Hey guys! I love music just as much as you do. For quite a long time, I've been researching old Ukrainian music that today is no longer performed or even played anywhere.
And I've discovered a real treasure - the Ukrainian singer Nazarii Yaremchuk, who at the time was the lead vocalist of the band Smerichka, recorded an album called Nezrivniannyi Svit Krasy together with the group Muzyka in 1980:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riPmPC8FsKw
To me, the opening track Ozovysia sounds very close to City Pop in terms of genre, as do other songs like Osin Bahriana, Nezrivniannyi Svit Krasy, Koly Zasnuly Syni Hory, and several others.
What do you think about this? Do you also hear City Pop elements here?
P.S. by the way, I collect songs like this (and many more) in my spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5MXOqMMJR8SlBShQc4T1ts?si=3320301397e94d10
City pop is not considered a thing in Japan. Make of that as you will but all it is, is 70s/80s western inspired Japanese indie music and westerners giving it a categorisation/name retroactively (and it’s short which helps). This phenomena likely occurred in most countries in the world so probably yes it’s “70s/80s western inspired Ukrainian indie music”, ig.
Line music categorisation backs me up on this fyi they list
There’s even overlaps across every “pop” label which says by disagreements with using it as a term (Mrs Green Apple a Light Rock band lists under J-Rock, as well as J-Pop, same for Creepy Nuts and J-Hip-Hop + J-Pop, etc etc), but for a music service it’s fine to use, I mean ultimately everything that is popular is “pop”, even if it’s actually rock, or classical.
And what can be said about Pop Kreatif from Indonesia? It's not Japan, but this one is very similar
I mean yh it’s the same, “western inspired 70s/80s Indonesian music” (it seems more mainstream from a glance). Like ppl r calling it “Indonesian city pop” when just maybe city pop itself has a mirrored following in most non-English speaking countries as it’s initially inspired by 70s/80s western specifically US music at the time. Ppl will be discovering “Russian City pop”, “Brazillian City Pop”, “Italian City Pop”, “Indian City Pop” like it’s something new when “western inspired 70s/80s X country music” is a better definition, although “Kreatif” as a name is acceptable and less confusing even if it just means “Creative”.
One of the appeals of the city pop is that it sounds vaguely familiar to people around the world. 70/80s were already a globalised worl and artist from many contries had similar inspirations. Even in Poland, where the music scene was divided between trained singers/self-made rock divas and women with guitar you can listen the same notes you find in city pop hits.
Anna Jantar (look at the imaginery in video!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy4AB4t2gh4&list=RD4Vm5ieTFxMM&index=10
Halina Frąckowiak (I still wonder what her inspiration was)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlkzBab-wjA&list=RDGNQ90Dtx4Zc&index=4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLJi-V-m70g&list=RDGNQ90Dtx4Zc&index=11
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caZUuC9c1Xw&list=PLRm7CMrlXHQ8EM9gUaqH2UGlVdPzCdJif
And Anna Jurksztynowicz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0FhEHQ5zCk&list=RDK0FhEHQ5zCk&start_radio=1
And if you look at acts from 1980s festivals there's a lot of artists
Halina Bedyk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gykWkG95crg&list=RD4Vm5ieTFxMM&index=26
Universe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rw16FeKkjQ&list=RD9rw16FeKkjQ&start_radio=1
Zbigniew Wodecki ()
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olF6eR5dIkk&list=RDolF6eR5dIkk&start_radio=1
Andrzej Zaucha...?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqXDC-aPTrk&list=RDtqXDC-aPTrk&start_radio=1
Cool sample! I'm definitely flipping it into future funk 👀
Sure, try группа Дисплей or Фристайл
https://youtu.be/h7K_FSKiTe0?si=hrYJlk3kbruqs1wa
Russya has always sounded like Ukrainian city pop to me
There’s also Manila sound in the Philippines, similar to city pop.
I got a listen of the album and I love it! for me is a superb jazz funk fussion album more than city pop per se, but you can feel the reference. Very Ramsey Lewis.
Thank you for sharing your playlist! I didn't know something like this existed in Ukrainian, it's amazing
This is definitely something I never would have found in a million years, so I appreciate you sharing it. This is more on-topic for this subreddit than some of the straight idol music that is shared here if you anchor on “City Pop” as a musical genre (versus “Japanese music from the 70s and 80s”). We have Japanese Rock Music so I don’t see why we couldn’t have Ukrainian City Pop.
The Western influences that found their way into Kayokyoku are apparent here. The first song in your Spotify playlist reminds me of late 70s Akira Fuse. Which means I’m eating good.