Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki
WHAT
LE MONDE FABULEUX DES YAMASUKI
WHO
THE YAMASUKI SINGERS
ON
FINDERS KEEPERS
HOW MUCH
APPROX $40
LISTEN
HERE
It's 1971 and you are French. You wake up, get dressed and eat a croissant - the crispy, buttery flakes fall onto your copy of LE MONDE with every bite. You peruse the travel section with a rote sense of boredom, traversing from country to country with every article.
Then all of a sudden, it hits you!
HIIIIIIIIIIIII-YA!
Like a karate-kick to the face - the inspiration for your next album!
Jean Kluger and Daniel Vangarde are the two Gallic maestros behind the Yamasuki Singers: a bombastical notion of a pop record consisting of Eastern-style melodies played on fuzzy wah-wah guitars and backed by obese funky psychedelic drum beats, all sung in Japanese by French f#*!ing school children!
In executing this cross-continental pastiche, Kluger and Vangarde manage to transcend crass, gratuitous fetishism and create an album that's charming, loving, ebullient and just plain funky.
The title-track/journey begins with a gong and a Japanese warrior cry. The choir enters with a simple melody that repeats and builds in sonics before recoiling into a break played through by pizzicato violins (while warrior-dude has an orgasm). The kids return to sing the mantra as the song swirls and crescendos to its conclusion. Pure joy!
It's the grandest moment on the album but every song on the LP is almost as good. Even the quieter moments like 'Okawa' and 'Aisere I Love You', which require a little more time, end up being genuinely touching.
Adding to the incredulousness of this album is the fact that Daniel Vangarde is the father of Thomas Bangalter, better known as 67/134 of Daft Punk.
All said, this is a gorgeous little gem of an album and if you haven't heard it - we the Health Club are proud to introduce it to you.
Release: Album
To Cure: A predictable playlist
Keywords: French, Health Club
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