Smooth ’70s grooves and convertibles: Inside the ‘city pop’ revival

SPOTLIGHT / Made in Japan

Mariya Takeuchi’s 1984 city pop anthem, Plastic Love, has been revived.

A new podcast, Primer, investigates music from outside the English-speaking world and has devoted its inaugural season to city pop. Like many music genres, it’s not easy to define. It emerged in Japan in the mid-’70s, with musicians rejecting traditional Japanese music to embrace the smooth sounds of Western funk, disco, jazz fusion, yacht rock and soft rock. Just as importantly, city pop albums were accompanied by album artwork and videos depicting a certain vibe: youth, glamour, sleek urban landscapes with swaying palm trees and cruising convertibles.

The genre fell out of favour in the ’80s, but then something strange happened. In the 2010s – mainly thanks to crate-diggers, anime soundtracks and YouTube algorithms – city pop enjoyed a second wave of popularity much bigger than the first. Anthems, such as Mariya Takeuchi’s Plastic Love and Miki Matsubara’s Stay with Me, were rediscovered and revered. And now the genre is having a major influence on modern music, with current R&B kings The Weeknd – he’s touring Australia now – sampling Tomoko Aran in Out of Time (2022) and Chris Brown sampling Hi-Fi Set in last year’s Moonlight.

In Primer’s first episode, its hosts talk to Australian former Triple J DJ Linda Marigliano, who became a fan when she played city pop videos with the sound down at work. “There were all these sensual, glamorous, city-life visuals,” she says. “Then I started listening to the music and it was the ultimate mix between making you feel romantic and charmed and upbeat and happy … It makes me feel like I’m one of those glamorous Japanese women with blow-dried hair and perfect make-up, sitting in the lobby of a hotel.” Barry Divola

READ / SUDDENLY, ONE NIGHT

My Brother Jaz details the death of Gideon Haigh’s 17-year-old brother in 1987, and the now 58-year-old Haigh’s grief.

Gideon Haigh has long had what he calls an “unreasonable aversion” to autobiographical writings. “The sentimental gush of life tales. The sickly sweetness of memoir. The humblebraggart columnists who festoon newspapers. Autofiction – kill me now.” If that summary of what he doesn’t like is as compelling to you as it was to me, then My Brother Jaz (Melbourne University Publishing; $25) will be right up your alley. Short enough to read on a plane trip between Melbourne and Sydney and written, essentially, in a 72-hour burst, it details the death of his 17-year-old brother, Jasper, in a car accident in 1987, and the long-tail ramifications on the now 58-year-old Haigh. Spare and precise and all the more devastating for it, the book includes this reflection on whether writing it has helped: “I’m honestly not sure what I’ve achieved; it’s too early to tell.” In an era of “closure”, that summation couldn’t feel more achingly apt. Katrina Strickland

WEAR / BRIEF ENCOUNTER

The Bonds and Double Rainbouu collab is almost good enough to wear with nothing else.

It’s the latest Australian designer collaboration that most people won’t get to see. Bonds has decided to give your wardrobe an update by commissioning Double Rainbouu designer Mikey Nolan to create a 15-piece summer capsule collection – including undies – that makes bold use of his exuberant, surf-meets-streetwear prints. We love these floral boxer shorts designed to peek out above waistbands to display the vintage Bonds logo ($40). Some underwear is also chlorine-resistant for impromptu skinny-dipping. Damien Woolnough

SHOP / THE WALLS CAN TALK

Turn any night into a movie night with this portable projector.

The tent’s finally up, the stars are out and the campfire’s crackling away. What’s missing? It might just be the Halo+, a portable projector that turns any situation into an impromptu movie night ($1499). The silver box is light, has a battery life of more than two hours (or you can plug it in) and boasts 700 lumens of brightness, which is basically as bright as you could possibly need. The best part? The projector automatically adjusts its picture size to match whatever surface you’re projecting onto, to account for obstacles that might spoil the view. Compatible with the Google Play Store for Android TV. David Swan

SUPPORT / PRECIOUS METTLE

Funds raised from sales of this Georg Jensen x Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation “Forget-Me-Knot” pendant will go towards ovarian cancer research.

The Georg Jensen x Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation partnership celebrates its 10th year with the release of a special “Forget-Me-Knot” pendant to raise awareness and funds for ovarian cancer research (sterling silver, $295 with $50 donated; 18K gold, $1350 with $200 donated). Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynaecological cancer, with five new cases diagnosed daily in Australia. Despite its confrontingly low survival rate, this cancer receives less than 0.7 per cent of the federal government’s medical research funding. Over the past decade, Georg Jensen has raised more than $500,000 for research and helping to improve detection, treatment and prevention.
Frances Mocnik

EAT & DRINK / AW, SHUCKS!

Oyster Wine Flight matches four wines to four oysters, each uniquely garnished.

Oysters and bubbles have always been natural bedfellows, but now Australian winemaker Handpicked Wines has crafted a series of pairings to challenge that classic combo. Its Oyster Wine Flight matches four wines – a 2021 Highbow Hill Chardonnay from the Yarra Valley, for instance – to four bivalves, each uniquely garnished (in this case, tabasco, finger lime caviar and basil). Meanwhile, cucumber, lychee and white balsamic help get the party started with a 2023 Regional Selections Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough. At urban cellar doors from now until New Year ($80 per person, with $3 oyster specials every Saturday in Melbourne and Sunday in Sydney). Frances Mocnik

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