Hello! from Japan

About Japan and music

Music

New music is available online!

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Hi, how are you doing?
I have just released my new single, “Multicolors” online!
It is available on Spotify, iTunes music, Apple music, and more.

I wrote this instrumental music and played all instruments.
Mastering engineer is Michifumi Onodera
Art work in by Eternal Sunshine by Jessamine Narita(https://www.jessaminenarita.com/).

This work is called “Multicolors”. I mixed the elements of western and eastern sounds using Koto, the guitar, the bass, etc. This is my way of respecting the different cultures and telling the importance of diversity.

Since the spread of the virus, I haven’t heard any good news recently… some people started hating each other and many are stressed out staying home and keeping distance.

I hope this music will give you some energy to go through the difficult time right now and remind you of the importance of understanding and helping each other.

You can also listen to my 2 albums that are also available online.

Enjoy your weekend!
Stay safe and well.
Taka

What is City Pop?

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Hi, how’s everything?  
I guess most people in the world spend majority of the time at home nowadays, so I wrote about Japanese music that can make your time in the house more interesting. It is kind of an old style of music, but we can still get inspired by the sound of it. 
And I heard a news that City Pop was becoming popular in the western countries last year. It seems that the genre is regaining the popularity and kind of a trend now. Here is about City Pop!

What is it?

As Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone said that City Pop was “Not a strict genre term but a broad vibe classification”, City Pop is about the urban, futuristic feeling of 70’s to 80’s in Japan, and the word simply meant, “Music made by city people”. It is western influenced Japanese pop music that was popular during bubble economy time in Japan including a wide range of styles such as Funk, R&B, Soft Rock, and some even included Jazz Fusion, Latin, or Caribbean elements. During that time in Japan, new devices and electronics like Walkman, Cassette Decks, and FM Stereos were hip gadgets and the music style was associated with those emerging technologies. Young people were enjoying modern lifestyle listening to City Pop that had the latest sounds of electronic musical instruments.

Recommended artists

Tatsuro Yamashita 

He was among the most successful artists of City Pop music. Rolling Stone Japan ranked his album Spacy number 14 on a list of the greatest Japanese music albums of all time in 2007.

Haruomi Hosono

He is a famous composer, singer, and record producer and he is one of the most influential pop music artists in Japan. Using electronic sounds, he contributed a lot to City Pop and numerous electric genres.

Mariya Takeuchi

She is one of the most popular pop singers in Japan. Over 16 million records were sold so far, and her early work during 70’s and 80’ is largely associated with City Pop. She’s wife of Tatsuro Yamashita.

I love listening to various kinds of music from different times imagining what people were thinking and doing. Music takes you back to the era and I think it is great that we can feel the atmosphere at anytime, anywhere just by playing it. When you get bored at home, I recommend that you dig some music that you don’t usually listen to!

Have a great day!
Taka

*I’m a professional composer by the way.
You can listen/download my album below.
Free Somebody
Skyhigh

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me: [email protected]