Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985, by Time Capsule

Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985

by Time Capsule

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CHOSEN You like me now because I'm laidback and a little bit goofy, when I'll be back in 40 years, you'll probably cry listening to me

mccreadymatthew Love the stuff that's been released. When is the album being released? I thought the 18th?

kabakism a.k.a. Sarai Takemoto thumbnail

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Full colour sleeve art by Noncheleee + 4 pages insert.

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bandcamp exclusive limited vinyl LP with Obi strip
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Full colour sleeve art by Noncheleee + 4 pages insert + limited Japanese Obi strip on tracing paper.

Includes unlimited streaming of Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.	Miki Hirayama - 月影の渚 (Tsukikage No Nagisa) 04:31	lyrics	buy track
はだしで歩けば真昼のざわめきアスファルトに　まだ少し残ってるみたいのどの乾きさえあなたといるからそして月明りだけが見てるのね　そっとあー　タイクツ　あー　ゼイタクほほにふれる潮風たち誰かがぶつけてペンキのはげかけたガードレールを　のり越えて砂浜におりるだまって　あなたはそっと　腕をのばす静かすぎる波がキラキラゆれて　ゆれてあーしあわせ　あーすてきねだから　このままで　いたいのあータイクツ　あーゼイタクほほにふれる潮風たち (English Translate) If I walk barefoot, In the daytime bustle, It seems like there's still a bit left On the asphalt. Even the dryness in my throat, Because I'm with you, And only the moonlight is watching us, quietly. Ah, boredom, ah, luxury, The sea breeze touches my cheeks. Someone has hit it, The peeling painted Guardrail, climbing over Descending to the sandy beach Silently, you Gently extend your arm Waves too quiet shimmer and sway, sway Ah, happiness, ah, it's wonderful That's why, I want to stay this way Ah, boredom, ah, luxury Sea breezes brush my cheeks
2.	Miki Hirayama - 電子レンジ (Denshi Lenzi) 03:55	lyrics	buy track
(🇬🇧👇🏼) 固く冷えた　こぶりのトマト出来るだけ　うすく切りたくてといだナイフに　くちびる寄せるテーブルには　こぼしたワインのうすいしみ　窓を開けたほとんど空は　となりのビルに負けていて　一・二時間だけ希望の待てる　ひるさがりですサンドウィッチに　はさむトマトさんもっとまっ赤に　もえてほしい犬でもいればたっぷりつくるシチューも本格的なソースもやめて　電子レンジあつくならないお皿の気持となりの部屋の引越しカベがゆれてる私は慣れた手つきでひとり　電子レンジ日曜日だわそれだけのこと (English translation) A firmly chilled, small tomato I want to slice it as thin as possible Bringing my lips close to the sharpened knife There's a faint stain of spilled wine on the table I open the window The sky is mostly overshadowed by the building next door Just an hour or two, It's an afternoon waiting for hope Oh tomato that I sandwich, I wish you'd burn more bright red If I had a dog, I'd make lots of stew Or a genuine sauce, But I stop, and use the microwave The feelings of a plate that can't get hot The moving of next door, The walls are shaking I'm alone and turned the microwave on as usual It's Sunday That's just what it is
3.	Chu Kosaka - Music 05:19	lyrics
