I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
For "Kayo Kyoku Plus" readers checking in on the blog (and I thank you very much for that) over the last several days, you may have noticed an uptick on the rate of articles that have been going up. Personally, I usually put up a couple of articles a day though for Reminiscings of Youth Thursdays and City Pop Fridays, that has gone up to three and four articles a day respectively. But for the better part of last week, I've been going for about four a day regardless of the day of the week, and that is simply because I wanted to see if I could achieve the following.
With this article, I have. For the first time in "Kayo Kyoku Plus" history, the other contributors and I have managed to put up 100 articles in 1 month on the blog (your round of zesty indifference makes me so happy). The last record that we achieved was 94 last December and then there was 92 for the months of May and September this year so that record is now busted. And the crazy thing is that it wasn't too difficult since I've enjoyed doing the blog so much that taking things into slipstream drive from conventional warp was as easy as asking Lt. Tom Paris to make it so.
Moving on, I was thinking about which song in the backlog I would use to commemorate the 100th article for October 2021 but I couldn't really find anything that hit me too hard. Therefore, I've decided to make this into an Author's Pick and just insert some of those songs that I used to hear on my beloved "Sounds of Japan", that radio show on Toronto's multicultural station CHIN-FM from the 1980s which helped introduce me to new aural worlds in kayo aside from the enka, aidoru and Yellow Magic Orchestra that I'd already flown into.
For your information, all of the songs that are going to be inserted here are ones for which I've already written individual articles. Almost all of them ended up being the first songs for their KKP files and all of them were recorded and released in those three years of 1977, 1978 and 1979. In addition, I'm combining my memories of two episodes from "Sounds of Japan" which had the themes of "Rain" and "Fall" because I can't remember the full lineup for either show, so basically I'm smashing the two together (rainfall...hmm, kismet).👍
Anyways, enjoy the music below, check out any information through the links, brush your teeth, and I'll see you in November!
Although the program has been switched over to Tuesday afternoons from Fridays, TV Japan has been showing the NHK variety program "Variety Seikatsu Sho Hyakka"（バラエティー生活笑百科）which has been translated into English as "Law and Laughter". It features a few legal cases for a few TV personalities to solve while comedy duos appear to explain the cases through their routines. Meanwhile, a legal expert is also on hand to provide the final verdict and the reasons behind it. In many ways, it reminds me of the 1970s Canadian game show "This is the Law" whose host was actor Austin Willis, who showed up in a small role in "Goldfinger" as the titular villain's hapless gin rummy partner until James Bond ruined things for old Auric. Mind you, Goldfinger ruined Bond's lady friend a few minutes later in petty vengeance.
"Variety Seikatsu Sho Hyakka" has been running since 1986. The first host was veteran comedian Kiyoshi Nishikawa（西川きよし）who served as the Chief Consultant for about a year before he dropped out for his political ambitions at the time. Then the second host, rakugo storyteller and TV personality Sanfukutei Nikaku（笑福亭仁鶴）, the third person to hold that august title in rakugo, took over and stayed as host for over 30 years until retiring in 2017.
After coming back to Canada, I started watching him in his last years on the program, and I noted him for that distinctive delivery of his. From that delivery, I gather that if there were a North American version of Sanfukutei Nikaku, he would be a Southern gentleman. As I recall, in 2017 he took a leave of absence due to health reasons and then maybe he appeared one or two more times before it was announced that he had left the show for good. Then in August this year came the news that he passed away at the age of 84. Fellow rakugo entertainer and fellow panelist on "Variety Seikatsu Sho Hyakka", the 3rd Katsura Nankou（桂南光）has been the host ever since.
Last night, NHK's regular music special "Waga Kokoro no Osaka Melody"（わが心の大阪メロディー...The Osaka Melodies of Our Hearts） appeared on TV Japan after its original broadcast on October 26th. TV personality and singer Emiko Kaminuma（上沼恵美子）is a regular on the show but she was also once a regular panelist on "Variety Seikatsu Sho Hyakka" and so she was very well acquainted with her old friend, Sanfukutei Nikaku.
In tribute, she sang a song that the rakugo-ka had recorded decades ago in 1969 as the B-side to his second single"Dounankana"（どんなんかな～...I wonder） which was actually the catchphrase that got him famous. That B-side was "Obachan no Blues"(Old Lady Blues) and although as originally recorded, it came out as a somewhat comical ditty, it actually hit me a little more poignantly than expected. Written by Sanfukutei Nikaku and composed by Masafumi Tanaka（田中正史）, it deals with a man meeting a familiar elderly cleaning woman who proudly boasts of her son since becoming a top-class businessman. However, she confesses that she has gradually not been able to see him all that much due to his work and his own home life with a wife. The man then encourages her and then tongue-lashes her son in absentia for not showing more filial piety. The moral of the story is "Guys, do more than just send a Mother's Day card, eh?".
Kaminuma almost broke down but was able to hold the emotional fort while she sang her old friend's song.
I only found out the news a few days ago via a chance Twitter browsing and then it was further reiterated by commenter Jim Laker, but unfortunately another veteran songwriter has left this mortal coil. Composer and arranger Makoto Kawaguchi passed away at the age of 83 on October 20th due to sepsis.
Kawaguchi has had a fairly long list of songs represented on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", but I've yet to come across any official media reports of his death on YouTube which is unusual. There have been a few personal YouTube accounts that did cite his passing but for a composer like Kawaguchi who did create a lot of classic kayo including Mieko Hirota's（弘田三枝子）1969"Ningyo no Ie"（人形の家）above, it's a little surprising that NHK hasn't mentioned anything although perhaps some of the commercial networks may have done so.
The composer/arranger was born Masahiro Kawaguchi（川口眞弘）in the city of Kobe on November 5th 1937 but grew up in the city of Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. According to his J-Wiki profile, while studying in the Music Department at Tokyo University of the Arts, he became a part of chanson singer Fubuki Koshiji's（越路吹雪）backing band Claire de Charme as a pianist and then worked part time for composer Taku Izumi's（いずみたく）office. Kawaguchi dropped out of university in his senior year seeing that his job was becoming more of a full-time gig.
Although in 1966, he helped arrange The Ventures' version of "Futari no Ginza"（二人の銀座）, his official debut as a composer was in 1969 with the successful "Ningyo no Ie" with Rei Nakanishi（なかにし礼） providing the lyrics. "Ningyo no Ie" was Kawaguchi's third-most successful creation which was followed by Saori Yuki's（由紀さおり）1970 hit"Tegami"（手紙）and Akira Fuse's（布施明）1974 hit"Tsumiki no Heya"（積木の部屋）at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively.
