{"product_id":"saravah","title":"Saravah!","description":"\u003cp\u003eWewantsounds is delighted to announce the release of Yukihiro Takahashi's debut solo album \u003ci\u003eSaravah!\u003c\/i\u003e. One of the key Japanese albums of the 70s, it was released in 1978 at a key time when, following his tenure with Sadistic Mika Band, Takahashi had just joined the nascent line up of Yellow Magic Orchestra. A sophisticated mix of Disco Funk, synth Pop, Ambient, French Exotica and Bossa Nova, the album has the stylish feel of a night out clubbing in Paris circa 1978. It’s the missing link between the City Pop scene of the late 70s and the synth sound of YMO which was about to revolutionise the world. Newly remastered by renowned engineer Mitsuo Koike, the LP features original artwork with photos by Masayoshi Sukita (David Bowie's Heroes), a 4-page insert and a new Introduction by Benjamin Barouh (Saravah records). \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe month before recording the YMO debut album that would help alter the course of music, Yukihiro Takahashi entered the studio with his fellow band-members Ryuichi Sakamoto and Haruomi Hosono to record \u003ci\u003eSaravah\u003c\/i\u003e! together with the cream of the Japanese scene. He drew his inspiration from globe-trotting French musician Pierre Barouh who had introduced Bossa Nova in France in 1966 with\u003ci\u003e Samba Saravah\u003c\/i\u003e (featured in soundtrack the Oscar Winner \u003ci\u003eA Man And A Woman \u003c\/i\u003ewhich he co-wrote) and subsequently launched Saravah Records. \u003ci\u003eSaravah\u003c\/i\u003e starts off with a couple of French and Italian exotica classics (\u003ci\u003eVolare\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eC'est Si Bon\u003c\/i\u003e) with delicious touches of synth while \u003ci\u003eSaravah! \u003c\/i\u003ea nod to Pierre Barouh, is a languid Bossa Nova with beautiful soulful strings arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto. The album gets hotter with \u003ci\u003eLa Rosa\u003c\/i\u003e a superb mid-tempo ambient funk featuring Takahashi's beat backed by Haruomi Hosono's bumping bassline, Sakamoto's Hammond Organ and Shigeru Suzuki's fluid guitar. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe first side ends with an amazing exotica-synth version of the standard \u003ci\u003eMood Indigo\u003c\/i\u003e, announcing the midi revolution that was to come before things get funkier on Side Two starting with Ryuichi Sakamoto's superb up-tempo Disco instrumental \u003ci\u003eElastic Dummy\u003c\/i\u003e featuring soulful strings and horns with solos by Sakamoto and guitarist Tsunehide Matsuki. The album then moves on to the ambient synth-pop of \u003ci\u003eSunset \u003c\/i\u003ebefore switching back to Disco Funk with \u003ci\u003eBack Street Midnight Queen\u003c\/i\u003e which. like \u003ci\u003eElastic Dummy\u003c\/i\u003e has become a dancefloor cult classic over the years. \u003ci\u003eSaravah!\u003c\/i\u003e ends on a perfect note with the beautiful \u003ci\u003ePresent \u003c\/i\u003ea perfectly crafted pop song which Takahashi wanted to do in a City Pop mode, featuring a superb melody and high-class arrangements.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wewantsounds","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50419384811851,"sku":"1075346","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50419385663819,"sku":"1075349","price":37.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/71ea4b78-01f3-4f3b-bf2e-a0fa023a2cf1_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726747534","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/products\/saravah","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}