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.
Happy New Year and welcome one and all to 2026! Hopefully, once you are seeing this, you are largely hangover-free or very satisfied with the finale to "Stranger Things".
Let's start the first entry on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" with something a little more eclectic but still quite relaxing before everything comes out of Holiday mode as of tomorrow. I don't know anything about YeYe but according to what I've found out thus far, she's singer-songwriter Natsuko Hashiguchi（橋口なつこ）from Shiga Prefecture and when she was about 20 in 2009, she started up the trio concentrate on popping as their bassist and vocalist.
She also began a solo career under the name YeYe (the Chinese word for "grandpa" [yéye]) from 2010 which has embraced indies pop, chamber pop, guitar pop, and electro pop. One digital single that she released in August 2022 was "Suimen ni, Ice"(Ice on the Water) and it's a collaboration between her and Ginger Root with his delectably synthy 80s sound. Ginger Root took care of the arrangement of YeYe's creation to make it sound like an old-fashioned lighthearted pop song played at a tropical club as filtered through all that technology of the 80s. From what I could glean from the lyrics, it sounds like someone is pining for that significant other and hopefully that water will be able to melt through the ice.
Dealing with "Kayo Kyoku Plus" music? Yayyy! Dealing with technology? Ughhhh. I haven't had much sleep over the past couple of days because folks in my community are looking forward to an upgrade in their Internet technology via new modems. I have never been very good with handling electronic devices and when I got my modem yesterday morning, I spent a good deal of time absorbing the installation instructions. Then, against my better judgement and in the vain hopes that a technician would miraculously beam in to help, I went to work. Not surprisingly, I got hung up with the Internet and television connections. After a couple of tries over twenty minutes, I cried "Uncle!" and reverted back to my current modem. Thankfully, everything is back to normal but later on today, I'm calling up the company and demanding a technician to come in.
Probably a lot of my friends and my brother, who are far more adept at technology than I am, would point an accusatory finger at me and say "Only you, J-Canuck! Only you can plug in an alarm clock and screw that up!". Yeah, guilty as charged. But that's me and my blog is my strength.
Hopefully, singer-songwriter and musician Cameron Lew and his Ginger Root project are faring much better in California. In August of this year, Ginger Root released their latest single "Only You", which is another sunny techno-light funky tune with a hint of 60s sweet pop as a topping. The video has Lew possibly getting yanked back into the Japanese corporatism of the music industry for that good money and fame. Compare that with his current circumstances of his own struggling business as a solo act. Although I'm a music fan and not a musician, I can definitely relate to young Cameron.
"Only You" is also available in Ginger Root's latest album which came out a couple of months ago "Shinbangumi" (New Program). I wish him continued success.
Of course, when it comes to tiny television stations trying to make a go of it with some distinctive programming, there is "SCTV" and one of their famous shows "Great White North" with the McKenzie Brothers.
Looks like Cameron Lew , aka Ginger Root, is in the same boat. Apparently, he was kicked out of his former station and is now attempting his own broadcasting enterprise. But of course, things go awry just minutes away from launch which means a lot of improvisation among the motley crew who come in like an A-Team of sorts (or a G-Team).
Meanwhile, the adventure is accompanied by Ginger Root's latest single from a couple of weeks ago, "Better Than Monday". Of course, the gloppy 80s synthpop is his thing but I can also pick up on a bit of slightly minimalist Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan in the arrangement. The wonderful thing about it all though is that Ginger Root provides that bridge between the nostalgic funky goodness of the past and the freshness of non-mainstream catchiness in the present. "Better Than Monday" is also available on his next album "SHINBANGUMI" scheduled for release later this September.
P.S. I found this video from more than a year ago when Ginger Root was a guest on Haruomi Hosono's（細野晴臣） radio show. He and I do share one thing in common in that we both had YMO to introduce us into the wonderful world of Japanese pop music. One thing that we don't is that while Cameron was very calm and assured in the interview (especially speaking in Japanese), I probably would have been speaking in tongues in absolute terror.
Well, it's been a little over a couple of weeks since I introduced "Kayo Kyoku Plus" AI representative Kayo Grace Kyoku（旭花耀）. I wanted to have her seen in other environments other than the Xmas ones that I was able to concoct before the AI art generator started poking at me to subscribe on one of their plans. To quote this week's ROY article: no can do. I tried it out forgetting to put in the anime filter after requesting "a dark-haired Japanese 80s idol singer drinking in a bar". Not sure what that cocktail is, but man, her hair is all kinds of 80s-level BIG. Good on ya, Kayo!
Speaking of manufactured 80s female aidoru, I bring you back to the just-finished Nisemono（偽物...Fake） arc of Ginger Root. When last we were here, it was back in June this year when I posted the song that concluded the arc, "Everything's Alright". Ginger just became a star but idol Kimiko Takeguchi（竹口希美子）, who he took over for when she had some temporary cold feet about her career, returned to take responsibility of it with no hard feelings from everyone concerned. All's well that ends well.
