Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Adding to the fervour around Japanese city pop - the genre is still a clogged but speculative seep for reissuers, who are keen to capitalise on the mainly Tokyo-born genre's still underground, under-recognised reserves of music - comes DJ Nutoya with a fresh and terse ten-tracker compilation: Tokyo Bliss. This breezy selection centres on the all-rounder genre's favourite international foci, boogie and funk: frissonic formulas for sensational home listening. Most tracks here make their debut on vinyl outside of Japan; from Buzz's pristine tremolo'er 'Garasumado', to Keiko Toda's escape-noteworthy 'Fade In' and Yuji Mitsuya's delirious summer disco dirge 'After Five At Caf-Bar', this is an impeccable curation job.

Review: DJ Notoya returns with another expertly curated selection of Japanese gems, this time delving into the funky, soulful, and city pop sounds of King Records. Spanning the years 1974 to 1988, this compilation is a treasure trove of forgotten classics and hidden gems, a sonic time capsule that transports listeners back to the neon-lit streets and vibrant nightlife of 1980s Japan. Buzz's 'Garasumado' kicks things off with an infectious groove and funky guitar riffs that could rival any Western funk classic. Mami Ayukawa's 'Sabita Gambler' adds a touch of soulful sophistication, her smooth vocals gliding over lush instrumentation. Keiko Toda's 'Fade In' is a city pop gem, its dreamy melodies and catchy hooks evoking a sense of carefree optimism and urban cool. Elsewhere, Johnny Yoshinaga's soulful ballad 'The Rain' provides a moment of introspection, while Kumiko Sawada's disco-infused 'Your Love's Away' will get you moving and grooving. The compilation closes with the feelgood sounds of Masatoshi Kanno's 'Day By Day', a perfect encapsulation of the city pop aesthetic.

Review: Renowned DJ and selector MURO is a Jedi-level compiler and this new collection of his delves into Victor's extensive archives to spotlight a world of Japanese jazz, fusion and AOR. It take sin plenty of internationally known names like Yasuko Agawa on the sunset sounds of 'L.A. Night', Sadistics who offers the more psyched out guitar leans of 'On the Seashore', Yuji Ohno's neo-Balaeric bliss-out 'The Dawn of Seychells' and Hiroshi Fukumura's soul soothing Ry Ayres-style melodies on 'White Clouds.' These are luxurious sounds and timeless tracks with MURO's signature funky perspective making this a brillaint choice for brighter, warmer days.

Review: Light In The Attic only deals in records you absolutely must own, but this Pacific Breeze series in particular has been fantastic. Happy it now gets up to a third instalment with another laser focus on Japanese City POP, AOR and Boogie between the years of 1975 and 1987. And there is a wealth of material for them to go out. Across four sides of glorious green vinyl, we're treated to high-grade sounds from plenty of known and lesser-known artists such as Atsuko Nina, Yukako Hayase, 1986 Omega Tribe and many more. There is a melodic joy and cathartic cleanliness to these sounds that always leave you wanting more.

Review: Since its inception in 2020, Kunimondo Takiguchi's City Music Tokyo compilation series has emerged as one of the most authoritative and reliable sources of 'city pop' gems - in part because he traditionally looks beyond the style's 1980s heyday and includes older and newer songs that fit into the celebrated style's colourful and Western pop-influenced aesthetic. There's naturally plenty of goodness to be found across the latest edition, subtitled 'Anagram'. The plentiful highlights include the joyous, boogie-era disco swell of Ami Ozaki's 'Love Is Easy', the quirky, big band-sporting eccentricity of 'Maya Maya Beach' by Yuko Kanai, the slow-motion reggae-pop warmth of Seiko Ito's 'Nagisa No Unlucky Boys' and the low-slung wonder that is Parachute's 'Kowloon Daily'.

Review: The more erudite record digger will know that Japan has long since had a thriving ska, dub and reggae scene. This new entry in the Nippon series from London's Time Capsule label proves that - Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 dives deep into its early days when J-reggae artists were looking to the likes of UB40 and The Police for inspiration rather than the Jamaican originators. And you can hear that here in this fine collection of backbeat gems which are playful, loose and catchy, with subtle hints of city-pop and new-wave sounds. These tracks have only been available in Japan before and are now sure to find a welcome new audience on European shores.