Parallelisme (1980 to 1985, Brussels to Tokyo)

[imomus]

Today, I want to curate a little sequence of songs for you, in the form of a YouTube podcast. What we're mining here is Francophone synth girlpop made between 1980 and 1985. There's often a Brussels connection and a Japan connection; perhaps Haruomi Hosono figures somewhere. Some of this stuff came out on Michel Duval's label Les Disques du Crepuscule.

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I'll start with Mikado's Naufrage en Hiver, from 1985. Mikado was a man-and-wife duo consisting of Gregory Czerkinsky (I worked with him on Kahimi Karie's I Am A Kitten EP) and Pascale Borel. They have the requisite Hosono and Crepuscule connections (Hosono's label Non-Standard released them), and this song and video (by Pierre et Gilles) take us deep into 1980s synth classicism, irony, and the kind of AllMusic tone-tag cluster clouds that go: "Reserved, Sophisticated, Quirky, Refined/ Mannered, Soft, Hypnotic, Poised, Detached..." (Naufrage en hiver, by the way, means "sinking into winter".)


Here's Belgian synthpopper Jo Lemaire's 1980 reading of Serge Gainsbourg's Je Suis Venu Te Dire Que Je M'En Vais. You might know this from Leos Carax's debut film Boy Meets Girl.

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Elli and Jacno were also French synthpoppers; ex-members of Stinky Toys, they abandoned riffy punk rock and embraced sexy synth classicism. This is their 1982 song Je T'Aime Tant.

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And at this point we might as well add Lio's 1981 song Amoureux Solitaires, which celebrates isolated lovers and their chemical, plastic fabrications:

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Antena are my favourite Crepuscule band. This is their 1980 reading of The Girl From Ipanema, called The Boy From Ipanema:

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Brussels becomes a stylistic junction that connects Scotland and the Postcard Records scene to Japan. Josef K, of course, recorded an EP for Crepuscule, and when the band broke up and I took over most of the musicians for my Happy Family project in 1982, Paul Haig went to live in Brussels, recording this Sly Stone cover, Running Away. I find the video intriguing -- it takes us deep into the parallel universe of this part of the 80s, with its Chariots of Fire references, its insistence on European elegance:

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We now switch our attention to Japan, but we do it via Brussels, and via Telex, a Belgian synth trio who were giving Kraftwerk some competition with tracks like Moskow Diskow. Telex produced a track on Miharu Koshi's first album, Tutu, produced by Hosono in 1983. Here's another track from the album, Scandal Night:

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The work Miharu Koshi and Haruomi Hosono did together in the mid-80s really takes me to paradise. Nobody took synthpop to such refined heights as they did on tracks like Parallelisme (from Koshi's 1984 album, currently extremely rare and selling for over $400). The art direction here is by Kuniyoshi Kaneko, the subject of a Momus song-tribute himself in 1995.

Japan in 1985 fascinates me; the country was at its economic peak, filtering Western culture like crazy, pioneering new technology, embracing early post-modernism, inventing video games. Hosono dabbled in music for TV commercials and video games, and even appeared in some Namco ads himself. They're brilliant, and I think they connect to the sound of my Joemus album, which means we've managed to make a link all the way from Postcard and Crepuscule, via Brussels, to the present.

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Since there are no videos of Miharu Koshi's 1984 album, here's an mp3 taster:

Miharu Koshi: Parallelisme (stereo mp3, 5 mins 11 secs, 6MB)

Comments

[thuggery.livejournal.com]

Much appreciated post. Good way to start a dragging day.

[(Anonymous)]

it's without a doubt the best album by Miharu Koshi of the period (I love "Boy Soprano" and "Tutu" as well, of course), and my favorite Techno-Kayo era Hosono album. Believe it or not but i'm currently working on a cover of "capricious salad". would you like to participate? (with you on board, maybe Madame Koshi would agree to participate too:))

Olivier

[illyich.livejournal.com]

The longest ad is really something else again, even in context.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Wow, I'd love to! I doubt Miharu Koshi has heard of me, though.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

My favourite is the middle one, the expression Hosono makes when the weird pixel girl laughs... These ads must have given Japanese children recurrent nightmares!

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Her new work looks very interesting too -- this is Le Judas, from a dance-theatre album she released last year on Daisyworld:

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[imomus.livejournal.com]

By the way, I want to add (as much for my own reference as anything) that the Miharu Koshi song Klepsydra Sanatorium (from her 1992 album The Father and the Gun (http://miharukoshi.com/chichi.html)) is based on this cult Polish film from 1973 of Bruno Schulz's Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hour Glass, which is all available on YouTube:

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Joseph returns to the sanatorium where his father died long ago. The whole trick, says the doctor, is reversing time. You can just imagine Koshi and Hosono seeing this together in some obscure Tokyo art cinema.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Actually, this is just a series of clips. But they're pretty extensive ones.

[internought.livejournal.com]

What's this? An lj-cut? ;P

[imomus.livejournal.com]

When you load multiple YouTube vids it takes ages, and if Click Opera is your homepage (as it is mine) it's a pain! I'm learning...

