Ippudo

A Japanese techno-pop trio of the early '80s led by singer/songwriter Masami Tsuchiya, Ippu-Do was the missing link between Japan's Yellow Magic Orchestra and England's Japan -- neither as purely electronic as the former nor as prettily atmospheric as the latter. (YMO's Ryuichi Sakamoto collaborated with Tsuchiya on his 1982 solo album Rice Music, and Tsuchiya played guitar with Japan on the Asian tour documented on the live album Oil on Canvas.) Ippu-Do debuted in 1980 with the new wave-influenced Normal, on which the trio (Tsuchiya on vocals and guitar, Akira Mitake on keyb...