recorded with a vocoder but I replaced them with my singing at the last moment for a more natural sound."

The Sound of YMO with Arp Odyssey and Oberheim Synthesizers

video upload by RetroSound

"(c)2007-23 by RetroSound
supported by UVI: http://bit.ly/retrosound-uvi

❤️ Support #RetroSound​ channel: https://retrosound.creator-spring.com

One of my favorite tracks made by the Yellow Magic Orchestra
Solid State Survivor from the year 1979
Rest In Peace Yukihiro Takahashi ✨

YMO used a lot stuff in the original track. I have reduced the arrangement to some sounds.

bass synthesizer sounds: Arp Odyssey mk.3 from the year 1978
chords and lead synth: Oberheim OB-X and OB-Xa synthesizer (1979/1980), Arp Odyssey
fx sounds: Arp Odyssey

The ARP ODYSSEY Synthesizer is one of the legendary synths in music history. Used by many pop and rock groups in the 70s, 80s and today. Here can you find the full ODYSSEY playlist with a lot single sound demos, synth comparisions and one synth demo tracks. Enjoy.
The ODYSSEY playlist:"

Roland VP-330 MKII Vocoder Plus SN 061952

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"A vintage string and vocoder synth with a unique sound!

The 49-key Roland VP-330, released in Japan in 1979, is a classic analog vocoder synthesizer that can produce an incredible range of string and vocoder tones that Sound generation is based on a 3-oscillator system, with further modification by some classic effects, such as LFO vibrato and extensive filtering. The filtering on this VP-330 really gives it a unique character. Add To these features the VP-330's compact form factor, and you have a great little vintage synth with an analog character that's pleasantly unique. It really does sound amazing. This synth has been used by a wide range of well-known artists, such as YMO,Vangelis and Pink Floyd. Don't miss it!"

CLICK FOR MORE »

SEQUENTIAL OB-6 Presets | in front of the mask

video upload by RockoNCompany

And a short one for YMO fans:

SEQUENTIAL OB-6 in front of the mask

Tokyo Gakki Japan ULT-SOUND DS-4 Drum Synthesizer

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"Toyo Gakki Japan alto sound DS-4 YMO ULT-SOUND 4 channel drum synthesizer"

"There are no missing switches or buttons on the board.

The power lamp is also lit and energization has been confirmed.

Tom x 4

Connected with the attached shield, sounding and energization confirmed.

At that time shield x4 color black shield x1

Energization has been confirmed."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Roland SH-2 Analog Synthesizer Demo

video upload by

"This synthesizer is really special to me. When i got into all this stuff 6 years back it mostly came from listening to music such as YMO and related acts and albums and the sounds of mid to late 70s synthesizers had infected my brain! The roland SH-2 appears to recently have had been given the knod by a few popular synth youtube personalities which i was happy to see. 6 years back when i was researching instruments to take me to these sounds it was much more common to see SH-09s and SH-101s and you rarely ran into the SH-2. Now they appear to be for sale everyday although prices on everything have exploded. I am of the opinion having played all three that the SH-2 is the king of the smaller SH synthesizers. while not a must for excellent mono synth tones the dual VCO's change the entire feel beyond what a simple sub osc can provide with a single VCO. It seems roland did not manufacture these for more than a few years but they are everywhere online. You really should grab one! The filter is very wet and self oscillates in such a pleasing way, The sine wave provides deep basses and the PWM with dual VCO is very lush. This synthesizer is very powerful on all fronts except maybe modulation potential. Here are some of the specs below


2 VCO's + 1 Sub oscillator (waveforms: pulse, square, sawtooth, sine, noise)
LFO with sine, square and Sample & Hold; Auto-Bend
Resonant, self-oscillating 24dB lowpass filter(four OTA-stages with selected BA662 with FET transistors as Buffers), mod by EG, lfo and kybd tracking. External audio input
CV / Gate
This video is my first attempt to offer an audio demonstration of some of the different sounds you can get out of these synthesizers. Apologies for my arm in the shot and the watermark. I was testing software and am still getting used to making videos!"

色々なシンセで YO-KAI Disco シンセファンに捧ぐカバー

Harumio 1529

Note the Prophet-4.

"シンセファンに捧ぐYO-KAI Disco
たまにはYMO以外もやってみます。YMOファンの方もぜひ聞いてみてください。
機材紹介にCOCOA(東風の動画で使った自作シンセ)を入れ忘れました。シーケンス(Lchのピコピコ)担当です。
機材紹介パートは速読 or 一時停止推奨ですがそもそもたいしたこと書いてないので見逃してもらっても大丈夫です。"

Googlish: "YO-KAI Disco dedicated to synth fans
Sometimes I try other than YMO. If you are a YMO fan, please do not hesitate to ask.
I forgot to include COCOA (the self-made synth used in the Dongfeng video) in the equipment introduction. I am in charge of the sequence (Lch picopico).
The equipment introduction part is recommended for speed reading or pausing, but since it doesn't write much in the first place, it's okay if you miss it."

