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Shibuya-kei
is a microgenre of pop music or a general aesthetic that flourished in Japan in the mid-to late 1990s. The music genre is distinguished by a "cut-and-paste" approach that was inspired by the kitsch, fusion, and artifice from certain music styles of the past. The most common reference points were 1960s culture and Western pop music, especially the work of Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson, Phil Spector, and Serge Gainsbourg. Shibuya-kei first emerged as retail music from the Shibuya district of Tokyo. Flipper's Guitar, a duo led by Kenji Ozawa and Keigo Oyamada (Cornelius), formed the bedrock of the genre and influenced all of its groups, but the most prominent Shibuya-kei band was Pizzicato Five, who fused mainstream J-pop with a mix of jazz, soul, and lounge influences. Shibuya-kei peaked in the late 1990s and declined after its principal players began moving into other music styles. Overseas, fans of Shibuya-kei were typically indie pop enthusiasts, which contrasted with the tende ...
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Akishibu-kei
is a loosely defined trend from the 2000s that involved an increase of Shibuya-kei influence in anime soundtracks. The term is a portmanteau of "Shibuya-kei" and "Akiba-kei". Both were 1990s cultural movements associated with musical and otaku interests, respectively, and Akishibu-kei was thought to have represented a merging of the two. Overview From mid-1990s, anime music was diversified due to composers like Yoko Kanno who mastered idioms from many genres such as classical music, jazz and ethnic music. In 2002, Shibuya-kei band Round Table invited female singer Nino as the guest vocal and offered the song "Let Me Be With You" for anime ''Chobits''. The soundtrack of Chobits was composed by Keitaro Takanami, the former member of Pizzicato Five. From then, Masao Fukuda from FlyingDog, the musical director of Chobits appointed many Shibuya-kei musicians as anisongs/anime soundtracks composers. Fukuda is considered as tastemaker of Akishibu-kei. Some artists from FlyingDog su ...
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Chamber Pop
Chamber pop (or Chamber rock; also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of string section, strings, horn section, horns, piano, and vocal harmony, vocal harmonies, and other components drawn from the orchestral and lounge music, lounge pop of the 1960s, with an emphasis on melody and texture (music), texture. During chamber pop's initial emergence in the 1960s, producers such as Burt Bacharach, Lee Hazlewood, and the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson served as formative artists of the genre. Wilson's productions of the Beach Boys' albums ''Pet Sounds'' and ''Smile (The Beach Boys album), Smile'' are cited as particularly influential to the genre. From the early 1970s to early 1990s, most chamber pop acts saw little to no mainstream success. The genre's decline was attributed to costly touring and recording logistics and a reluctance among record labels to finance instruments like s ...
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Indie Pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and subsequently generated a thriving fanzine, Independent record label, label, and club and gig circuit. Compared to its counterpart, indie rock, the genre is more melodic, less abrasive, and relatively angst-free. In later years, the definition of ''indie pop'' has bifurcated to also mean bands from unrelated DIY scenes/movements with pop leanings. Subgenres include chamber pop and twee pop. Development and characteristics Origins and etymology Both ''indie'' and ''indie pop'' had originally referred to the same thing during the late 1970s. Inspired more by punk rock's DIY ethos than its style, guitar bands were formed on the then-novel premise that one could record and release their own music instead of having to procure a record contra ...
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Flipper's Guitar
Flipper's Guitar (フリッパーズ・ギター) were a Tokyo-based rock band led by (and later a duo of) Keigo Oyamada and Kenji Ozawa. The band were influenced by the chirpy sound of British 80s pop and post-punk groups like Haircut 100, Exhibit B, Orange Juice, The Style Council and Aztec Camera, as well as the fashionably eclectic sounds of early 90s Britain, from alternative dance to acid jazz. The group were an important part of the Tokyo Shibuya-kei scene in the late 1980s to early 1990s, and Oyamada went on to produce work for Pizzicato Five and his close friend Kahimi Karie. The band wears their influence on their sleeves, their song titles often citing their British artists' influence — ''Goodbye Our Pastels Badges'', ''Haircut One Hundred'', ''The Colourfield.'' Following the demise of the band in 1991, the two members pursued solo careers. Ozawa released the album ''The Dogs Bark But The Caravan Moves On'' under his own name, and Oyamada began recording unde ...
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Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and mastery of recording techniques, he is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and significant songwriters of the 20th century. His best-known work is distinguished for its high production values, complex harmonies and orchestrations, layered vocals, and introspective or ingenuous themes. Wilson is also known for his formerly high-ranged singing and for his lifelong struggles with mental illness. Raised in Hawthorne, California, Wilson's formative influences included George Gershwin, the Four Freshmen, Phil Spector, and Burt Bacharach. In 1961, he began his professional career as a member of the Beach Boys, serving as the band's songwriter, producer, co-lead vocalist, bassist, keyboardist, and ''de facto'' leader. After signing w ...