I haven't really delved too deeply into what made Kawaguchi tick in terms of his preferences for songs but my surface impression at this writing is that in the early part of his career at least, he seems to have been drawn into the darker or sadder aspects of romance just judging from the songs including the ones above. Basically, he composed his music in the kayo realm with some stretches into aidoru and tokusatsu and even City Pop.
I'd like to introduce some of the other songs that Kawaguchi created that I had yet to put onto KKP, beginning with the late Kiyohiko Ozaki's（尾崎紀世彦）July 1971"Sayonara wo Mou Ichido"（さよならをもう一度...Farewell, One More Time）, the great singer's follow-up single to the iconic "Mata Au Hi Made"（また逢う日まで）. With lyrics by Yu Aku（阿久悠）, a frequent songwriting partner, I guess that another observation is that Kawaguchi liked to go brassy and proud with his compositions, and that fit hand-in-glove with the booming voices of Ozaki and, for that matter, the aforementioned Fuse.
"Sayonara wo Mou Ichido" is the tough-but-tender song of sweet parting since although the couple may not have Paris, they will always have tomorrow to get back together to talk of old times. The arrangement is indeed brassy and proud, and the song reminds me of folks like Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdinck. With an Oricon weekly ranking of No. 2 and an end-of-year ranking of No. 14, I'm sure that all involved were very proud of this one.
In the previous year, Aku and Kawaguchi had teamed up to provide Teruhiko Saigo（西郷輝彦）with his August 1970 56th single, "Manatsu no Arashi"（真夏のあらし...Midsummer Maelstrom）, a story of being majorly distracted by the beautiful bodies around during the hot (and bothered) season. I believe that I mentioned Tom Jones above; well, I think that this is the wilder side of Jones singing through Saigo, and if I may be so bold, I think that Saigo's performance is rather similar to what soon-to-arrive Hideki Saijo（西城秀樹）would bring to the kayo zeitgeist of the decade. Strangely enough, Kawaguchi would compose songs for Saijo soon enough.
(5:07)
Kawaguchi delved into the aidoru realm alongside lyricist Mieko Arima（有馬三恵子）for 70s teenybopper singer Yuko Asano（浅野ゆう子）for a couple of songs, her debut single"Tobidase Hatsukoi"（とびだせ初恋）and the follow-up, "Koi wa Dan Dan"（恋はダン・ダン）, both released in 1974. Asano's third and final single for that year was "Hitoribocchi no Kisetsu"（ひとりぽっちの季節...A Season of Loneliness） from December. Once again, tackled by Kawaguchi and Arima, those strings and what I think are an ocarina and an accordion bring forward a lot of spring innocence from a case of puppy love that doesn't seem to be heading to its happy end.
One more song that I'll put up on his tribute here is "Doyoubi no Cinderella"（土曜日のシンデレラ...Saturday Cinderella） sung by Sawako Kitahara（北原佐和子）as her 3rd single in September 1982. It's another aidoru tune and the arrangement is perfectly suited to the time of the early 80s teenyboppers, with the swift strings this time and the jingly synthesizers. This time, Kawaguchi's songwriting partner was lyricist Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）whose words almost make me wish the title was more along the lines of "The Taming of the Cinderella" as a young lady is, comically and physically or figuratively, poking a strong finger into her Prince Charming and demanding where the love and the glass slipper are. Again, I haven't explored the world of Kawaguchi in full but at first blush, it's remarkable how his melodies may have adjusted for the times and demands in music. Still, lyrically speaking, this seems to be along the lines of Kawaguchi's attraction to the not-so-happy themes in love.
Of course, there are the other Kawaguchi creations that you can cruise through under his name in the Labels section, but also if your Japanese ability is up to it, you can also look through his J-Wiki profile for a more complete list of his compositions. I never even touched his arrangements which is a separate list. Regardless, his accomplishments since the 1960s merit a tribute in kayo history.
Although I took that photo back in 2009, the sentiments are still the same...Happy Halloween! I hope that everyone reading this has had or will have a safe and enjoyable October 31st before a good majority of us enter the official commercial Xmas season as of tomorrow.
I may have been a little too quick off the gun when I mentioned in yesterday's article involving a "Lupin III" theme that the Halloween buzz hadn't quite returned in Shibuya judging from what I saw on the YouTube live streams since I had always presumed that Saturdays would be the wild night instead of Sundays when it came to Halloween. However, looking at VIRTUAL JAPAN's"Shibuya Live Halloween - Tokyo 2021" this morning, it certainly looked like pre-pandemic pandemonium in Japan's Teen Valhalla which also made me a little worried about potential COVID case increases into November.
I actually saw Sadako walking across the massive Shibuya intersection on the live camera but not too rapidly anymore. Well, even vengeful spirits feel their old bones eventually. I guess that she can't even phase through television screens anymore.
Halloween is also Election Night for the Lower House in Japan and at this writing, the governing Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Komeito, have secured a majority although Prime Minister Kishida and his cronies may be licking some wounds due to a drop in several seats.
But I also have to unfortunately report that there was real-life horror on one of the commuter trains tonight in Tokyo when some young nutcase in a Joker outfit decided to go on a stabbing spree and then set fire to one of the cars. He's been apprehended but as you can see above, several people are now injured. I first heard the news on NHK amidst all of the election coverage and I'm hoping that everyone will pull through.
Anyways getting to the matter at hand, I was wondering what I would do as a KPP entry to salute the night of trick or treaters. Couldn't really find anything at first so I opted to go for one easy solution: checking out any of the themes for the spooky anime "Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro"（ゲゲゲの鬼太郎）. Happily, I hit pay dirt through an ending song for the sixth iteration of the long-running series which ran for a couple of years from 2018-2020. "Kagami no Naka kara" (From Inside the Mirror) was performed by aidoru quintet Maneki Kecak（まねきケチャ）, which has been around since 2015, as the first of the ending themes from Episodes 1 to 13.
Even if listeners don't understand a word of Japanese, they will be entranced right from the get-go with the "Oh-eh-oh-eh-oh" getting into their ears and wrapping around their cerebral cortex (oops, I'm sorry, that was a "Star Trek II" reference). For a spooky song, "Kagami no Naka kara" is quite the dynamic tune with the rumbling rhythm underlaid by some of that relentless percussion and the cutesy vocals by Maneki Kecak.