YMO - 中国女 La Femme Chinoise / with modular synth , roland SH-32 , autria keystep / live jam

HAGIWO modular synthesizer channel

"Mutable instruments braids use for lead sounds.
Roland sh-32 use for chord and drum."

YMO - "La Femme Chinoise" on Prophet 600, Emax, Juno, Opera 6, Bit One, DX7, K3, Elsita & Linndrum

Valmont / Mooggy

"Ok this one took me a month to edit lol
19 tracks recorded with: Akai AX-80, Siel Opera 6, Crumar Bit One, Yamaha DX7, RMIF Elsita, Roland Juno 60, Sequential Circuits Prophet 600, Kawai K3, E-Mu Emax II.
Additional Linndrum LM2 played on VPROM.

- Akai AX-80: Bass, Verse Strings
- Siel Opera 6: Chorus Chords, Main Lead, Fonk Stabz Verse
- Crumar Bit One: Break chords, Chorus Syncope Chords
- Yamaha DX7: Main lead backs, Verse Stabs
- RMIF Elsita: (Played on a Roland R8) Snare double
- Roland Juno 60: Second Verse Lead
- Prophet 600: Chorus Strings, Chorus lead counterpoint, Chorus ponctuation
- Kawai K3: Verse Lead, Verse Lead Octave
- E-Mu Emax II: Verse Strings Lead Double, Bass ponctuation, Verse Stabs

Effects processors used:
Eventide Blackhole, SynthTronic Chorus, XLN RC-20, Waves J-37, Arturia 1973-Pre, IK TR5 EQual, U-He Presswerk, Xfer LFO Tool, Alex Hilton Stereo Control, Softube Drawmer S73, Nomad Factory 80's Spaces, XLN DS-10, Izotope Mastering Essentials, Fuse Audio Labs Chorus-65, Arturia Tape-201, JST BG-Mix

This song was written by Yukihiro Takahashi and Chris Mosdell, on the album 'Yellow Magic Orchestra' by YMO in 1978. Co-arranged with Ryuichi Sakamoto.


Find my stuff here! https://linktr.ee/Valmont"

RYDEEN/YMO

Tosh Ara

Update: video re-uploaded

And the original live:

YMO - Rydeen (Budokan 1980)

Tosh Ara

東風tong poo(cover) YMO

Published on Jun 7, 2020 Tosh Ara

ソロ、難しいです(^ ^;)

Roland SH-32 synthesizer/ YMO 東風 and technopolis / debussy and bach

Published on Feb 2, 2020 HAGIWO modular synthesizer channel

"My first time impression.

0:00 東風(tong poo)/yellow magic orchestra
0:25 Air on the G string BWV1068/ J.S.Bach
1:19 technopolis/yellow magic orchestra
2:08 Clair de Lune/Debussy
2:39 八重の桜/坂本龍一(ryuichi sakamoto)
3:13 黄土高原/坂本龍一(ryuichi sakamoto)
3:47 behind the mask / michael jackson or YMO or ric clapton

Analog model synthesizer."

Performance Music Systems SYNTAR Turns 40

it’s been 40 years since the Performance Music Systems SYNTAR was introduced at the #namm show in #1980 by george mattson - bob #moog even got to try it out #keytar #namm2020 #eml #analog #synthesizer #ymo #rydeen #cover pic.twitter.com/mXVY8ypfP8

— sdf (@sdf_pubnix) January 19, 2020

via @sdf_pubnix

"it’s been 40 years since the Performance Music Systems SYNTAR was introduced at the #namm show in #1980 by george mattson - bob #moog even got to try it out #keytar #namm2020 #eml #analog #synthesizer #ymo #rydeen #cover"

Check out previous posts featuring the Syntar here.

The Syntar was the first self-contained synthesizer keytar. Before the Syntar, keytars were controllers. The Syntar was created by George Mattson of Mattson Mini Modular. There was a keyboardless version of the Syntar called the SWAN, or Syntar Without a Neck. A SWAN II was announced back in 2018, under development with Division 6.

Update: you can find a great article on the Syntar at Carbon111.com here, and an interview I did with George Mattson way back in 2006 here.

YMO cosmic surfin’ (cover)

Published on May 1, 2019 Tosh Ara

再アップしました。

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Sequential / DSI Prophet '08 & Prophet-6
White Korg ARP Odyssey