East meets west with Shibuya-kei taking center stage in the mod world this week. Shibuya-kei was a 1990s music movement that wasn't as much about Tokyo's ultra-trendy and fashionable Shibuya district as it was about a rather lucky gathering of Japanese musicians who mixed bossa nova, soul, funk, jazz, techno and synthpop into a retro-futurist sound that was both redundant yet fresh. Shibuya-kei's most prominent artists -- Flipper's Guitar, Pizzicato 5, Love Tamborines, Kahimi Karie, Fantastic Plastic Machine, Cornelius and others -- mixed together everything from sixties pop and motown, to acid jazz, krautrock, French ye-ye and twee. The result was something like if Sergio Mendes and Burt Bacharach had a Japanese love child.
So this week I'm exploring the soul and style of Shibuya-kei and also exploring a few of the scenes influences, as well as some of it's offspring and distant cousins.
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Karen Aoki --- The Paris Match (2010)
Love Tambourines -- Spend The Day Without You
Towa Tei Feat. Bebel Gilberto -- Batacuda (2001)
Pizzicato 5 -- Baby Portable Rock (1995)
Crazy Ken Band -- Bibimop
Fantastic Plastic Machine -- Bachelor Pad (1997)
The Flipper's Guitar -- Young, Alive, In Love (1990)
Cloudberry Jam -- Cliches (1996)
The Style Council -- Long Hot Summer (1983)
Swing Out Sister -- Am I The Same Girl (1993)
Kahmi Karie -- Candyman (1998)
Melting Holidays -- Timebird
Instant Cytron -- Summer Wine
Karen Aoki -- Smooth Operator (2009)
Ty Ku Suave Tini
2 parts Ty Ku Liqueur
1 part citrus vodka
1 part aloe juice
1 part soda water
Mix all ingredients together in shaker with ice, strain into pre-chilled cockail glass
Kahimi Karie - Elastic Girl
Fantastic Plastic Machine feat. Ms. Nomiya Maki - Dear Mr. Salesman
Cornelius - Chapter 8 ~Seashore and Horizon~
Flipper's Guitar - Blue Shinin' Quick Star
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