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City Pop: The Late 70s-80s Funky-Smooth Japanese Music Phenomenon

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BaronLundi

Member
Great thread. Super impressed with Tatsuro Yamashita especially. I mean Sparkle is on par with the best funk out there. The riff, the sax. Just wow.

That psychotic cube song is hot. Loved the Piper tracks as well.
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
BaronLundi said:
Great thread. Super impressed with Tatsuro Yamashita especially. I mean Sparkle is on par with the best funk out there. The riff, the sax. Just wow.

That psychotic cube song is hot. Loved the Piper tracks as well.
Click to expand...

Yeah, sadly Vizion was some sort of forgotten side project and the music is really rare.

Psychotic Cube is the name of the album, I goofed. Gonna fix the OP.

https://www.discogs.com/Vizion-Psychotic-Cube/release/7556529

Discogs shows 3 vinyls for sale starting at $163
 
N

nitewulf

Member
Basically very inoffensive, RnB laced, 80's pop. I heard some of these tracks before, randomly. I couldn't get into Vaporwave much, just too elevator-ey. But a lot of these pop tracks are pretty nice. As YouTube is terrible for listening, are there legit, digital downloadable compilations I can purchase from somewhere, preferably "hand picked best" tracks?
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
nitewulf said:
Basically very inoffensive, RnB laced, 80's pop. I heard some of these tracks before, randomly. I couldn't get into Vaporwave much, just too elevator-ey. But a lot of these pop tracks are pretty nice. As YouTube is terrible for listening, are there legit, digital downloadable compilations I can purchase from somewhere, preferably "hand picked best" tracks?
Click to expand...

There's a ton of mixtapes on SoundCloud and I think there's some reissues and compilations on Bandcamp.
 
F

Fancyarcher

Member
Really enjoy these tunes. They really remind me of 70's / 80's funk but in a good way, full of good melodies too. Love Friday's Chinatown, cha-cha-cha!!!
 
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Shaneus

Member
This specific genre, I feel like I've been looking for it my whole life. When I picture "Outrun" music, this is what comes into my head, not the neo-new wave fluorescence that kind of started with Kavinsky et al.

BTW, It might not fit into the specific regional requirement for this genre (and I apologise profusely for taking it slightly off-topic) but an Australian band called Client Liaison has a very similar vibe to it, and their aesthetic and style is very much mid-80s cheesy pop music. I recommend people check them out, it might be their cup of tea :)

Edit: Never mind, it's not quite the same, and IMO actually not as good. I second the earlier poster in hunting down some kind of "best of" compilation to buy on Bandcamp or wherever. Licensing would be a major hurdle though, I'd imagine.
 
L

Lotto

Member
I find it interesting how this genre is getting so much exposure now. I guess vaporwave/future funk are partly to credit for it's revival since it's so Japanese city-pop sample heavy. It's good stuff. Hitomitoi was already mentioned in this thread but some of her albums are very city-pop centric with a modern twist. Her latest album 『Ecstasy』 is just wonderful for summer vibes.

一十三十一「Flash of Light」MV
 
K

Kevdo

Member
Oh man this is scratching an itch I didn't know I had lol. I can picture so many of these being Karaoke songs in Yakuza 0

Pity I didn't know about this sooner, this would have been super fun to break out at karaoke when I was still in Japan
 
L

Lunarwhale

Member
I've been wondering for so long what this genre was called. Going to have to give some of these a listen after work (and then try to hunt down some of these on vinyl). Really dig the few songs in this style that I've heard before - such a uniquely kitschy sound.
 
S

Shaneus

Member
Everything I look up is basically just a new 80s Sega arcade soundtrack I'd never heard before. You cannot wipe the smile from my face.
 
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NipplesAndToes23

Member
Infinite said:
http://maltinerecords.cs8.biz/163.html Some more recent stuff

And I'm pretty sure especia is apart of this wave
Click to expand...