"Kagami no Naka kara" was the group's 4th single released in April 2018 under the full title of "Kagami no Naka kara/Atashi no Nokoro Zenbu Ageru"（鏡の中から/あたしの残りぜんぶあげる...I'll Give You All I Have Left）. The release date might have seemed too early considering that it's all about the spookiness, but as the video makes clear, it's all about the heebie-jeebies within Japan which actually celebrates the scary nights during the dog days of summer instead of the autumn in North America. Nice set design by the way. The single did very well, too, peaking at No. 5 on Oricon. Kan Furuya（古谷完）provided the lyrics while Ryota Suemasu（末益涼太）was the composer and arranger.
The name Maneki Kecak caught my attention as well. The first name is Japanese for "inviting" while the second name is a new concept for me (I think KKP contributor Joana Bernardo is more of an expert on this than I am) but according to the aidoru site "Bonjour Idol", "kecak" refers to "...when your favorite idol gets a ballad-like solo part in a song, it is time for you to throw your arms towards her and give her strength in a “kecha”!". The site also gives a much more detailed account (including who the members are) of what Maneki Kecak is all about so I encourage you to check it out.
I've heard of guitarists and keyboardists of certain Japanese bands going off on their own solo projects but I have to admit that I didn't hear much from the drummers. But that changes today.
Drummer Hiroyuki Noritake（則竹裕之）belonged to the fusion band The Square (now known as T-Square) and from looking at the history chart for the many members on J-Wiki, it looks like he was the longest-serving drummer belonging there between 1985 and perhaps 2000 or 2004. However, current T-Square drummer Satoshi Bando（坂東慧）will or may have already eclipsed him.
In 1999, Noritake released a solo album"Dreams Can Go" and it begins with the track "Time to Landing" which is cool and catchy. It begins with Noritake hitting the snare and then the keyboards by Akira Ishiguro come in with this amazing main melody before some tropical punch enters for a bit. That melody is going to stick with me for quite a while at least. I kinda wish we weren't landing when it comes to this one.
Noritake hails from Hyogo Prefecture and he's been keeping the family profession since his father was a jazz drummer. In 2004, he teamed up with former Casiopea drummer Akira Jimbo（神保彰）, someone to whom Noritake has looked up since his amateur days, to create the double drum band Synchronized DNA.
Long time no see, World Order. Glad to see that Genki Sudo（須藤元気）is back at the helm for this song-and-dance group with the robotic and geometric choreography.
Watching the video for their 3rd and most recent digital download single"Censorship" from September reminded me that there is a national election in Japan on Halloween tomorrow. I was slightly tickled by Sudo and the gang in their sober suits making like politicians in the Diet., especially when they pretended to be sleeping during Parliamentary speeches (that's virtually a pastime among the guys in the Lower House). The even more hilarious thing is that Sudo has been a member of the Upper House representing the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan since 2019. Yes, we are seeing Japan's funkiest politician making his moves in the video. Incidentally at the same time, Eriko Imai（今井絵理子）, formerly of the 90s group SPEED, also became Parliamentary Vice Minister of the Cabinet Office in the same year for the governing Liberal Democratic Party.
All of the World Order tropes are accounted for: the technopop melody by Sudo and Ryo Shimamoto (lyrics are by Sudo and Takashi Watanabe), the Vulcan-like demeanors, the trademark World Order walk and the liberal usage of Tokyo neighbourhoods and structures to enhance their dancing. It's a wonder that the Japan Tourism Agency hasn't used their services to encourage inbound travel once the pandemic is past.
Well, it's been a while since I've put up a Kyon-Kyon article and it's literally been years since I heard this particular song by Kyoko Koizumi（小泉今日子）.
"Mizu no Rouge" (Aqua Rouge) is the title for Koizumi's 21st single that was released in February 1987. It was created specifically for a Kanebo cosmetics commercial touting its Aqua Rouge lipstick, so everybody including Kanebo should have been satisfied.
Of course, if "Mizu no Rouge" was going to tout a big-name cosmetics product, the big songwriting guns had to work on this so it was up to lyricist Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）, composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）and arranger Masaaki Omura（大村雅朗）to come up with this aidoru tune with some more dance-pop oomph. As you can plainly see from the Kanebo commercial above, Kyon-Kyon doesn't have much of that pixyish and slightly fresh-mouthed teen appearance of her earlier days (well, she was already over 20 by that point), having a more mature look. Thank you, Kanebo! Her vocals even sound a bit deeper here.
"Mizu no Rouge" hit No. 1 and became the 32nd-ranked single for 1987. It was also placed onto her 11th original album"Phantasien" which came out in July of that year albeit it was rearranged into a "Berlin version" by Masami Tsuchiya（土屋昌巳）. The album peaked at No. 4.
Back in the spring, I contributed an article for actress Michiko Kawai（河合美智子）under her enka singer Aurora Teruko（オーロラ輝子）persona because of a hit kayo she had in the mid-1990s, and I mentioned that she had once sung some pop stuff early in her career.
Well, the commercial is all too brief but Kawai had her film debut in 1983 with "Shonben Rider"（ションベン・ライダー）. There is unfortunately no Wikipedia entry about this movie involving junior high school kids who run into some yakuza but there is a French Wikipedia article (albeit really sparse) that has the title translated as "P. P. Rider" and I'd say that this would be accurate. If you understood that immediately, then you're in! Ahem. In any case, both the trailer above and J-Wiki state that the movie was a double feature alongside the anime "Urusei Yatsura: Only You"（うる星やつら オンリー・ユー）.
The movie release parlayed Kawai's debut with her first single"Watashi~Takan na Koro" (When I Was Impressionable) which was also the theme song for "Shonben Rider". The single made itself known in January 1983, about a month before the movie's release.
Kawai played the role of Bruce, a tomboy who insisted that she wasn't a girl and always referred to herself as "boku", the informal masculine form of the first person rather than the female equivalent, "atashi". The cover of "Watashi~Takan na Koro" indeed has the teenage Kawai in some short-cropped hair but I think that she looks more pixyish than tomboyish.
The lush ballad style of the song instantly struck me as something that was created by the brother-sister songwriting duo of Etsuko and Takao Kisugi（来生えつこ・来生たかお）, and sure enough, it was indeed the Kisugi siblings behind it with Katsu Hoshi（星勝）taking care of the arrangement. In fact, Hoshi was also behind the soundtrack for "Shonben Rider". Actually, the involvement of the Kisugis was interesting because the way that Kawai sounds and the sound of "Watashi~Takan na Koro" are similar to another more famous prior Kisugi creation for a young actress/singer with a similar look and singing style: Hiroko Yakushimaru（薬師丸ひろ子）and her "Sailor Fuku to Kikanjuu"（セーラー服と機関銃）.
