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Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985
If there is a year zero for the introduction of reggae music to Japan, youād be forgiven for thinking it was 1979 when Bob Marley and the Wailers toured the country, trailed by an entourage of journalists, photographers and fans ready to spread the message of the music into all corners of Japanese society.
But the story of Japanese reggae is not a linear one, and the music that is collected on Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 captures the moment J-reggae entered the broader public consciousness, merging commercial city pop style with an infectious backbeat, that has drawn comparisons with the emergence of Lovers Rock in the UK.
Rather than look directly to Jamaica, many producers and artists in Japan were inspired instead by the more approachable sounds of The Police and UB40, their reggae fix arriving pre-filtered through the lens of new wave pop from the UK. Playful and groovy, these album deep cuts have been overlooked for too long.
Among them are Miki Hirayama, the idol singer who borrowed the bassline from Bob Marleyās Natural Mystic on āDenshi Lenziā, Chu Kosaka, who headed to Hawaii to cut the Jimmy Cliff-inspired āMusicā and Marlene, the Philippine songstress whose cover of Roberta Flackās āHittinā Me Wear It Hurtsā owed much to her producerās obsession with Sly & Robbieās Compass Point sound.
Then there was Izumi āMimiā Kobayashi, who enlisted the Babylon Warriors to perform on a dubbed-out version of her own track āLazy Loveā, the city pop-meets-new wave reggae sound of Miharu Koshiās āCoffee Breakā, Junko Yagamiās anti-apartheid deep cut āJohannesburgā and Lily, whose āTenkini Naareā was produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto and closes out the compilation with a flourish.
While these stories may not always conform to neat narratives, they do provide a more accurate reflection of the indirect ways in which styles infiltrate one another and, in their naivety, have the potential to create something beautifully strange and entirely new. Previously only available in Japan, the tracks on this compilation are a testament to that curious alchemy.
But the story of Japanese reggae is not a linear one, and the music that is collected on Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 captures the moment J-reggae entered the broader public consciousness, merging commercial city pop style with an infectious backbeat, that has drawn comparisons with the emergence of Lovers Rock in the UK.
Rather than look directly to Jamaica, many producers and artists in Japan were inspired instead by the more approachable sounds of The Police and UB40, their reggae fix arriving pre-filtered through the lens of new wave pop from the UK. Playful and groovy, these album deep cuts have been overlooked for too long.
Among them are Miki Hirayama, the idol singer who borrowed the bassline from Bob Marleyās Natural Mystic on āDenshi Lenziā, Chu Kosaka, who headed to Hawaii to cut the Jimmy Cliff-inspired āMusicā and Marlene, the Philippine songstress whose cover of Roberta Flackās āHittinā Me Wear It Hurtsā owed much to her producerās obsession with Sly & Robbieās Compass Point sound.
Then there was Izumi āMimiā Kobayashi, who enlisted the Babylon Warriors to perform on a dubbed-out version of her own track āLazy Loveā, the city pop-meets-new wave reggae sound of Miharu Koshiās āCoffee Breakā, Junko Yagamiās anti-apartheid deep cut āJohannesburgā and Lily, whose āTenkini Naareā was produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto and closes out the compilation with a flourish.
While these stories may not always conform to neat narratives, they do provide a more accurate reflection of the indirect ways in which styles infiltrate one another and, in their naivety, have the potential to create something beautifully strange and entirely new. Previously only available in Japan, the tracks on this compilation are a testament to that curious alchemy.
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-70%Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985ā
$3,710.72
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Description
If there is a year zero for the introduction of reggae music to Japan, youād be forgiven for thinking it was 1979 when Bob Marley and the Wailers toured the country, trailed by an entourage of journalists, photographers and fans ready to spread the message of the music into all corners of Japanese society.
But the story of Japanese reggae is not a linear one, and the music that is collected on Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 captures the moment J-reggae entered the broader public consciousness, merging commercial city pop style with an infectious backbeat, that has drawn comparisons with the emergence of Lovers Rock in the UK.
Rather than look directly to Jamaica, many producers and artists in Japan were inspired instead by the more approachable sounds of The Police and UB40, their reggae fix arriving pre-filtered through the lens of new wave pop from the UK. Playful and groovy, these album deep cuts have been overlooked for too long.
Among them are Miki Hirayama, the idol singer who borrowed the bassline from Bob Marleyās Natural Mystic on āDenshi Lenziā, Chu Kosaka, who headed to Hawaii to cut the Jimmy Cliff-inspired āMusicā and Marlene, the Philippine songstress whose cover of Roberta Flackās āHittinā Me Wear It Hurtsā owed much to her producerās obsession with Sly & Robbieās Compass Point sound.
Then there was Izumi āMimiā Kobayashi, who enlisted the Babylon Warriors to perform on a dubbed-out version of her own track āLazy Loveā, the city pop-meets-new wave reggae sound of Miharu Koshiās āCoffee Breakā, Junko Yagamiās anti-apartheid deep cut āJohannesburgā and Lily, whose āTenkini Naareā was produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto and closes out the compilation with a flourish.
While these stories may not always conform to neat narratives, they do provide a more accurate reflection of the indirect ways in which styles infiltrate one another and, in their naivety, have the potential to create something beautifully strange and entirely new. Previously only available in Japan, the tracks on this compilation are a testament to that curious alchemy.
But the story of Japanese reggae is not a linear one, and the music that is collected on Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 captures the moment J-reggae entered the broader public consciousness, merging commercial city pop style with an infectious backbeat, that has drawn comparisons with the emergence of Lovers Rock in the UK.
Rather than look directly to Jamaica, many producers and artists in Japan were inspired instead by the more approachable sounds of The Police and UB40, their reggae fix arriving pre-filtered through the lens of new wave pop from the UK. Playful and groovy, these album deep cuts have been overlooked for too long.
Among them are Miki Hirayama, the idol singer who borrowed the bassline from Bob Marleyās Natural Mystic on āDenshi Lenziā, Chu Kosaka, who headed to Hawaii to cut the Jimmy Cliff-inspired āMusicā and Marlene, the Philippine songstress whose cover of Roberta Flackās āHittinā Me Wear It Hurtsā owed much to her producerās obsession with Sly & Robbieās Compass Point sound.
Then there was Izumi āMimiā Kobayashi, who enlisted the Babylon Warriors to perform on a dubbed-out version of her own track āLazy Loveā, the city pop-meets-new wave reggae sound of Miharu Koshiās āCoffee Breakā, Junko Yagamiās anti-apartheid deep cut āJohannesburgā and Lily, whose āTenkini Naareā was produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto and closes out the compilation with a flourish.
While these stories may not always conform to neat narratives, they do provide a more accurate reflection of the indirect ways in which styles infiltrate one another and, in their naivety, have the potential to create something beautifully strange and entirely new. Previously only available in Japan, the tracks on this compilation are a testament to that curious alchemy.
