"WHAT'S IN YOUR CART?" is an interview series where we invite record-loving guests to choose '5 Records They Want Right Now' from the ELLA ONLINE STORE lineup.
This time, we’re featuring Cunimondo Takiguchi, a key figure in the Wamono/City Pop revival movement. For over 20 years, he has led the scene not only with his main project "RYUSENKEI," but also as a producer and DJ. The unit, which recently welcomed singer-songwriter Sincere as an official member, changed its name from “流線形” to “RYUSENKEI” and released a new album this year titled Illusion. The album has garnered significant attention, as it was released by the newly revitalized ALFA MUSIC, celebrating its 55th anniversary.
Takiguchi-san has selected five records from the ELLA RECORDS VINTAGE collection—not as his “current top 5,” but as the “five records he regrets selling.” These are records he’s seriously considering buying back, showcasing a diverse range of genres, including jazz and African music. This selection goes beyond his public image as the “Wamono specialist,” revealing a broader musical taste.
This time, the conversation flowed so well that we couldn't fit everything into the main interview. As a bonus track, we've included the extra content, where Takiguchi-san shares his diverse musical journey from childhood, insights into RYUSENKEI's latest work, and his thoughts on the recent city pop boom. The content is so rich and engaging that it was too good to cut, so while it's a bit longer, we hope you'll enjoy it to the end. Not only will you get to see a different side of Takiguchi-san, but you'll also gain a deeper understanding of how a wide-ranging love and knowledge of music are essential to creating great pop music. This interview truly highlights the "history behind the person."
Interview & text: Mikiya Tanaka (ELLA RECORDS)
Photo: KenKen Ogura (ELLA RECORDS)
Furniture design & production, Interior coordination: "In a Station"
Special thanks to: Satoshi Atsuta
Cunimondo Takiguchi’s “Top 5 Records I Want Right Now”
①Jorge Dalto/Chevere（1976）US original
I had a friend who was really into fusion back in the day. Around that time, there was the Japanese release album called Rendez-Vous (1983) by Jorge Dalto, with cover art by Eizin Suzuki, that was super popular. Because of that, I knew Jorge’s name and also learned from my friend that he played keys on George Benson's Breezin’ (1976). So, he was someone I was kind of curious about. Then, when I was in my twenties, I happened to spot the album cover at Hi-Fi Records in Shibuya, if I remember correctly. The store clerk recommended it, saying, “That’s a good one,” so I gave it a listen and was blown away by how great it was. I got really into it for a while and played it nonstop. The LP-sized jacket is also really impressive—the collage work is amazing and quite charming.
But when I got married and moved in my 30s, I had to downsize, so I ended up selling off a bunch of LPs, including this record. I thought I probably wouldn’t listen to it anymore. What brought me back to it was when I discovered Roman Andren from Sweden. When I heard his music, I thought, “This has a similar vibe to something,” and then it hit me—Jorge Dalto's album! I remembered how good it was and decided to give it another listen, and sure enough, it was just as great as I remembered.
②Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalo/Okinawa（1976）JPN original
Akira Ishikawa has become really popular lately, hasn’t he? The first time I saw his name in the credits was on Space Battleship Yamato. I’m part of the Yamato generation and was a huge fan, plus I loved anything arranged by Hiroshi Miyagawa, so I used to listen to the soundtrack. Akira Ishikawa was credited as the drummer on that. Of course, as a kid in elementary school, I didn’t really pay much attention to musician credits. But then in my twenties, I came across a single he sang called “土曜の夜に何が起ったか (What Happened on Saturday Night)” (1970), released by ALFA. I thought, “I’ve heard this name somewhere before,” and as I dug deeper, I discovered Count Buffalo. When I looked back at the credits on my Yamato records, I was surprised to see that the members of Count Buffalo were the ones playing. I have fond memories of Akira Ishikawa because of that.
