Electronica smokinfish
Isao Tomita - The Bermuda Triangle (1979) [K2 24Bit Remaster]

Perhaps Tomita at his most experimental, in which large sections of Prokofiev orchestral works are combined with loads of marvellous synthesizer effects.
One of the most lavish album packages released in the 1970's (especially the Japanese version), this hit the streets at the time of maximum gimmicry in package design. But it was great value compared with today's CD's (unless, again, you buy the Japanese version).

The UK edition came in at least three colours of vinyl: standard black, sea blue, and a bright pink colour. In Japan, the album had a full colour inner bag and colour sleeve insert. Even the interior of the sleeve was printed in colour, with photos.

There are a number of different versions of the titles on this recording. The ones listed below are from the Japanese CD release. The album was also subtitled 'A Musical Fantasy of Science Fiction'.

As with many of Tomita's albums, the pictures on early releases of 'The Bermuda Triangle' LP differed from those eventually released on CD - the LP version and a 12" single from the album had a sort of oceanic look to them with a kind of spectral image on top.

The computer encoded signals found on this album are in a format known as TARBEL. Using this system, messages may be encoded in a recording via audio signals. The TARBEL format was used as a way to save data onto an audio cassette recorder in the mid to late 1970s before the IBM PC and hard disk drives. The sound is familiar to anyone who has used an old tape interface (lots of 'piii's and 'gaaa's!) and can be decoded with a computer programmed to recognise the TARBEL system.

1. The Round Space Ship Landing on the Earth While Emitting Silvery Lights [The Arrival of UFO and the Mysterious Electric Waves] <Tomita> (2:22)
   Look Out the Bermuda Triangle, Look Out the Bermuda Triangle, Look Out
2. Strong Electromagnetic Waves ["Romeo and Juliet" Suite No. 2: Montagues and Capulets] <Prokofiev> (1:29)
3. The World of the Different Dimensions [235k MP3] [Valse Triste] <Sibelius> (2:04)
4. The Giant Pyramid Sitting at the Bottom of the Sea of Bermuda and the Ancient People [Scythian Suite: The Adoration of Veles and Ala] <Prokofiev> (6:37)
5. The Venus Wearing the Space Uniform Shining in Florescent Light Color [The Return of UFO] <Tomita> (1:30) [Close Encounters of the Third Kind] <John Williams> (3:54)
6. The Children Playing in Agharta, the Deep Underground Kingdom [Symphony No. 5: Allegro Marcato] <Prokofiev> (5:24) [Bridge: Close Encounters of the Third Kind] <John Williams> (0:22)
7. The Hollow Vessel Called the Earth [Dororo] <Tomita> (4:39)
8. The Song of Venus [Violin Concerto No. 1: Andantino] <Prokofiev> (3:52)
9. The Dawn at Bermuda [Symphony No. 6: Allegro Moderato] <Prokofiev> (1:53)
10. The Mysterious Electric Waves [Computer Data Signals] <Tomita> (0:29)
11. The Dazzling Bright Cylindrical Object Which Had Crashed Into Tunguska, Siberia [Symphony No. 6: Allegro Moderato] <Prokofiev> (7:29)
12. The Harp Being Played by the Ancient People and the Venus and Her Space Children Singing the Song of the Future [Violin Concerto No. 1: Moderato; Allegro Moderato] <Prokofiev> (7:52)
13. The Visionary Flight to the 1448 Nebular Group of the Bootes [The Departure of UFO] <Tomita> (1:30) [Bridge: Scythian Suite: The Adoration of Veles and Ala] <Prokofiev> (0:18) [Valse Triste] <Sibelius> (1:29) [Vocoder] <Tomita> (0:37)
    Now, You Have Been Carried Away from the Earth