GB1593CD
City Music Tokyo “Multiple” - Various Artists
Release Date: Friday 5th April 2024
There is so much to discover, and love, about Japanese pop music, and in particular the genre known as City Pop, with elements of disco, R&B, funk, AOR and soul released in the 1970s and 1980s. There were also traces of the genre in the 1990s and it is increasingly found in today’s pop music, both stylistically and through sampling, with artists like The Weeknd, Benny Sings and Friday Night Plans opening up the sound to a whole new generation of music lovers around the world.
City Music Tokyo represents some of the many highlights of the genre from a variety of originators and key artists making this wonderful hybrid of music. High production values, stunning arrangements, the most talented musicians, and a lot of shiny new Japanese technology all coming together in some of the best studios in the world at the time!
As a huge fan of City Pop, there are more than a few personal favourites on this album, expertly curated from the extensive Nippon Columbia catalogue by Cunimondo Tokiguchi.
The lush strings, subtle reggae rhythms, and dreamy vocals of Yumi Seino`s Mayonaka No Denwa (Midnight Phone), the dynamic groove of Spacewalk from Midori Hara`s brilliant 1988 album KO-KO-RO-NOTE, through to the pure emotional musical perfection that is Umi Ni Ukabu Piano from Nanako Sato`s 1977 influential Sweet Swingin` LP.
Keiko Kimura`s Don’t Call Me On The Phone from the 1988 Style album has long been one of my all time favourite tracks full stop!
More recent tracks that kept the City Pop sound alive into the 1990s and early 2000s include Emi Necozawa`s Me Ni Mienai Mono, with the most brilliant arrangement set to a punchy `90s R&B backing, and the super-cool 2005 release, Fuyu Kitari Naba by Takaki Horigome.
If you are familiar with City Pop then you are sure to enjoy this collection - remastered at Gearbox Records in London and beautifully presented on vinyl and CD. If this music is new to you, this is a great place to start your journey into a world of music that is both nostalgic, modern, melancholic and gently uplifting!
City Music Tokyo for the world!
Nick Luscombe
Tokyo 2024
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01. Edo River／CARNATION
02. Futari Bun no Atsui Yume(二人ぶんの熱い夢)／Yasushi Nakanishi(中西保志)
03. STARDUST NIGHT／JADOES
04. Don't Call Me on The Phone(電話しないで)／Keiko Kimura(木村恵子)
05. Samugari(寒がり)／Tomoki Kikuchi(菊地朋貴)
06. Mayonaka no Denwa(真夜中の電話)／Yumi Seino(清野由美)
07. Fuyu Kitari Naba(冬来たりなば)／Takaki Horigome(堀込高樹)
08. Spacewalk(宇宙空間遊泳)／Midori Hara(原みどり)
09. Me ni Mienai Mono(目に見えないもの)／Emi Necozawa(猫沢エミ)
10. Umi ni Ukabu Piano(海にうかぶピアノ)／Nanako Sato(佐藤奈々子)
11. Harumi Futo(晴海埠頭)／Kyoko Furuya(古家杏子)
12. Fly High／Escalators
13. Weekend Night／Mitsuko Horie(堀江美都子)
14. Moonlight, Starlight／Namihiko Ohmura(大村波彦)
15. Nostalgic Spaceman／Chikako Ueno(上野千佳子)
16. F.W.Y.／Hiroshi Sato(佐藤博)
English
日本語
