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Yukihiro Takahashi, the influential musician, drummer, vocalist, and fashion designer passed away at the age of 70, on January 11, 2023. The co-founder of Yellow Magic Orchestra was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2020 and made regular hospital visits during his rehabilitation following surgery.
According to Takahashi’s management, the musician was recuperating at his home in Karzuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, since November 2022. However, he caught pneumonia in early January, leading to further deterioration of his condition, per the Japanese publication Sponichi.
Takahashi died as a result of aspiration pneumonia, which was caused by his brain condition.
Tributes pour in for Yukihiro Takahashi as the drummer dies at the age of 70
Yukihiro Takahashi was born in Tokyo in 1952. He kick-started his career as a musician while he was still in high school. The artist was inspired by his older brother, Nobuyuki, and learned to drum alongside college musicians while still in junior high.
At the age of 16, he began working professionally as a studio musician, and in the 1970s, after performing for the Sadistic Mika Band, he began to earn widespread recognition in Japan. After the group disbanded, Yukihiro Takahashi released his 1977 solo album, Saravah!, which was produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
In 1978, Yukihiro Takahashi and Sakamoto were hired by Haruomi Hosono to record his album, Paraiso, which was credited to Hosono and the Yellow Magic Band. The three artists also officially formed the Yellow Magic Orchestra that same year.
Given his popularity and range of work, Twitter was full of tributes as soon as the news of Takahashi's passing became known.
Takahashi worked on 23 solo albums
Yellow Magic Orchestra rose to prominence with their album Yellow Magic Orchestra, a well-known example of the synthpop genre that incorporates computer technology, synthesizers, and video game sounds.
The album's prominence is demonstrated by the fact that it entered both the Billboard 200 and Billboard R&B Albums charts.
In 2020, Yukihiro Takahashi told Dublab:
“I never imagined that music from the ‘70s in Japan and city pop, which I have very little connection to, would get popular in the U.S. I also feel that it’s a little strange that my music and music from [others like] Akiko Yano and Haruomi Hosono is all being categorized as city pop.”
He further added, noting:
“In the ‘70s, Japanese musicians were being influenced by fusion and pop from the west. Japanese musicians are generally very technical, and though they try to imitate western music, it always ended up sounding very Japanese, including the vocals. The people from the west now listening to those records, probably find a kitsch appeal in them.”
Yukihiro Takahashi released 7 albums with Yellow Music Orchestra and 23 original albums as a solo artist. His most recent work was 2013’s Life Anew.
Apart from his solo career, Takahashi also played in The Beatniks with Keiichi Suzuki, Sketch Show with Hosono, and Pupa with Tomoyo Harada and Hiroshi Takano, among others.
