My Favourite Albums

Yellow Magic Orchestra are, of course, a legendary electronic group with a vast and delicious range of sounds permeating their work. Much like Kraftwerk, they have immense, industrial-infused work that drifted into lush, bouncy synthpop in the 1980s, and it's this stuff that remains some of my favourite work.

'Naughty Boys' is a tongue-in-cheek pop classic, featuring the impeccable 'Kimi ni Mune Kyun', and the delight and fun that oozes from it is delectable. It's a record that's just so, well... cute.

Beyond that, there's also a sombre soulfulness that creeps in, aided by beautifully muddy minor chords and rich, wooden percussiveness.

The boys are naughty, and that's why we love them. There's a beautiful playfulness here that works so well with the more melancholy aspects of the production. Loves it.

Come on girl, it's Woodface.

This is another album that I enjoy for both its comical elements (the very first line of the album is "not everyone in New York can pay to see Andrew Lloyd Webber") and its richly emotional elements ('Weather With You'). It's a beautifully layered thing, with lovely clarity in its mixing. And 'It's Only Natural' starts with a funny old-timey car horn honk. So they are bringing some of the clown aesthetic in from their predecessor group, Split Enz (another massive favourite band of mine).

Also, the cover is so cute and good. There's a touch of the fantastical here, and I love that.