Happy Saturday and at least here in Toronto, the weather is perfect for Halloween...all rainy and dreary, but at least tomorrow on the 31st, it should be clear for the trick or treaters. I checked out the live camera for Shibuya on YouTube and it appears that the crowds did return with many in cosplay mode but my impression is that the Halloween vibe is still not quite as high as it was before the pandemic.
I haven't been a keen purveyor of the "Lupin III" franchise but I do know about the romance between Lupin and femme fatale Fujiko（不二子）. Although I've heard that the pair eventually had their kids, I've always thought that there was a Charlie Brown and Lucy Van Pelt and the football relationship underlaying that relationship albeit there was a whole lot less malice between Lupin and Fujiko. The former would always go to "kick the football" so to speak only for the latter to pull it back at the last moment through some teasing flirtatious moment to end things until the next time.
Earlier this year, I wrote up on "Love Squall"（ラヴ・スコール）which was one ending theme for the second anime run for "Lupin III" which had an epic three years of comedy, intrigue and adventure between October 1977 and October 1980. Today, I give you the first ending theme, "Lupin the 3rd Ai no Theme" (The Love Theme for Lupin the 3rd).
Initially an instrumental created by Yuji Ohno（大野雄二）through his You & Explosion Band（ユー&エクスプロージョン・バンド）, the smooth-as-Bailey's Irish Cream featured that disco/soft rock flute and the main instruments of harmonica and bluesy guitar, a combination that pretty much screams 1970s detective voiceover with the private eye nursing a tumbler (and maybe a black eye) at his favourite watering hole. I haven't forgotten the silky strings, though, which always lent a touch of class. Not sure whether variations of this instrumental were used during any interactions between Lupin and the love of his life.
About six months into the run of that second season so early 1978, the ending theme was switched into a vocalized version of "Ai no Theme" with seiyuu/singer Ichiro Mizuki（水木一郎）handling the tenderhearted delivery thanks to Kazuya Senke's（千家和也）lyrics. I noticed that the arrangement changed a bit with the harmonica taken out and the bluesy guitar put back a bit more into the background.
I'm sure that with the jazziness and class of Lupin's love theme, it's been covered many times in the years following. In fact, I did find one cover by bohemian band Ego-Wrappin and the Gossip of Jaxx via a March 2010 tribute compilation to "Lupin III" titled "Club Jazz Digs Lupin The Third", and yep, listening to the band and the steamy vocals of Yoshie Nakano（中納良恵）, I thought that the perfect setting would be a smoke-filled underground jazz club in the heart of Shinjuku...namely Shinjuku DUG. There's something more introspective and distant in this arrangement, though.
Kinda wonder if a couple of folks did dress up like Lupin and Fujiko in Tokyo tonight.
I was going to call it a night tonight especially after plowing through my previous article but then I heard the following song.
And you know what? All was right with the nocturnal world again and I got my spiritual version of Red Bull. Yes, indeed...Kirinji（キリンジ）has once again nourished my ears and soul with one lovely song titled "Juu-Yo-ji Sugi no Kagerou" (Ephemerality Past 1400 Hours) which was their 14th single from July 2004.
I've often stated that certain songs are great for driving or taking an airplane. "Juu-Yo-ji Sugi no Kagerou" is one of those songs that can be perfect for any vehicle cruising at a good clip. It's a brisk yet soothing song written and composed by the Kirinji brothers, Takaki and Yasuyuki Horigome（堀込高樹・堀込泰行）, which has a fellow leaving his usually mundane world by stripping off and taking a dive into the pool and enjoying aquatic ecstacy. Well, the young lady that he notices isn't a bad sight either, apparently. The song reminds me of some of the tunes that I've heard from Santana and Jose Feliciano especially with that strumming Latin guitar.
Good times...and I'm not even a decent swimmer. Anyways, "Juu-Yo-ji Sugi no Kagerou" got as high as No. 44 on Oricon. Not certain whether the song has made it onto one of Kirinji's original albums.
Ahh...yes. That title above. Well, it all began when commenter Gen let me know about a singer and actress by the name of Yukika Teramoto（寺本來可）who's currently living and working in South Korea under the one name of Yukika, and she's been singing not only the internationally popular K-Pop but also Korean City Pop. Gen wanted to get my two non-existent Canadian pennies on a recent single (in fact, it came out only about a month or so ago) of hers, something that I'm more than happy to do.
That got me thinking...and thankfully, I had a large lunch and dinner to help me in that endeavor. I've heard in the past about various non-Japanese singers and musicians tackling that sort of groovy urban contemporary for which Japanese City Pop has regained popularity over the past few years. I just covered one fellow, Ginger Root from America, earlier in the summer and will be doing the same in this list.
But Yukika and Ginger Root aside, the other singers and musicians that I've found out about online are from the past, as far back as 1980 in fact, when Japanese City Pop had its original peak time, and their material wasn't actually based on City Pop although the sound is there. Most likely, the artists were influenced by the combination of disco, soft rock and the like coming out from the United States at the time just like City Pop singers were. So, I think that it would be somewhat unfair and inaccurate to utilize the title "International City Pop" or "City Pop by Non-Japanese Singers" under the circumstances which is why I'm going with the more whimsical title above.
Indeed, we are beginning with the first person I mentioned off the top. Late in September 2021, Yukika released her 4th digital single"Loving You" and this has some disco and some of that feeling from the former band Especia which was also covering its own brand of 80s synthpop and City Pop. In fact, I think that Yukika in the video looks like she could have actually belonged to the group.
She also released another single only a few days after "Loving You", "Tokyo Lights" which is in Japanese. I will have to cover that soon enough. Also, along with modeling, I also read that Yukika has also dabbled as a seiyuu and even had a supporting part in the anime "Seitokai Yakuindomo"（生徒会役員共）.
2. Emmanuel -- La chica de humo (Mexico)
Interestingly enough, I'd heard a few years ago about the concept of Mexican City Pop but didn't really investigate further. However, I browsed through YouTube yesterday and actually came across a compilation titled "Mexican City Pop" and starting things off was veteran Mexican singer Emmanuel with "La chica de humo" which means "The Smoke Girl".
