Various
Rare Masters

✈︎✈︎ Japan import ✈︎✈︎Tatsuro Yamashita RCA/AIR Years Vinyl Collection. The whole world has been waiting for it! A total of 8 analog vinyls and cassettes released by RCA/AIR Years from 1976 to 1982 to be released in 2023 with the latest remastering and vinyl cutting! 180g heavy vinyl + OBIIt’s hard to pick a favorite out of the many classic albums by the “king of city pop” Tatsuro Yamashita, but if we absolutely had to, we’d probably pick his second album on RCA, Spacy. Recorded in 1977 shortly after Yamashita completed studio sessions in America with producer/composer Charlie Callelo, Spacy features an incredible who’s who cast of Japanese legends including Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Minako Yoshida, Kenji Ohmura, and Hiroshi Sato. All the typical Yamashita flavors are here – euphoric vocals, creative string arrangements, shimmering keyboards, funky guitar licks – the grooves on this one just hit a little harder. Take a listen to A5 Dancer and B5 Solid Slider, and you’ll hear what we’re talking about… For those looking to dig deeper into the city pop sound, we also recommend checking out Yamashita’s first band Sugarbabe and their highly influential album Songs.

Amsterdam’s Altın Gün have built a strong reputation for melding past and present to make brilliantly catchy, psychedelic pop music, as seen with their Grammy-nominated second album, Gece. They are also a renowned live band with strings of sold-out shows on three continents, who have consistently brought a muscular groove to their recordings. Yol, their third album in as many years, excitedly continues these trends; while also digging in deep to unveil a new palette of sonic surprises.

** Limited Clear Sky Blue Vinyl Edition - Japanese Import **For Life Entertainment do well to rerelease yet another bunch of greats from a classic artist working in the Japanese genre of city pop. Along with her album Heaven Beach, Timely!! comes as an LP reissue of the 1983 original album. It's a propulsive jet-setter in the realm of honest 80s J-funk, backed up by weighty production, dynamically swung horn sections and prominent slap bass stylings. Toshiki Kadomatsu's production neatly backs up ANRI's incredible vocal range and dexterity, and without him, perhaps we wouldn't be blessed with the present-day microgrenre that is future funk.