I guess to tie a nice crisp bow on things, Ginger Root has also decided to have Takeguchi, played by singer-songwriter Amaiwana（アマイワナ）, sing the song that she was supposed to have sung in the first place, "Loneliness", which actually got vocalized first by the Root Man himself when the aidoru had gone AWOL. 80s aidoru-dom is back in the video and Amaiwana has got the twee high-pitched delivery just right. The only thing missing in the video is the reappearance of "The Best 10" host Tetsuko Kuroyanagi（黒柳徹子）thanking her at warp speed.
Welcome to another round of Urban Contemporary Fridays on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" and hopefully all of you down in the United States have been able to digest most or all of your turkey dinner in the past 24 hours. I gather then that we are about to enter the Yuletide season. Officially on the blog, we'll be doing that from tomorrow on November 25th so stay tuned for some Xmas songs for the next few weeks leading up to Christmas Day.
A few days ago late at night, I pulled off what I call the equivalent of skipping a stone on the pond at least a few times across to the other bank when I discovered a succession of interesting tunes. Let's say that I didn't get to bed until rather late because I had to peruse these new gems for some time past midnight.
The first one is actually a collaboration of a couple of people who already have representation on KKP: snazzy and twinkly 80s-loving Ginger Root finishing up his Kimiko Takeguchi arc last year and guitar princess Rei who I wrote about a few years ago with her "Lazy Loser". Rei's new mini-album, "VOICE", is due out next week on November 29th but her own YouTube channel has put out the first track's music video in the last couple of weeks.
"Love is Beautiful" is the first track with Ginger Root and Rei working together on the song and the result is a calm and groovy tune combining Rei's slightly husky vocals and strumming guitar with Ginger Root's quintessentially sparkly keyboards. The music video has Ginger ravenously searching music store after music store for that one rare album, something that I can relate to very well after my own occasional quests in the CD store-filled neighbourhood of Shibuya and beyond. I've gotten lucky from time to time. Hama Okamoto from OKAMOTO's is also helping out as well with the music and donuts.
Will there be a final confrontation between her and Ginger or will there be collaboration?
That was the second-last sentence that I wrote for my article on Ginger Root's"Nisemono" and its music video being a part of a short series involving the trial and tribulations of a troubled 80s aidorunamed Kimiko Takeguchi and the songwriter who's had to fill in for her behind the mike. Well, according to the title of the final track of Cameron Lew's 2022 EP "Nisemono" and the video above, it is apparent that there has been a reconciliation of sorts between Kimiko and Ginger.
The appropriately titled "Everything's Alright" has everyone indeed alright and in their proper positions to provide that important part of the soundtrack for the anime. Despite the presence of a small orchestra in the recording studio, it is still the quintessential Ginger Root sound of twinkly 80s ambience. I certainly hope that this isn't the end as well for the Ginger Root project and that Lew will continue to bring on some more nostalgia.
Incidentally, Kimiko is played by Amaiwana, herself a singer-songwriter and a trackmaker so I'd like to cover one of her tunes soon enough.
California singer-songwriter Cameron Lew who has led the Ginger Root project has not only been providing some new groovy songs of nostalgia over the past few years, he's also been producing the music videos stringing together a narrative of an 80s aidorunamed Kimiko who could no longer stand the rigors of stardom and putting up a false front. She literally runs away back to normalcy and anonymity while her songwriter Ginger Root himself is suddenly thrust into the limelight and revels in his new position in life and career.
"Nisemono"(Imposter) is the title track from his September 2022 EP. Waves of nostalgia crashed over my ears and eyes as I first heard the synths and percussion seemingly being filtered through a diaphanous but steady time field dividing the 2020s and the 1980s. The video this time has Kimiko wondering whether her sudden decision to leave show business had been a little hasty. Will there be a final confrontation between her and Ginger or will there be collaboration? Stay tuned.
Well, working a little overtime tonight although I won't be anywhere near as crazy as I was a couple of weeks ago at the end of September. But approaching Halloween, I won't be making any promises quite yet. Anyways, this will be my final entry for tonight.
Singer, songwriter and musician Cameron Lew from California, aka Ginger Root, released his latest EP last month titled "Nisemono" which is Japanese for "Imposter", and according to his Wikipedia entry, it deals with having to put up a false front for various reasons (work, romance, etc.) and struggling to keep the true self hidden. One track from the album that has also been released as a single is "Holy Hell".
The song is infused with all of that sunny West Coast goodness and some of that Vaporwave, much like that orange-y sweetness that must be inside a bottle of the Ginger Fresh that Ginger Root is selling in the video. As has been the case with his videos in the past, the one for "Holy Hell" is a nostalgic time trip for folks in my generation as we get drawn back into the age of the VCR, hazy audio and video, cheesy soda pop commercials, and even a shoutout to "Caddyshack". All that video stimuli can almost cover up Ginger's breathy lyrics of a couple on the brink of breaking up.