"La chica de humo" can be found on Emmanuel's 1989 album"Quisiera" and it's got that nice synthy strutting beat with that popping percussion. According to his Wikipedia entry, Emmanuel is usually known for his balladry but this second single from the album became a huge hit, becoming his third No. 1 single. It's been classified as straight pop but I can imagine anyone in Japan covering it shuffling down a Shinjuku sidewalk to it.
3. Ginger Root -- Juban District (United States)
Commenter Matt K. cottoned me onto Cameron Lew, aka Ginger Root, back in July this year. And everything about his "Juban District", a track from his August 2021 EP"City Slicker", from the mellow arrangement to the slight echo in his vocals to the aged and hazy look of the music video taking place among the gleaming towers of Los Angeles gives me that warm and fuzzy Vaporwave feeling although he likes to call his brand of music "aggressive elevator soul". The future hasn't looked this nostalgic.
4. Fariz RM -- Selangkah ke Seberang (Indonesia)
Indonesian multi-instrumentalist Fariz RM began his career in 1977 when he was still a teenager, and his debut album, "Selangkah ke Seberang", came out in 1979. It is from this album that the title track has a lot of reminders of fusion bands like The Square and Casiopea but Fariz RM's vocals has me thinking of drummer Yukihiro Takahashi（高橋幸宏）from Yellow Magic Orchestra. It also strikes me as being a good highway drive tune. I've seen the name Indonesian City Pop being bandied about in the comments, but the album itself has been described as encompassing progressive pop, funk and pop soul.
5. Viyada Komarakul Na Nakorn -- Kein kæ̂ (Thailand)
Of all the singers that I've put up here tonight, Viyada Komarakul Na Nakorn is the one that I have almost no information about so I will need some help here. All I could find out was that she is an actress as well as a singer. I'm not even sure of the proper pronunciation or romanization of the title of the song although I gave Google Translate a whirl. The original spelling in Thai is เกินแก้ which apparently means "beyond".
According to its presence on Spotify, เกินแก้ was released in 1990 and for those who are searching outside of Japan for songs that have that City Pop vibe, I can say that this particular song also has it with a mixture of 90s synth arrangement and 70s disco flute (reminiscent of Boz Scaggs). Then, one commenter put it best when he said that it was really similar to Chaka Khan's 1981"Whatcha' Gonna Do For Me".
6. Masa (Sora Satoh) -- No Matter What, No Matter Where
I've already given Masa and "No Matter What, No Matter Where" its due within its own article but I simply didn't want to leave him off the list. His 2020 debut single contains some of that bluesiness in his form of Neo City Pop.
That's basically a very short international list of what might tickle the fancy of Japanese City Pop fans outside of the source nation. I can imagine that there are quite a few other countries where singers and bands are currently exploring the groove, and if so, power to them. Of course, it also helps that artists like the aforementioned Masa are also providing their insights on the actual structure of City Pop through individual videos about the genre's common chords which will give the contemporary up-and-comers further ammunition. To those people, the best of success!
For the general public, Yuiko Tsubokura（坪倉唯子）is probably best known as the squeaky-voiced vocalist of B.B. Queens responsible for the No. 1 hit of 1990,"Odoru Ponpokorin"（おどるポンポコリン）, the ending theme song for Season 1 of "Chibi Maruko-chan"（ちびまる子ちゃん）. But then, for fans who knew of her soulful self back in the 1980s and those decades-later City Pop enthusiasts such as myself, "Tsukanoma Yotogi Bito"（一瞬夜伽伴侶）was just the introductory catnip from her 1986 debut album"Always in Love". My first reaction on hearing this gem after knowing her days with B.B. Queens was "She really sounds like this?!". Wow!
But even before "Always in Love", she did release a debut single in November 1985. Titled "Cry for the Moon", it's an 80s power pop ballad that also showcases that wonderful voice of hers. I mean, it's so 80s, it hurts. With those strings and the electric guitar/synth combination in there, "Cry for the Moon" straddles between the sophisti-pop and rock sides of the urban contemporary. Classy with an edge, I guess.
Lyricist Asato Izumi（泉麻人）took care of the words while Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）and Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）worked on the melody and arrangement. "Cry for the Moon" peaked at No. 50 on Oricon and it's also part of "Always in Love".
Decades ago, our family's go-to Chinese restaurant was The Golden Dragon in downtown Chinatown. I always looked forward going there because of all of the wonderful dishes such as Sweet N' Sour Chicken and Cantonese Chow Mein and tons of rice. Of course, we started off with Chicken Mushroom Soup. Since then, friends have also opened my eyes up to other types of Chinese soups including Hot N' Sour and the Beef Ball Soup that you can see above.
It looks like singer-songwriter Minako Yoshida（吉田美奈子）may have enjoyed the stuff herself. Well, perhaps her and Yumi Arai（荒井由実）both since the latter was responsible for writing and composing "Chinese Soup" as the former's 2nd single in December 1975. Probably by that point in the year, some of that Hot N' Sour would have been absolutely great for the tummy.
Done up as a jazzy boogie, Yoshida sings away her intention to make up a fresh hot pot of that Chinese soup for her significant other, and for fans who may have first heard of her through her later R&B funk fests, "Chinese Soup" from her early years might be a refreshing revelation. Additionally, remembering that Yuming（ユーミン）was specially known for writing rather intimately about her life events and those of other women, I wouldn't be surprised if she herself were the lady cooking up that soup since I'd heard that one of her early boyfriends was Chinese (and apparently the one who came up with the famous nickname of Yuming). I certainly hope that she had as much fun on the stove making the soup as Yoshida did singing about it.
Incidentally, the single following "Chinese Soup" would be her wonderful "Koi wa Ryuusei" (恋は流星）, although it would be over a year before its release.
It's a lyrical theme that I sometimes hear in folk songs but there's a certain story told in music where someone or a couple who has attained it all now live with regrets and realize that things were simpler and happier at an earlier and "poorer" time in their lives. Although I can hardly say that I've actually attained anything near the top of any profession or ambition, I sometimes see the early days of my time in Japan either on the JET Programme or in Ichikawa as a time that had its growing pains but also a lot of fun with independence and friends who I don't really see anymore. So the song of this article is rather poignant for myself and perhaps for others reading in.
The legendary singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka already has some representation here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". Notably in terms of the blog, he came up with "The Diary", a 50s R&B song that was rearranged into a lovely jazz ballad for the vocal group Hi-Fi Set（ハイ・ファイ・セット）in the mid-1970s under the title of "Koi no Nikki"（恋の日記）.
