{"product_id":"tokyo-dreaming-nick-luscombe-presents","title":"Tokyo Dreaming - Nick Luscombe Presents","description":"\u003cp\u003eTokyo Dreaming is a superb selection picked from the highly collectible Nippon Columbia label and its Better Days sub-label. Wewantsounds have teamed up with journalist and Japanese music expert Nick Luscombe. The selection mixes electro, synth-pop, funk, and ambient and includes many sought-after rarities and hidden gems which have never been released outside of Japan and the set has been newly remastered by Nippon Columbia. Nippon Columbia, one of Japan's oldest music labels is also one of its most collectible thanks to its sub-label Better Days which, in the late '70s, became a hotbed for Tokyo's new generation of pop artists eager to experiment with ambient, electro, and funk. Armed with a string of new Japanese-made synthesizers and drum machines that would soon take the world by storm, they made cutting-edge music, which has since become highly sought-after by a new generation of Japanese music lovers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNick Luscombe, who has long been a leading advocate of Japanese music from this era, has handpicked a selection of some of the sharpest music released on these labels at the time. Tokyo Dreaming starts with \u003ci\u003eThe End of Asia\u003c\/i\u003e by Ryuichi Sakamoto from his 1978 ground-breaking debut Thousand Knives Of.... The track became a staple of Sakamoto and Yellow Magic Orchestra's live shows and was even re-recorded by the group for their 1980 album X Multiplies. The track is followed by Mariah's cult Armenian folk flavoured synth pop classic \u003ci\u003eShinzo No Tobira\u003c\/i\u003e (1983). Chika Asamoto's\u003ci\u003e Self Control\u003c\/i\u003e (1988) and Jun Fukamachi's\u003ci\u003e Treasure Hunter\u003c\/i\u003e (1985) are perfect songs in the synth-pop canon, while Yumi Murata's rendition of Akiko Yano's \u003ci\u003eWatashi No Bus \u003c\/i\u003eand Hitomi \"Penny\" Tohyama's \u003ci\u003eRainy Driver \u003c\/i\u003eboth from 1981, move closer towards the slicker, funkier sound of city pop.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTokyo Dreaming superbly showcases the breadth of '80s Japanese music and the way electro pop was a playing ground for musicians to experiment with many styles, as showcased by Akira Sakata's dub-infused\u003ci\u003e Room\u003c\/i\u003e from 1980, Kazumi Watanabe's discoid \u003ci\u003eTokyo Joe\u003c\/i\u003e (1980) and Juicy Fruits' techno pop song\u003ci\u003e Jenie Gets Angry\u003c\/i\u003e. The selection flows effortlessly between many shades of synth and ends with two cult classics in the form of Yasuaki Shimizu's \u003ci\u003eSemi Tori No Hi\u003c\/i\u003e and Shigeo Sekito's ambient-jazz masterpiece \u003ci\u003eThe Word II \u003c\/i\u003efrom his highly sought-after album Kareinaru Electone (The Word) Vol.2 (1975). Tokyo Dreaming showcases the groundbreaking sounds of a city turned giant sonic lab which was restlessly inventing the music of the future. Album designed by famed London-based designer Optigram. Also features Yumi Seino, Kyoko Furuya, Kazue Itoh, Haruo Chikada and Vibra-Tones, and Colored Music.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wewantsounds","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50487671882059,"sku":"1104512","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50487672275275,"sku":"1102675","price":44.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/b14c976d-ac5a-49df-b75d-200633b014e6_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727626858","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/products\/tokyo-dreaming-nick-luscombe-presents","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}