I've done my four articles for today and usually four are my max on a Friday. However, when I was doing the fourth article on Tatsuro Yamashita's（山下達郎）"Love's On Fire", I saw a comment underneath the video which marveled at the fact that not only was Tats' latest coming out on that day, but also Ginger Root's most recent single on the same day. It was certainly a good day for that fellow.
Well, I am putting up a fifth article today because I also remember Ginger Root since I first found out about the man behind the project, Cameron Lew, almost a year ago when he gave his loving affection for City Pop and the glossy 1980s via his single "Loretta". He's come out with a new single, "Loneliness", which came out on the 22nd and will also be part of his September EP, "Nisemono"（偽物...Fake）.
He even came up with the concept video for "Loneliness" as a Seiko Matsuda-like（松田聖子）aidoru named Kimiko Takeguchi in 1983 suddenly quits the business in a huff. Her now-former manager has to find a replacement singer in a panic and she forces the songwriter, namely Lew, to fill in. A new star is born and Lew relishes the fame and fortune although it's obvious that the manager and production staff are treating him more like a cash cow commodity than a human being which probably forced Takeguchi to leave in the first place. Such is show business.
I only found out about this video on Alfa Music's YouTube channel last night but I enjoyed this version of a famous Yellow Magic Orchestra so much that I felt that I had to share it today.
YMO's"Kimi ni Mune Kyun"(Making Your Heart Go Boing) from 1983 is one of the technopop band's most popular tunes with them behind the music and Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）on lyrics, and I've enjoyed it myself for its dreamy and light-hearted romp through the stars. And it's been a YMO tune that has had its share of covers by folks ranging from Asako Toki（土岐麻子）to Human League.
But as I said, last night I came across by accident, Ginger Root's (aka Cameron Lew) cover of a favourite Alfa song which happens to be "Kimi ni Mune Kyun". I've been interested in him since I discovered his "Loretta" last summer, a spacey and appropriately summery tune which mixes in the 80s and the new 20s through a Vaporwave sheen. Now with his cover of "Kimi ni Mune Kyun", he has applied his so-called elevator soul as he puts it to the YMO hit, and it's shiveringly cool and soothing (like a Halls lozenge!) thanks to that slice of Ginger. I also enjoy the echo effects that he has added that further enhances the dreaminess and spaciness of it all. Nice way to start another work week at KKP and I wonder whether this new take will be added to a new Ginger Root album.
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!
I was talking with commenter Matt K. earlier today regarding one of his recommendations, and that had me thinking about this whole City Pop craze which went worldwide starting a few years ago with Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）"Plastic Love". If I'm not mistaken, it's been about three years now and I'm happy to say that there are still folks finding out about City Pop, J-AOR, Neo City Pop and the like.
However in my opinion, I believe that the early stage of falling head over heels in the thralls of hatsukoi with this wonderful umbrella encompassing jazz, Latin, soul and other genres has generally crested and it's now most likely the case that J-Urban Contemporary has taken up a solid niche among the many world music genres. It's not a fad...longevity and continuing popularity have seen to that. There are probably three groups of people: 1) the ones who jumped onto the bandwagon but have decided to get off, 2) the ones who continue to like City Pop but want to move onto other genres out there, and 3) the true believers. At least, some of 2) and all of 3) will keep the flame alive.
But I think that City Pop has already entered a second stage of sorts in its time on the world stage. Folks outside of Japan are not only putting their own spins on the established works by artists such as Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）, Fujimal Yoshino（芳野藤丸）, the aforementioned Takeuchi and Miki Matsubara（松原みき）, but they are also creating their own original songs based on those certain funky/soulful patterns and arrangements. For instance, I've seen some YouTube videos of artists in Mexico and South Korea coming up with their own City Pop tunes.
One person that I've already mentioned is Masa, a singer-songwriter who I've been able to communicate with occasionally via Discord, and from his videos on his YouTube channel, I've found out that he has wanted to meld some of that Neo City Pop sound with blues through his own works such as "Komorebi".
And now finally we come to Matt's recommendation. He informed me about a singer-songwriter based in the United States, Cameron Lew aka Ginger Root. Hailing from Huntington Beach, California, he's been performing since 2017 with this indie soul project which he describes as "aggressive elevator soul". Well, if his "Loretta" is of any indication, then there must be a whole ton of neon and disco glitter in that lift along with several people dancing about.
His latest single from June 2021,"Loretta" has got that late 1970s City Pop and Vaporwave feel paired with a video which brings the fond memories of bleary VHS. I definitely love those spacey and sparkling keyboards as well. Not sure if Ginger Root was trying to emulate Tatsuro with the shoulder-length hair (although Ginger seems to be using a more effective conditioner than Tats) and those high tones in the video, but as I was mentioning to Matt, I think this cat from California is pretty much his own man with his creations.
Anyways, "Loretta" will also be appearing on Ginger Root's next EP, "City Slicker", which will supposedly be released in a few weeks in August. Many thanks to Matt and I will have to explore a little more of Ginger's discography.
