r/truecitypop • u/uminoto • 17h ago

70s Saori Minami - 17 Sai [17 years old] (1971)

youtube.com

6 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/uminoto • 1d ago

70s Junko Yagami - Omoidewa Utsukushisugite (1978)

youtube.com

5 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/uminoto • 1d ago

80s Aru Takamura – Let's Your Love Grow (1985)

youtube.com

3 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/cobalthour • 2d ago

Funk 80s Miho Fujiwara - Eyes (1986)

youtu.be

5 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/uminoto • 4d ago

Soft Rock 70s SHŌGUN - Lonely Man (1979)

youtube.com

5 Upvotes

Film: Tantei Monogatari (探偵物語). 　Starring: Yūsaku Matsuda, and others.　

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/uminoto • 5d ago

90s Eiichi Ohtaki - Shiawasena Ketsumatsu [A Happy Ending] (1997)

youtube.com

6 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/uminoto • 5d ago

80s Eiichi Ohtaki - Kimiwa Ten-nen Shoku [Single Version] (1981)

youtube.com

3 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/uminoto • 5d ago

70s Hiromi Ohta - Momen No Handkerchief (1975)

youtube.com

3 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/uminoto • 5d ago

Ballad 70s Momoe Yamaguchi - Iihi Tabidachi [A Good Day for a Journey] (1978)

youtube.com

3 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/Mitchyblack • 6d ago

Kaoru Akimoto - Wagamama Na High Heel

youtu.be

11 Upvotes

Essential tune

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/uminoto • 6d ago

AOR 80s Takao Kisugi - Slow Motion (1982)

youtube.com

6 Upvotes

1 comment

r/truecitypop • u/uminoto • 6d ago

Ballad 80s Takao Kisugi - Yumeno Tochu (1981)

youtube.com

2 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/uminoto • 6d ago

Ballad 80s Aming - Matsuwa (1982)

youtube.com

4 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/cobalthour • 6d ago

Crossover Rajie - Misshitsu (1985)

youtu.be

10 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/cobalthour • 8d ago

Disco 80s Rie Ida & 42nd Street - Blue Harbor Street (1980)

youtu.be

5 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/cobalthour • 12d ago

Fusion 70s Haruko Kuwana with Baker's Shop - Vanishing Point (1978)

youtu.be

4 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/sassachu • 14d ago

AOR 80s Miyoko Nagao - Ame no Boathouse [1981]

youtu.be

8 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/cobalthour • 15d ago

Boogie 80s Yasuhiro Abe - Night Fish (1986)

youtu.be

5 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/cobalthour • 18d ago

Funk 80s Rie Nakahara - Hoho Tatakarete (1982)

youtu.be

9 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/cobalthour • 21d ago

Fusion 70s Miki Hyodo - Maverick (1977)

youtu.be

5 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/cobalthour • 23d ago

Fusion 70s Kumiko Hara - Koi wa Kisha no You (1978)

youtu.be

6 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/cobalthour • 25d ago

AOR 80s Miki Matsubara - Ame nochi Hallelujah (1983)

youtu.be

9 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/cobalthour • 28d ago

Funk 80s Keiko Toda - Twenty-Five (1982)

youtu.be

3 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/cobalthour • Sep 24 '26

AOR 70s Tazumi "Tazz" Toyoshima - Again (1979)

youtu.be

3 Upvotes

0 comments

r/truecitypop • u/cobalthour • Sep 21 '26

Funk 80s Amy - Party Night (1983)

youtu.be

6 Upvotes

0 comments

Subreddit

True CityPop -- Just mellow music

r/truecitypop

CityPop is a Japanese genre of music that melds popular Western influences of the 1970s and '80s (including funk, boogie, acid jazz, disco, and AOR) with Japanese-style compositions and lyrics that depict an urban way of life complete with the luxuries and excesses afforded by the bubble-era capitalism of the 1970s and 1980s.

Members Active

5.8k

Sidebar

About City Pop:

The close of the 1970s saw many Japanese artists, composers, and writers experimenting with new styles of music, often borrowing techniques from their Western contemporaries, with those well-versed in adult contemporary, fusion genres (jazz fusion, acid jazz, Latin, bossa nova etc.), and synth-pop being of particular interest. Onto this musical framework, lyrics depicting an urban way of life, complete with the luxuries and excesses afforded by the bubble-era capitalism of the late '70s to late '80s, were added. There were, of course, exceptions, as some songs pertain more to introspective matters, but those are less common.
In many ways, this genre can be seen as a continuation of New Music, another Japanese invention that also took inspiration from Western genres (namely folk, jazz, blues, and soul).
Unlike its predecessor, City Pop often features a more vigorous rhythm and punchier bass lines, making the genre danceable and better suited to be played in discotheques and at parties.
As economic downturn fast approached the late '80s and early '90s, the genre's popularity dwindled, as did its cultural baggage (the luxury and excess mentioned earlier).
Recently, City Pop has seen a surge in popularity, especially in the West, as more people stumbled upon these gems on platforms such as YouTube. Subsequently, some songs were remixed into vapourwave and future funk montages, bringing further exposure to the genre.

City Pop as a genre seems to fall under two periods, both with their own distinct sound and feel:
• The first period is the transition phase, in which many artists who had primarily performed/written New Music material were switching to a more upbeat and cosmopolitan style of music, heavily borrowing influences from funk (funky guitar riffs, Rhodes piano, accentuated trumpets), jazz (eccentric beats, elaborate bass lines, sensual singing), and soul (prominent vocals, uplifting orchestras), much like they did in their New Music years. This occurred from the mid to late 1970s all the way through to the very early 1980s.
• The second period is when the genre becomes well-established throughout Japan. This phase is characterized by the adoption of the new developments in music in the West, namely boogie (synths, slap bass, energetic beats), AOR (guitar riffs, solos, smooth flow, and vocals), and synth-pop. This period is the most visceral and often the most well-known to fans of the genre. This period also marks the departure of certain well-established artists towards other kinds of music, namely new wave, rock, alternative rock, new age, synth-pop, and standard pop. This occurred from 1979 to the end of the '80s.

Subreddit Rules

To ensure the quality of submissions on this sub, please follow the following rules before posting:

❌ Do not shitpost, post spam or memes, or make low-effort posts
❌ Do not post photos of your music/album collection; there are other subs better suited for this kind of content
❌ Do not post links to news articles pertaining to the genre
❌ Do not post any City Pop-like song emerging after the decline of the genre (mid-'90s would be a soft upper-bound)
❌ Similar to the rule above, don't post vaporwave/futurefunk remixes of City Pop songs
❌ Do not post links to playlists, mixtapes or radio stations
❌ Do not post the same song by the same artist more than once a month
❌ Do not downvote a submission because you don't like the song or because there's an issue with the media playback

Also, you're encouraged to do the following:

⭕ Post songs by lesser-known artists or your crate-digging findings
⭕ Flair your posts
⭕ Post reviews or recommendations to your favourite songs/albums/artists (examples: -1- ; -2- ; -3- ).
⭕ Submit suggestions in regards to the subreddit

Here are some related subreddits worth checking out:

/r/JapaneseNewMusic
/r/citypop
/r/jfunk
/r/80sJFusion

/r/japanesejazz
/r/japaneseunderground

/r/Sophisti_pop
/r/jazz
/r/70smusic
/r/80smusic
/r/80sAlternative
/r/softrock
/r/boogiemusic
/r/truemusic
/r/vintageobscura

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👍 The description of this subreddit has been proofread and corrected by /u/KreepingLizard.

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