Yamasuki

Released under the name Yamasuki, also referred to as The Yamasuki Singers, or The Yamasuki’s, the project was never intended as a conventional band. It was a studio-born fantasy, a concept album disguised as a pop record. What began as a standalone single quickly expanded into a full-blown pan-cultural pop opera that ignored genres and common sense with joyful abandon.

Musically, the album sits at a delirious crossroads. 𝙋𝙨𝙮𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙥𝙤𝙥 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙠 𝙧𝙝𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙢𝙨, 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙗𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙪𝙗𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙢 𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙥𝙨𝙚𝙪𝙙𝙤-𝙅𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙚, 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮. Kluger and Vangarde famously recruited a children’s choir to perform the vocals, and for added spectacle, they brought in a Japanese judo grandmaster, whose ritualistic shouts and battle cries erupt throughout the record.
The album’s afterlife did not stop there. Over the years, Yamasuki has been quietly sampled, covered, and featured across media far beyond the realm of novelty pop. 𝙆𝙤𝙣𝙤 𝙎𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙞 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙮 𝙀𝙧𝙮𝙠𝙖𝙝 𝘽𝙖𝙙𝙪 (𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟳), 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙈𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙞𝙗, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙔𝙖𝙢𝙖 𝙔𝙖𝙢𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙥 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡.

This new reissue of Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki proves the renewed interest and respect for this cult album, faithful to the original spirit while finally giving it back the physical presence it deserves. In an era obsessed with genres and algorithmic neatness, Yamasuki still laughs, dances and karate-kicks its way past definitions. It reminds us that pop music can be playful without being disposable, strange without being cynical and joyful without explanation.