(English ver.) Forgotten name Music, a ship is setting sail Forgotten name Music, a foggy whistle weeps Where are you going? (Music) To your whimsical self (Music) Who will sing this Music? as the night grows late Who will sing this Music? footstep weeps in the wind Where are you going ?(Music) Capricious you (Music) Carrying the bitter scent of the moment, blown by the wind Forgotten name Music, a ship is setting sail Forgotten name Music, a foggy whistle weeps Where are you going? (Music) To your whimsical self (Music) Carrying the bitter scent of the moment, blown by the wind (🇯🇵 The original Japanese) 名前忘れた Music　船が出て行く名前忘れた Music　霧に泣く汽笛だどこへ行くのか (Music) きまぐれな君の (MUsIC) 誰に唄おか Music 夜は更けゆく誰に唄おか Music 風に泣く足音どこへ行くのか (Music) きまぐれな君の (MUsIC) 風に流されて苦い間の香りをはこっぶ名前忘れた Music　船が出て行く名前忘れた Music　霧に泣く汽笛だどこへ行くのか (Music) きまぐれな君の (MUsIC) 風に流されて苦い間の香りをはこっぶ
4.	Izumi "Mimi" Kobayashi - Lazy Love 04:24 video	lyrics
Lazy love lazy love Drifting at midnight with who Lazy love lazy love Stepping on glass pond with who Not so much not much trying I'm looking for slow easy loving Yes I let you go yes I make you come Baby I make you free baby I make you leave Lazy love lazy love I'm looking for slow easy loving You can go out with someone new Go out with any new love Any damn thing you want Like I do, like I do to you You know what's right with our love
5.	Junko Yagami - ジョハナスバーグ (Johannesburg) 05:12 video	lyrics
Can't believe what I'm seeing, still unfolding today, Apartheid's grip, in South Africa's play. Whirling dust in the strife-torn streets, Johannesburg cries as twilight meets, Its beauty tainted, where sorrow and hope greets. Why were we given this life, tell me why? For what reason under this sky? No one would teach them. Two coolers of skin, setting the line, Oh, Johannesburg, it splits you in two, People hurting each, hate breaks through. PEOPLE SING REGGAE MUSIC, SO TRUE, Leaning on each other, as the weary often do, Losing track of time, to a rhythm so new. (IT HAPPENS EVERYDAY) (ANYTIME ANYWAY) Sun's piercing glare, in a fierce display, Brightest beams over Johannesburg. Barefoot children, in market lanes, Walkers look away, ignoring their chains. Two shades of skin, and it remains, Oh, Johannesburg, love's lost gains, People wound each other, the pain sustains. PEOPLE SING REGGAE MUSIC, DEFYING THE BLUES, With every note, their spirit accrues, In a chorus of change, paying their dues. (IT HAPPENS EVERYDAY) (ANYTIME ANYWAY) Sun's piercing glare, in a fierce display, Brightest beams over Johannesburg. 信じられない出来事今もまだ南アフリカずっと続いでいる砂ぼこり舞う街暮れなずむジョハネスバーグ美しさが悲しみを映してる何のため生まれ何にのために生きる誰も彼らに教えることはない肌の色が二つそれだけでジョハネスバーグ人と人が傷つけあって憎しみ生まれてる PEOPLE SING REGGE MUSIC YEAH 疲れた体寄せて歌い続ける時を忘れて (IT HAPPENS EVERYDAY) (ANYTIME ANYWAY) 太陽だけがやけに明るく注ぐジョハネスバーグ市場の道に裸足の子供達見ないふりして行き過ぎる人達肌の色が二つそれだけでジョハネスバーグ人と人が傷つけあってゆく PEOPLE SING REGGE MUSIC YEAH 疲れた体寄せて歌い続ける時を忘れて (IT HAPPENS EVERYDAY) (ANYTIME ANYWAY) 太陽だけがやけに明るく注ぐジョハネスバーグ
6.	Miharu Koshi - コーヒーブレイク (Coffee Break) ⚠️ excerpt - Vinyl Only 01:00	info
7.	Marlene - Hittin' Me Where It Hurts ⚠️ excerpt - Vinyl Only 01:00	info
8.	Lily - 天気になあれ (Tenkini Naare) 03:21

