Scuba
Studio album by
P-Model
ReleasedSeptember 25, 1984 (1984-09-25)
Recorded1984
StudioAC Unit, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo
GenreCold wave
Length31:35
LabelJICC Publishing Bureau
ProducerP-Model
P-Model chronology
Another Game
(1984)		 Scuba
(1984)		 Karkador
(1985)
Alternative cover
CD release cover

Scuba is an album by the Japanese new wave band P-Model. It is different from other P-Model albums in that it was made almost entirely made by guitarist Susumu Hirasawa alone and for its original issue in the cassette book format: the album was packaged with an 84-page booklet[1] that contained techniques to induce rapid eye movement sleep and hypnosis, the lyric story expanded Scuba Monogatari, photos of the involved band members in a coastal area that illustrated the stories, and an interview with The Stalin vocalist Michiro Endo.

Overview

After the release of P-Model's album Another Game, a process protracted primarily by their then-current label Tokuma Shoten, leader Susumu Hirasawa was exhausted of dealing with major labels, so chose to have the band be independent for some time. In an apartment occupied by friend and former co-worker Akiro Kamio Arishima's (有島　神尾　明朗) film production company AC-Unit, he and a group of friends turned a room into a home studio, and there he and others in various lineups recorded music.[2][3]

Around the time Hirasawa planned to make something more "proper", he was approached by the JICC Publishing Bureau, makers of WonderLand  (宝島, Takarajima, Treasure Island), a subculture-focused magazine that had covered P-Model a number of times beforehand. They asked for the group to make the second entry in their burgeoning cassette book line,[4] which would allow them total freedom from Recording Industry Association of Japan censorship.

Bass and drum parts were handled by Hirasawa with a Korg Polysix and a Korg KPR-77.[5] P-Model's rhythm section was in a state of flux at the time. Manager Mitsuru Hirose (広瀬　充) sought to draw talented personnel to the band.[6] By summer 1984 it had already been decided that Tainaka, who felt he was "at the limit of [his] strength",[7] would leave.[8] Hirose at some point called 4-D/After Dinner member Tadahiko Yokogawa to be the band's new bassist,.[9] then went to current bassist Tatsuya Kikuchi's house to tell him "you are already fired".[10] Tainaka had written one song for the album[4] and Kikuchi recorded basslines for one or two tracks,[10] materials that went unused. The tour for the album featured Tainaka on drums and Yokogawa on bass and other instruments. The promotional photoshoot for Scuba had been done before Kikuchi's dismissal from P-Model, and as such, he was part of the ad campaign for an album he does not appear in, by a band he hadn't been part of for months.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Susumu Hirasawa, except where noted

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Frozen Beach"  4:24
2."Boat"  4:16
3."Seven Joint Man" (七節男 Nana Fushi Otoko)  4:11
4."Ohayo II" (オハヨウ II)  4:31
5."Looping Opposition"Michiro Endo (intro), Hirasawa 4:10
6."REM Sleep" Hirasawa, Shunichi Miura4:31
7."Fish Song"Hirasawa, Akiro "Kamio" ArishimaHirasawa, Kamio4:39
8."Scuba"instrumental 1:12

Endo's segment on "Looping Opposition" is not present on the CD mix of the track, shortening it by 23 seconds. The cassette book version contains sheet music for a "Song of Horohomo" (ホロホモーの歌, Horohomō no Uta), credited to "Furufucchi" (フルフッチ) and sequenced between "Seven Joint Man" and "Ohayo II". No recording of this composition by Hirasawa or anyone involved with the album exists.

Personnel

P-Model – Production, Arrangements
Additional personnel
  • Akemi Tsujitani (AC Unit) – Clothes Construction and Leg, Backing Vocals on "Boat"
  • Michiro Endo (The Stalin) – Voice on "Looping Opposition" (cassette book version only)
  • Akiro "Kamio" Arishima (AC Unit) – Synthesizer on "Fish Song"
  • Mugen Kanzaki (Eco) – Hard Cover Design
  • Yumiko Onozawa – Red Clothes Making
  • Yasuhiro Ichikawa (Pool) – Photography
  • Yūichi Hirasawa (credited as "Yuhichi Hirasawa") – Art director
  • Model House – Editorial Coordination
  • Mitsuru Hirose – Artist Management
  • Special thanks: Kuniharu Kawasaki, Teruo Nakano, Yoshikazu Takahashi, Yuji Matsuda, Kayo Muto

References

Citations
  1. ↑ ISBN 9784880630564
  2. ↑ 大野祥之 (15 June 1985). "リズム・マシーンの原音からなるべく遠ざかるよう音を加工するんだ" [We're Going to Modify the Sound so That it's as Far Away from the Rhythm Machine Original as Possible]. リズム・マシーン＆マイ・サンド・システム [RHYTHM MACHINE & MY SOUND SYSTEM] PART 2. 100％リズム・マシン [100% Rhythm Machine] (ヤングギター6月号臨時増刊 [Young Guitar June Issue Special Extra Installment]). Vol. 17, no. 10 #229. Shinko Music Pub. Co. p. 151.
  3. ↑ 高橋 et al. 2010, SOUNDSCAPES — プロデューサーが語るP-MODEL: 有島“神尾”明朗 [Interview With Producer: Akiro Kamio Arishima].
  4. 1 2 大戸恒明 (2 August 1984). "インタビュー: 平沢進（P-MODEL）" [Interview: Susumu Hirasawa]. Super Head Magazine Doll. No. 23. Doll. p. 36.
  5. ↑ たなべありす (15 September 1993). "P-MODEL HISTORY". 徹底特集！ カラー＆モノクロ立体企画 Part 2 — フロンティアとしてのP-MODEL [Thorough Special Feature! Color & Monochrome 3D Project Part 2 – P-Model as a Frontier]. KB Special. No. 104. Rittor Music. p. 32.
  6. ↑ 広瀬充 (10 December 1993). "P-MODEL HISTORY in Deep". Complete File Massive!! — Pmodel. Pico Entertainment. Vol. 2. Sony Magazines Annex. p. 136.
  7. ↑ 高橋 et al. 2010, 群体プシコイド変遷記 — 田井中貞利 [interview with members – Sadatoshi Tainaka].
  8. ↑ 高橋 et al. 2010, LIVEの方法/1983-1984　特別寄稿3: 広瀬充――IKARIとしてステージに立った元マネージャー(編集者) [Method of Live/1983-1984　Special Contribution 3: Mitsuru Hirose —— Former Manager on Stage as Ikari (Editor)].
  9. ↑ 高橋 et al. 2010, 群体プシコイド変遷記 — 横川理彦 [interview with members – Tadahiko Yokogawa].
  10. 1 2 高橋 et al. 2010, 群体プシコイド変遷記 — 菊池達也 [interview with members – Tatsuya Kikuchi].
Bibliography
  • 高橋かしこ; et al. (16 October 2010) [24 December 1999], 改訂DIGITAL復刻版 音楽産業廃棄物 [Music Industrial Wastes Rev.2.4] (PDF), vol. P-Model Side – Open Source (3rd ed.), Fascination.
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