Many years later in 1975, he and lyricist Howard Greenfield created "The Hungry Years", a song that encapsulates that feeling that I wrote about in the first paragraph...the realization that being richer and more successful doesn't necessarily mean happier and vice versa. It's a tenderhearted ballad that is sad but also shows off through the melody and lyrics the wisdom of the situation and the hope that maybe some of that lost happiness can be recaptured.
I found a cover of "The Hungry Years" through Masako Miyazaki's（宮崎正子）1978 solo debut album, "Get My Wave". The song here is actually the second track but the uploader has mentioned that the first track has been disallowed from being played on YouTube so "The Hungry Years" begins things here on this video. Miyazaki sings this in English (and I assume that the same holds true for the rest of the other tracks) and despite Greenfield's lyrics staying intact, I think that from the more subdued vocals and the slower tempo that the person or persons of note are still getting through the doldrums and the song sounds even more poignant and melancholy. It's a lovely rendition and the harmonica solo is a nice touch.
Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about Miyazaki who has been noted as a jazz singer. However, from looking at the Amazon Japan and the Universal Music Japan websites, she used to be the vocalist for the band The Kalua（ザ・カルア）which had started out in the early 1970s as part of a regular music circle at Keio University. The Kalua began performing Hawaiian music before going into a more of a pop and soft rock direction, perhaps Sunshine Pop after reading that one of their influences was The Fifth Dimension.
Getting back to "Get My Wave", it seems like Miyazaki covers a whole bunch of songs across the musical spectrum. She gives her versions of Earth Wind & Fire's"Fantasy" and jazz pianist Bill Evans'"Waltz for Debby".
The above is the double act of The Hard Rock Café and Tony Roma's at the end of a side street in Roppongi. I know that the Outback Steakhouse (of which there were once at least a few in Tokyo) had that famous Blooming Onion, but I think that even either Hard Rock or Tony (or maybe even both) possessed their own versions. Ah, yes...I remember now! Tony Roma's had the deep-fried onion loaf.
Yeah, that Blooming Onion was the thing for us back then. We used to order it as the main appetizer at the Outback before our steaks arrived and we would still nibble on it after dinner and before dessert. Cholesterol be damned! Incidentally, one of the other YouTube channels that I've subscribed to is Cowboy Kent Rollins with his down-home recipes, and he's proud to boast his own Blooming Onion which is supposed to be better than anything from the Outback.
My gastronomic preamble ramble (and also rumble since my stomach is starting to make cooing sounds due to my mention of the Blooming Onion) is all for introducing Tommy february6's January 2002 single"Bloomin'!". It's been a while since I've brought up a song by one of the brilliant green'sTomoko Kawase's（川瀬智子）alter egos; the last one was "je t'aime★je t'aime", and even for that article, I mentioned that it had been a while for a Tommy february6 tune.
Her 3rd single, "Bloomin'!" is all about the sweet purrs of love toward the beloved thanks to Tommy's lyrics. It's refreshing and nostalgic listening to the synthpop that has me going back to my high school years, European pop and even some music I remember coming out of Quebec. But this isn't melodic poutine that I'm writing about but musical maple syrup candy. I have to give my compliments to composer MALIBU CONVERTIBLE whoever that may be. As for that "Alice in Wonderland" reminiscent music video, I can't help but think of the videos by Men Without Hats who come right from Montreal.
"Bloomin!" peaked at No. 10 on Oricon and was a track on her self-titled album which was released in February 2002. It hit No. 1 for a couple of weeks and ended up as the 17th-ranked album of the year. The song was also used in a Shiseido commercial.
As much as Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸）was really funking it up in the 1990s, I think that I prefer his earlier years in the mid-1980s when he was mixing the R&B and the City Pop. In addition, there was also that wonderful voice of his.
The intro to his "Somebody's Sorrow" hit me right there and then as it goes into some light funk and soul provided by Kubota himself. Masumi Kawamura's（川村真澄）lyrics seem to throw out some tough love about not feeling sorry about oneself since at least one person will not give them the time of day if self-pity's their thing. They have to punch their own way out of the gloom. I guess in a way that this would have been the ideal sort of song for a Japanese trendy drama in the big city back then.
"Somebody's Sorrow" was a track on Kubota's debut album"Shake It Paradise" from September 1986. The album hit No. 11 on Oricon. That background chorus sounds awfully familiar and they should for Japanese pop fans of the 1980s since it is the Amazons.
Halloween is indeed just a few nights away and it looks like that trick or treat can go ahead in my neck of the woods, albeit carefully. Just wondering what Shibuya Scramble is going to look like this weekend with Tokyo treating things as if they're out of the woods but that's why I will be looking at the live camera overlooking the massive intersection over the next few days.
Of course, Thursdays also mean Reminiscings of Youth and that means that I'm putting up my first Halloween-themed ROY article today. I've decided to go with Ray Parker Jr.'s"Ghostbusters". Who ya gonna call, and all that!
I remember all of the hoopla surrounding "Ghostbusters" when I was just a high school kid in 1984. It was seen as an exciting high-concept vehicle for the guys at "Saturday Night Live" and "SCTV" to come together with some of those amazing Industrial Light and Magic special effects. Ever the late bloomer, I didn't finally get to see the movie until the end of summer about three months after "Ghostbusters" had launched at theatres. Catching the Tuesday afternoon matinee, there was barely anyone inside aside from a few other folks including a young couple about two rows in front of me half-watching the movie and half-canoodling by themselves. I honestly focused on the cinematic experience in front of me.😶
"Ghostbusters" was a fun movie to be sure but I didn't particularly laugh out loud at most of the cracks since Bill Murray was the main jokester (merely smirked and lightly chuckled), and his humour has always been more of the dry and droll type, although I did burst out at the famous line above. That didn't mean that I didn't like the movie. As I said, it was fun and I enjoyed it because it had a heart. I actually cared for Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston and their proton packs as they were ready to believe paying customers with ghost problems. Mind you, I was no fan of the sequel overall.
Of course, the biggest calling card for the movie"Ghostbusters" was the single"Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr. as one popular and muscular commercial jingle. Yup, I did hear about the legal wrangles over plagiarism between Parker and Huey Lewis but a financial settlement put that to rest and a "Premiere" article in the early 2000s (via Wikipedia) finally explained what the heck was going on with that. Apparently, Parker didn't want a new drug but an old song...or the basic rhythm, at least.
