Description
Curated by DJ Notoya, the compilation plays as a paean to the spending power of major Japanese labels throughout the 80s and the open-eared aptitude of their artists. Able to provide top session musicians filling out horn sections, orchestral strings and backing vocals, each track plays as a sumptuously warm instrumental experience. Opener Kimagure is taken from actress Kumi Nakamuras only album release and features her Patrice Rushen-style silken vocal atop a mid-tempo boogie bassline; Indo No Michibata continues that fusion funk feel with a horn section that references US R&B band Tower of Power.
But this is more than just a well-crafted replica of American styles. Each composition subtly subverts its reference points: Sumiko Yamagatas balladic Minnie Riperton-style instrumentals are coupled with an eerie top-line synth; New Generation Companys strutting funk, complete with vocoder banking, has a proto-techno feel; Mizuki Koyama goes full Drexciyan electro in the thundering opening to her Teena Marie-adjacent Oh! Daddy.Even though city pop is a genre largely coined in retrospect, Tokyo Glows varied selection is not a mere historical document. The compilation highlights these artists attention to instrumental detail and their delicate fusion of popular international styles with new technologies to create the sound of a city. It is one that is both of its time and still repeatedly listenable today.
DJ Notoya who has dug the rich Nippon Columbia catalogue to bring a breezy selection of funky gems by Hiroshi Sato, Hitomi “Penny” Tohyama, Midori Hara, many of which making their vinyldebut outside of Japan. The 2-LP gatefold album has been designed by Optigram and is annotated by DJ Notoya with Nick Luscombe. The audio has been newly remastered in Tokyo by Nippon Columbia. (via Label)
This upbeat collection unearths artists whose glossy, disco-influenced pop contains subtle fusions and canny innovation.
Japanese city pop is an enigmatic genre. Emerging in the late 1970s and peaking in popularity throughout the 80s, it was a soundtrack to the countrys economic boom and newly christened leisure class: a loosely defined grouping of Japanese-language music influenced by American styles such as yacht rock, R&B, funk and boogie.
Recent years have seen a renewed interest in the genre among western audiences spurred on by cratedigging and YouTube. It has spawned expertly curated compilations, such as Light in the Attics 2019 album Pacific Breeze and, from We Want Sounds, 2020s Tokyo Dreaming. Japanese label Nippon Columbias archive-raiding Tokyo Glow is the latest, producing 18 tracks of city pop that exemplify the genres wide-ranging diversity.
Curated by DJ Notoya, the compilation plays as a paean to the spending power of major Japanese labels throughout the 80s and the open-eared aptitude of their artists. Able to provide top session musicians filling out horn sections, orchestral strings and backing vocals, each track plays as a sumptuously warm instrumental experience. Opener Kimagure is taken from actress Kumi Nakamuras only album release and features her Patrice Rushen-style silken vocal atop a mid-tempo boogie bassline; Indo No Michibata continues that fusion funk feel with a horn section that references US R&B band Tower of Power.
But this is more than just a well-crafted replica of American styles. Each composition subtly subverts its reference points: Sumiko Yamagatas balladic Minnie Riperton-style instrumentals are coupled with an eerie top-line synth; New Generation Companys strutting funk, complete with vocoder banking, has a proto-techno feel; Mizuki Koyama goes full Drexciyan electro in the thundering opening to her Teena Marie-adjacent Oh! Daddy.
Even though city pop is a genre largely coined in retrospect, Tokyo Glows varied selection is not a mere historical document. The compilation highlights these artists attention to instrumental detail and their delicate fusion of popular international styles with new technologies to create the sound of a city. It is one that is both of its time and still repeatedly listenable today. (via The Guardian)
Label:Wewantsounds
Format:2 x Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Remastered, Stereo
Released:2021
Genre:Electronic, Funk / Soul, Pop
Style:Synth-pop, AOR, City Pop, Disco, Funk, Boogie
File under: Japanese Pop
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.