Tag - city-pop

 
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April 24, 2024
 

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CITY POP

Cameron Lew, the 27-year-old behind the California-based music project Ginger Root, crafted a detailed city-pop-inspired universe with a 1980s idol storyline for last year’s “Nisemono” album.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 28, 2023
Ginger Root's modern spin on Showa nostalgia
The California-based project is set to bring its distinct interpretation of city pop to Fuji Rock Festival this weekend.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 15, 2022
Phung Khanh Linh and artists abroad get creative with city pop palette
In 2022, the world tuned in to the glitzy sounds of Japan's bubble era more than ever before. For musicians outside of Japan, their appreciation of the genre goes beyond nostalgia.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 11, 2022
Perfume looks to the future with kindness
The pop group taps into the nostalgic sounds of city pop and melancholic views of the present in its seventh full-length album, “Plasma.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 15, 2022
Kamasami Kong gives voice to city pop's resurgence on 'FM Station 8090'
The radio DJ and personality brings his distinct narration style to the soundtrack of Japan's bubble era.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 2, 2022
'Softly': Tatsuro Yamashita looks to the future with timeless optimism
Two Tatsuro Yamashitas exist in 2022. There's the patron saint of city pop and a musical symbol for all things bubble-era Japan, and then there's the 69-year-old pop tinkerer still exploring his craft on “Softly.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jun 5, 2022
Harry and the house that Hosono built
None other than global pop star Harry Styles takes inspiration from one of Japan's most-talented musicians. The question is, will the West follow?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 5, 2021
Kiyotaka Sugiyama looks back on the glistening days of city pop
The Omega Tribe frontman celebrates the 40th anniversary of the city pop group's debut with remastered versions of past albums.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 15, 2021
‘Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop’ bursts with love for the 1980s aesthetic
Kyohei Ishiguro's coming-of-age anime is a sweet and summery ode to the music and style of city pop.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 11, 2021
How TikTok resurrected a Japanese pop star's defining hit
Miki Matsubara's 1979 hit song 'Mayonaka no Door: Stay With Me' has been discovered by a new generation of digitally savvy teens. The Japanese music industry has taken notice.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 6, 2020
City Pop on Vinyl brings back the glitzed-out sounds of Japan's bubble
Soak up the sounds of city pop with five albums that highlight old-school heavyweights or showcase newer artists' takes on the bubble era genre.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 1, 2019
'Pacific Breeze' collates the slick sound of Japanese city pop
Long overlooked by international labels, Japan's rich musical history has been undergoing thorough excavation over the past few years. Some of the most satisfying archival releases to date have come from Light in the Attic, the U.S. label behind last year's Haruomi Hosono reissues and the recent "Kankyo Ongaku" collection of 1980s ambient music.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2019
Suchmos' 'The Anymal' aims high but misses the mark
Of all the acts to emerge during the recent city pop revival, when the funk-inflected AOR of early-1980s Japan seemed to be coming back in vogue, Suchmos has been by far the most successful. Last year saw the sextet graduate to playing arenas and providing NHK's theme song for the FIFA World Cup — albeit one that even their most ardent fans struggled to support.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 19, 2017
Asako Toki presents a more modern take on city pop on 'Pink'
Asako Toki "Pink" (Rhythm Zone)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 28, 2016
City pop revival helps Suchmos at just the right time
Walk into a Tower Records store in Shibuya or Shinjuku and you'll eventually come across the apparel section. The current fashion aesthetic here leans retro: Hoodies and T-shirts come emblazoned with text highlighting throwback music signifiers, from equipment ("cassette tape," "analog") to genres ("surf rock," "grunge").
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 12, 2015
Cero helps radio station InterFM897 celebrate its new look
The members of Cero have just finished recording their radio show, "Night Drifter," when I meet them at the InterFM897 studios in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. When I walk into the studio, one of the group immediately points out my T-shirt, which has an air-brushed depiction of a beach at sunset with the word "chillwave" spray-painted across it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 5, 2015
City pop revival is literally a trend in name only
City pop is the latest trend to hit Japan's indie-music scene. Well, not the musical style, just the words.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 27, 2015
Sugar's Campaign come up with some sweet city pop for debut album 'Friends'
Seiho Hayakawa and Takuma Hosokawa think modern pop music is "grotesque," but that's exactly how they wanted the debut album by their band Sugar's Campaign to sound.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 3, 2014
Especia takes a road less traveled by idol acts
The eldest member of six-member idol unit Especia was born in 1989, so when I ask them about life during Japan's early '90s bubble era they can only imagine what it was like.
Japan’s cannabis market growing rapidly amid regulatory shift
The legality of products that contain cannabinoids, a group of substances derived from the cannabis plant, has been somewhat murky in Japan.
Philippines wants U.S. and Japan to take over rail deal eyed by China
Delfin Lorenzana
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
At least one dead, seven missing after two MSDF helicopters crash off Izu Islands
Contact was lost with the two SH-60K helicopters, each carrying four crew, in an area east of Torishima in the Izu Island chain during anti-submarine warfare training Saturday night.
Tokyo Rainbow Pride lights up capital as organizers celebrate 30 years
Rainbow flags were flown through the capital's busy Shibuya and Harajuku areas for Tokyo Rainbow Pride events this weekend as organizers hailed 30 years of one of Asia's largest LGBTQ celebrations.
A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives
If all you drink is Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin, you're depriving yourself of some of the best craft beer Tokyo has to offer — and there sure is a lot of it out there.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Tsukiji 2030s: A stadium, culinary center and transportation hub
A computer-generated image shows redevelopment plans for the former site of the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo.
Hearing the impact of climate change in Okinawa, one bird call at a time
Toshihiro Kinjo (center), a research support technician at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, inspects an audio recording device in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 3 as Masako Ogasawara, a research support specialist at OIST, looks on.
Japan’s cannabis market growing rapidly amid regulatory shift
The legality of products that contain cannabinoids, a group of substances derived from the cannabis plant, has been somewhat murky in Japan.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability
Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

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