From RYM:City Pop is a breezy, mellow mixture of Smooth Jazz and AOR, often with additional elements of Jazz Fusion, Jazz-Funk or Boogie. Commonly cited as a facet of the prosperous "bubble economy"-era in Japan, City Pop is essentially a "mood" or "lifestyle" genre which appealed to an older and more affluent Japanese audience during the 1980s. Thematically, City Pop reflects a life of luxury in a sophisticated urban environment (see Toshiki Kadomatsu's Weekend Fly to the Sun album and its song titles: "Office Lady", "Rush Hour", "Brunch", etc.).
Also happens to be a big influence on vaporwave/future funk/mallsoft records. Guilty pleasure/duh this obviously awesome chill smooth music.
Eiichi Ohtaki (大瀧詠一) - A Long Vacation (1981)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T2z8u9XFm0
Tatsuro Yamashita - For You (1982)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2wjCX81CHM
Hosono/Suzuki/Yamashita - Pacific (1978)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSCwoYcp0IY
What else??
― Dominique, Wednesday, 29 June 2016 02:20 (seven years ago) link
Japanese Yacht Rock
― MarkoP, Wednesday, 29 June 2016 03:54 (seven years ago) link
rym has a lot of resources on the genre in general. here's one i've been into recently.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rampKT5tINo
― hypnic jerk (rushomancy), Wednesday, 29 June 2016 11:37 (seven years ago) link
tatsuro yamashita is such a beach boys nerd he was covering "guess i'm dumb" in _1983_.
― hypnic jerk (rushomancy), Wednesday, 29 June 2016 11:41 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmScAoPrg_I
― hypnic jerk (rushomancy), Wednesday, 29 June 2016 11:44 (seven years ago) link
that Sandii is cool -- it seems like ABBA was a big thing for a lot of these guys
― Dominique, Wednesday, 29 June 2016 13:53 (seven years ago) link
Tasuro Yamashita's 'Yellow Cab' is all time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwqMMtXI2Gs
― MaresNest, Wednesday, 29 June 2016 14:12 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QuYQEFEeKU
― J. Sam, Wednesday, 29 June 2016 14:17 (seven years ago) link
prob a lot of overlap with this thread: '80s japanese boogie/r&b/freestyle
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Wednesday, 29 June 2016 14:24 (seven years ago) link
This site is a precious resource:
http://convertibletoyokohama.com/
Not sure if many of the links have survived tho
― J. Sam, Wednesday, 29 June 2016 14:25 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S6zwPR3QDo
Graydon's solo here sounds like a Peg outtake
― calstars, Friday, 8 January 2021 21:34 (three years ago) link
just got the first pacific breeze comp in the mail. thought it had "plastic love" on it but nope. oh well.
in any case, I WANT MORE
― things repeat forever and there never is a remedy (Austin), Friday, 28 May 2021 22:54 (two years ago) link
You belong to the city
― calstars, Friday, 28 May 2021 23:39 (two years ago) link
importcds.com to the rescue once again!!
also, SHIT YEAH THEY HAVE A FUCKTON OF THIS STUFF IN STOCK
― things repeat forever and there never is a remedy (Austin), Saturday, 29 May 2021 01:47 (two years ago) link
Miho nakayama anyone? I suspect she’s more j pop than city pophttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9FKxVa2Bs4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGgZjhqQb5E
― calstars, Saturday, 29 May 2021 12:05 (two years ago) link
And the versions by telepath 🐬https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePy-IP9JTCUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19vvE1VdYM8
― calstars, Saturday, 29 May 2021 17:07 (two years ago) link
bro importcds does not fuck about. i ordered that mariya takeuchi right before my last post in here and IT WAS IN THE MAIL TODAY!!
hell yes.
― things repeat forever and there never is a remedy (Austin), Wednesday, 2 June 2021 00:36 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwA0QzKA4rY
Listening to this and "80's trying to be 60's" is usually not my speed but the opener here truly makes it work.
― Daniel_Rf, Sunday, 15 May 2022 15:44 (one year ago) link
sry for the timestamped youtube link that might not work because i am a foole but this song by polaris is ...oh dear how do i say this... a very crushing device indeed.
definitely approved for all audiences, but with a special recommendation to the city pop fans looking for contemporary equivalents.
(in case that link is indeed faulty, the song is "one" by polaris from their 2015 album music)
― ''i am the kanye west kanye west thinks he is.'' (Austin), Sunday, 2 April 2023 17:32 (one year ago) link
hi sorry for the redundancy, but it's been a couple weeks now and i still have to play that one on repeat a couple times daily. the unmerited multi-tracked vocals, the noodly doodle fuzz solo, those glistening vamps— there is nothing about this song that i don't love unconditionally. it seems to not take itself seriously whatsoever, but existing in a window of time where that's reality and nothing is actually that serious when it comes down to it and here's your soundtrack for that realization. oh my. very large tune.
between this and "SEASON" by fishmans —another huge nu-city pop tune— i'm starting to think of the next generation of japanese pop as like idk "post-pop" or "post-city pop" or something. it's so. . . willfully and carelessly eccentric, while the songs themselves are masterfully and perfected constructed. for instance, sometimes it feels like "SEASON" is too accessible (just like "plastic love" was when i first heard it). were they written by algorithms for crying out loud?! sorry for the cringe genre tags, it just seems like city pop was a lot more important than i could have ever surmised.
― ''i am the kanye west kanye west thinks he is.'' (Austin), Friday, 21 April 2023 05:59 (one year ago) link
this merits a new dn
― W E F L Y T O G E T H E R (Austin), Friday, 21 April 2023 06:12 (one year ago) link
Ooh that fishmans tune is nice!