Damn Zaddy!

QuY9T9R.gif


This shit is nice!
 
P

pswii60

Member
If you like these funky 80s vibes then also check out the Nighttime Lovers compilation series..

R-3798369-1345264624-8231.jpeg.jpg


I think they're up to volume 26 or something now. All rare 80s synth disco boogie funky vibes on every volume.

If you like the stuff in the OP you'll definitely love this. You're welcome.
 
M

mavo

Banned
Posting to check when i get home

Toshiki kadomatsu "if you wanna dance tonight" is pretty fucking great.
 
D

daydream

Banned
pswii60 said:
If you like these funky 80s vibes then also check out the Nighttime Lovers compilation series..

R-3798369-1345264624-8231.jpeg.jpg


I think they're up to volume 26 or something now. All rare 80s synth disco boogie funky vibes on every volume.

If you like the stuff in the OP you'll definitely love this. You're welcome.
Click to expand...

i, uh, might have to track this down
 
B

BHK3

Banned
Oh hey it's all my vaporwave but the actual sourced songs! Are there any other songs like Friday Chinatown and Plastic Love? I haven't clicked through every single link here yet but was wondering if there are any recommendations toward those two songs in particular. I listened to the album Plastic Love came from and actually didn't like it, sounded too much like the old love songs I would hear growing up from my mom watching all hear daytime dramas and soaps.

This was in the recommendations and it's also really good, but it's also very modern and closer to something like Genki Rockets: https://youtu.be/_2quiyHfJQw
 
M

MisterGrey3000

Member
Kyzer said:
"Plastic Love" is the hottest jam
Click to expand...

That's the first City Pop song I ever heard, and I listened to it over and over again for an hour straight while working.
It's soooo gooood.
Also I really love Tatsuro Yamashita's- Maria Takeuchi's Husband-
song "Daydream".

And Miki Matsubara's (R.I.P, poor thing) "Stay With Me" is *chef kiss* perrrfecto.

killatopak said:
I always confuse city pop with future funk. They're basically just jazzy japanese songs right?
Click to expand...

A little bit of funk, a little bit of post-disco disco, a little bit of R&B, and a little bit of jazz.
It's basically big ol' mix of influences from black music, that's for sure.
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
BHK3 said:
Oh hey it's all my vaporwave but the actual sourced songs! Are there any other songs like Friday Chinatown and Plastic Love? I haven't clicked through every single link here yet but was wondering if there are any recommendations toward those two songs in particular. I listened to the album Plastic Love came from and actually didn't like it, sounded too much like the old love songs I would hear growing up from my mom watching all hear daytime dramas and soaps.

This was in the recommendations and it's also really good, but it's also very modern and closer to something like Genki Rockets: https://youtu.be/_2quiyHfJQw
Click to expand...

If you are looking for an album that's more consistently 80's club/dance I would recommend the Junko Yagami album "Communication," the Kanako Wada album "KANA" and Toshiki Kadomatsu's album "Gold Digger."

Full-on 80s with less of that ballad stuff (though you'll get some of that, too).

Fall Into The GAF said:
Cindy - Destiny

I got into this track from the Night Tempo rendition of it.
Click to expand...

1FCppEB.gif
 
S

sixteen-bit

Member
pswii60 said:
If you like these funky 80s vibes then also check out the Nighttime Lovers compilation series..

R-3798369-1345264624-8231.jpeg.jpg


I think they're up to volume 26 or something now. All rare 80s synth disco boogie funky vibes on every volume.

If you like the stuff in the OP you'll definitely love this. You're welcome.
Click to expand...

box art looks like a rub rabbits sequel
 
R

Rydeen

Member
Incredible collection on Youtube, a lot of the individual tracks have already been linked in this thread, but collectively this may be the perfect late-Summer comfy soundtrack to your weekend:

https://youtu.be/y0Blq-W0MZM

Seaside Lovers - Evening Shadows is summer afternoon perfection.
 
