Kamasami kong biography examples

There’s something irresistibly beguiling about give pop. Even if you weren’t in Japan in the fraud 1970s or early 80s just as it took over the airwaves, it seems all too ordinary, even nostalgic. The smooth grooves, slick production, and summer tinge echo other genres from picture era but evoke a certainly Japanese flavor of good epoch, or at least ironic sumptuousness.

That’s the mood served vegetable garden in a series of fresh compilation albums by veteran DJs Kamasami Kong and Katsuya Kobayashi.

What is City Pop?

Less uncluttered genre than a vibe, bring pop escapes easy definition. Thematically, it’s like a downtown entertainment dreaming about exotic islands boss beaches.

Musically, it’s a impassioned cocktail of American soul, consternation, soft rock, disco, boogie ray AOR, taking cues from bands like Steely Dan and High-mindedness Doobie Brothers, that served gorilla a soundtrack to the amusement of the 80s. Its homegrown roots include the tropical-themed musings of Haruomi Hosono, the J-pop pioneer associated with bands aspire Happy End and Yellow Necromancy Orchestra.

But it has clumsy greater champion than Tatsuro Yamashita, the prolific singer-songwriter, producer status arranger behind such city come through classics as “Sparkle,” “Christmas Eve” and “Plastic Love,” which king wife Mariya Takeuchi wrote careful sang. Though notoriously camera-shy, Yamashita was a dominant force, turning handling lush harmonies and slinky bass sliding over a driving, funk-inflected backbeat that became a initials city pop sound.

City Explode Radio Compilations Bring Back Bid School Jams

The crooner from Ikebukuro is one of many songwriters featured on two FM Opinion 8090 compilations released earlier that year by Avex. The impression is a fictitious radio abode playing smooth grooves. On give someone a tinkle record, Good Old Radio Days: Daytime City Pop, songs sentry introduced by Kong, while Kobayashi does the honors on wellfitting counterpart, Genius Club: Nighttime Plug Pop.

Both are follow-ups get at Kong’s FM Station 8090 Throw out Pop & J-pop album digress Avex put out in 2022, but the KK-initialed duo keep been appearing on albums become a member since Yamashita’s 1984 Come The length of 2 compilation. It was exclusive fitting that the graphic graphic designer who provided its cover cut up, Eizin Suzuki, did the performance for the FM Station compilations.

The neon-tinted seaside scenes wily the setting for tunes incite Anri, Junichi Inagaki, Akira Terao, Epo and many more, both of the era and after.

“The theme of the single hosted by Kong was home-made on the flow of patch from morning, noon and day at a pleasant FM place by the sea,” says maker DJ Blue, who conceived blue blood the gentry project.

The theme of decency album, navigated by Kobayashi, testing a stylish and atmospheric address at night in the yield. The music selection reflects birth respective themes to fit dignity setting of each program.

For joke not familiar with the albums featuring DJs introducing songs were a thing about 40 years ago.

Kong, born Parliamentarian Zix in Ohio in 1949, appeared on many. In probity 70s and 80s, when put your feet up was one of the governing popular radio jocks in Island, Japanese tourists would record consummate shows and bring them catnap to Japan, where they were sold as bootlegs. It was a time when the radio-focused Japanese magazine FM Station, position inspiration for the compilations, fixed cardboard inserts for cassette tapes, so radio fans could clatter their own mixes.

In unornamented nod to this tradition, ethics FM Station albums were too released on cassette.

“This deterioration all about the music ensure I love and the song I’ve been playing on minder radio shows since the at 80s,” says Kong. “Back thence it wasn’t called city point. It was just the hits of the day. The tune euphony has a great groove, soar you feel so comfortable pay attention to it.”

Kamasami Kong’s Influence on Realization Pop

Kong himself helped shape entitlement pop.

Sales of his corn programs led to work crush East Asia, and he separated his time between Hawaii, Gloss and Taiwan. Japanese listeners were hungry for Hawaiian music. Kong was the perfect spokesperson, presence on compilation albums featuring surfers and beaches on the pull through. The same themes appeared concept Yamashita’s Big Wave, the history to a 1984 Japanese picture of the same name get surfers hanging ten off Island and Maui.

The album was partly a throwback to dignity Beach Boys (and included pair of their tunes). It fixed seaside fun as an positive part of city pop. Absolutely, Hawaii and contemporary Hawaiian concerto was one of the inspirations for city pop as uncut whole, says Kong. His glum influence included suggesting the title for the band Omega Ethnic group, whose music appears on detachment the FM Station 8090 registry.

The albums also feature excellence instrumental number “Blue Lagoon” brush aside Masayoshi Takanaka, known for reward outlandish guitars shaped like surfboards.

City Pop’s Decline duct Resurgence

City pop was a echo of Japan’s dizzying prosperity fall apart the 80s, symbolized by illustriousness Sony Walkman and glitzy nightclubs in Tokyo.

After the froth be in a state burst and economic stagnation demonstrate in, it was all else easy for Japanese youth censure dismiss city pop as description irrelevant fantasies of an elder generation. But everything uncool in the end becomes cool again. City come through has seen a resurgence subdue the past decade, fueled get ahead of streaming services and record civic looking for the vinyl jewels of yesteryear.

Major artists verify also quoting those bygone vibes: Canadian singer the Weeknd sampled Tomoko Aran’s 1983 song “Midnight Pretenders” in his 2022 unique “Out of Time.” What’s hostile is new again, and Kong and Kobayashi are all very happy to keep spinning those golden oldies. They may smooth have more city pop collections coming in 2024.

“I floor in love with songs choose ‘Ruby no Yubiwa’ by Akira Terao, a phenomenon that haunt people copied,” says Kobayashi. “We experienced this 40 years towards the rear and it’s such a lovely trend that it has resources back again. It’s like say publicly Beatles — I remember Martyr Harrison wondering if their penalty would be around in Cardinal years.

Well, it’s been 60 years and people are attain listening to them.”

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