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Lounge Music
Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The range of lounge music encompasses beautiful music-influenced instrumentals, modern electronica (with chillout, and downtempo influences), while remaining thematically focused on its retro-space age cultural elements. The earliest type of lounge music appeared during the 1920s and 1930s, and was known as light music. Retrospective usage Exotica, space age pop, and some forms of easy listening music popular during the 1950s and 1960s are now broadly termed "lounge". The term "lounge" does not appear in textual documentation of the period, such as '' Billboard'' magazine or long playing album covers, but has been retroactively applied. While rock and roll was generally influenced by blues and country, lounge music was derived from jazz and othe ...
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Yé-yé
''Yé-yé'' () (''yeyé'' in Spanish) was a style of pop music that emerged in Western-Southern Europe in the early 1960s. The French term "''yé-yé''" was derived from the English "yeah! yeah!", popularized by British beat music bands such as the Beatles. The style expanded worldwide as the result of the success of figures such as French singer-songwriters Sylvie Vartan, Serge Gainsbourg and Françoise Hardy. Yé-yé was a particular form of counterculture that derived most of its inspiration from British and American rock and roll. Additional stylistic elements of ''yé-yé'' song composition include baroque, exotica, pop, jazz and the French ''chanson.'' History The movement had its origins in the radio program (loosely translated as "hello mates" or "hello pals"), created by Jean Frydman and hosted by Daniel Filipacchi and Frank Ténot, which first aired in December 1959. The phrase "''Salut les copains''" dates back to the title of a 1957 song by Gilbert Bécaud and Pier ...
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Shibuya, Tokyo
Shibuya (渋谷 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1, 2022, it has an estimated population of 228,906 and a population density of 15,149.30 people per km2 (39,263.4/sq mi). The total area is 15.11 km2 (5.83 sq mi). The name "Shibuya" is also used to refer to the shopping district which surrounds Shibuya Station. This area is known as one of the fashion centers of Japan, particularly for young people, and as a major nightlife area. History Heian to Edo period Shibuya was historically the site of a castle in which the Shibuya family resided from the 11th century through the Edo period. Following the opening of the Yamanote Line in 1885, Shibuya began to emerge as a railway terminal for southwestern Tokyo and eventually as a major commercial and entertainment center. Meiji to Showa period ...
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Burt Bacharach
Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Grammy Award winner and three-time Academy Award winner, Bacharach's songs have been recorded by more than 1,000 different artists. , he had written 73 US and 52 UK Top 40 hits. He is considered one of the most important composers of 20th-century popular music. His music is characterized by unusual chord progressions, influenced by his background in jazz harmony, and uncommon selections of instruments for small orchestras. Most of Bacharach and David's hits were written specifically for and performed by Dionne Warwick but earlier associations (from 1957 to 1963) saw the composing duo work with Marty Robbins, Perry Como, Gene McDaniels and Jerry Butler. Following the initial success of these collaborations, Bacharach went on to write hits for ...
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Kenji Ozawa
Kenji Ozawa (小沢 健二, ''Ozawa Kenji'') is a Japanese musician born on April 14, 1968 in Sagamihara, Kanagawa. His uncle Seiji Ozawa is a noted conductor. Ozawa's first claim to fame was as a member of the pop duo Flipper's Guitar. He graduated from Tokyo University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by .... His father is a professor. Discography Singles #"Tenki yomi" (The weather reading) (1993) #"Kurayami kara te wo nobase" (Reach out of the darkness) (1993) #"Konya wa boogie back" (Boogie back) (1994) #"Aishi aisarete ikirunosa/Tokyo renai senka;mata wa koi wa ittemirya body blow" (Love is what we need/Love is like a body blow) (1994) #"Lovely" (1994) #"Corolla II ni notte" (1995) #"Tsuyoi kimochi tsuyoi ai/Sore wa chotto" (Tokyo love affair/I'm afraid not) (19 ...
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Shibuya
Shibuya ( 渋谷 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1, 2022, it has an estimated population of 228,906 and a population density of 15,149.30 people per km2 (39,263.4/sq mi). The total area is 15.11 km2 (5.83 sq mi). The name "Shibuya" is also used to refer to the shopping district which surrounds Shibuya Station. This area is known as one of the fashion centers of Japan, particularly for young people, and as a major nightlife area. History Heian to Edo period Shibuya was historically the site of a castle in which the Shibuya family resided from the 11th century through the Edo period. Following the opening of the Yamanote Line in 1885, Shibuya began to emerge as a railway terminal for southwestern Tokyo and eventually as a major commercial and entertainment center. Meiji to Showa peri ...
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Sunshine Pop
Sunshine pop (originally known as soft pop) is a subgenre of pop music that originated in Southern California in the mid-1960s. Rooted in easy listening and advertising jingles, sunshine pop acts combined nostalgic or anxious moods with "an appreciation for the beauty of the world". It largely consisted of lesser-known artists who imitated more popular groups such as the Mamas & the Papas and the 5th Dimension. While the Beach Boys are noted as prominent influences, the band's own music was rarely representative of the genre. Sunshine pop enjoyed mainstream success in the latter half of the decade, with many of its top 40 hits peaking in the spring and summer of 1967, especially just before the Summer of Love. Popular acts include the Turtles, and the Association. Other groups, like the Millennium, Sagittarius, and the Yellow Balloon were less successful but gained a cult following years later with albums like '' Begin'' (Millennium, 1968) and ''Present Tense'' (Sagittarius, 1 ...
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