Akiko Yano
To Ki Me Ki
"Wewantsounds is delighted to continue its series of reissues of Akiko Yano albums with the release of her third album, To Ki Me Ki, recorded in New York in 1978. The album is the follow-up to Iroha Ni Konpeitou, and features the same mix of Japanese pop with New York jazz funk, featuring such luminaries as Rick Marotta, Will Lee and David Spinozza. Programmer Hideki Matsutake also joins Akiko and Yellow Magic Orchestra on their international tour the following year. Together, Akiko and her musi…
Ai Ga Nakucha Ne (LP)
CD Edition. Wewantsounds reissue Akiko Yano's cult classic Ai Ga Nakucha Ne, recorded in 1982 and co-produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Ai Ga Nakucha Ne ("there must be love" in Japanese) is Akiko Yano's sixth studio album and follows Tadaima in 1981. It continues exploring the electro-pop sound of its predecessor, hot on the heels of her touring with Yellow Magic Orchestra between 1979 and 1980. For this album, Akiko decided to try something new; she enrolled English musicians Mick Karn, Steve Janse…
Gohan Ga Dekitayo
Double LP version. Wewantsounds present a 40th anniversary reissue of Akiko Yano's Gohan Ga Dekitayo, originally released in 1980. This superb double-album was recorded with Yellow Magic Orchestra at a time when she was part of the group's touring line-up between 1979 and 1980. The album is pure Akiko Yano featuring her superb singing and piano playing, enhanced by touches of YMO's synth-pop sound (check her cult version of YMO's classic, "Tong-Poo"). First album release outside of Japan. When G…
Tadaima.
Wewantsounds present a reissue of Akiko Yano's Tadaima., originally released in 1981. The first release Wewantsounds' ambitious program to release Akiko Yano's albums outside of Japan Tadaima. ("I'm home" in Japanese) is Yano's fifth studio album and a synth-pop masterpiece, co-produced by her then husband Ryuichi Sakamoto and featuring all the musicians from Yellow Magic Orchestra (Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi, and Sakamoto), the group she was touring with at the time. Japan's best kept s…
Iroha Ni Konpeitou
Wewantsounds continues its Akiko Yano reissue programme with the release of Iroha Ni Konpeitou, her second superb album and one of her funkiest, highlighting her unmissable singing and songwriting talents. Recorded in Tokyo and New York City in 1977, the album features a superb line up of the best musicians from both cities and sees Yano mixing Japanese pop with funk and a touch of electronics, playing a wide array of keyboards programmed by YMO synth wizard Hideki Matsutake. Iroha Ni Konpeitou …