Yellow Magic Orchestra Reunites for Massive Attack's Meltdown Festival

London's Royal Festival Hall on Sunday, June 15th

Bristol’s Massive Attack helped define British pop for 20 years. This year they are the curators for the South Bank's influential Meltdown Festival, and have invited Yellow Magic Orchestra for their first UK performance since October 16, 1980 at the (then) Hammersmith Odeon. Yellow Magic Orchestra performs at London’s Royal Festival Hall on Sunday, June 15th.

Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi, and Ryuichi Sakamoto last performed as Yellow Magic Orchestra at Live Earth’s Kyoto stage on 7/7/07, a performance hailed by Rolling Stone as the worldwide festival’s best reunion performance. Ren Takada (Pedal Steel/Electronics), Christian Fennesz (Guitar/Electronics), Shoko Ise (visuals), and Tomohiko Gondo (HD Operation/Euphonium) will join Yellow Magic Orchestra for their Meltdown performance.

Massive Attack will perform at the beginning and the end of the festival, as well as mix a live performance of the Blade Runner soundtrack by the Heritage Orchestra. The band's other picks for Meltdown include appearances from Gang of Four, Grace Jones, Johnny Clarke, Stiff Little Fingers performing their 1979 debut Inflammable Material in its entirety, the Tom Tom Club, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic, Fleet Foxes, Elbow, Adrian Sherwood, Dälek, the Cool Kids, the Shape of Broad Minds, Flying Lotus, Tunng, Aloe Blacc, Terry Callier, Leila, the Shortwave Set, and Martina Topley-Bird.