City pop

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
City pop
Native name
シティ・ポップ
Stylistic origins

City pop (

electronic musical instruments
.

There is no unified consensus among scholars regarding the definition of city pop.

Caribbean music. Singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, who was among the genre's pioneers and most successful artists, is sometimes called the "king" of city pop.[3]

City pop lost mainstream appeal after the 1980s and was derided by younger Japanese generations.

future funk
.

Definitions

Definitions of "city pop" have varied and many of the artists tagged with the genre have played in styles that are significantly different from each other.[2] Yutaka Kimura, an author of numerous books about city pop, defined the genre as "urban pop music for those with urban lifestyles."[9] In 2015, Ryotaro Aoki wrote in The Japan Times:

The term was originally used to describe an offshoot of the emerging Western-influenced "

new music" of the 1970s and ’80s. "City pop" referred to the likes of Sugar Babe [ja] and Eiichi Ohtaki, artists who scrubbed out the Japanese influences of their predecessors and introduced the sounds of jazz and R&B — genres said to have an "urban" feel — to their music. ... The term has drifted in and out of the musical lexicon ever since. ... With a term as vague and broad as city pop, it’s natural that no one seems to be agreeing on what the label actually means anymore."[2]

Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone concurred that city pop was "less a strict genre term than a broad vibe classification."[1] According to Japan Archival Series supervisor Yosuke Kitazawa, there "were no restrictions on style or a specific genre that we wanted to convey with these songs" but that it "was music made by city people, for city people."[1] Kitazawa identified two distinct styles that exemplified city pop: "the former a lush, tropical romp, the latter a thumping rug-cutter".[1]

synth pop and disco".[4]

Musical origins

VIP Liner bus with images of Mariya Takeuchi drawn by Mari Yamazaki.

The catch phrase for the Japanese promotion of Terry Melcher's second album "Royal Flush," released in 1976, was "Mellow (Mexican Country Hollywood) City Pop!".[11] Higurashi's single "Orange Train" released on May 25, 1977, and [12] Tomoko Soryō's album City Lights by the Moonlight released on October 25, 1977 were marketed using the phrase "city pops".[13] Also in July 1977, an article in the music magazine "Record Geijutsu" introduced Minako Yoshida, Takao Kisugi, Tatsuro Yamashita, and Jun Fukamachi, Yoninbayashi, Junko Ohashi (Minoya Central Station), and others as "city pops" musicians.[14] The term "city pops" began to be used to refer to a genre of music. Furthermore, some Japanese music and entertainment magazines described Eric Carmen as "New York City Pop style"[15] and the Alessi Brothers, who came to Japan, as the leaders of "American City Pops".[16]

Thus, "city pop(s)" is a

Yumi Arai, Minako Yoshida, and Akiko Yano.[18] Sugar Babe's album "SONGS" (1975) is also often said to be a pioneer of city pop, although the term "city pop" was not in widespread use during their time.[19]

In a book published in 2002, music critic Yutaka Kimura redefined city pop(s) as "Japanese city pop," attributing its origin to Happy End (1969-1972),[20] despite Happy End itself being an unsuccessful band with little influence at the time. This is criticized as a "Happy End historical view" (はっぴいえんど史観),[21] although each member of Happy End was very active in the Japanese rock and pop music scene after the band broke up. The term "city pop" has since become predominant over the term "city pops" probably due to the popularity of the term "J-pop" that spread in the 1990s.

Musically, city pop applies songwriting and arranging techniques commonly found in jazz – such as

Hawaiian and Okinawan tropical flourishes. In the view of Fact Mag's Mikey I.Q. Jones, this led to the style of music that would be dubbed "city pop".[7]

The genre became closely tied to the tech boom in Japan during the 1970s and 1980s. Some of the Japanese technologies which influenced city pop included the

leisure class it created."[1]

Popularity

City pop became a distinct regional genre that peaked in popularity during the 1980s.[4] According to Vice, the most popular figures of the genre were "accomplished composers and producers in their own right, with artists like Tatsuro Yamashita and Toshiki Kadomatsu incorporating complex arrangements and songwriting techniques into their hits, ... The booming economy also made it easier for them to get label funding".[8] Yamashita is sometimes referred to as the "king" of city pop.[3] City pop also influenced instrumental jazz fusion bands such as Casiopea and T-Square, which subsequently influenced Japanese video game music.[8] City pop's influence also spread to Indonesia, leading to the development of a local style known as pop kreatif.[23] The genre lost mainstream appeal after the 1980s.[2] In the description of Kitazawa, "Many Japanese people who grew up with this kind of music considered city pop as cheesy, mainstream, disposable music, going so far as calling it 'shitty pop'."[8]

