Wewantsounds is delighted to announce the release of Yukihiro Takahashi’s debut\u00a0 solo album ‘Saravah!’. One of the key Japanese albums of the 70s, it was released in 1978 at a key time when, following his tenure with Sadistic Mika Band, Takahashi had just joined the nascent line up of Yellow Magic Orchestra. A sophisticated mix of Disco Funk, synth Pop, Ambient, French Exotica and Bossa Nova, the album has the stylish feel of a night out clubbing\u00a0in Paris circa 1978. It\u2019s\u00a0the missing link between the City Pop scene of the late 70s and the synth sound of YMO which was about to revolutionise the world.\u00a0Newly remastered\u00a0by renowned engineer\u00a0Mitsuo Koike,\u00a0the LP features\u00a0original artwork with photos by\u00a0Masayoshi Sukita (David Bowie’s Heroes), a\u00a04-page insert\u00a0and a new Introduction by Benjamin Barouh (Saravah records).<\/p>\n
The month before recording the YMO<\/strong> debut album that would help alter the course of music, Yukihiro Takahashi<\/strong> entered the studio with his fellow band-members Ryuichi Sakamoto<\/strong> and Haruomi Hosono<\/strong> to record ‘Saravah!’ together with the cream of the Japanese scene. He drew his inspiration from globe-trotting French musician\u00a0Pierre Barouh<\/strong> who had\u00a0introduced Bossa Nova in France in 1966 with “Samba Saravah” (featured in soundtrack the Oscar Winner A Man And A Woman which he co-wrote) and subsequently launched Saravah Records.<\/p>\n ‘Saravah’ starts off with a couple of French and Italian exotica classics (‘Volare<\/strong>‘ and ‘C’est Si Bon’<\/strong>) with delicious touches of synth while ‘Saravah!<\/strong>‘ a nod to Pierre Barouh,\u00a0is a languid Bossa Nova with beautiful soulful strings arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto<\/strong>. The album gets hotter with ‘La Rosa’<\/strong> a superb mid tempo ambient funk featuring\u00a0Takahashi’s beat backed by Haruomi Hosono’s bumping bass line, Sakamoto’s Hammond Organ and Shigeru Suzuki<\/strong>‘s fluid guitar.<\/p>\n The first side\u00a0ends with an amazing exotica-synth version of the standard ‘Mood Indigo’, announcing the midi revolution that was to come before things get funkier on Side Two\u00a0starting with Ryuichi Sakamoto’s superb up-tempo Disco instrumental \u2018Elastic Dummy<\/strong>\u2019 featuring\u00a0soulful strings\u00a0and horns\u00a0with solos by Sakamoto and guitarist Tsunehide Matsuki<\/strong>. The album then moves on\u00a0to the ambient synth pop of \u2018Sunset\u2019<\/strong> before switching back to Disco Funk with ‘Back Street Midnight Queen<\/strong>\u2019 which. like ‘Elastic Dummy’\u00a0has become a dancefloor cult classic\u00a0 over the years.’ Saravah! ends\u00a0on a perfect note with the beautiful ‘Present’<\/strong> a perfectly crafted pop song which Takahashi wanted to do in a City Pop mode, featuring a superb melody and high-class arrangements.\u00a0The\u00a0perfect soundtrack to an early morning stroll in the Paris streets\u00a0as illustrated by Masayoshi Sukita’s photos featured on the album cover.<\/p>\n A\u00a0sophisticated album full of glitz and fun, ‘Saravah!’ gives a unique insight into the versatility\u00a0the YMO musicians\u00a0and how funky they could play under\u00a0Yukihiro Takahashi’s influence. This was a key time when the three musicians were just transitioning to\u00a0a sound that would be dominated by\u00a0synthesizers and ‘Saravah’ catch them just at that fascinating moment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n