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.
Showing posts with label Kyoto Jazz Massive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kyoto Jazz Massive. Show all posts
It may have been last year or 2023 when that big total eclipse came rushing over our skies and it was Niagara Falls that provided the prime vantage point. So, thousands upon thousands of people rushed to the Honeymoon Capital of the world for those few minutes of epic darkness. Toronto got hit by the shadow as well so we were in our abode in the afternoon when the skies went totally black in what was one of the more dramatic scenes that I ever witnessed.
A few years have passed since putting up my last article on Kyoto Jazz Massive but doing some browsing and maintenance on the blog re-acquainted me with the project devoted to jazz, electronica and other styles. This is the title track from their 2000 EP"Eclipse", and though today is merely a Tuesday, listening to this one makes me feel like it's a Friday and it's time to hit the oh-so-cool club scene. And the craziest thing is that I have probably heard excerpts of this song before through its use in segments of Japanese infotainment programs. By the way, the version below is the Afronaught remix.
For the last several months, I've been enjoying the shortened version of the NHK Worldanime "Maiko-san chi no Makanai-san"（舞妓さんちのまかないさん...Kiyo in Kyoto: From the Maiko House） based on the 2016 manga; apparently, we're getting bits and pieces of the original episodes but even then, those 10 minutes each Friday afternoon have been very soothing. There's that sumptuous combination of the demanding development of the maiko along with the home-cooked goodness of the dishes with everything set in the lovely setting of Kyoto.
From what I've seen of the episodes, I don't think that the main characters of Kiyo and Sumire can have much of a nightlife in the ancient capital; Kiyo is too busy thinking about what to cook for everybody the next day while Sumire has her training and entertaining duties (for one episode, the latter was freaking out about even entering a konbini). However, I gather that somewhere in Kyoto, there is some sort of nightclubbing quarter.
And therefore, I segue into the jazz and electronic project of Kyoto Jazz Massive featuring Shuya and Yoshihiro Okino（沖野修也・沖野好洋）. I've already mentioned them in past articles for Shinichi Osawa (大沢伸一...aka Mondo Grosso) and Makoto, but KJM finally gets their first solo article here on KKP with the second track of their first bona fide studio album"Spirit of the Sun" (September 2002).
I'm still kinda hazy on what this Crossover Jazz is all about but from what I've read about it on Wikipedia, it's jazz with all sorts of other musical genres coming in (maybe it's a "Multiverse of Madness" sort of thing). That second track, by the way, is "The Brightness Of These Days" with Vanessa Freeman providing some sultry vocals. The backing music by the Okino brothers is jazz oomphed up with some beats and grooviness. It's not quite enough to get folks up and dancing but they can enjoy their cocktails and chill + sway at their dimly-lit tables in the club.
Would also love to give my compliments to whoever came up with the album cover for "Spirit of the Sun" with the silhouette of Kyoto Tower in front of the setting sun.
Another scorcher in the city...relatively speaking. I still remember the really hot summer days and night in Tokyo, and I try to use the memories of those to keep myself cooler. Yet, the ancient fan behind me keeps rotating.
Truly, I wasn't trying to create some haiku up there (since obviously I was breaking the strict rules on the number of syllables in each line). In any case, let's get onto the topic of this fellow that I've only discovered recently, Makoto Shimizu（清水誠）who usually goes with his nom de guerre, Makoto. His track, "Time", from his inaugural album in 2003, "Human Elements", is quite the banger.
Makoto and British vocalist and composer Cleveland Watkiss created this snappy and propulsive "Time", which also came out as a single in the same year, and considering when "Human Elements" was composed, I've additionally been getting those Mondo Grosso vibes. Perhaps that might be because as much as Makoto is known as a drum n' bass man, he also brings in that 70s soul into the mix (maybe some Bill Withers?). I also read on his J-Wiki page that he was also influenced by Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）, and that legend of course is someone who knows his way around a hook.
