Testpattern – Après-Midi

Produced by YMO’s Haruomi Hosono, Après-Midi is a masterpiece collection of visionary synth-pop and one of the great holy grails of ’80s Japanese electronic music. Testpattern, a duo consisting of musician Masao Hiruma and artist Fumio Ichimura, would only release this one album and then strangely fade into obscurity, which has of course added much fuel to the collector flame. Monochromatic synth work and crisp drum programming on the latest musical technologies from Roland, Korg, Emu, and Linn come together with English vocals, European references, and deadpan critiques of consumerist lifestyles for a playful, yet sophisticated album that can be considered a companion album to Hosono’s classic Philharmony (released the same year). Hard to choose a favorite of these tracks, but the salesman lifestyle tune “Modern Living”, the floating ambient “Ocean Liner”, proto tech-pop “Beach Girl” and the darker grooving “Catchball” are all highlights. Long out-of-print and heavily sought after, Après-Midi is finally available once again as a part of Alfa Music’s 55th Anniversary Project.

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