Biography
Along with Gerard, Outer Limits, Deja Vu and Pageant, Pale Acute Moon was part of the Japanese symphonic progressive movement in the '80s. This one album band seems to mostly belong to keyboardist Motoi Semba. The former member of Teru's Symphonia, and Rosemary (also Kennedy and Shonen Knife), joined guitarist Masahiro Imamura, drummer Ryoichi Terashita, bassist Katsunori Hamada, and singer Shinji Akahori in 1984 for this endevour. They released the much hailed "Newtopia" in 1985.
The music is praised for its arrangements, and keyboard work (there are, of course, the usual comparisons to Emerson, Wakeman, Banks, Jobson, etc). The difference here is that there is also an incorporation of 80's electronic musical styles. However, that does not mean it is not symphonic. There is a pervasive orchestral quality, and only about half of the songs have vocals.
Read full biography ↓
Although they only recorded one album, the band did not officially break up until 1988. This was when Semba joined Teru's Symphonia. The "Newtopia" reissue has bonus tracks from his solo career.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.