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.
Alright, first off...there has been a name change with one of our City Pop singers over the last several months. Bluesy Neo-City Pop singer and songwriter Masa has been officially Sora Satoh for a while now, but I've been just been updating the names for his previous songs noted on the blog (such as "Hachijo Island Sunday Morning Drive") and in the Labels section.
His latest song "56709" came out in the middle of April a few months back, and if that number strikes you as familiar then you would be a City Pop fan. In fact, I'd say that it's City Pop's most famous series of numbers seeing that it's been gleefully stated over and over in Junko Ohashi's（大橋純子）wonderful "Telephone Number".
As Sora himself notes in the description below the YouTube video above, "56709" is a sequel of sorts to "Telephone Number" and with the help of France-based singer-songwriter Pernelle, they give an account about someone trying to reach the mystery person at that number. The song is a veritable shoutout to the entire umbrella genre through the Tats' like guitar strumming, for example, and Sora's lyrics carrying references to other City Pop songs. It's all very cool and spacey out there on the highways of Tokyo. The video doesn't have any cute chibi girls strutting from side to side but I gather that might be Sora himself riding the motorcycle.
The last statement that I provided for Neo-City Pop and blues singer-songwriter Masa's "Danshari Dance" back in August was a query about whose style he would emulate next: Fujimal Yoshino（芳野藤丸）or Minako Yoshida（吉田美奈子）?
I felt that the percolating "Danshari Dance" was more on the Kirinji（キリンジ）scale of things, and y'know what? I think that it's the same with this song that he put out on YouTube almost a week ago titled "Hachijo Island Sunday Morning Drive". Coinciding with a video of his vacation on Hachijo Island due south of Tokyo, Masa's "Hachijo Island Sunday Morning Drive" sounds as relaxing as the view appears, and it really does come across as healing music with that keyboard reminiscent of late 70s/early 80s soft rock. From what I've read of the island, it only takes 45 minutes by plane from Tokyo's Haneda Airport to Hachijojima Airport; compare that with the ferry (the only mode of transportation) that takes 24 hours from Tokyo to the smaller Ogasawara Islands that my student had to visit on business.
We're getting into the fall and winter. I certainly wouldn't mind a nice tropical vacation like this someday.
Ah...yes, Marie Kondo（近藤麻理恵）. There was that time in ancient pre-pandemic history where the KonMari Method was grabbing our inner neat freaks, wasn't there? If it sparks joy, keep it; if it doesn't, ditch it. Regrettably, if any of you see my room, it will be become painfully obvious that I never cottoned onto the method. However, my collection of music still sparks plenty of joy within me.😁
According to singer-songwriter and City Pop educator, Masa, Ms. Kondo was the one who inspired my friend to create his latest treat, "Danshari Dance" which came out on platforms such as Apple and Spotify only a few days ago. For him, "Danshari Dance" is all about "...throwing away both physical and mental mess to be free!". He is right, y'know. You can't have all sorts of crud on the disco floor if you wanna properly boogie all night.
Masa has created what he has described as a disco funk City Pop song in the vein of Kirinji（キリンジ）in the late 2010s. Specifically, I do believe that he was further inspired by the band's catchy tune "Jikan ga nai"（時間がない）which came out back in 2018. Good to have his annual song on board and "Danshari Dance" can be compared to the Tatsuro Yamashita-influenced（山下達郎）"No Matter What, No Matter Where"debut single in 2020, and his 2021 Hiroshi Sato-vibing（佐藤博）"Komorebi"（木洩れ日）.
Where will the lad go next? Fujimal Yoshino（芳野藤丸）? Minako Yoshida（吉田美奈子）? The sky's the limit.
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!
When I was doing all those translations for Japanese tourism brochures, one common expression that popped up was shinrinyoku（森林浴）or forest bathing. Now, before all of us get all sorts of nasty thoughts, the expression refers to forest therapy...namely, taking a walk through the forest to relax and recharge. I'm uncertain about which types of forests would be great for this sort of thing: bamboo, coniferous or deciduous? But I gather that all of that oxygen coming out of the leaves can't hurt at all.
The sunlight filtering through the trees must also add to the ambience and that's where I write about Masa's latest single "Komorebi" which actually does mean "sunlight filtering through the trees". Late last year, I did write about his first single"No Matter What, No Matter Where" which had some comparisons to American AOR band Pages and Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）. Well, with "Komorebi", I get some more of a Hiroshi Sato（佐藤博）vibe in a very spacey manner. Also, with his lyrics, it almost feels like a batch of musical shinrinyoku. I could use with a bit of forest therapy myself but I just have a can of pine air freshener.
Over the past several months, I've been subscribing to a number of YouTube channels thanks to this pandemic just to provide some form of edutainment whether it be related to cooking, sci-fi and music. One channel has been "Masa -Neo CityPop-" in which singer-songwriter Masa, nee Mamoru Sato, has provided the songwriter's view on what makes Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）songs tick. I figure and I think that perhaps Masa himself has figured that there are people out there who not only want to hear Tats' hits but also try to play them as well...or even create some originals in City Pop. As much as I want to give the musicologist's or musician's angle on my favourite genre, I can't; I'm just an avid listener of the music like you folks are. The last time I actually picked up a musical instrument, Ronald Reagan was still in his first term as President of the United States (please don't carbon-date me).
Therefore, I'm very glad that Masa has been on YouTube to provide his tutorials and theory on those very songs. Now I'm also happy to state that he has put out his form of City Pop with the bluesy twist, thanks to his song "No Matter What, No Matter Where"
It is a most relaxing song and so it's good that I'm putting this up near the midnight hour before I head to bed. There is that guitar of his which has me thinking of Yamashita and the spacey feelings of "No Matter What, No Matter Where" bring the song somewhat closer to the City Pop/Future Funk borderline. At the same time, though, I also pick up on the AOR from the late 1970s such as the band Pages which I used for a Reminiscings of Youth article back in September. However, in terms of the pure sound, my favourite part is the echoing which especially had me thinking of that AOR and the use of the koto...very Yutaka Yokokura（横倉裕）.
(Sorry but the video has been taken down)
Masa has also given his feelings on "No Matter What, No Matter Where" including what the origins of the song are. Interestingly enough, I've heard and probably covered a few tunes on KKP which originated from wedding parties attended by singers and/or have been played at those parties, but I'm already giving part of the plot away here. Anyways, have a look at the video.
Also, my congratulations to Masa and all the best on future songs to be released by him.
Finally, to kill two birds with one stone, Rocket Brown has provided another Xmas podcast so head on over to Come Along Radio.
