Last updated 02.5.5
(*) means I don't
own this album and have never checked it out.
thanks to : Sohichiro Suzuki, Terry Green
World Standard is sort of an homage to world music excursions. Sohichiro Suzuki is the man behind the act.
To set the record :-) straight, Haruomi Hosono (formerly of YMO) often collaborates and or produces but it's his friend Sohichiro Suzuki's ongoing project.
Lately Sohichiro Suzuki has been collaborating as part of an old style music ensemble Noahlewis' Mahlon Taits
World StandardWorld Standard1985 Non Standard lp: 28NS-6, cd: 30CH-111, css: N28S-6Hosono produced. E-Z listening. Strange kitsch. Quite a few very clever tracks. Sohichiro Suzuki is the main force behind World Standard, but the 1980s releases include a group of sorts. Definitely EZ listening, not as ambient like their 90s releases but incredibly charming |
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00.9.20 Polystar 2CD: PSCR-5916-7
This is a 2000 reissue of the above album with an extra CD Youthful Standard which contains earlier versions of many of the tracks.
Hosono produced. 4 tracks. 2 have Esperanto lyrics. 2 are instrumentals. Hosono Co-Produced. Short but very good. Seems to be a who's who of guest Nonstandard artists. Even P5's Yasuharu Konishi shows. A fine mid 80s ethno-techno pop release.
(*)1986 NON-STANDARD 30CH-183
full length. I've never listened to it or seen an actual copy. 2 female singers are featured on the cover. The style (I guess) is sort of French pop. Seems to be seldom seen and long out of print.
(*) 1987 LouLouMonAmour
(@) 1991 Posh
(*) 1992 Everything Play
In the late 80s Suzuki-san released albums under the name Everything Play. There were several albums in different styles. The one I heard Posh was thanks to Terry Green and Suzuki-san. It's a whole album by a recreated Thai-style orchestra.
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World StandardWorld Standard II1995 FOA FRCA 1003Hosono produced and guests in this project. Ambient sounding with a nice flow and pleasing melodies. Hard to find but I see a copy from time to time. |
World StandardCountry GazetteDISCOVER AMERICA SERIES VOL.197.8.21 daisyworld CD, Asphodel 0982 (US '98)Hosono produced and plays guitar. Larry Campbell plays country instruments (or maybe he's just sampled with permission) and Mina (HH's daughter) sings occasionally. Sohichiro Suzuki does the rest. This is a mix of Country, Ambient with some East Indian music. Hosono wrote a track and there is a Hank Williams cover. Floaty. This one has a U.S. release-- which I appreciate! The Japanese version has since gone out of print . As a minor point, when this album was released the outside of Japan marketing people seemed to have emphasized Hosono's involvement, nothing wrong there. he was involved and it helps this good album get noticed. The bit of a downside is that it gave the impression the album was some kind of YMO solo spinoff or Hosono's new band I guess. So the upshot is ausually knowledgeable music shop files World Standard with Ryuichi Sakamoto's albums, I'm sure his fans might do good to try these albums but it does seem a like a couple "degrees of separation" to file them together. |
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World StandardMOUNTAIN BALLADDISCOVER AMERICA SERIES VOL.2(@) 99.11.23 daisyworld RDW-2002 This album has fallen out of print. Multi instrumental takes on what I take to be Applachian music. |
02.04.03 daisyworld CTCR-14213
Sort of familiar and yet strange and exotic. But I guess you could say that about every WS album :) This one I guess is like music hall or Vaudville music of the early 20th century. Quite distinctive use of the musical saw. Includes a cover of YMO's "Lotus Love".
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World Standard + Moose HillGraceful Silence02.04.25 This one and "Anthology of Barbarian Folk Music" are kind of a matching pair in a series? called Futari. Each one has a different primary collaborator and are mostly acoustic guitar based. Though that doesn't rule out some digressions and surprises. Goro Ito is Moose Hill
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World Standard + Kama AinaAnthology of Barbarian Folk Music02.05.25 Takuji Aoyagi is Kama Aina more info after I spin these albums a bunch of times!
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World Standard & Wechsel GarlandThe Isle(@) 2003 P-VINE PCD-5696, Staubgold (GER 2004) CD/LP release # 51 A collaboration with Wechsel Garland (a project name for Jörg Follert). My understanding is that tapes were sent back and forth over a couple years and each collabortator would add to pieces started by the other. It's a combination of melodic work and electronics both I think were experimenting with (in other words I'm pretty sure both were doing some of each). Some wonderful pieces though I guess some pieces come off as experiments. Quite a coincidence in that some years back I had just gotten in touch with SS and then shortly afterward JF contacted me after seeing this page and I was able to get him in touch too. |
World StandardAlabaster(*) 2004 daisyworld CTCR-14383 twenty2product (Terry Green & Nori Tolson) designed the artwork |
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