Sketch Show was a Japanese electronic music duo formed in 2002 by two of the three former members of Yellow Magic Orchestra , Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi . In some live shows, Ryuichi Sakamoto joined in band performances, which eventually led to the three readopting the YMO name in the latter half of the decade.
16-421: "Similar to Yellow Magic Orchestra, Sketch Show's sound relies heavily on cutting-edge technology (synthesizers the first time, computers this time), but what sets the duo apart from thousands of other knob-twiddlers is the sense of songcraft and pop sensibility that they have consistently displayed over their careers. Both men sing and play traditional instruments [...]. While not genre-specific, Sketch Show's music
32-488: A solo act with Future Listening! that same year, incorporating an array of styles, including electronic, bossa nova, house, jazz and pop. It featured collaborations with Joi Cardwell , Bebel Gilberto , MC Kinky , Hiroshi Takano , Ryuichi Sakamoto , Haruomi Hosono , Toshihiko Mori, Satoshi Tomiie , Yuichi Oki of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra and Pizzicato Five vocalist Maki Nomiya . Sound Museum followed in 1997, then Last Century Modern in 1999. 2002 brought
48-536: Is a third-generation Korean-Japanese . Towa began making demo tapes at the age of 16 having bought his first synthesizer, a Korg MS-10 . While studying at Musashino Art University Junior College of Art and Design, he sent his tape to a radio program of Ryuichi Sakamoto titled Sound Street . In 1987, Towa moved to the U.S. to study graphic design and joined house act Deee-Lite , a trio with Supa DJ Dimitry and Lady Miss Kier , enjoying almost instant success after debuting in 1990 with their album World Clique and
64-543: Is an analogue synthesizer created by Korg in 1978. Unlike its bigger brother, the Korg MS-20 , the MS-10 only has one VCO , one VCF and one envelope generator . It is monophonic and has 32 keys. The MS-10 is well known for its huge sounding electro bass sounds. The MS-10 synthesizer features a single voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) offering four waveforms: triangle, sawtooth, pulse, and white noise, and incorporates
80-404: Is loosely categorized as electronica. The band released its debut album, Audio Sponge , in 2002, shortly after a well-received appearance at Takkyu Ishino's massive rave event, WIRE02 . In addition to Hosono and Takahashi, the record featured collaborations with former YMO member Ryuichi Sakamoto and Towa Tei . Shows following the release of the record were instant sellouts.[...] In February 2003,
96-769: The US label Elektra Records in 1990 and shot to fame via their international hit single , " Groove Is In the Heart ". He made his solo debut with the album Future Listening! in 1994. He has since relocated from New York to rural Nagano Prefecture in Japan. Towa's second studio album, Sound Museum (1997), became his highest charting effort at number 17 on the Oricon charts. Its single, " GBI (German Bold Italic) " featuring Kylie Minogue and Haruomi Hosono , reached number 50 and 63 in Australia and
112-540: The United Kingdom, respectively. He saw continued success with 1999's Last Century Modern as its single, " Let Me Know " featuring Chara , peaked at number 34 in Japan, his highest entry. Towa has collaborated with Ryuichi Sakamoto , Yukihiro Takahashi , Akiko Yano , Ringo Sheena , and Arto Lindsay , among others. His concept party, "Hotel H", started in 2009 as a social spot for music industry people in Tokyo. Towa
128-550: The VCO frequency and filter cutoff is adjustable via dedicated knobs on the control panel. Additionally, the MS-10 features a single envelope generator, complete with controls for Hold, Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release. Although the MS-10 has normalized connections, they can be modified with patch cables. This allows the LFO to modulate the pulse width of the VCO or the amplitude of the VCA. It also has
144-467: The age of 70, following a case of pneumonia. He had undergone surgery to remove a brain tumor in 2020 but continued to have health troubles that interfered with his musical activities in the intervening years. Towa Tei Towa Tei ( 鄭 東和 , Tei Tōwa , born September 7, 1964) is a Japanese artist, record producer , and DJ . Born in Yokohama, Japan, Towa was a member of Deee-Lite , from
160-501: The album Towa Tei , under the pseudonym Sweet Robots Against the Machine . Flash surfaced in 2005 by which time Towa was DJing regularly in Japan. He has admitted, though, that he does not enjoy performing and prefers producing and using computers. Big Fun , featuring Verbal and Mademoiselle Yulia , was released in 2009 and was the third album to feature the artwork of San Franciscan painter and graffiti artist Barry McGee . For
176-443: The album, Towa utilized MySpace to collaborate with artists from around the world, even if he didn't know them, such as with German act Taprikk Sweezee. Another collaborator he worked with for Big Fun was Miho Hatori of Cibo Matto , though they also met only on MySpace. Towa has established his own creative company, hug inc, which, among other things, manufactures his trademark sunglasses. Korg MS-10 The Korg MS-10
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#1732899007524192-533: The band released the mini-album Tronika , which featured remixes by Cornelius. Early that summer, they played a show-stealing slot at SONAR 2003 in Barcelona, and CYBERSONICA 03 in London . These shows were the first European appearances for Hosono and Takahashi in two decades. September 2003 saw the release of a live DVD, Wild Sketch Show Live 2002 , featuring footage culled from a string of December 2002 performances at
208-471: The legendary Shibuya-AX , and including a medley of YMO classics along with their new material. Toward the end of 2003, the band released their second album, LOOPHOLE . The album again featured collaborations with Sakamoto, and remixes by Cornelius and Safety Scissors." In 2004, Sketch Show performed live shows with Sakamoto under the name "Human Audio Sponge", or "HAS". Since 2005, Sketch Show has wound down, and in 2007, Hosono, Sakamoto and Takahashi released
224-426: The same 12dB/octave low-pass filter found in the original MS-20. It is equipped with one low-frequency oscillator (LFO), known as the "modulation generator," which has two controls for rate and shape, and two outputs: pulse and sloped. The shape control adjusts the pulse width and the contour of the sloped output, with the midpoint setting yielding a 50% pulse width and a triangle wave shape. The LFO's influence on
240-543: The single " Groove Is In the Heart ". In 1991, Towa collaborated with his idol Ryuichi Sakamoto on Sakamoto's album Heartbeat . He also appeared on Sakamoto's follow up album Sweet Revenge . In 1994, Towa returned to Japan after seven years in New York. He sustained a back injury falling from a stage during a performance with Deee-Lite in Brazil. While recovering, he began to drift toward other musical styles. He debuted as
256-441: The single " Rescue / Rydeen 79/07 " under the name "HASYMO", which was made in the style of Sketch Show's music, with heavier incorporation of live instruments. Since 2008, the combination of Hosono, Sakamoto and Takahashi performed together as "Yellow Magic Orchestra", continuing with what was developed as Sketch Show/Human Audio Sponge/HASYMO. However, new recorded material was not forthcoming. On January 11, 2023, Takahashi died at
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