The visual artists who supplied much of the album artwork for this period were equally intrigued by the seductive allure of capitalism: Eizin Suzuki, whose iconic illustrations of seaside bliss appear on a number of Tatsuro YamashitaвЂ™s album covers, made his name designing advertising campaigns for leading Japanese companies, including Nikon, Suntory, Nissan, and Nippon Oil (his piercing use of greens and blues were so ubiquitous that they even inspired the graphic design for Sonic the HedgehogвЂ™s Green Hill Zone). The booming economy also made it easier for them to get label funding, affording them access to the all the latest recording technology and helping to give city pop its mainstream, futuristic sheen. Many of city popвЂ™s most popular figures were accomplished composers and producers in their own right, with artists like Tatsuro Yamashita and Toshiki Kadomatsu incorporating complex arrangements and songwriting techniques into their hits, utilizing jazzy major 7th and diminished chords that theyвЂ™d gleaned from American soft-rock outfits like Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers. Japan needed a soundtrack for this new lifestyle, and city pop was born.вЂќ Japanese nightlife, from flashy restaurants and hostess bars to glitzy bars and discotheques, was second to none. вЂњThe public spent lavishly on imported wine and liquor, luxury clothing, art, and international travel.

вЂњPeople were euphoric and eager to celebrate through 80s-style excess,вЂќ says Eli Cohen of Alliance Upholstery and Cultures of Soul, who recently helped compile Tokyo Nights-a reissue of some of the most compelling female voices of the city pop movement. While beforehand, rockabilly and British Invasion-influenced genres like Group Sounds had dominated Japanese popular music, contemporary American styles such as new wave, jazz fusion, and AOR began to seep into the sounds of J-pop. Technological innovations in automated vehicle manufacturing and wildly popular consumer electronics like the Sony Walkman were establishing Japan as an economic powerhouse, and with their global influence at an all-time high, it was time for the people of Tokyo to celebrate. In the late-70s, after several decades spent recovering from the devastation of World War II, Japan was entering the peak of their post-war economic miracle. These releases helped forge a new Japanese identity in modern pop music, painting vivid, folksy pictures of life in Tokyo, and essentially creating the foundation for what would soon become city pop.

вЂњThey were very conscious about singing in Japanese, with lyrics often about living in the city and nostalgia towards a bygone era.вЂќ вЂњArtists like Happy End and Hachimitsu Pie, whose members had grown up during those post-war occupied years and had been exposed to American pop culture, played music that had roots in American music, but was uniquely Japanese,вЂќ says Kitazawa. Before he had formed Yellow Magic Orchestra, HosonoвЂ™s band Happy End brought American and Japanese music closer together than ever before when they released their self-titled 1970 folk-rock debut, sung entirely in Japanese (breaking with the popular Japanese rock convention of singing in English). Music journalist Yutaka Kimura described it simply as вЂњurban pop music for those with urban lifestyles,вЂќ making city pop one of those things that you just know when you hear it.ДЄs with so many other groundbreaking forms of music to emerge over the last several decades, the story of city pop can be partly traced back to the work of Haruomi Hosono.

While the term вЂњcity popвЂќ itself is highly malleable (with fans often debating over which releases should even be considered as part of the genre), what defines the music is ultimately more of a feeling than it is a rigid framework. Yet beneath its plastic sheen lies a deeply sincere approach to production and songwriting that has captivated listeners around the world. вЂњMany Japanese people who grew up with this kind of music considered city pop as cheesy, mainstream, disposable music, going so far as calling it вЂshitty pop,вЂ™вЂќ says Light in The AtticвЂ™s Yosuke Kitazawa, who has spearheaded the labelвЂ™s reissues of Haruomi Hosono as well as curating their ongoing Japan Archival Series.

Casiopea album cover