DJ Notoya Presents Tokyo Glow: Japanese City Pop Funk & Boogie Import 2LP

Details Genre: Funk Label: Wewantsounds Additional Artists: Kumi Nakamura Miyuki Maki Haruyoshi Yamashina Sumiko Yamagata Jadoes Format: 33RPM, ’70s & ’80s Modern Soul & Funk Curated by DJ Notoya on 2LP! Remastered from the Original Tapes by Nippon Columbia! Following the success of Tokyo Dreaming, Wewantsounds releases another compelling set, this time compiled by city pop expert DJ Notoya who has dug the rich Nippon Columbia catalog to bring a breezy selection of funky gems. Nippon has amassed an incredible back catalog over the decades. Particularly strong in the ’70s and ’80s, the label was one of the main purveyors of great music at a time when Japan was entering its greatest economic boom and labels had budgets at hand to create the highest quality music. As Notoya explains in the liner notes, “Back in the day, the record companies had big budgets and could afford to have many great musicians playing on one record, plus strings and horn sections, top drummers and keyboardists. It all made for a very rich sound, which is generally very different to today’s music.” Keen to emulate the music created in the US by their American counterparts, Japanese musicians came with their own blend of funk, boogie and soul that has come to be known as city pop. The selection on Tokyo Glow is full of such gems and starts with “Kimugare,” a relaxed, mid-tempo track by Kumi Nakamura, a famous actress who only recorded one album in 1980 for Columbia. The set continues and flows effortlessly with the sunshine grooves of Miyuki Maki, Hatsumi Shibata and cult keyboard player Hiroshi Sato before the pace starts going faster and funkier with New Generation Company, Kengo Kurozumi with his superb boogie, “Juggler” and one of the queens of the genre, Hitomi “Penny” Tohyama with “Tuxedo Connection.” Tokyo-based DJ Notoya is from a new breed of Japanese DJs focusing on nippon music and is an expert on funk, modern soul, and boogie from the Island. With Tokyo Glow, Notoya says he “focused more on the slightly more underground tracks from the era, rather than the bigger, well-known releases. For me that was a more fun and satisfying approach.” Another fine example on the set is the mid-tempo groove of “I Wander All Alone Part III” by New Generation Company, an aggregate group of some of the best Japanese session musicians led by arranger Katz Hoshi and including Hiroyuki Namba, Kazuo Shiina, and Yutaka Uehara. Tokyo Glow showcases the diversity and specificity of Japanese city pop during the late ’70s and ’80s. Also features Haruyoshi Yamashina, Sumiko Yamagata, Makoto Iwabuchi, Arakawa Band, Kiyohiko Ozaki, Ken Nishizaki, Jadoes, Midori Hara, Mizuki Koyama, Haruo Chikada & Vibra-Tones, and Mitsuko Horie. Features Double LP Remastered from the Original Tapes by Nippon Columbia Many Tracks Making Their Debut on Vinyl Outside of Japan Gatefold Jacket with Obi Strip Design by Optigram Liner Notes by DJ Notoya & Nick Luscombe Import Selections Side A: Kimagure Kumi Nakamura Indo No Michibata Miyuki Maki Osake To Joke Haruyoshi Yamashina Natsu No Hikari Ni Sumiko Yamagata PARTY IS OVER Hatsumi Shibata Side B: MOONLIGHT FLIGHT Makoto Iwabuchi Saigo No Tejina Hiroshi Sato PARADISE’S DREAM Arakawa Band I WANDER ALL ALONE (PART III) New Generation Company Side C: Ojosan Oteyawarakani Kiyohiko Ozaki JUGGLER Kengo Kurozumi Koi No Paradigm Ken Nishizaki SIMPLY ANOTHER LOVE Jadoes Side D: Aamar Jabar Midori Hara TUXEDO CONNECTION Hitomi ‘Penny’ Tohyama OH! DADDY Mizuki Koyama SOFA BED BLUES Haruo Chikada & Vibra-Tones CHIGASAKI MEMORY Mitsuko Horie