But hey, I like both "Ghostbusters" and Huey Lewis and the News'"I Want a New Drug", although when I eventually put up a ROY for the latter group, I'll probably go with another one of their hits first. Anyways, there have been variations on "Ghostbusters" within the later movies but it's always been the original for me because of Greg Phillinganes' funky work on the keyboards and the fact that it does sound like the most infectious jingle with the call-and-response of "Who ya gonna call?" and "GHOSTBUSTERS!". Plus, there's the music video with Parker, the fetching young lady plus all of those celebrity cameos.
After its release in June 1984, it hit No. 1 in both Canada and the United States and it even ended up in the Top 10 in both nations' year-end charts. Even in Japan, Oricon's international chart had it at No. 1 for six weeks in a row. It was even nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars that year and I distinctly remember it being performed by Ray Parker Jr. at the ceremonies; it didn't go well. I've always wondered whether "Ghostbusters" was arranged so tightly and distinctly that only Parker and those Phillinganes keyboards could ever give it justice.
Although I'm keeping my expectations low, I hope that "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" does well. Strangely enough, this isn't Ray Parker Jr.'s first rodeo on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" since he did compose a tune in the late 1970s that has been covered by singer-songwriter EPO. Now, what were some singles that came out in June 1984...or thereabouts according to Showa Pops?
Whether it be a Mood Kayo, enkaor even City Pop song, it's always sad when one of those numbers depicts someone trying to move heaven and earth to express their feelings to the one they love, only for them to be just that one second too late...sometimes as they see the target of their affections drive or walk off with their rival. It's enough for protagonist and listener to head for the nearest bar to get a drink...or ten.
For those who have wondered about a typical kayo of that sort, I have the perfect romantically down-and-out ballad for you. This is Katsuhiko Miki's（美樹克彦）"Hana wa Osokatta" (The Flowers Were Late) which was a hit single for him when it was released in March 1967. Written by Tetsuro Hoshino（星野哲郎）and composed by Masao Yoneyama（米山正夫）, the setting is probably a bar of some sort where a guy is drowning his sorrows because he simply couldn't get those crocuses for Kaoru-chan in time and now she's gone. The seething frustration is clear to hear in Miki's vocals and the arrangement is dramatically sad.
I don't know how many records "Hana wa Osokatta" sold although I'm sure that it was a hit especially with the lovelorn because Miki did get his sole invitation to NHK's Kohaku Utagassen in 1967 to perform this very song. However, according to Miki's J-Wikiarticle, there was some quaint controversy accompanying him coming onto the New Year's Eve special since there was that final word of anguish: BAKAYARO（バカヤロー）! As Captain America has said: Language!
Back then, I guess that it was rather taboo to yell that sort of word on the national broadcaster, although perhaps Miki broke the mold. Afterwards, male aidoru have used bakayaro in their lyrics such as Hideki Saijo（西城秀樹）in"Shiroi Kyokai"（白い教会...White Church） and Masahiko Kondo（近藤真彦）in "Blue Jeans Memory"（ブルー・ジーンズ・メモリー）. Mind you, when I wrote up the article for "Blue Jeans Memory" years ago, considering how strongly Matchy yelled that offending word, I did take it to mean the F word instead of what Jisho.org defines as "Damn it!" or "You moron!". Maybe listeners to "Hana wa Osokatta" also felt that it was that strong an epithet, but in the end, NHK still welcomed him to the Kohaku with his bakayaro intact.
One other surprise is that, as I already stated, Miki only had that one appearance on the Kohaku since many years later in the 1980s, he had that hit duet with enka singer Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）, "Moshikashite Part 2"（もしかして・パート２）, which was frequently performed on television and sung in the karaoke bars and boxes. I would have expected that with such a hit that Miki and Kobayashi appeared together on the Kohaku. But as it turned out, only Kobayashi got to appear to sing the Miki-penned "Moshikashite" as a solo participant.
Well, I figured that since I already have most of the major songs up from the 2020 anime "Ochikobore Fruit Tart"（おちこぼれフルーツタルト...Dropout Idol Fruit Tart）, I really should complete the set thus far with the ending theme.
Kadokawa Anime's YouTube channel has uploaded both the opening and closing credits here with the latter coming on at about 1:27. There have been announcements about sequels to popular anime, so I'm hoping that perhaps the same might occur with "Fruit Tart".
In any case, "Wonder!" is the ending theme with the entire aidoru group Fruit Tart performing through their seiyuu: Risa Kubota（久保田梨沙）, Hiyori Nitta（新田ひより）, Haruka Shiraishi（白石晴香）, Reina Kondo（近藤玲奈）and Kyoko Moriya（守屋亨香）. According to the J-Wiki article for the show, "Wonder!" incorporates some chip tune elements to create some feeling of retro video games alongside the rock guitar. Sasa Ando（安藤紗々）wrote the lyrics as she did for the opening theme, "Kibou Darake no EVERYDAY"（キボウだらけのEVERYDAY）while Yamato（大和）provided the melody and arrangement.
Seeing that Halloween is just around the corner, I had been wondering whether I could find a Kyary Pamyu Pamyu（きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ）song since she did put out "Crazy Party Night ~ Pumpkin no Gyakushuu"（ぱんぷきんの逆襲）several years ago. And after all, she is one for the cosplay so I thought she's be perfect for at least that aspect of the spooking holiday.
Alas, I couldn't but I got something even better and catchier from KPP on KKP. She's actually released her 5th studio album today titled "Candy Racer"（キャンディーレーサー）and from it, I was able to find this treat called "Perfect Oneisan".
My previous article for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu was for her "Gum Gum Girl"（ガムガムガール）with its dollops of Asian and disco. It is also included alongside "Perfect Oneisan" (Perfect Young Lady) but this particular track here today is influenced more from 80s synthpop and maybe even some Doobie Brothers, and it is also one earworm-y song for a guy like me who grew up to the decade's music. Once again written and composed by Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）, I'm not sure why the second word of that title is spelled oneisan（おねいさん）instead of how it's usually portrayed in romaji, oneesan（おねえさん）, aside from the observation that KPP wanted to put an especially cute spin on the pronunciation, although even its hiragana depiction is also different from the usual writing.
But before we end up getting mired in phonetics and semantics, I have to give Nakata my compliments on that amazing percussion and then the synths in the intro before Kyary's cute-as-hell-as-usual vocals take over. As well, that synth interlude in the middle is soaring good! One other thing is the music video itself which is minimalist and epic at the same time. I've ended up watching the video three times now despite all of that repetitive jumping!
