Yukihiro Takahashi 1952-2023

Yukihiro Takahashi died on January 11, 2023, from pneumonia that set in during treatment for the brain tumor he had already made public in August 2020. The Japanese music scene thus loses a pioneer and one of its most important icons. Let's retrace the key moments of his career.

Takahashi was born in Tokyo on June 6, 1952, into a well-off family that produced other figures of great note: his brother, Noboyuki Takahashi, was himself a musician (he played guitar in Fingers – exponents of the group sounds scene, the local variation on beat music – and later produced hits for folk artists such as Buzz and Garo), while his sister, Mie Ito, is a well-known fashion designer.

The environment in which Takahashi grew up is proof of just how fertile a combination of cultural ferment, comfortable economic conditions and an expanding market can be: besides his own family members, from a very young age he was in close contact with other names who would later make their mark. Yumi Arai, perhaps the greatest Japanese singer-songwriter of all time, was a schoolmate of his in middle school, while singer-songwriter Motoharu Sano – a key figure in the new music movement – attended the same high school.

Still in his teens, he began playing at neighbourhood parties together with his friend, pianist Masakazu Togo. In the early Seventies, Togo formed Buzz together with guitarist Hiroshi Koide: Takahashi was drawn into the project, which also featured his brother as arranger and producer. It's in Buzz that his first recordings as a drummer appear.

Although officially Buzz were a duo, Takahashi is present on almost all the tracks of their first three albums ("Buzz" and "Buzz Live!", from 1973, and "Requiem: The City", from 1974) and also took part in the creative process, co-writing several songs.

In those same years he also recorded his first albums with Sadistic Mika Band, into which he was invited by founder and guitarist Kazuhiko Kato (already leader of the hugely popular but short-lived Folk Crusaders), whom he had met at university while studying design: he thus appears on "Sadistic Mika Band" (1973), "黒船" ("Korofune", 1974) and "Hot! Menu" (1975).

In this project he was a full-fledged member, to the point that when Kato and singer Mika Fukui left, Takahashi convinced the others to carry on, changing the name to Sadistics. They released two albums, "Sadistics" (1977) and "We Are Taking Off" (1978): for the first time Takahashi's voice appears on record, although it doesn't really get a chance to stand out (the tracks are mostly taken up by instrumental digressions, and the vocal parts are shared evenly among the various members).

Out of their breakup, besides Takahashi's, also emerged the solo careers of bassist Tsugutoshi Goto, destined to become one of the most sought-after producers in Japan, and guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka, who would go on to establish himself as one of the greatest virtuosos of his instrument.

1978 was the turning point in Takahashi's career: although he already knew Haruomi Hosono personally, it was only that year that the two truly came together. Hosono called on Takahashi to play drums on "Femme fatale", from the album "Paraiso", and Takahashi returned the favour by giving Hosono the bass on "Saravah!", his debut solo album.

Neither record was a success, but the line-up for the Yellow Magic Orchestra was by then practically set, especially considering that keyboardist Ryuichi Sakamoto, one of the most in-demand session musicians of the moment, appears on both records. The three thus decided to join forces, entrusting Takahashi with the vocal parts as well, and their self-titled debut album arrived in November of that same year.

Yellow Magic Orchestra remains the cornerstone of Takahashi's career. With them he achieved widespread popularity, exerting a strong influence on pop music and, more broadly, on electronic experimentation, both in Japan and abroad. Several of the trio's greatest classics bear his signature: "Le femme chinoise", "Solid State Survivor", "Rydeen", "Ballet", "Cue", "Light In Darkness", "Expecting Rivers" and others.

The band ground to a halt in 1984, after six studio albums, an EP and two live albums. By that point, Takahashi had also released six solo records and one under the name Beatniks, a project shared with Keiichi Suzuki (singer and multi-instrumentalist, already the leader of new wave band Moonriders and future video game music composer).

Takahashi's career then continued at a relentless pace, alternating solo records, reunions (Yellow Magic Orchestra came back into action first in 1993 and then in 2007; Sadistic Mika Band in 1989 and 2006), various collaborations (together with Steve Jansen, drummer of Japan, he released the single "Stay Close" in 1986 and the album "Pulse" in 1997, while once again alongside Hosono he led Sketch Show, between 2002 and 2005) and new bands, including Pupa (2008-2010) and Metafive (2014-2022).

Amid all this, we haven't even mentioned the hundreds of other artists' records he took part in as writer, arranger and/or session musician: as with the other members of Yellow Magic Orchestra, his mere presence was considered enough to elevate the quality of any project.