Aizo

Aizo

Banned
I have always disliked the term City Pop. It's extremely vague. It describes nothing. Nobody agrees on what it means. Tons of different bands that sound nothing alike called themselves City Pop.

That said, tons of the music is great.
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
ponpo said:
Japanese Electronic Producers Look to the ’80s for Inspiration

Article about the genre used currently, which is how most here probably found out about this music.
Click to expand...

I was heartened to read this and see that a lot of Futurefunk producers actually are Japanese. When the whole schtick of the genre depends on mimicking retro-japanese aesthetics, I couln't tell if any of them are actually from Japan! :p

I was even wondering if the genre was based on a kind of retro-Orentalism from outsiders.... but it seems even the Japanese are entranced by their own nostalgic past.
 
P

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
BocoDragon said:
I was heartened to read this and see that a lot of Futurefunk producers actually are Japanese. When the whole schtick of the genre depends on mimicking retro-japanese aesthetics, I couln't tell if any of them are actually from Japan! :p

I was even wondering if the genre was based on a kind of retro-Orentalism from outsiders.... but it seems even the Japanese are entranced by their own nostalgic past.
Click to expand...

I think a lot of the Japanese artists are more experimental. Probably easier to just use derivative samples and use random katakana for your album artwork to rely on sales if you're not Japanese.

Speaking of which, ppl buy this
http://music.businesscasual.biz/merch/bizbox-8-ffff-future-funk-fan-favorites-limited-edition
 
Aizo

Aizo

Banned
HotHamBoy said:
I described what it means in the OP.
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And many Japanese people would disagree with your definition. Many musicians would disagree. I personally really don't like the label, and artists nowadays trying to label themselves just muddy the waters even more.

Anyway, lots of cool artists you're sharing, so I'm happy to see more people listening to awesome Japanese music! Thanks for the thread.
 
S

Saucestin_Roast

Member
Tatsuro Yamashita is like the king of this genre. I'm obsessed with that guy's discography. I put it on frequently.

Just TRY this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3sU6DMzG1I

"Love Talkin'"

So. Fucking. Good.

When that chorus hits there is some beautiful harmony happening between the piano lead line hook and the chords. Gets me every time. Such a far out sound. Wish this stuff would somehow become popular in the US so everyone could learn its majesty.
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
F

Fjordson

Member
What a fantastic thread. I just recently discovered city pop a few months ago. I've been really into vaporwave / future funk for years now, but recently I've been tracking down a lot of the original samples in that stuff and it's basically all early 80's city pop artists. I think what spurred it on was Saint Pepsi sampling Love Talkin' by Tatsuro Yamashita. Just had to track down the original because of how catchy it was.

Ended up going on a downloading spree of city pop albums and couldn't stop. Just unreal the number of great albums from that time period. Filled up an entire external drive with countless records lol.

Most of my favorites have been posted, but a few that I haven't seen:

Anri - Driving My Love

Mariya Takeuchi - Yume No Tsuzuki

Yasuko Agawa - LA Nights (this is a lot more lowkey than most stuff one would call city pop, but whatever)

Yasuyuki Okamura - Super Girl (dude had a bunch of jams back in the 80's / 90's, only discovered him recently because he did the Space Dandy theme song!)

Cool thing about Anri, she worked with Toshiki Kadomatsu on like four of her albums. He did the arrangements and production on them and played guitar on some tracks. A few of her albums were produced entirely by Kadomatsu, so you get that same sound but with a female vocalist. It's great.

BocoDragon said:
^ that's badass. All good albums. I'm not exactly interested in listening on cassettes, but I guess that's not the point haha.
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lmao, yeah cassettes are like the big thing on bandcamp these days, especially with vaporwave / future funk music. I guess it's a cool retro thing? Kinda neat, but literally have no way to play cassettes in my house or my car so meh.
 
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