Description
Weaving in elements of disco, new wave, and J-rock.
Tomoko Arans Japanese city pop album Fuyu-Kukan is being reissued, via Warner Music Japan.
City pop came to prominence in Japan during the 1970s and 1980s, mixing mellow melodies with jazz fusion, electronica, funk, boogie, J-rock, and disco.
Recorded in 1983, and produced by Masatoshi Nishimura, Fuyu-Kukan combines city pop motifs with new wave, rock, and experimental sounds.
Album track Im in Love was also recently included in Light in the Attics second Japanese city pop compilation Pacific Breeze 2: Japanese City Pop, AOR & Boogie 1972-1986. (via The Vinyl Factory)
Tomoko Aran () is a singer-songwriter born in 1958, from Aomori prefecture, Japan. Like many City Pop artists, her interest was in music began as a child after being exposed to American music, for her in particular, the music of Cliff Richard. Since then she started translating the lyrics of her favorite songs by Elton John, T.Rex, The Beatles, and many more, which developed into a passion for songwriting. At the age of 19, she was introduced to producer Daikoto Nagoto (), and joined his production company, Being Co., Ltd. Since then she’s built her career as a songwriter composing singles for artists like singer & actor, Junko Mihara ( ), as well the summer rock band, TUBE. On top of that, she also put out solo albums of her own, 9 in total. Her most popular, especially over the internet, was her 1983 release, Fuy-Kkan ().
This album was produced by Daiko Nagato and Masatoshi Nishimura, who you might know from his collaboration with Harry Hosono on his electronic album, SFX, and with the supergroup, Friends of Earth, which included Nishimura, Hosono, and even the Godfather of Funk, James Brown. Nishimura also has the help of his backing band, Fence of Defence, starring rock guitarist Kenji Kitajima () & Drummer Wataru Yamada (). Fuyu-Kukan also features saxophonist, Toshihiko Furumura (), from The Fuse, backing band of rockstar Shogo Hamada (), jazz bassist Masao Nakajima (), and South Korean singer, Ji Sook (), who goes by Mizuhara Akiko ( ) in Japan. The album features compositions by Nishimura, singer-songwriter Tetsuro Oda (), and composer Masanori Sasaji ()
Fuyu Kukan was one of the many City Pop albums that received new life and international fame in the modern era thanks to the magic of the Youtube algorithm. It was recently sampled by popular Canadian singer, The Weekend, in his new single Out of Time. The album will also be receiving a remaster this month. (via Come Along Radio)
2025 Japan reissue on clear blue vinyl
Analog master tape restoration and archiving onto DSD by Seigen Ono at Saidera Mastering
This analog master is flat converted from DSD to 96kHz 24bit
Vinyl Tracklist
A1 Body To Body
A2 Lonely Night
A3 Im In Love
A4 Je Re N Ma (Dilemma)
A5 Midnight Pretenders
B1 Tapestry
B2 Hannya
B3 Bye Bye Yesterday
B4 Baby, Dont You Cry Anymore
Label: Warner Music Japan
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Clear Blue Vinyl
Reissued: 2025 / Originally Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Funk / Soul, Pop
Style: Boogie, City Pop, Funk, New Wave, Pop Rock, Synth-pop
File under: Japanese Pop
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