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Curated by DJ Notoya, the compilation plays as a paean to the spending power of major Japanese labels throughout the 80s and the open-eared aptitude of their artists. Able to provide top session musicians filling out horn sections, orchestral strings and backing vocals, each track plays as a sumptuously warm instrumental experience. Opener Kimagure is taken from actress Kumi Nakamura’s only album release and features her Patrice Rushen-style silken vocal atop a mid-tempo boogie bassline; Indo No Michibata continues that fusion funk feel with a horn section that references US R&B band Tower of Power.

But this is more than just a well-crafted replica of American styles. Each composition subtly subverts its reference points: Sumiko Yamagata’s balladic Minnie Riperton-style instrumentals are coupled with an eerie top-line synth; New Generation Company’s strutting funk, complete with vocoder banking, has a proto-techno feel; Mizuki Koyama goes full Drexciyan electro in the thundering opening to her Teena Marie-adjacent Oh! Daddy. Even though city pop is a genre largely coined in retrospect, Tokyo Glow’s varied selection is not a mere historical document. The compilation highlights these artists’ attention to instrumental detail and their delicate fusion of popular international styles with new technologies to create the sound of a city. It is one that is both of its time and still repeatedly listenable today.

DJ Notoya who has dug the rich Nippon Columbia catalogue to bring a breezy selection of funky gems by Hiroshi Sato, Hitomi "Penny" Tohyama, Midori Hara, many of which making their vinyl debut outside of Japan. The 2-LP gatefold album has been designed by Optigram and is annotated by DJ Notoya with Nick Luscombe. The audio has been newly remastered in Tokyo by Nippon Columbia. — via Label

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Label: Wewantsounds
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Remastered, Stereo
Released: 2021
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul, Pop
Style: Synth-pop, AOR, City Pop, Disco, Funk, Boogie

File under: Japanese Pop
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