Tatsuro Yamashita — Merry-Go-Round
from Melodies (1983)
Epic bass groove on this smooth Japanese disco/easy listening track from one of my all-time favorites, Tatsuro Yamashita (of Sugar Babe).
Exactly what you’d want to be listening to as you pop open a bottle, your chauffeur whisking you away to your beachside cottage.
Haruko Kuwana — Downtown
from Moonlight Island (1982)
More Japanese disco bliss. Here Haruko Kuwana covers the 1975 classic ‘Downtown’ by Tatsuro Yamashita’s short-lived pop group Sugar Babe. But she sings it in 英語 kids: Downtown Saturday Night…
I would love to track down this album.. hit me up if you have it! (Mas disco…)
Tatsuro Yamashita — Daydream
from Ride on Time (1980)
One of my absolute favorite things is Japanese disco. So smooth, so sugary…like Fun Dip in musical form. Makes you wanna scream. Tatsuro Yamashita is one of my musical heroes, as he also founded the classic Japanese group Sugar Babe about seven years before this. Pop genius.
Sugar Babe — Down Town
from Songs (1975)
The next yer darling mix is in the works—it features lots of danceable Japanese finds, particularly disco-era numbers, along with some Italo disco (including a track by a parliamentary porn star) and loads of other tracks primarily from 1979-1985.
Stay tuned for that… in the meantime, here’s a taste. Truly great Japanese disco pop, with one of the catchiest choruses ever, from Tatsuro Yamashita’s short-lived group Sugar Babe. A well-loved track in Japan (the reissue record even features a karaoke version!)
