I will be taking some time off from the blog soon, as the co-founder of this site, Steven Shore will no longer be among the living. For now, I leave you with something sunny.
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From our incredible friends at Wewantsounds, we have another scorching compilation of Japanese jazz-funk. From the label’s Bandcamp site: “Following the success of the ‘Tokyo Glow’ compilation, Wewantsounds once again teams up with Japanese Tokyo-based DJ Notoya to dig the rich Electric Bird catalogue and come with a versatile selection of sunny Jazz-Funk gems recorded between 1978 and 1987 for the label. A tasty selection featuring Yasuaki Shimizu, Toshiyuki Honda and Mikio Masuda, together with a few American musicians such as Ronnie Foster and Bobby Lyle. Most tracks make their debut outside of Japan and the album has been designed…
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I have no info on either Masian Love or Frequency, two bands out of South Korea, but they do a fine take on the quintessentially Japanese City Pop genre.
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From Light In The Attic Records, this is perfect Sunday listening: “With Pacific Breeze 2: Japanese City Pop, AOR & Boogie 1972-1986 we dig deeper into those sounds of bubble-era Japan. From the proto-City Pop funk of Bread & Butter and Eiichi Ohtaki to the crate-digger favorites Eri Ohno and Piper, the latest entry in Light In The Attic’s Japan Archival Series brings another set of sought-after tunes, most of which have never before been available outside of Japan. Tomoko Aran and Anri, also included in this compilation, are just a few of the artists who have gained popularity in…
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Aloha Got Soul is a record label out of Hawaii documenting the lost soul that was coming out of the state during the 1970s and 1980s, but this release is actually the work of a local prodigy called Nicadrio Lee who put this album together last year if I understand correctly. It’s been hyped for quite a few months, but to be honest, I figured that it was merely some kid noodling with his guitar. I am happy to say that I was terribly wrong. It’s a rather sophisticated City Pop, all instrumental and very mellow. Nicadrio is very good…