City Pop is a genre of music that started in Japan in the 70s and 80s during their economic boom. It’s the perfect driving-with-the-windows-down and everything’s great music.
You may know City Pop these days because it’s been popularized by the vaporwave genre. While a lot of vaporwave being made today is really great, I almost always prefer the original songs they were sampling.
The musicianship is just unparalleled, the grooves are deep, and it just makes you feel so good.
Listen to and post your favorite City Pop tracks and albums here.
Learn about City Pop
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In a modern world of autotune and vocal fry-heavy singers, Taeko Ohnuki’s pitchy yet powerfully earnest voice just sounds so human and relatable.
This album is arranged, recorded, and mixed so expertly - and no surprise with such music legends as Ryuchi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono, and Tatsuro Yamashita in her backing band.
Favorite track: 都会 (City)
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This song by Mariya Takeuchi is kind of a phenomenon right now. This copy of the song on YouTube has 10+ million plays alone, and that’s after several times it’s been taken down and put back up.
Once you get to the chorus, you’ll realize that the 1980s have truly been unfairly maligned. Is it cheesy? Sure. But does it rock your body? Of course it does.
City pop is great; Most of it gives me fusion jazz/funk vibes, I don’t know if you’ve listened to this album before, it’s another highlight of the genre to me.
Makoto Matsushita - First Light (1981)
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I absolutely have! That was one of the ones I was going to post next but you beat me to it. Such a great album 
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