Gearbox Records to release remastered City Music Tokyo ‘Multiple’ compilation
City Music Tokyo ‘Multiple’ | Album art
Today, trailblazing London label and analog specialists Gearbox Records have announced a remastered version of City Music Tokyo ‘Multiple’ – a compilation which features a number of highlights from Japan’s City Pop genre – to be released on 9th February 2024.
Expertly curated from the extensive Nippon Columbia catalogue by Japanese renaissance man Cunimondo Takiguchi (Ryusenkei/City Music Tokyo), the compilation chronicles some of the most exciting and innovative originators and key artists of the City Pop genre.
Merging elements of disco, R&B, funk, AOR, and soul released in the 1970s and 1980s, there were traces of City Pop in the 1990s and it’s increasingly found in today’s pop music, both stylistically and through sampling, with artists like The Weeknd, Benny Sings and Friday Night Plans opening up the sound to a whole new generation.
From the lush strings, subtle reggae rhythms, and dreamy vocals of Yumi Seino`s ‘Mayonaka No Denwa (Midnight Phone)’, the dynamic groove of ‘Spacewalk’ from Midori Hara`s brilliant 1988 album ‘KO-KO-RO-NOTE’, through to the highly emotive ‘Umi Ni Ukabu Piano’ from Nanako Sato`s 1977 influential ‘Sweet Swingin`’ LP. City Music Tokyo represents some of the many highlights of the genre. The record is full of high production values, stunning arrangements, the most talented musicians, and a lot of new Japanese technology all coming together in some of the best studios in the world at the time.
More recent tracks that kept the City Pop sound alive into the 1990s and early 2000s include Emi Necozawa`s ‘Me Ni Mienai Mono’, with the stunning arrangement set to a punchy `90s R&B backing, and the standout 2005 release, ‘Fuyu Kitari Naba’ by Takaki Horigome.
If you are familiar with City Pop then you are sure to enjoy this collection - remastered at Gearbox Records in London and beautifully presented on vinyl and CD. If this music is new to you, this is a great place to start your journey into a world of music that is both nostalgic, modern, melancholic and gently uplifting.
City Music Tokyo ‘Multiple’ out 9th Feb via Gearbox Records on vinyl & cd only
TRACKLISTING:
01. Edo River／CARNATION
02. Futari Bun no Atsui Yume(二人ぶんの熱い夢)／Yasushi Nakanishi(中西保志)
03. STARDUST NIGHT／JADOES
04. Don't Call Me on The Phone(電話しないで)／Keiko Kimura(木村恵子)
05. Samugari(寒がり)／Tomoki Kikuchi(菊地朋貴)
06. Mayonaka no Denwa(真夜中の電話)／Yumi Seino(清野由美)
07. Fuyu Kitari Naba(冬来たりなば)／Takaki Horigome(堀込高樹)
08. Spacewalk(宇宙空間遊泳)／Midori Hara(原みどり)
09. Me ni Mienai Mono(目に見えないもの)／Emi Necozawa(猫沢エミ)
10. Umi ni Ukabu Piano(海にうかぶピアノ)／Nanako Sato(佐藤奈々子)
11. Harumi Futo(晴海埠頭)／Kyoko Furuya(古家杏子)
12. Fly High／Escalators
13. Weekend Night／Mitsuko Horie(堀江美都子)
14. Moonlight, Starlight／Namihiko Ohmura(大村波彦)
15. Nostalgic Spaceman／Chikako Ueno(上野千佳子)
16. F.W.Y.／Hiroshi Sato(佐藤博)
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