[(Anonymous)]

Regarding Japan in 1985 - I recently bought an interesting book in a second-hand bookshop that's open for two hours a week (amazing place). It's written by three polish authors from three different viewpoints - economical, sociological and from that of a tourist - and was published in the German Democratic Republic. That fact alone will make for an interesting read, I'm sure. I incidentally bought it for the fantastic photos that are in it.

-r

[imomus.livejournal.com]

A book about Japan in the 80s?

You didn't buy it in Utrecht (http://www.utrecht.jp/), did you?

[sketchesfromexpain.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

Thanks for the primer. I really liked Elli et Jacno--Elli's delivery reminds me of solo Rita Lee from the same period. There's a little of Peter Cook's "you fill me with inertia" too (which, for years, I thought went 'you *kill* me with inertia'). Too bad their records are so hard to come by.

Nice pimmel Karl!

[klasensjo.livejournal.com]

Reading this entry, I miss Karl.

Another side note

[endoftheseason.livejournal.com]

(Although is this sort of thing ever just a side note, including when it comes to 80s synthpop, arguably a whole genre to which postmodern materialism was integral)?

"Christians are regarded as 'mad' by the rest of society because they are motivated by charity and compassion rather than the reckless pursuit of money, according to the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu."

http://tinyurl.com/bw2o25

Are Christians the original, and best, post-materialists, and thus necessary for ushering in the brave new post-materialist paradise?

[(Anonymous)]

Ah, I wish, since that would mean I've once been to Tokyo.
No, I bought it in Germany (in Stendal, to be precise. About one train hour west of Berlin).
And I was wrong about the authors, by the way. It's been written by a German and a Russian, with accompanying pictures taken by a Polish.

[yhancik.livejournal.com]

Ah!

I knew Czerkinsky from the Natacha track in the 90s, but I had no idea he was connected to Mikado !
I wonder if the pinkish shirt and the glasses are his trademark look or if he made a visual reference to the Mikado video there (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LelfS-s6dSE).

[yhancik.livejournal.com]

Also, to me, Naufrage en hiver is more a sinking during winter than into it. Although there's nothing wrong with your own take on it ;)

parallelisme

[(Anonymous)]

And this track ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOocLIoWQRE
I remember you posted it a while ago.

is it the from parallelisme ?

it took me to paradise too, and make me want to move again to Japan tomorrow!

Florian.

[count-vronsky.livejournal.com]

"Reserved, Sophisticated, Quirky, Refined/ Mannered, Soft, Hypnotic, Poised, Detached..." I want this written on my tombstone.

Oddly, I stumbled upon this image (http://zenrahanra.tumblr.com/post/73248161) of Hosono last week, but I didn't know anything about him. (the game xevious, in the lower right corner, is one of my all time fave arcade games, but if I remember correctly, the home version wasn't very good)

Speaking of connections, did you know about the Japan - (http://goddesschess.blogspot.com/2009/01/ainu-japan-in-peru-1000-years-ago.html)Peru (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Peruvian) connection?

arkivperu (http://www.arkivperu.com/3por1.htm) ( more here (http://www.arkivperu.com/youtb.htm), but many borked links)



soft (http://softfilm.blogspot.com/) film (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vPgW6FQOyKs/SZiADmo2acI/AAAAAAAACA4/mkyOVr_ZVXk/s1600-h/LeeTungFoo_Scotsman.jpg)

[(Anonymous)]

Momus!!!
Kanye West is exploiting the beauty of messed up pixelation,

http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/?em3106=224147_-1__0_~0_-1_2_2009_0_0&em3298=&em3282=&em3281=&em3161=

I propose you make a rap song and diss him in it..
I'd pay good money.

[(Anonymous)]

KANYE WEST "Welcome To Heartbreak" Directed by Nabil (http://vimeo.com/3256023) from nabil elderkin (http://vimeo.com/user666523) on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com).

Hopefully that embed works..

[imomus.livejournal.com]

That stuff doesn't come cheap!

I mean, you've got to shoot your video, with all the expenses that entails, then you've got to upload it to a server, download it again at the precise moment when there's an end-of-file but not all the data before it, then recapture all the melty stuff somehow. It's precision stuff, and if your time's worth (as mine is) about $1000 per hour, well, that's a big whack on top of your regular video budget. More if you have to put the internet in place first.

Re: Another side note

[krskrft.livejournal.com]

Christians claim, in their own words, to be motivated by charity and compassion, but does anybody really believe that they are? Their charity isn't really charity: it's another way for them to raise their noses at those who have less, and proselytize at the same time (i.e. "Sure, we'll feed you here, but we're saying a prayer before we eat"). Their compassion, as well, is more like self-righteous patronizing. They often feel "compassion" for individuals that neither need nor request compassion. They walk around "feeling sorry" for all the heathens who haven't found God. That is the extent of their "compassion."