In the wake of his death, many stars of Japanese music have expressed their grief: first and foremost, for obvious reasons, Ryuichi Sakamoto, who posted a grey screen as a sign of mourning across all his social media accounts (it should be remembered that Sakamoto himself has been fighting cancer for years, which now appears to be at a terminal stage).

Following him, singer-songwriters Akiko Yano and Taeko Onuki, close friends of all three members of Yellow Magic Orchestra, the aforementioned Motoharu Sano, star of Eighties rock, techno producer Ken Ishii, art pop singer Hiroshi Takano, j-pop singer Kaela Kimura, Koji Ishikawa of folk band Tama, Sugizo of visual kei rock band Luna Sea, Towa Tei of Japanese-American house group Deee-Lite, Ichiro Yamaguchi of Sakanaction (perhaps the band that, more than any other, carried Yellow Magic Orchestra's legacy up the charts in the new millennium), Pierre Nakano of post-hardcore standard-bearers Ling Tosite Sigure, Atsushi Yanaka of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, as well as the official account of percussion instrument maker Tama Drums. Several of those listed collaborated with Yukihiro Takahashi over the years, further proof of his eclecticism.

He is also mourned by names from other fields: journalist Daisuke Tsuda, cartoonist Masayuki Kusumi, actresses Tina Tamashiro and Rena Nounen, writer Keiichirou Hirano and comedian Noboyuki Hanawa have all spoken out, to name just a few of the best known.

In short, the entire spectrum of Japanese culture has been deeply shaken by the news.

The ripples reached the West too: among others, all three former members of Japan (David Sylvian, Richard Barbieri and Steve Jansen), Sparks, Questlove of The Roots, Paul Hartnoll of Orbital, 808 State and producer Erol Alkan wrote on social media or posted images in tribute.

Here is a brief listening guide for anyone wanting to explore his work without knowing where to start, excluding Yellow Magic Orchestra's studio albums, since it's hoped that every electronic music fan already knows them (OndaRock has in any case already celebrated them years ago, awarding a milestone rating to "Solid State Survivor").

Buzz: “Requiem The City” (1974)

Buzz started out under the best commercial auspices: "ケンとメリー〜愛と風のように〜" ("Ken to Mary -Ai to kaze no youni-"), their first single, also thanks to its tie-in with a Nissan advertising spot, immediately reached the Oricon top 20.

After that initial spark, however, interest in them faded quickly and their albums soon fell into obscurity. Even today it's far from easy to track them down (some have never been reissued on CD, and others only in limited editions).

"Requiem The City", their second studio effort, represents Takahashi's last significant contribution to their output: he plays drums on ten of the eleven tracks and wrote six of them. He would remain among their collaborators afterwards, but in a much more peripheral role, also given his commitments to other projects.

"Tokyo samba", the only track on which Takahashi composed the music entirely by himself, is his first masterpiece: an eclectic, choral folk rock piece that perfectly weds its own Japanese character to influences ranging from the West Coast to Brazil. The whole album drifts between folk rock, pop and ethereal atmospheres, further colored by the excellent arrangements of Takahashi's brother, the aforementioned Noboyuki, skilled at crafting chamber string textures as well as beds of Mellotron or electric organ.

Sadistic Mika Band: "黒船" ("Kurofune", 1974)

One of the ten essential records in Japanese music history for both Rolling Stone Japan and Music Magazine, and while such rankings are always debatable, they still say something meaningful about the level of mythology surrounding the album.

Takahashi is only credited here as co-writer of the three-part jam that gives the album its title, but his contribution proves essential, since three quarters of the tracklist hinges on his rhythmic drive, whether it's instrumental jazz-rock ("何かが海をやってくる"/"Nanika ga umi wo yatte kuru"), glam rock anthems ("タイムマシンにおねがい"/"Time Machine ni onegai") or choral funk rock ("どんたく"/"Dontaku" and "暑までひととび"/"Hei made hi tottobi"). A drummer of remarkable technical skill (even more evident here than on the Yellow Magic Orchestra records), he fits perfectly with the band's shifting, art-rock attitude.

Recorded in London and produced by Chris Thomas, it earned the band an appearance on "The Old Grey Whistle Test" and a local tour opening for Roxy Music. In Japan it didn't achieve the hoped-for success right away, peaking at number 38 on the charts, but its cult status, as mentioned, has survived intact across the decades.

