Midweek Mixdown: Ed Motta's City Pop

Musician/collector Ed Motta created a mix of his fave Japanese 'City Pop' easy listening tunes for Wax Poetics. Check the link.

Here's the scoop...

City Pop is a sub-genre of J-Pop (Japanese Pop), but it’s more specific with a soulful element and influences from West Coast pop and soft rock, starting in the mid-’70s with the first groups formed by Tatsuro Yamashita and Haruomi Hosono. City Pop is really AOR and soft rock but with some funk and boogie too. Because when you hear funkier City Pop tunes, you hear not only the influence, but in some parts they steal from groups like Skyy, BB&Q Band, and those kinda American boogie and funk groups.

The first thing I got into was Tatsuro Yamashita that I got from Carlinhos’s store in São Paulo, Disco 7. I was expecting a Japanese jazz album. I was heavily collecting Japanese jazz at this time in the early 2000s. I liked it a lot—the songwriting. I started to buy these kind of albums from some of the dealers from whom I used buy Japanese jazz and things. Hajimi Yamada and Kenichi Ozaki, these two guys, they’re my City Pop teachers, and these books: Japanese City Pop, Disc Collection: Japanese City Pop, Light Mellow Special, and one with a title in Japanese just focusing on female musicians of City Pop.

Check out Ed Motta's City Pop mix for Wax Poetics right here. 

Song notes by Ed Motta:

1. Char – かげろう (1976)

Japan’s guitar hero, and his first album with a strong soul influence.

2. Buzz – “Garasu-Mado” (1974)

A lovely reggae feel here and kinda Donovan-style vibrato.

3. Chu Kosaka – “Ryusei Toshi” (1975)

Great songwriter, and this is his album with Haruomi Hosono, who later joined Yellow Magic Orchestra.

4. Haruko Kuwana – “Akogareno Sundown” (1978)

Produced by the Hawaiian artist Mackey Feary with his typical bass synth sound.

5. Yoshino Fujimal – “Who Are You?” (1982)

One of the best City Pop albums—very much influenced by the genre’s king Tatsuro Yamashita.

6. Hitomi “Penny” Tohyama – “Love Is the Competition” (1983)

Reminds me Leon Sylvers III productions for Solar label, like Whispers, Dynasty, or Lakeside.

7. Yasuhiro Abe – “Irene”  (1984)

My favourite song on this mix, a classic AOR shuffle in a Donald Fagen/Ivan Lins vein.

8. Hi-Fi Set – “Two in the Party” (1979)

Great synth and clavinet sounds and the track’s treatment is so sweet.

9. Junko Ohashi – “Telephone Number” (1984)

An example of the City Pop sound excellence, always very well recorded and arranged: strings, horns, rhythm track, everything is very tight.

10. Spectrum – “Paradise” (1981)

This band reminds me of the funkier tracks from Toto or the Brazilian band Roupa Nova’s early albums.

11. Michihiro Kobayashi – “Giniro No Ame” (1980)

Sounds pretty much like a Jay Graydon–produced tune to me, very polished and compressed.

12. Yukari Ito – “Mariko” (1982)

This mid-tempo funky/AOR tune is very traditional inside City Pop, like EW&F, Al Jarreau etc. In Japan, they also call it “Mellow Groove.”

13. Toshiki Kadomatsu – “If You…” (1984)

Classic ’80s funk/boogie—a must-have in any City Pop collection.

14. Bread & Butter – “Paradoxical Love” (1980)

The most famous AOR/City Pop group in Japan; they have many albums.

15. Tetsuji Hayashi – “Silly Girl” (1980)

That AOR sound, West Coast vibe, almost seems like Jeff Porcaro playing. It’s not just imitation, to me; there’s a strong Japanese identity here.

16. Ken Tamura – “A Little Bit Easier” (1982)

That clean sound that I love, not too much bass frequency, not too much high frequency. Things sounds more flat, that’s heaven to me.

17. Time Five – “Megurikuru Kisetsu” (1979)

Famous vocal group in Japan, this is from one of their funkier albums.

18. Hiroyuki Nanba – “The Door into Summer” (1979)

Again a strong Tatsuro Yamashita influence here. I am always impressed how well recorded these songs are.

