The members of Yellow Magic Orchestra have chosen a selection of songs for an upcoming best hits album entitled "YMO", set to be released on June 15.

The album was made with the goal of "introducing YMO to young listeners overseas". An initial song list for the album was inspired by the opinions of young New Yorkers, and the members chose the final tracklist.

"YMO" will be released simultaneously in Japan and overseas. It mainly consists of songs recorded at the band's former record company Alpha Records from 1978 to 1983. The recordings of "Tong Poo" and "Day Tripper" come from the 1991 live album "Fakaholic", and the recording of "Key" comes from the 1994 live album "Complete Service". Also included are "Nanga Def?" from the 1993 album "Technodon", and "Tokyo Town Pages", introduced in 2008 under the band name HAYSMO.

All songs in the upcoming album have been remastered by sound engineer Tom Coyne from Sterling Sounds. The album art was designed by Carsten Nicolai.

Sakamoto Ryuichi comments:
"This best hits album was designed to introduce YMO's music to the younger generations of overseas listeners. Not only will they be able to enjoy the nostalgia of the early years of electro pop, I also strongly believe that there is a core to the music that will resonate with the younger generations no matter their age or nationality. We took the opinions of 20-something New Yorkers to create a preliminary tracklist, and then the members edited the list to make the final album."

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Yellow Magic Orchestra "YMO" Tracklist
01. Firecracker
02. Cosmic Surfin'
03. La Femme Chinoise
04. Tong Poo
05. Day Tripper
06. Behind the Mask
07. Rydeen
08. Tighten Up (Japanese Gentlemen Stand Up Please!)
09. U.T.
10. 1000 Knives
11. Mass
12. Camouflage
13. Light in Darkness
14. Epilogue
15. Key
16. Nanga Def?
17. Tokyo Town Pages

Source + Photo: Natalie