Yellow Magic Orchestra (album)

Yellow Magic Orchestra
Studio album by
Yellow Magic Orchestra
ReleasedNovember 25, 1978 (1978-11-25)
RecordedJuly 10 – September 5, 1978
StudioAlfa Studio A, Shibaura, Minato, Tokyo
Genre
Length37:35
LabelAlfa
ProducerHarry Hosono
Yellow Magic Orchestra chronology
Yellow Magic Orchestra
(1978) 		Solid State Survivor
(1979)
Singles from Yellow Magic Orchestra
  1. "Tong Poo" / "Firecracker"
    Released: 1978 (promo only)
  2. "Computer Game" / "Fire Cracker"
    Released: 1978, 1979
  3. "Cosmic Surfin'"
    Released: 1979
  4. "La femme chinoise"
    Released: 1979
  5. "Tong Poo"
    Released: 1979
Alternative covers
US cover

Yellow Magic Orchestra is the first official studio album by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, who were previously known as the Yellow Magic Band. Originally released by Alfa Records, in Japan in 1978, the album was released by A&M Records in Europe and the United States and Canada in early 1979, with the US version featuring new cover art but without the closing track of "Acrobat". Both versions would later be re-issued in 2003 as a double-disc format, with the American version as the first disc.

The album was an early example of synth-pop,[1][2] a genre that the band helped pioneer. It contributed to the development of electro, hip hop,[3] techno,[4] and bleep techno.[5] The album's innovations in electronic music included its use of the microprocessor-based Roland MC-8 Microcomposer music sequencer which allowed the creation of new electronic sounds,[6] and its sampling of video game sounds.[2][7]

The album sold 250,000 copies in Japan and entered the Billboard 200 and R&B Albums charts in the United States.[8] Its most successful single was "Computer Game / Firecracker", which sold over 400,000 records in the United States[9] and was a top 20 hit in the United Kingdom.[10]

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  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference sfweekly_interview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Dayal, Geeta (July 7, 2006). "Yellow Magic Orchestra". The Original Soundtrack. Archived from the original on November 20, 2006. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference allmusic_kings_techno was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Sicko, Dan (2010). Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electronic Funk (2nd ed.). Wayne State University Press. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-8143-3438-6.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference billboard_1979 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference japantimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference chartstats_game was invoked but never defined (see the help page).