Repress 2023: »Beach Umbrella« Vinyl (2LP Blue)! "Pacific Breeze" documents Japan's musical explosion into the stratosphere.

In the 1960s, the nation achieved a post-war miracle and Japan rose to become the second largest economy in the world. Booming tech exports like portable cassette players, sparkling video games, and gleaming automobiles boomed around the world, pumping Japanese pockets full of yen. Japan's financial boom also permeated popular culture, giving rise to city pop. This new sound emerged in the mid-'70s and carried through the '80s, channeling the country's contemporary psyche. It was sophisticated music that reflected Japan's prosperity and provided a soundtrack for aspiring urbanists. City pop embodies this era.

"Pacific Breeze" is an expertly curated collection of curated songs ranging from silky smooth easy listening grooves to innovative techno-pop bangers and everything in between. This music has never been released outside of Japan, and features key artists such as Taeko Ohnuki and Minako Yoshida, Haruomi Hosono and Shigeru Suzuki, as well as cult favorites Hitomi Tohyama and Hiroshi Sato, among many others.

This long-awaited release also features newly commissioned cover paintings by Tokyo-based artist Hiroshi Nagai, whose iconic imagery of resort life can be found on the sleeves of many classic 1980s City Pop albums. Many of City Pop's main protagonists came from the Japanese New Music scene of the early '70s, such as Light In The Attic's acclaimed, "Even a Tree Can Shed Tears - Japanese Folk & Rock 1969-1973" compilation, the first release of the ongoing Japan Archival Series. »Pacific Breeze« now brings together some of the best city pop tunes: exciting easy listening with mutated exotica, tilted techno-pop and steamy boogie bubbling under the neon glow.


Labels:
Light In The Attic LITA 163-1-5
Series:
Japan Archival Series, Pacific Breeze
Format:
2 x Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Limited Edition, Repress, Beach Umbrella Edition Blue and Green marble
Country:
EU
Released:
2022
Genre:
jazz, funk/soul, pop
Style:
City pop, boogie

Tracklist:

A1Tomoko Soryo-I Say Who
A2Taeko Ohnuki–Kusuri Wo Takusan
A3Minako Yoshida-Midnight Driver
A4Nanako Sato - Subterranean Futari Bocci
B1 Haruomi Hosono – SPORTS Men
B2Izumi Kobayashi - Coffee Rumba
B3Friends Of Earth (FOE)–In My Jungle
B4Akira Inoue, Hiroshi Sato, Masataka Matsutoya–Sun Bathing
C1 Hiroshi Sato - Say Goodbye
C2Yukihiro Takahashi - Drip Dry Eyes
C3Masayoshi Takanaka - Bamboo Vender
C4Shigeru Suzuki - Lady Pink Panther
D1Haruomi Hosono, Takahiko Ishikawa, Masataka Matsutoya–Mykonos No Hanayome
D2Yasuko Agawa-LA Night
D3Hitomi Tohyama - Exotic Yokogao
D4Tazumi Toyoshima - Machibouke