v/a "Pacific Breeze: Japanese City Pop, AOR & Boogie 1976-1986" [Black Vinyl]

Pacific Breeze documents Japan's blast into the stratosphere. By the 1960s, the nation had achieved a postwar miracle, soaring to become the world's second largest economy. Thriving tech exports sent The Rising Sun over the moon. It's pocket cassette players, bleeping video games, and gleaming cars boomed worldwide, wooing pleasure points and pumping Japanese pockets full of yen.Japan's financial buoyancy also permeated it's popular culture, birthing an audio analog called City Pop. This new sound arose in the mid '70s and ruled through the '80s, channeling the country's contemporary psyche. It was sophisticated music mirroring Japan's punch-drunk prosperity. City Pop epitomized the era, providing a soundtrack for emerging urbanites. An optimistic spirit buzzed through the music in neon-bathed, gauzy tableaus coated with groove-heavy strokes.