Yellow Magic Orchestra: "Live At Greek Theater 1979" (1997)

Recorded in Los Angeles in August 1979 but kept in the vaults for eighteen years, it runs just over half an hour, yet that's enough to make it one of the band's most important live albums.

While it lacks the breadth of repertoire found on the double album "After Service" (1984), it reveals a little-known side of Yellow Magic Orchestra: that of a live band capable of jamming on a par with the most celebrated rock outfits.

The sound lands somewhere between electropop and space disco, but in the passages where the guest of honor, guitarist Kazumi Watanabe, is given room to shine, strong jazz-fusion overtones emerge, helping to make the record a one-of-a-kind release.

N.B. The cover contains an obvious typo: "greak" instead of "greek".

Yukihiro Takahashi: "Neuromantic" (1981)

It's no surprise that Yellow Magic Orchestra grew close to Britain's Japan during that period. Listening to Takahashi's voice on this album, its resemblance to David Sylvian's is at times striking, perhaps partly because both drank from the same wells, namely David Bowie and Bryan Ferry.

It's no coincidence that the record features two members of Roxy Music (Phil Manzanera on guitar and Andy Mackay on saxophone), alongside his two Yellow Magic Orchestra bandmates.

The album, which moves between electronic art rock and new romantic, is generally regarded as Takahashi's best solo effort. It also has the merit of not being marred by covers of foreign songs, as happened for years with almost all of his solo records ("Saravah!" even opened with an unlikely cover of "Nel blu dipinto di blu," sung in Italian).

Yukihiro Takahashi & Steve Jansen: "Stay Close" (1986)

Less celebrated than the iconic collaborations between Sylvian and Sakamoto, this maxi-single finds the drummers of their respective bands joining forces, sharing the microphone equally. Since Jansen's voice also resembles Sylvian's (the two are brothers, as is well known), a perfect blend forms with Takahashi, and at more than one point it's impossible to tell where one part ends and the other begins.

"Stay Close" is an eight-minute new-romantic ride, marked by a mechanical beat, extensive use of saxophone (deployed both to underline the rhythm and as a lead instrument) and a riff steeped in traditional Japanese music. The second side, meanwhile, makes room for "Betsu-Ni," a more subdued track closer to the moods of sophisti-pop, and an instrumental reprise of "Stay Close."

Sadistic Mica Band: “天啓” (“Appare”, 1989)

The “c” in place of the “k” in the band's name is not a typo (Mika Fukui didn't actually take part in this reunion, due to serious personal friction with Kato in the past).

Despite being the comeback of a band that, in its original incarnation, had never won over the wider public, the album is a considerable success, reaching number 3 on the Oricon chart and selling 236,000 copies during 1989: it should be noted, though, that in the meantime two of its members, Takahashi and Takanaka, had become stars in their own right.

Half the tracklist is written and sung by Takahashi, including the lead single, “Boys & Girls”. The band still makes room for a female voice, however, entrusted to the young Karen Kirishima, later a well-known actress, while the sound - noticeably more polished than in the past - moves between sophisti-pop, synth-pop and smooth jazz, shifting the balance between these styles considerably from track to track. It's one of the most radio-friendly records of Takahashi's career, but no less adventurous for that.

Metafive: “Meta” (2016)

From the Nineties onward, Takahashi's music becomes a matter of interest mainly for insiders, and only the reunions of his historic groups seem to reawaken any broader attention. Then, in 2014, something unexpected happens: after putting together a high-profile band to back him on tour, he realizes its potential and decides to turn it into a full-time project.

The name thus changes from Yukihiro Takahashi & Metafive to simply Metafive: the ability to make room for his bandmates has, after all, always been one of the artist's most appreciated traits. The lineup speaks for itself: alongside Takahashi (vocals, drums and keyboards), it includes Leo Imai of Kimonos (vocals and guitar), Towa Tei of Deee-Lite (keyboards), Yoshinori Sunahara of Denki Groove (keyboards), Cornelius (guitar) and Tomohiko Gondo (horns and keyboards, less known than the others but already at Takahashi's side in Pupa).

Imai's muscular voice and Takahashi's more refined one partly blend together and partly trade off, guiding songs that move between alternative dance, house, lounge and art pop, coming across at times hypnotic and melancholic, at others dynamic and frenzied.

Metafive officially disbanded in 2022, partly due to Takahashi's health problems, partly due to a scandal that engulfed Cornelius, who was accused of bullying by several former schoolmates.

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