Pitchfork

It remains to be seen whether Live Earth will indeed save the world, but it should at least save one renowned act from a permanent hiatus.

The pioneering Japanese synth-pop trio Yellow Magic Orchestra-- which existed from 1978 to 1983 and included a young(er) Ryuichi Sakamoto, along with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi-- has announced plans to reunite for this year's Live Earth event in Kyoto, Japan. Holy crap, I just realized Kyoto and Tokyo are anagrams! Seriously, best thing to happen all day.

Anyhow. YMO will join minimalist composer Michael Nyman and others at the Kyoto concert, which goes down July 7 (with other Live Earth happenings popping off in various cities around the globe the same day). Rihanna, Linkin Park, and quite a few feisty-looking J-pop singers, meanwhile, play Live Earth Tokyo.

Plans for YMO activity beyond the reunion show remain unclear, although the original trio had already joined forces anew earlier this year to appear in a Kirin Lager commercial in Japan, which includes an updated version of their jam "Rydeen" titled "Rydeen 79/07". Hosono and Takahashi also play together in Sketch Show.