I guess another music trope for overall Japanese popular music in the 1970s along with the exotic kayo, City Pop and New Music was that bouncy mix of disco and kayo thanks to the arrangement of bass, horns and strings. So I'm kinda thinking of folks like Pink Lady, Hideki Saijo（西城秀樹）and Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）.
Well, I can add another name to the group, and that would be former 1960s aidoru Yukari Ito（伊東ゆかり）. Her 40th single from December 1977 was "Romanticist" and it immediately starts with sudden throws of soul and jazz before the disco kayo takes hold along with Ito's vocals.
Written by Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）and composed/arranged by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）, that dream duo of songwriting back in the day, the whole thing is very 1970s but at the same time, there is something in "Romanticist" that even foreshadows some of that champagne-and-caviar feeling that would imbue City Pop in the late 1980s. Imagine all enthused and wide-eyed running through neighbourhoods such as Ginza, Akasaka and Roppongi of that age with this as your soundtrack. Ironically though, Matsumoto's lyrics are all about kissing off an arrogant now-absolutely-ex-boyfriend. But hey, it's all very cheerfully done.
Also, have a gander at the B-side, "Playboy Magazine"（プレイボーイ・マガジン）,
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