I dunno if I'm just a victim of trends, but I can't get over how soothing 70s and 80s Japanese pop and folk is. Songwriting can be a bit patchy, but there seems to be another perfect-sounding album around every corner. Taeko Ohnuki and Yumi Arai are probably my favorites.





Although Konomi Sasaki's 1983 album has this ridiculously good opener:

Listened to After Dinner's Paradise Of Replica yesterday and my god, what an inventive album

Teako Ohnuki is indeed incredibly soothing and satisfying, the mix has an unmatched clearness and all the songs on this album are pretty good. The problem with most retro city pop album is the amount of fillers for the album's length. But Sunshower is great with a fair amount of orchestral/jazzy moments and non functionnal harmony.

Just discovered Dai Dai Dai, disturbing and high-octane glitchy pop with some industrial elements:

Wow, Dai Dai Dai is really good

Holy shit Dai Dai Dai is so good

New Suiyoubi No Campanella:

Discovered both of these albums recently, and I have to say they're probably my favorite jpop releases ever. I absolutely fell in love with them and I highly recommend them.

I'm Spotify's bitch so I've overlooked those albums, even if they've come up on lists etc. many times. (Same with some Susumu Hirasawa, should probably get around to it.) But sounds great.

I just keep discovering more oldies to fall in love with, particularly stuff predating or just not on board with the whole city pop schtick. (Although Yumi Arai did it really well, her highlight is the above-linked Misslim.) For the past 5 months or so I've been soaking in Doji Morita's catalogue. She may not exactly fall under "pop" but I'd rank her just under Ichiko Aoba in the canon of Japanese singer-songwriters (and I've grown to love Aoba more than anyone active, over the past two years.)



In a similar vein, Yoshiko Sai is also fantastic.



And for a more modern (well, 1997) take on pastoral art pop, Akino Arai is lovely:

Your first video reminds me of Hako Yamasaki, some heartfilled folk

Written by Ansercanagicus on 04.06.2022 at 21:30

Your first video reminds me of Hako Yamasaki, some heartfilled folk

Yeah, I've listened to her debut. Maybe a bit more vanilla and not so punch-in-the-gut melodramatic, but still very good.

In general, I think the late 60s and 70s had a surge of extremely interesting singer-songwriters on several continents. The aforementioned, but also Nick Drake, Linda Perhacs, first few Leonard Cohens, Joni Mitchell, Francoise Hardy, Tim Buckley, Laura Nyro, Van Morrison, Sibylle Baier, Pekka Streng and Anki in Finland, etc. Not that these are all very similar to each other, but there's a pretty intuitive (for me) chain of associations from one to another. So even if Doji Morita, Hako Yamasaki and Yoshiko Sai are pretty recognizably Japanese, they simultaneously evoke this whole network of contemporaries.

New Perfume out. I've avoided listening to the singles much before the full album dropped, and it's a pleasant surprise. Wasn't too keen on the last two albums, but this feels like a step in the right direction.

Woah didn't know Perfume had new album coming. I really need to check this out now

EDIT: AOTY material!

Just discovered Shihatsu Machi Underground and the discography is one jam after the other. Instant fav:

Interesting blend of jpop and melodeath... or trance metal? something:

Wow, this is too good! Weird mix of jpop and ambient:

Yus! New Aural Vampire album! Gee, do they sound as good as ever.

Hey Karlabos n Iron Angel, whatchu think of my video suggestion, above ?

Suteki Da Ne is beautiful, and I wonder if the effect on the voice is natural or added at post-production (the volume going in and out with the rythm)

Written by Young Mind 37old on 02.06.2023 at 04:36

Hey Karlabos n Iron Angel, whatchu think of my video suggestion, above ?

Well, personally these are too mellow for me. I like it more when there is more stuff happening :3

Written by Ansercanagicus on 02.06.2023 at 13:35

Suteki Da Ne is beautiful, and I wonder if the effect on the voice is natural or added at post-production (the volume going in and out with the rythm)

Thanks for listening. I guess totally natural voice.

Written by Karlabos on 02.06.2023 at 15:49

Written by Young Mind 37old on 02.06.2023 at 04:36

Hey Karlabos n Iron Angel, whatchu think of my video suggestion, above ?