Hump Day getting you down or tired? I think that I may have just the tonic for you. And if you thought that "FUNK FUJIYAMA" was zany, then please get a load of this one!
Contributor nikala provided her take on one of Kome Kome Club's（米米ＣＬＵＢ）signature tunes over seven years ago with its own singular music video. Well, this time I'm providing an earlier just-as-wackadoodle tune by the always entertaining band led by Carl Smokey Ishii（カールスモーキー石井）,"KOME KOME WAR".
Their 7th single from August 1988, "KOME KOME WAR", written and composed by the entire band with arrangement by singer-songwriter Nobuo Ariga（有賀啓雄）, has lyrics that are as gibberish-y as the music is catchy and funky. I'm not even going to go anywhere into analysis mode with these words; I will merely look at them, nod and smile. The main words, aside from the title, are "semete, semete, semete" (attack, attack, attack) and "yamete, yamete, yamete" (stop, stop, stop), and that's all you need to know since the music is the thing here and the music video, directed by Ishii himself, provides tons of distractions. Everybody gets involved in a K2C video!😎 All that hard work led to it earning the band a Grand Prize in the international version of the MTV Music Video Awards that year, according to J-Wiki.
Of course, if you had the opportunity back then, the ultimate way to enjoy a K2C song was actually going to one of their concerts. Not sure how much it cost to attend one of their events but considering the showmanship, the lavish settings and the over-the-top arrangements, I'm sure that it was well worth it. In any case, "KOME KOME WAR" reached No. 5 on Oricon and first made its presence on an album via the band's 4th album"GO FUNK" which came out in September 1988. It hit No. 1 and quickly became the 25th-ranked album of the year.
Along with the City Pop and other J-Pop YouTube channels, I've also subscribed to some other interesting channels including the drive-focused J Utah that I've mentioned in past articles. Recently, though, I've also cottoned onto another traveling channel called "Kuga's Travel" which since 2019 has had Mr. Kuga (if that is indeed his real name) travel on trains and ferries around Japan. The above video is his most recent entry from only several hours ago in which he's taking a ferry with cruise ship ambitions from Sendai to Hokkaido. Although I don't consider myself a traveler, I'm sure that there are many travel-starved folks who would appreciate his videos, and even I've enjoyed the soothing rides that he has provided.
I've used the oceangoing story above to introduce the appropriately titled "Tide" by the 80s/90s band Picasso（ピカソ）. For those "Maison Ikkoku"（めぞん一刻）fans, this group should be well known to them since they came up with one of the theme songs for the beloved 80s anime,"Cinema"（シ・ネ・マ）. Actually, "Tide" is the 2nd single from January 1985 by Picasso, just preceding "Cinema" by exactly 7 months.
The Wikipedia article for the band cites their "experimental sound", and I think that "Tide" is perhaps a reflection of that. Right from Note One, there's something of a unique arrangement which feels quite ska or a peppy reggae, and there's something in Tetsuya Tsujihata's（辻畑鉄也）voice which also hints at that, but then there are those synths and even a shift into a more tango-like rhythm as we go deeper into the song.
As was the case with "Cinema", "Tide" was also written by Junko Ohyama（大山潤子）and composed by Picasso. The song was also used for a commercial for Flouveil Cosmetics. Lastly, I don't think that I ever mentioned this but according to both the Wikipedia and J-Wiki articles for the band, keyboardist Hideharu Mori（森英治）is the younger brother of prolific lyricist Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）who is well represented on "Kayo Kyoku Plus".
As I've said a few times before, I always like coming across a song that begets a winding story. I started with this single's B-side and then found out about the A-side before finally finishing up with the song that the A-side was covering. We shall start from there.
I didn't know about him until just a few minutes ago, but French singer-songwriter Michel Polnareff came up with a song in 1969 called "Tout tout pour ma chérie" that I recognized as one that has been used in at least one Japanese commercial while I was living in the Kanto area. Didn't know the title or the singer; just accepted it as one of the number of French pop tunes that the Japanese had fallen for.
As an added bonus, I found this 1979 episode excerpt of Fuji-TV's long-running "Music Fair" in which Polnareff is performing "Tout tout pour ma chérie".
Over three years ago, I put up an article on this rather distinctive album by KEDGE, a duo consisting of composer Keiichi Tomita（冨田恵一）and singer/lyricist Naomi Sugimoto（杉本直子）, "Complete Samples" (1988). Tomita would go on at the turn of the century to become this songwriter and producer Tomita Lab（冨田ラボ）with his distinctive brand of stylish café-friendly soul and groove for various singers. But in his KEDGE days, he came up with some very different sounds, more akin to really happy and hooky and rapid-fire synthpop along the lines of PSY-S.
For KEDGE, I had thought it was one and done with "Complete Samples" in the late 80s, but apparently, he did provide one trio with a KEDGE-sounding single. And this trio was quite the interesting combination although J-TRIPS came and went with the wind. From the only information that I could get, J-TRIPS was actor Tsuneyuki Hasegawa（長谷川恒之）, model JUN and fashion coordinator Naohira Kameyama（亀山尚平）. The only one with a J-Wiki entry was Hasegawa, and there is no mention of any singing credits assigned to him. How they all got together is an unknown matter to me; maybe they all met at a party and decided to make a group.
Anyways, J-TRIPS released a 1989 single which was a finger-snapping synthpop cover of "Tout tout pour ma chérie" with the Japanese title of "Cherie ni Kuchizuke"(A Kiss for Cherie). For those who have heard the tracks from "Complete Samples", yep, it indeed has that KEDGE sound and speed. Looking at the JASRAC database, Michi Shibano（柴野未知）provided the Japanese lyrics.
(Sorry but the video has been taken down.)
Before I move on, may I say how Bubble Era and gorgeous the three members of J-TRIPS look on the cover? Anyways, the B-side and my introduction to J-TRIPS is "Merry Destiny" which really does cement the KEDGE link. It's bubbly and Tomita wields that synthesizer like a rapier, and there's something about "Merry Destiny" which hints at a futuristic economic utopia which ironically Japan was not heading towards as it entered the 1990s. As for the singing by this actor, this model and this fashion coordinator, it's not bad at all especially since there were no vocal acrobatics demanded of them. But as I mentioned above, it was most likely one and done for J-TRIPS.