about

（🇯🇵👇）

The smooth and funky sound of prime-time Japanese reggae pop in the 1970s and ‘80s fired up an obsession with Jamaican music that persists to the present day.

If there is a year zero for the introduction of reggae music to Japan, you’d 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 Marley’s Natural Mystic on ‘Denshi Lenzi’, Chu Kosaka, who headed to Hawaii to cut the Jimmy Cliff-inspired ‘Music’ and Marlene, the Philippine songstress whose cover of Roberta Flack’s ‘Hittin’ Me Wear It Hurts’ owed much to her producer’s obsession with Sly & Robbie’s Compass Point sound.

Then there was Izumi “Mimi” Kobayashi, who enlisted the Babylon Warriors to perform on a dubbed-out version of her own track ‘Lazy Love’, the city pop-meets-new wave reggae sound of Miharu Koshi’s ‘Coffee Break’, Junko Yagami’s anti-apartheid deep cut ‘Johannesburg’ and Lily, whose ‘Tenki Ni Naare’ 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.

Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 is released on vinyl and as a full album download (no streaming), featuring original artwork by Japanese Fukuoka-based artist Noncheleee, whose cover pays homage to the iconic dancehall album art of Wilfred Limonious.

Released on 1st September, Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 is a part of Time Capsule's Nippon Series, a loose series of compilations exploring different musical scenes from Japan between the 1960s and 2010s.

(🚨Please note that B2: Coffee Break by Miharu Koshi and B3: Hittin' Me Where It Hurts by Marlene are not included in the digital album due to the license)

イギリスを経由して届いたレゲエと融合した昭和の歌謡曲を中心に集めた魅惑の和製ラバーズ・ロック・コンピレーション

1970年代後半、少しづつ日本の大衆の耳に届き始めていたレゲエは歌謡曲やシティ・ポップと融合する事で、イギリスで同時期に起こっていたラバーズ・ロックとは全く違ったルートを通ってそのポップ性に辿り着く事になった。

ここに収録された日本のプロデューサーやアーティスト達はジャマイカからの政治性が強いレゲエの直接的な影響よりも、むしろポリスやUB40といった英国のニュー・ウェーヴ・ポップを経由したサウンドからの影響が強く、マーリーが「パンキー・レゲエ・パーティー」で歌ったような「社会から拒絶された者たち」向けの音楽ではなく、あくまで急成長するバブル前の日本の経済に放たれた商業的娯楽音楽のバラエティの一種としてアルバムの奥深くに存在していた音楽だった。

近田春夫がプロデュースを手がけた平山みき1982年のアルバム「鬼ヶ島」からの2曲は、近田が「アース・ウィンド&ファイアーとウェザー・リポートとポリスが混ざったような凄いバンド」と評した人種熱が演奏を担当。波音から始まるロマンチック和製ラバーズ「月影の渚」に続くのはボブ・マーリー「ナチュラル・ミスティック」のベースラインを借用した硬派なレゲエチューン「電子レンジ」。更には1976年の時点で既にジミー・クリフから影響を受けてハワイで録音された小坂忠の「ミュージック」の他、コンパス・スタジオからの影響を色濃く受けたマライヤの笹路正徳が1981年にプロデュースし、フィリピンから来日したばかりの18歳のマリーンが歌うロバータ・フラックのレゲエ・カバー「ヒッティン・ミー・ウェア・イット・ハーツ」を収録。

うる星やつらのテーマ「ラムのラブソング」の国民的ヒットで知られ、84年から現在も英国に在住している小林”ミミ”泉美の1981年作「レイジー・ラブ」はLAでのアルバム製作中、たまたま見に行ったUB40の前座に出ていたレゲエ・バンド、バビロン・ウォーリアーズを彼女が気に入りその場でレコーディングをオファー。楽譜が読めないミュージシャン達に彼女がスタジオで歌って聞かせてから録音されたという。更にはシティ・ポップとニュー・ウェーヴ・レゲエが融合された越美晴の「コーヒー・ブレイク」、八神純子によるアパルトヘイトを嘆くコンシャス・レゲエ「ジョハナスバーグ」、亡き坂本龍一による管弦楽の編曲が美しいリリィ、1976年作「天気になあれ」を収録。

当時の写真と日本語、英語の両方を掲載した4ページ分ライナーノーツに加え、Wilfred Limonious を彷彿させる福岡在住の人気イラストレーターNoncheleeeによる書き下ろしアートワークをフィーチャーしたアナログLPとアルバム・ダウンロードのみの販売（配信無し）。

「Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985」はタイム・カプセルが日本の過去の様々なシーンを切り取って紹介する “Nippon Series” の一部です。これから発売されるシリーズ続編も乞うご期待。

( 🚨 B2:越美晴「Coffee Break」とB3: マリーン「Hittn' Me Where It Hurts」はライセンス規定によりデジタルアルバムには収録されていません）

credits

released January 16, 2024

Mastered by Andy Baldwin at Metropolis Studios, London, UK
Artwork by Noncheleee
Compiled by Kay Suzuki & Pol Valls
Liner notes by Anton Spice & Kay Suzuki
Coordinated by Ken Hidaka & Kay Suzuki

Time Capsule | TIME016 | 1976-1985 → 2023

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