“Sun’s out, fun’s out.” Could it be something that simple that inspired my latest “Digging Deep” mix for LYL Radio? Looking back, I think there might be something deeper than this.
One of the things about experiencing Japan at eye level, is noticing how much of what colors our vision misses most of the picture from afar. Venturing away from Tokyo and Kyoto, you get places like Osaka, Fukuoka, or Okinawa that you see a different cosmopolitan flavor.
It’s in the western Japanese city of Osaka where one feels culture cut as loose as the city’s backstreets. It’s there where you see its people crack wise, get rowdy, and truly open up. It’s what I wanted to touch on this mix, that influence of a less urbane and more cosmopolitan urban global music scene on the, seemingly, glossy ’80s Japanese pop music.
From hip-hop to reggae and electro influences, as they say, “this ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around” — under neon lights — this is the sound of Japan going in hard, digging really deep.
Starland (スターランドです) (’80s Japanese Urban Music Special)
Tracklist:
Rush (ラッシュ) – Starland
Ann Lewis (アンルイス) – ピンクダイヤモンド (Version II)
Akira Inoue (井上鑑) – The Beat Of Pollution (Undulation Version)
The Voice & Rhythm (ザ・ヴォイス＆リズム) – Everybody毎度！On The Street
Katsuya Kobayashi & The Number One Band (ザ・ナンバーワン・バンド) – ユーアー Bad Girl, We Are ザ・ニッポンイチ
Haruo Chikada & Vibra-Tones (近田春夫 & ビブラトーンズ) – ソファーベッド・ブルース
Ryomei Shirai (白井良明) – Whisper In The Night
Romy (石川寛美) – California
Tsugutoshi Goto (後藤次利) – First Solitude: すれ違った孤独
Juicy Fruits (ジューシィ・フルーツ) – オ・シ・エ・テ・ア・ゲ・ル
Tomoko Asano (浅野智子) – ヒンドゥー語ラップ「チベタン・ダンス」
Seiko Matsuda (松田聖子) – Everybody Feels Alright
Manna (マンナ) – シュガー・デイズ
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