[krskrft.livejournal.com]

This post is immediately relevant to my interests. I've been watching Yellow Magic Orchestra videos compulsively for the past few days. This isn't really part of the Hosono period you're describing, but this video is just sick (Akiko Yano is crushworthy here, and as usual, Hosono's bass work is ridiculous):

Re: Another side note

[endoftheseason.livejournal.com]

What are some examples of groups of people who feel and exercise real, non-self-righteous, non-patronizing, non-proselytizing charity and compassion?

Re: Another side note

[krskrft.livejournal.com]

My problem is not that they have a clear self-interest in these activities, but that they insist on denying their self-interest, instead choosing to portray themselves as "compassionate" and "charitable" whenever they need a bit of a public tummy tuck.

[(Anonymous)]

So glad to know about this--one of my very favorite books, and I've been wanting to find and watch the movie version...

[(Anonymous)]

Could A Dip in the Pool ft anywhere into this playlist equation? I know they're aligned with Seigen Ono and The Plastics rather than YMO, but their first album at least is synthpop classicism in the very best sense.

Parallelisme (1980 to 1985, Brussels to Tokyo)

[(Anonymous)]

Great summation of a fertile period! One of the major blossoms of the Les Disques du Crepuscule seed was 'El Records don't you think? Michel Duval and Annik Honoré, art directed the most beautiful covers and the music was sublime.

Naufrage en Hiver, was one of my favorite songs back then and I agree that Antena was great along with Anna Domino. Also their 12" is one of my favorite covers.

Let's not forget Hajime Tachibana, After Dinner and all the TRA cassettes with Melon and Water Melon (the morph of the Plastics.) It seems that all roads lead to Hosono at some point.

Hate to be nostalgic, but the music was amazing during that period. Maybe my favorite. Also loved the short and brief career of the Pale Fountains.

- rickio woods

[akabe.livejournal.com]

Nick, do you know cafe nylon100% (http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%8A%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AD%E3%83%B3100%25) ? seems to have been the lair of the original Shibuya-key and pretty much the template for any arty cafe to follow in tokyo up to this very day.

it seems to have just recently had a retro-necro moment (http://www.smash-jpn.com/band/2008/07_nylon/profile/index.html") too.

Re: Parallelisme (1980 to 1985, Brussels to Tokyo)

[imomus.livejournal.com]

One of the major blossoms of the Les Disques du Crepuscule seed was 'El Records don't you think?

Oh certainly. Crepuscule was a direct inspiration for el. Mike Alway and Michel Duval worked side-by-side at Blanco e Negro. The sleeves and the music were similar (bossa, fancy dress, exoticism). Some of the artists were the same -- Louis Philippe had been a Crepuscule act as The Arcadians. And in both cases, only the Japanese really took the bait.

[akabe.livejournal.com]

http://www.smash-jpn.com/band/2008/07_nylon/profile/index.html

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Never heard of that cafe or many of the artists who frequented it! Possibly interesting, or possibly one of those things that's a lot better in retrospect.

I remember Yximalloo told me about an old job he had booking live acts for a legendary club in Shibuya in the 80s -- I wonder if it was Nylon?

Mike Alway

[(Anonymous)]

I had a website in the early 90's and did a huge showcase of 'El. I talked with Mike back then and he was blown away that I had his whole catalog on vinyl. He told me that the Brits hated it or didn't get it. He was so honored to go into a record store in Harijuku and see a shrine to his label.
-rickio

Arcadians

[(Anonymous)]

My first Louis Philippe 'El experience was Passport to Pamplona. I went nuts and was on a mission to get all and anything. Kept going through the Richmond label and beyond. This is when I discovered you! And have followed you ever since. I will never forget listening to Paper Wraps Rock for the first time. I was in heaven... Probably a poor comparison, but I would always describe the music as Oscar Wilde meets Donovon. (I know I know)
-rickio

[bibble.livejournal.com]

have you seen the current trend going now of using the distortion/compression technique for editing new music videos? chairlift has one and kayne west decided to "cancel" his b/c chairlift already did it.

http://stereogum.com/archives/video/new-kanye-west-video-welcome-to-heartbreak_053261.html

no mention of either of yours'ssss. sadly.

[akabe.livejournal.com]

There's a plethora of books in japanese that keep comming out on the 80s, the time when Japan swallowed the world. It was an amazing time not only for what happened but for the fact that while the west knows near nothing about it in japan too the memory of it seems to have faded away as the bubble burst. so it's really interesting to see 'survivors' finally comming out talking about it.

example

[rinusvanalebeek.livejournal.com]

What are some examples of groups of people who feel and exercise real, non-self-righteous, non-patronizing, non-proselytizing charity and compassion?

people who set up shows in th extremely marginal world of experimental or noise music,
and the people who play these shows.

and then there is some people who don't care about this, while attending it, and try to sneak in for free.

average income on such evenings: 20 euro

it is a hard world.

oh, the pope...google this movie with anthony quinn
he is the pope.
at the end of the movie he gives away all the riches of the vatican to help the poor.

[illyich.livejournal.com]

The expression seems to really aggressively undermine the fantasy which is cool not just because it's a bit ahead of its time, but also because it's an ad for games in a time when games relied really heavily on user-provided fantasy (often suggested by box art that had only the most tenuous relationship with what ended up on the screen.)