― calstars, Friday, 21 April 2023 14:33 (one year ago) link
I'm interested in this music. I know very little about it
Taeko Onuki - 4:00AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sOKkON_UnQ
― your mom goes to limgrave (dog latin), Monday, 11 March 2024 12:24 (one month ago) link
uk city pop:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIWdGBN5Ms0Shakatak – City Rhythm (Rockin' Dub Mix)
― Bernard Quidbins (NickB), Monday, 11 March 2024 14:31 (one month ago) link
Would this count? (as heard on the Death Stranding soundtrack)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG0M_eZduxY
― your mom goes to limgrave (dog latin), Monday, 11 March 2024 16:33 (one month ago) link
I think that's J-Pop?
― President Keyes, Monday, 11 March 2024 17:01 (one month ago) link
Fair dos. I'm not sure of the differences between contemporary City Pop and J-pop; is it just a matter of style?
― your mom goes to limgrave (dog latin), Monday, 11 March 2024 17:19 (one month ago) link
I thought City Pop was from the 70s-80s. Anything contemporary would just have City Pop influence I imagine.
― President Keyes, Monday, 11 March 2024 17:49 (one month ago) link
Ahhh cool. I thought there was new stuff coming out - assumed Fishmans were a contemporary band but apparently not; they sound so modern
― your mom goes to limgrave (dog latin), Monday, 11 March 2024 17:51 (one month ago) link
My understanding which could be completely wrong is that city pop generally has more of an almost jazz feel, sophisticated compositions, played by top studio session aces….
― calstars, Monday, 11 March 2024 17:53 (one month ago) link
I'm not sure what genre Fishmans are. City Pop is a bit like Yacht Rock, hard to define but contains elements of soft rock, sophisticated disco, etc.
― President Keyes, Monday, 11 March 2024 17:54 (one month ago) link
There's definitely new stuff that would likely qualify as City Pop, just don't think that Pop Virus song would count.Also Fishmans, as far as I know isn't City Pop either. They're more dub/reggae with some Shibuya-Kei influences.
― MarkoP, Monday, 11 March 2024 17:57 (one month ago) link
Like the time Jay Graydon and David Foster went to Japan to record with Maria Takeuchi
― calstars, Monday, 11 March 2024 17:58 (one month ago) link
Yeah City Pop is a lot like Yacht Rock, but often gets a little funkier/jazzier/busier than Yacht Rock does. Also there can sometimes be some Beach Boys influence in there, that isn't really part of Yacht Rock. Basically it tends to pull from a slightly wider range of 70s/early 80s American influences.
― MarkoP, Monday, 11 March 2024 18:01 (one month ago) link
i'm not super knowledgeable about city pop but there's also a whole aspect of it relating to the japanese economic bubble. probably the best-known city pop song is "plastic love", which went viral some years back. in terms of influences on the genre, i think it's also worth pointing out the influence of japanese fusion like casiopeia. there _is_ more recent city pop for sure, but it tends to be kind of "revival" stuff. i do think there's some crossover between shibuya-kei and city pop - for instance kirinji, i think their music has a _lot_ of city pop influence.
the beach boys influence... probably a lot of that comes through tatsuro yamashita, who is one of the city pop GOATs and is a _huge_ beach boys fan. he in turn has had a lot of influence of his own... you know how it is.
― Kate (rushomancy), Monday, 11 March 2024 18:44 (one month ago) link
oh, also, a lot of YMO members had a lot to do with city pop, even though YMO aren't really city pop proper. that's also where you get kind of offbeat unexpected influences on city pop like david sylvian
a city pop record that i recommend a lot that doesn't get much play, probably in large part because it came out in '92, after city pop's commercial peak, is satoshi ikeda's _a love supreme_. you can also hear music in the genre branching out into different styles, like you got some acid jazz influence in there for instance.
― Kate (rushomancy), Monday, 11 March 2024 18:47 (one month ago) link
for your next generation of city pop considerations-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTD5vKQhcqAcolor filter - "vision" (2000)
― interstellar anthropologist+music philosopher, (Austin), Monday, 1 April 2024 21:46 (three weeks ago) link
Dope track
― calstars, Tuesday, 2 April 2024 02:31 (three weeks ago) link
pre-City Pop ('77) deep cut from my buddy's auntie in Honolulu:
Nohelani Cypriano "Lihue"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE1mwfX_5EY
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, 2 April 2024 02:40 (three weeks ago) link
I love that song so much
― your mom goes to limgrave (dog latin), Tuesday, 2 April 2024 08:52 (three weeks ago) link
Yeah, huge fan of Lihue!
I like the Vision track you posted but just sounds like a 90s jam though :shrug:?
― Chewshabadoo, Tuesday, 2 April 2024 15:11 (three weeks ago) link
subthread: city pop/reggae fusion
in this regard, i submit the following for your consideration:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTb3s2AXGkkjunko yagami - "ジョハナスバーグ (Johannesburg)" (1985)
― interstellar anthropologist+music philosopher, (Austin), Tuesday, 2 April 2024 19:25 (three weeks ago) link
yeah that nohelani cypriano sounds awesome!
losing the plot a bit here, but on that note, here's a dj muro mixtape called hawaiian breaks that highlights hawaiian funk records. very fun!
― interstellar anthropologist+music philosopher, (Austin), Tuesday, 2 April 2024 19:31 (three weeks ago) link
that junko yagami tune appears on a comp that time capsule just put out, which focuses on the reggae tracks from pop & city pop artists...
https://timecapsulespace.bandcamp.com/album/tokyo-riddim-1976-1985
this one's not on it, and it's cheesy and stupid and perhaps kinda a beginner song in that whole area, but i do love it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4Hqy_PMGIwMarlene – Zanzibar Night
― Bernard Quidbins (NickB), Tuesday, 2 April 2024 19:45 (three weeks ago) link