Emulating the easy vibes of California, the music’s sense of escapism is often embodied by the sun-soaked cover art of Hiroshi Nagai, one of city pop’s iconic designers: Sparkling blue water, slick cars, and pastel buildings evoke fantasies of a weekend vacation at sea. The music is often exuberant and glitzy, drawing inspiration from American styles like funk, yacht rock, boogie, and lounge music. City pop emerged as the soundtrack to this cosmopolitan lifestyle. The advent of the Sony Walkman and more sophisticated car stereos allowed them to customize their on-the-go listening suddenly, casual strolls through the city and weekend joy rides assumed a romantic, movie-like sheen. Upwardly-mobile Japanese citizens indulged in luxury clothes, imported wine, and international travel, enjoying unprecedented freedoms. At the time, Japan was the world’s second-largest economy, threatening to overtake the West with its corporate dominance and cutting-edge machines.
The viral success of “Mayonaka no Door / Stay With Me” has brought yet another surge of international interest to city pop, a loosely defined Japanese genre with R&B and jazz influences, dating to the late 1970s and 1980s.
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