The Beatniks

Exitentialism (1981) ...

The Beatniks were an offshoot of Yellow Magic Orchestra, formed by drummer/singer Yukihiro Takahashi and Keiichi Suzuki of the Moon Riders.

Le sange du poete ... 

In 1981, elsewhere in Japan, the not-nearly-as-popular-but-still-great Moon Riders had just released the highly regarded "Camera Egal Stylo," which marked their about-face into new-wave, and were working on the highly-regarded album "Mania Maniera," which was apparently too bizarre to release upon its completion in 1982. Lots of elevated regard was floating around between YMO and them apparently. Therefore no surprise that the 1981 album by the Beatniks, the on-again-off-again collaboration between YMO frontman and drummer Yukihiro Takahashi and head Moon Rider (and Earthbound soundtrack scribe, to you video game fans) Keiichi Suzuki, is as fantastic as it is.

The oddly named "Exitentialism" (yes, ExiTENtialism...don't ask me!) is, to be sure, a bit tilted in the YMO direction. YMO, and especially Takahashi, were stars; the Moon Riders were and are Not. Consequently, Exitentialism is a bit of a 60%/30% split in Takahashi's favor--not a huge problem, as by this point Keiichi Suzuki's voice was at the beginning of its steady decline. As an album, Exitentialism plays like a combination of YMO's "BGM" (think U-T and Cue), the Moon Riders' "Camera Egal Stylo". They released 4 more albums over the 2 decades that followed. Exitentialist A Go Go [1987] , Another High Exit [1994], The Show Vol.4 Yohji Yamamoto Collection Music [1996] , M.R.I. Musical Resonance Imaging [2001] . Easy does it... Rho-Xs

keijiongaku.blogspot.co.uk (recent link) ...