The fan reviews on Discogs for "Human Elements" haven't been all that amazing but for me "Time" is a nice way for me to greet Sunday and even get me to move around in my seat despite the sweltering heat out there.
The brothers Shuya and Yoshihiro Okino（沖野修也・沖野好洋）as Kyoto Jazz Massive applied their jazz and electronica to "Time" for a remix version of the Makoto original. However, I couldn't find out when exactly this version was produced. Speaking of Mondo Grosso, I first mentioned about KJM when the brothers contributed a song to the former's "Sakurahills Disco 3000" compilation back in 2000.
Early in the life of this blog, I provided an article on bird's single "Game" which was the impetus for me to get producer Shinichi Osawa's (大沢伸一...aka Mondo Grosso)April 2000 compilation album "Sakurahills Disco 3000". Did love the neo-disco that bird provided, and the version of that single on this particular compilation was just a shade under 10 minutes long.
Basically, that's what Osawa provides through his friends here: a set of remixes that brings together that old disco feeling incorporated into the contemporary clubbing atmosphere at the time. Some of the tracks stand out more than others, including the launching track "Discotique Murphy's Theme" by SHD 3000 and Murphy himself. Couldn't find out who exactly SHD 3000 was but I'm wondering if it's just another alias for Osawa himself. Yup, it's repetitive but the point is just to get you all warmed up on the dance floor and into the rhythm.
Monday Michiru will always be a welcome sound for sore ears. Thus, she is here with SHD 3000 to provide "Real Thing". Written and composed by Michiru herself, it's very nice to hear the good ol' sweeping and soaring R&B with some classy jazz. Could imagine darting among the skyscrapers of Manhattan on a magic flying carpet while listening to this one on a clear night.
I read about the band Kyoto Jazz Massive in my copy of Steve McClure's"Nippon Pop" years ago but didn't actually get to listen to the these fellows until I bought "Sakurahills Disco 3000". Their contribution to the album is "Substream" which also came out as one of their singles. According to their Wikipedia entry, they like to combine crossover jazz and electronic styles, and with "Substream", there is that mix of funk/soul with the improvisation of jazz with the result being something like the coolest AOR on a couple of cans of Red Bull. It certainly gave me wings.
One of the members, Hajime Yoshizawa（吉澤はじめ）, is on the Fender Rhodes and as I hear him noodling away, I couldn't help but be reminded of the late Vince Guaraldi when he was playing some of his "Peanuts" music in the 1970s entries of the beloved series with Charlie Brown & Snoopy. The other members are the brothers Shuya and Yoshihiro Okino（沖野修也・沖野好洋）.
These must be the cool kids of Seton Academy!
For the lack of a better expression, I guess Fantastic Plastic Machine's"Petitions" would be one of the more frantic chillout disco tunes that I've heard. It's been years and years since I was on the dance floor (and frankly, any disco that would have me nowadays would need the extra insurance), and "Petitions" is one of those songs that will have my legs twisting all over the place into a pretzel while my upper body goes all slow and rubbery. While FPM chugs up the beat, the sultriness is provided by the voice of Lori Fine, the vocalist of COLDFEET.
All these years, I've been waiting to get some excuse to get the legendary Earth Wind & Fire here. Well, now I've got the reason. The final track in "Sakurahills Disco 3000" is the Phats & Small Mutant Disco Vocal Mix of EW&F's just-as-legendary "September", known as "September 99". As soon as I got the video here, I turned up the volume solely as an automatic reflex.
I first got to know the original "September" back on the radio when I was in high school. Since then, I've never failed to listen to the song and appreciate it in the fall. The original was also a pretty short number but it's just so filled with fun and goodness, and when I heard that there was an extended remix, I just had to listen to it. If bird's"Game" was the bait that got me drawn to "Sakurahills Disco 3000", seeing the listing for "September 99" was the hook that finally landed me.
