On the record: Pacific Breeze 2, Japanese City Pop

This year, the famed Japanese crime author, Seishi Yokomizo, has finally been published in the UK in English. The complicated but satisfying plot of The Honjin Murders – one of two novels originally published in the 30s – presents a delicious locked room mystery for fans of detective fiction.

The lead in the novels, Kosuke Kindaichi, is as famous in Japan as Holmes, Marple or Poirot are to European readers. The scruffily dressed detective is an essential Japanese literary character. Kindachai was likely to be as prominent a reference point for the 2020 Olympics as Rashomon, Mount Fuji and elements of Japanese cuisine. Alas, the Olympics have been postponed due to the pandemic.

That being said, long-planned celebrations of Japanese culture to coincide with the thirty-second Olympiad are still happening. The Japan 2020 season at the BFI is one such example; a fantastic series of films with the showcase of J-Horror and the works of Kurosawa and Oju demanding particular attention.

Owing to governments around the world hitting the pause button, we have to enjoy Japan’s past, rather than revel in what should have been an upcoming spectacular blend of the Japanese people, their culture and elite sport.

But as with the BFI series, there is plenty for those keen to dig into the island nation’s cultural heritage to discover. Our musical appetite is satiated by a retrospective of Pacific Breeze 2: Japanese city pop, AOR and boogie between 1972 and 1986, released by Light in the Attic Records. The label has been delving into niche and under-represented music since 2002.

The album is a reminder to look further afield when seeking a cultural fix. The peak of this record is Anri’s Last Summer Whisper a song that, if sung by Diana Ross, would be one of the most famous in the world. It’s a compelling post-break-up song in which Anri agonises over wanting to see someone one last time, featuring the line “At the very least I want to try not to hate you.” The opening song on the album Pink Shadow would be a guaranteed hit in the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks.

It is a very “cool” album. Louche West London twenty-somethings will delight in playing the album at a barbecue while ignoring government social distancing mandates. Vibration is the type of song that invites you to play it as a subtle flex in the background of a seven-person-on-a-small-balcony-barbecue. It is guaranteed to make guests ask about the unique sound.

Kindaichi himself makes two appearances on the record. The better of the two is Kindaichi Kosuke No Theme by The Mystery Kindaichi Band (starting to see how popular the character is?). It features horns and towards the end of the track, Motown-esque strings swell. It’s a perfect accompaniment to reading about Japan’s famous sleuth.

It’s easy to underestimate the work done in compiling a compilation like this. Pacific Breeze isn’t merely a neatly packaged Spotify playlist. Many of the tracks aren’t available to stream digitally. Extensive remastering work means the tracks sound excellent. On YouTube you will only find poorly uploaded bootlegs, they aren’t a patch on the presentation of these tracks.

Light in the Attic has done a stellar job of pulling together a broad, exciting and listenable collection of Japanese music from the 70s and 80s. It’s a reminder to those of us who will happily spend much of our time taking our music cues from America that great music exists outside the West.

Track Pick: Last Summer Whisper – Anri 
Spotify / Apple Music

Buy the album at Light in the Attic.