19. Gingi Ito – こぬか雨 (1977)

One of the City Pop holy grails arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto that’s been a genius since the beginning.

20. Kazuhito Murata – “So Long, Mrs.” (1983)

After I completed this mix, Kazuhito unfortunately passed away. This is another City Pop holy grail for the collectors.

Zéca do Trombone's Brazilian gem Rota-Mar being reissued with bonus tracks

Altercat's update of Zéca do Trombone's 1983 Rota-Mar album comes with both tracks from his 1978 single cut with Azymuth!

Here's the scoop from Altercat Records...

Mainly known to club DJs for the funk groover "Te Queria", Rota-Mar is the first solo album by the charismatic Zéca do Trombone. During a vertiginous career which started in the late 60s, Zéca (born José da Silva) was a permanent member of Wilson Simonal's band, toured with Luiz Eça's Sagrada Família (alongside Joyce, Naná Vasconcelos, Nelson Angelo and others), recorded the seminal Brazilian funk "Coluna do Meio" for his joint effort with Roberto Sax, and played and recorded for some of the big names of Brazilian music such as Tim Maia or Martinho da Vila. Particularly for samba artists such as Alcione, Leci Brandão or Moreira da Silva, Zéca do Trombone was the trombonist of choice.

Originally released by Zéca in 1983 as a follow-up to his 1976 collaborative album with Roberto Sax – Rota-Mar displays the work of an established musician who has nothing to prove. Impregnated with Zéca's characteristic voice, the songs draw inspiration from the sea, love and bohemian life, and let us all dream of what life in Rio the Janeiro was during that time. "Te Queria", penned by Zéca's childhood friend Elízio de Búzios (known for his highly collectable funk/boogie single "Tamanqueiro") is the obvious highlight, although you'll find the real beauty of the album lies in the relaxed sea-side groove and MPB in the rest of the songs, including Zéca's superb take on Martinho da Vila's "Manteiga de Garrafa." The album's title track "Rota-Mar" was featured by Ed Motta on his popular 2018 compilation Too Slow To Disco Brasil... probably because it sounds like it could've been recorded by Motta himself. 

As a bonus for this reissue, Altercat are including two additional tracks, "Tema Do Brisa" and "Ave Anne," both sides from Zéca's sought-after 1978 single for Rio's Top Tape label, featuring the almighty trio Azymuth. Many rare groove fans will be grabbing this reissue specifically for the synth-enhanced club banger "Tema Do Brisa" which typically goes for $150+ U.S. on the collector's market.  

The new version of Rota-Mar comes with an 8-page booklet with bilingual (Portuguese/English) liner notes by Brazilian journalist Marcelo Pinheiro and previously unpublished pictures from the artist's archive. Check out "Te Queria" and "Tema Do Brisa" and "Rota-Mar" below. 

Happy Birthday João Donato & Ed Motta!

Since João Donato and Ed Motta share a birthday today, here's their collaboration on Cal Tjader's Black Orchid.

Midweek Mixdown: Ed Motta does yacht rock

Brazilian funkateer Ed Motta compiled his fave AOR rarities for a dope Wax Poetics mix you can check below.

Tracks:

1. Mark Radice “It’s You My Love” (1977)
2. Dwight Druick “Prends Ton Temps” (1980)
3. Altay Veloso “Débora” (1986)
4. Tatsuro Yamashita “Love Talkin’ (Honey It’s You)” (1982)
5. Arian “Your Love Makes Me a Winner” (1981)
6. Starbuck “A Fool in Line” (1977)
7. Valerie Carter “Crazy” (1978)
8. Shampoo “Fruta Maçã” (1983)
9. Renee Geyer “Two Sides” (1975)
10. Adrian Gurvitz “Untouchable and Free” (1979)
11. Rita Lee “Atlântida” (1981)
12. James Vincent “Space Traveler” (1976)
13. Pino Daniele “Notte Che Fai” (1995)
14. Chas Jankel “Just a Thought” (1980)
15. Noriyo Ikeda “Dream in the Street” (1980)
16. Jerry Corbetta “Caribbean Lady”
17. The Bee’s Knees “You and I” (1979)
18. Googie and Tom Coppola “Let This River Flow” (1980)
19. Raul Porchetto “El Vino Del Alma” (1979)
20. Rick Riso “Gotta Have the Real Thing”