Well, personally these are too mellow for me. I like it more when there is more stuff happening :3

Hi, can you elaborate more ?, you mean you like mixing with other genre or stuff, right. Or rougher music ?. Stuff I posted is kpop old stuff, I feel some of the stuff old k pop classics are like songs from heaven.

Written by Young Mind 37old on 02.06.2023 at 16:03

Hi, can you elaborate more ?, you mean you like mixing with other genre or stuff, right. Or rougher music ?. Stuff I posted is kpop old stuff, I feel some of the stuff old k pop classics are like songs from heaven.

Well, both tbh. Genre mixing is a plus, but sometimes straightforward pop except that with a rougher beat is also great, like Perfume of Kyary. Nothing wrong with the ballads, but I guess they just aren't for me

Written by Young Mind 37old on 02.06.2023 at 04:36

Hey Karlabos n Iron Angel, whatchu think of my video suggestion, above ?

I love Stueki da ne. Did not really like the sound/style of the first video, a bit too polished and wishy-washy. Some potentially nice melodies, though.

I do, in general, really like ballads and older Japanese popular music (kayōkyoku and "new music" I guess you'd call it), as well as the city pop and 80s art/synth pop stuff. Yumi Matsutoya, Akiko Yano, Doji Morita (the holy trinity really), the classic Ghibli theme tunes, Hako Yamasaki, Yoshiko Sai etc. (Akino Arai is a more modern example.) And currently, Ichiko Aoba is probably my favorite active musician in any genre, pushing out flawless chamber folk record after record.

Written by IronAngel on 08.06.2023 at 21:05

Written by Young Mind 37old on 02.06.2023 at 04:36

Hey Karlabos n Iron Angel, whatchu think of my video suggestion, above ?

I love Stueki da ne. Did not really like the sound/style of the first video, a bit too polished and wishy-washy. Some potentially nice melodies, though.

I do, in general, really like ballads and older Japanese popular music (kayōkyoku and "new music" I guess you'd call it), as well as the city pop and 80s art/synth pop stuff. Yumi Matsutoya, Akiko Yano, Doji Morita (the holy trinity really), the classic Ghibli theme tunes, Hako Yamasaki, Yoshiko Sai etc. (Akino Arai is a more modern example.) And currently, Ichiko Aoba is probably my favorite active musician in any genre, pushing out flawless chamber folk record after record.

Cool, its nice to see you like Suteki da ne. Currently, my music taste changes a lots, when I see you or Karlabos, or some say the music is soothing, thats what I like, Ill digging more time on Jpop, and similar stuff later,.but that the music you and Karlabos has been will be my inspired. I listen less metal nowadays, very bored with the distortion guitar sounds. I love something soothing, beautiful, relaxing music, like SongsfromHeaven.

Hey Iron Angel, sorry to miss asking you, do you like Enya music ?

Written by Young Mind 37old on 10.06.2023 at 15:42

Hey Iron Angel, sorry to miss asking you, do you like Enya music ?

Not really for this topic, but: yeah I used to listen to her a bit in the early 2000s when she was current (whatwith the LotR soundtrack and Only Time being a big hit). The kind of New Age scene she represents was long considered pretty cheesy, so she may actually be a little underrated (especially the first few albums). But I can't say I've listened to her in years. Maybe I should. There are ambient pop and new-agey stuff I like better, too. You should maybe try Julianna Barwick or Julia Holter.

To take this back to Japan, if not quite J-Pop: Masakatsu Takagi's Kagayaki (2014) is a really warm and cozy new age/folk album, it's not very accessible like Enya but conjures a magical soundscape of some Japanese rural village:


I don't remember if I posted this before, but for beautiful J-Pop, Yumi Arai's (Matsutoya's) 1974 Misslim is pretty much a perfect album, kind of a traditional Japanese popular music with Western folk (Joni Mitchell etc.) influences:


And for a darker, but achingly moving take, Doji Morita is brilliant:


But like I said, Ichiko Aoba may be my absolute favorite artist at the moment, and YouTube is full of her brilliant live sessions (which tend to be better than the studio versions), like: