#shibuya-kei — Public Fediverse posts

Oh, by the way … Happy Birthday, Maki Nomiya! 🎵

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2sXihgLXXY

#music #nowplaying #PizzicatoFive #MakiNomiya #NomiyaMaki #ShibuyaKei

V.A – 何だかすべて忘れてしまうね
#Pop #Rap #kawaii #pop #shibuya #shibuyakei #tribute #Japan
CC BY-NC (#CreativeCommons Attribution Non Commercial) #ccmusic
https://omoidelabel.bandcamp.com/album/--15

Fantastic Plastic Machine - Luxury (1998)

Luxury is the second studio album by Japanese musician Fantastic Plastic Machine. It was released on September 10, 1998, by Readymade Records. The album was released in Germany on March 29, 1999, by Bungalow Records and in the United States on April 27, 1999, by Emperor Norton Records.

Luxury is a continuation of Fantastic Plastic Machine’s previous work in Shibuya-kei, though in some tracks there are indications of a shift towards house music with 1960s northern soul and 1970s Philadelphia soul influences, a path he explored more on his next album Beautiful. Luxury features guest vocals from Lorraine Bowen, Simon Fisher Turner, and Yukari Fresh, among others.

Sarah Zupko of PopMatters wrote, “Luxury revels in international, otherworldly sounds and collaborations with musicians who perfectly suit Tanaka’s experimental bent.” She called the album “an enjoyable, eclectic effort that fans of sophisticated Euro pop are sure to adore.” In 2020, Tokyo Weekender writer Ed Cunningham wrote that Luxury was “more refined” than Fantastic Plastic Machine’s self-titled debut, “but both were inventive, slightly surreal and utterly smooth pieces of dancefloor-worthy retro pop.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxury_(Fantastic_Plastic_Machine_album)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TQGAVfHmNk

https://piefed.social/c/listenparty/p/1463511/fantastic-plastic-machine-luxury-1998

bin nicht #NeuHier Blogge seit 2006, Kieler Blog seit 2009, Twitter ab ca. 2013, Mastodon ab ca. 2022.
Schreibe über Politik & Gesellschaft mit u.a. Fokus aus Kiel/SH und einfach was mich beschäftigt, Reflexion, auch aktivistisch und nicht immer neutral, bemühe ich aber fair zu bleiben und andere Argumente zu hören. Interesse auch an #Stadt und #Stadtentwicklung, #Anarchismus #JanesWalk, #Newurbanism , Musik etwas durcheinander, aber in letzten Jahren viel #JapaneseCityPop und #Shibuyakei

#TIL Cornelius is on Bandcamp.

https://corneliusofficial.bandcamp.com/

I thought he was signed to a major and thus the usual streaming/collectible-vinyl only deal, possibly with expensive Japanese-import CDs as an option, because Japan still does optical media. Though it looks like he owns his own rights, or near enough.

#ShibuyaKei

French band Tapeworms fell in love with Japan, got stranded by COVID, and returned years later with a dreamy new album that draws on Japanese cultural nostalgia. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/04/11/music/french-band-tapeworms-tokyo/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #music #tapeworms #band #picopop #shibuyakei

#PIZZICATOFIVE On the Sunny Side of the Street / 陽の当たる大通り - YouTube

https://youtu.be/gTviu6uHtak?si=2uiAJICLT--nCsvM

Immer wenn ich mal nicht so gut drauf bin, oder gut drauf bin ;-)

#NomiyaMaki #ShibuyaKei

#OTD 19😎😎, the “Queen of Shibuya-kei”, Japanese singer Maki Nomiya was born. She was a long-time member of Pizzicato Five, and also recorded many wonderful solo works.

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Edit: Fun fact - it was a grey, cloudy morning today. But when I played the song, suddenly the sun came out! ☀️
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2sXihgLXXY

#music #nowplaying #Japan #ShibuyaKei #PizzicatoFive

ミズイロノヒ – ゆめとゆううつ
#Electronic #Experimental #FutureBass #Pop #band #cute #femalevocals #jpop #kawaii #pop #shibuyakei #Japan
CC BY-NC (#CreativeCommons Attribution Non Commercial) #ccmusic
https://omoidelabel.bandcamp.com/album/--14

https://www.moezine.com/1379310/ Minuano – 群青の世界 (Deep Blue) Minuano – 群青の世界 (Deep Blue) From the album『蝶になる夢を見た (Butterfly Dream)』(2019) Available on streaming/サブスク配信 https://lnkfi.re/minuano_butterflydream – – – – – M… #AdultContemporary #BossaNova #CityPop #DreamPop #JapanesePop #Jazz #jazzpop #jpop #KaoriSakakibara #Lamp #Minuano #shibuyakei #SoftRock #SophistiPop #TakeroOgata #UndergroundIdol #UndergroundIdolGroups #UndergroundIdols #地下アイドル #尾方伯郎 #榊原香保里 #渋谷系 #群青の世界

The video game-related pop project gets a second life after online listeners rediscover chipper cuts from a 2002 album. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2024/04/25/music/serani-poji-shibuya-kei/ #culture #music #shibuyakei #seranipoji #jpop

Up on Mixcloud: https://www.mixcloud.com/jimhaku/hakushow%E4%BA%8C%E5%9B%9B%E3%80%87%E5%9B%9B01/ #freeform #triphop #rap #industrial #avantgarde #progressivemetal #jpop #shibuyakei #rocknroll

[This guest post was written by wbwolf about number 91 on The List; the album was also submitted by wbwolf. Note: This review lists Japanese names family name first, following Japanese convention.]

1994 was a momentous year for Pizzicato Five, and Shibuya-kei in general. The band originally started as a quintet, but quickly became a quartet. Their first two EPs were produced by Haruomi Hosono in the mid 80s, in the twilight years of city pop. They were signed by CBS/Sony in 1987 and released three albums, changing vocalists and becoming a trio along the way. The CBS/Sony albums took their cues from 1960s soul and sunshine pop, full of Burt Bacharach and Roger Nichols pop hooks, filtered through French soundtracks and Japanese sensibilities.

But when the CBS/Sony dropped the band in 1990, the core duo of Takanami Keitaro and Konishi Yasuharu changed labels, Columbia, and found another vocalist, this time Nomiya Maki. She had also been around the music scene for a while, releasing a solo record in 1981 and was lead vocalist for Portable Rock. But along with a new vocalist, a new sound started to develop that was part of the transformation of city pop to Shibuya-kei. The name came from the ward in Tokyo that at the time was the focus of trendy music and fashion. Decidedly 90s sounds of house music was added to the mix. The growing scene caught the attention of international labels.

So, in 1994, Pizzicato Five released their first international release, cheekily titled “Made In USA” after a Godard movie. But at the same time, Takanami Keitaro left the group to pursue a solo career. So it was now the duo of Konishi Yasuharu and Nomiya Maki put out “Overdose” in October 1994.

The cover of the album really sets the stage; Nomiya Maki in a 60s style black blouse and mini skirt, sitting on the Brooklyn Bridge and holding an apple. This was the first of a series of albums that would use a city as a touch point for the rest of the album, with New York serving as an inspiration for “Overdose”. Soul inspired arrangements of “Happy Sad” or “On The Sunny Side Of The Street” reside besides the rap in “Statue of Liberty”. “If I Were A Groupie” uses samples from a 1969 documentary record “The Groupies” as a bed.

But to me, the real centerpiece is the epic nearly 11 minute house mix of “The Night Is Still Young” (aka 「東京は夜の７時」). The song was originally released in 1993, but this was the first release on an album, using a new remix (known as The One Year After Mix). The song has since gone to be a signature song for Pizzicato Five and Nomiya Maki, but this particular mix that is a bit slower but funkier than other versions. It really feels like one is out on the town in the evening, anticipating what is ahead.

This album was the start of my love of Pizzicato Five and exploring wider Japanese music. I had heard of the band and was curious, but during a year abroad in Japan 1994-1995, I got a copy of the album from a CD rental shop and loved it. I wanted to find more. Tracing all the connections and influences back has really colored my own musical tastes to this day. It has opened up a rich world of music.

• YouTube: Pizzicato Five – Overdose
• Discogs: Pizzicato Five – Overdose
• Wikipedia: Pizzicato Five – Overdose

[Alt text for accompanying image: The artwork is a photo of a woman with a red/pink hair, wearing a black shirt and black and white patterned skirt, sitting on the Brooklyn bridge, holding an apple in front of her face. The background of the photo is the New York skyline, and a blue sky. The band name is in the top left corner in white font, with the album name directly underneath in the same font.]

https://1001otheralbums.com/2024/02/29/pizzicato-five-overdose-1994-japan/

#1001OtherAlbums #1990s #cityPop #Japan #KonishiYasuharu #NomiyaMaki #PizzicatoFive #ShibuyaKei

Ado, King Gnu and Lamp revel in the spotlight abroad with overseas tours, while the sounds of Shibuya-kei make a welcome return https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2024/01/25/music/upcoming-music-trends/?utm_content=bufferb06f7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=bffmstdn #culture #music #atarashiigakko #yoasobi #hatsunemiku #jpop #shibuyakei

Music Highlight: Round Table - Boys Don't Cry

Round Table are well known now for creating music for various anime in the early 2000s with singer Nino, but in the 90's, they were an indie act that specialized in creating deceptively simple, but cute pop songs. One such example is this wonderful cover of the Cure's smash hit, Boys don't Cry. The juxtaposition of the depressing lyrics being sung so softly behind a breezy, jazzy backing track makes this one of the weirdest covers I've ever heard. https://youtu.be/9h5E0uHpqsY
#Music #jpop #shibuyakei #thecure

Music Highlight - Nomoto Karia - M.O.D.E.L Agent

The lovely Nomoto Karia is a former model turned retro J-pop idol that caught the eye of genius music producer, Yasuharu Konishi, who in the previous decade, had took Japan by storm with his band, Pizzicato Five. With the dissolution of P5 in 2001, he turned his full attention into making Miss Karia into a star! This song caught my ear by how hypnotic it is. It reminds me of a poppier take on "Motorik" beat pioneered by Krautrock groups like Can or NEU! It's also heavily inspired by the groovy soundtracks of spy films from the 60's and 70's.

https://youtu.be/iqalplnqPSE

#music #shibuyakei

Now Playing:
"L.D.K. Lounge Designers Killer" by capsule

#Music #MastodonMusic #NowPlaying #NowListening #JPop #capsule #ShibuyaKei