Shibuya-kei
Shibuya-kei (渋谷系?) is a sub-genre of Japanese pop music which originated in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. It is best described as a mix between jazz, pop, and electropop. The word for Shibuya (渋谷?) is combined with the Japanese word kei (系?) which means "system", to form Shibuya-kei, which in English translates to "Shibuya system".
Initially, the term was applied to Flipper's Guitar, and Pizzicato Five, bands strongly influenced by French yé-yé Music and its most notable proponent, Serge Gainsbourg. Other influences include lounge, and bossa nova. As the style's popularity increased at end of the 90s, the term began to be applied to many bands, such as Puffy, whose musical stylings began to reflect a more mainstream sensibility.
Some artists rejected or resisted being categorized as "Shibuya-kei," but the name ultimately stuck. The style was favoured by local businesses, including Shibuya Center Street's HMV Shibuya, which sold Shibuya-kei records in its traditional Japanese music section.
Increasingly, musicians outside of Japan, such as Britain's Momus, France's Dimitri from Paris, and the US artists Natural Calamity and Phofo are labelled Shibuya-kei. Many consider this a sign of the genre's acceptance far beyond its original anime and dance music audience.
Notable artists
- ACO
- Buffalo Daughter
- capsule
- Cibo Matto
- Chocolat
- Coba
- Cornelius
- Cubismo Grafico
- Denki Groove
- Drunken Doors
- Eel
- Fantastic Plastic Machine
- Flipper's Guitar
- Havana Exotica
- Hazel Nuts Chocolate
- hi-posi
- Hideki Kaji
- Kahimi Karie
- Karia Nomoto
- Neil & Iraiza
- LOSFELD
- Mansfield
- Miniflex
- Kenji Ozawa
- Phofo
- Pizzicato Five
- Plus-Tech Squeeze Box
- Qypthone
- Scha Dara Parr
- Sonic Coaster Pop
- Takako Minekawa
- Tatsuya Oe (Captain Funk)
- Towa Tei
- YMCK
- Yoshinori Sunahara
- Yukari Fresh
- The Zoobombs
- For more artists, see Shibuya-kei musicians
External links
- Keikaku - Independent and little known Japanese Artist profiles, reviews, interviews and articles in English.
- allmusic Guide to Shibuya-kei
- ShibuyaLink
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