21st century resurgence

Since the 2010s, city pop has seen a resurgence with artists such as

Mayonaka no Door (Stay with Me)" by Miki Matsubara in 2020, eventually taking the No. 1 spot on Spotify’s global viral chart for the week of Dec. 10-16[26] and breaking Apple Music’s J-pop top 10 in 92 different markets.[27] Artist Ginger Root has cited city pop as influential on his music.[28] In 2022, Universal Music Japan reissued limited editions of a total of 107 albums from the 70s and 80s under "City Pop Selections by Universal Music", showing the resurgence of popularity of the city pop genre.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Blistein, Jon (2 May 2019). "City Pop: Why Does the Soundtrack to Tokyo's Tech Boom Still Resonate?". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Aoki, Ryotaro (5 July 2015). "City pop revival is literally a trend in name only". The Japan Times.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Ed Motta drops exclusive City Pop Vol. 2 mixtape of smooth and funky Japanese AOR". Wax Poetics. April 28, 2016. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "City Pop: A Guide To Japan's Overlooked '80s Disco In 10 Tracks". Electronic Beats. November 1, 2016.
  5. ^ "City Pop: A Guide To Japan's Overlooked '80s Disco In 10 Tracks". Telekom Electronic Beats. 2016-11-01. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  6. ^ a b c Kim, Joshua Minsoom (June 2, 2020). "Pacific Breeze 2: Japanese City Pop, AOR & Boogie 1972-1986". Pitchfork.
  7. ^ a b c Jones, Mikey I.Q. (January 22, 2015). "The Essential... Yellow Magic Orchestra". FACT Magazine.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Arcand, Rob; Goldner, Sam (24 January 2019). "The Guide to Getting Into City Pop, Tokyo's Lush 80s Nightlife Soundtrack". vice.com. Vice. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Japanese City Pop – A Quick Introduction To Tokyo's 80s Soundtrack". Vinyl of the day. February 21, 2019.
  10. ^ Ingalls, Chris (May 13, 2020). "'Pacific Breeze 2' Is Another Refreshing Dive into the Waters of City Pop". PopMatters.
  11. doi:10.11501/2267431
    .
  12. ^ Shibasaki et al. 2022, pp. 35–36.
  13. ^ Shibasaki et al. 2022, p. 37.
  14. doi:10.11501/7975949
    .
  15. doi:10.11501/2339558
    .
  16. doi:10.11501/1825744
    .
  17. ^ "輝きはじめたシティ・ミュージックの花" [The Flower of City Music that Began to Shine]. Young Folk. No. Fall 1976. Kodansha. 1976. p. 151.
  18. ^ Shibasaki et al. 2022, pp. 96–97.
  19. ^ Shibasaki et al. 2022, p. 92.
  20. ISBN 978-4401617739
    .
  21. ^ Shibasaki et al. 2022, pp. 128–129.
  22. Noisey
    .
  23. ^ Yunata, Alvin (August 7, 2021). "Kembalinya Musik Pop Kreatif dalam Terminologi Baru: Indonesian City Pop". Harper's Bazaar Indonesia.
  24. ^ Markowitz, Douglas (October 10, 2018). "5 Vaporwave and Future Funk Tracks to Get You Ready for YUNG BAE". Phoenix New Times.
  25. ^ St. Michel (August 6, 2020). "City Pop on Vinyl brings back the glitzed-out sounds of Japan's bubble". The Japan Times.
  26. ^ "Global Popularity of 1979 City Pop Track 'Mayonaka no Door – Stay With Me' Explained". Billboard. 2022-12-21. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  27. ^ Kobuchi, Akira (2022-08-01). "Mayonaka no Door: The Story Behind a 100 Million-Play YouTube Phenomenon". nippon.com. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  28. ^ Summers, Juana; Rivera, Enrique; Intagliata, Christopher (2022-12-29). "Ginger Root's Cameron Lew wants his new EP to showcase city pop as familiar yet fresh". NPR. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  29. ^ "City Pop Selections by Universal Music". Universal Music Store. Retrieved 5 February 2024.

Bibliography

External links
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