This album is a disco record featuring backing vocals by Kayoko Ishu and Time Five. While the arrangements are done by Koichi Sugiyama, it has a vibe that’s remarkably similar to Space Battleship Yamato. I bought it in my twenties, and I was really into the first track, “Sasquatch.” Back then, it wasn’t expensive at all. Around that time, a lot of easy listening albums were being made, often as library music or city-themed image albums. I remember finding this album in a section like that at a store. Among Akira Ishikawa’s works, this one leaned more towards elevator music than jazz-funk, so I think I ended up selling it within two or three years of buying it. However, recently I’ve developed a love for tropical places, and I often find myself traveling to Okinawa or Ishigaki Island. When I’m there, I sometimes recall that Akira Ishikawa released an album called Okinawa. Nowadays, I really appreciate tracks like “Okinawa Blues” (B1) and “Sunset Okinawa” (B4), which blend a bit of Okinawan scales with disco beats.
③Trevor Walters/Walters Gold With Love（1985）UK original
This is a UK lovers rock album that I bought relatively recently. When I started producing for Natsu Summer, I realized I needed to dive deeper into lovers rock, so I listened to a lot and eventually found this one. That was about eight years ago. The track "Love Won’t Let Me Wait," a duet with Carroll Thompson on side A, was actually the inspiration for the song "Yoru wa Kirai" on Natsu Summer & Dub Sensation. This song is a cover of a track by soul singer Major Harris. The original version is a bit too heavy, but this reggae-style rendition has a lighter, more refreshing feel to it. The album is filled with other great tracks too, making it an enjoyable listen even just for casual listening. I let it go during a recent decluttering phase, but it’s become harder to find these days.
④Kenny Barron/Lucifer（1975）US original
In the 90s, I worked as a jazz buyer at Tower Records. At that time, the label Muse, which released this album, wasn’t very prominent compared to major names like Blue Note or Milestone; it had a bit of a low-key image. However, whenever I went to record stores, I noticed that there were quite a few Muse records, and many works that hadn't been released on CD yet, so I was intrigued. Back then, I had just started listening to labels like Strata-East, Black Jazz, and Tribe. This album had a cover that was appealing in a way similar to those labels. When I gave it a listen, it was so good that I ended up buying it. At that time, I didn’t associate Kenny Barron with the 70s much; he seemed more like a traditional figure active in trios from the late 80s to the 90s. I didn’t expect him to be involved in soul or jazz-funk music, so it was a surprising side of him for me.
I think I sold this one during a move in my 30s. I sold it for less than 1,000 yen, which seems really cheap now, but back then I bought it for around 200-300 yen (laughs). That’s how things were 30 years ago.
⑤Ebo Taylor/Twer Nyame（1978）’12 FRA reissue
In my 20s, jazz was trending through the rare groove movement, and I was heavily into music from African musicians like Ebo Taylor and Fela Kuti in their London era at the time. I was also listening to West African highlife from bands like The Stargazers and The Broadway Dance Band, which made me appreciate Ebo Taylor even more. Back then, there was a resurgence of Fela Kuti’s CDs, and African music was gaining popularity, with some African records making their way to Japan. This album was only available as a Ghanaian release at the time, so I had the original Ghanaian pressing. It was quite pricey even back then, but among the Ebo Taylor albums I listened to, this one stood out for its quality, so I bought it. However, I didn’t listen to it very frequently, so I ended up selling it fairly quickly. It seems that African music wasn’t in vogue at that time, so it was bought for a surprisingly low price (laughs). It’s a shame that the reissue has such poor jacket printing.
The reason I wanted it again is that Donna Leake, a DJ from the UK, played it last year or the year before. I heard it and thought, "I know this... oh, it's that Ebo Taylor album." That sparked a bit of an Afro music resurgence for me.
Interview: Cunimondo Takiguchi and Records
━━Tell us about how you first encountered records.
CT: I'm 55 years old, so I’m from the record generation. When I was young, TV anime was very popular, and buying the theme songs on vinyl was how I first started collecting records.
My father was quite a hobbyist. He was an audio enthusiast, loved cars, and made coffee with a siphon. But we lived in a rented house (laughs). He had a Fairlady Z 432 and an Isuzu Bellett. During the supercar boom, friends would come over after school to check out the cars and would be amazed, saying things like, "Wow, the speedometer goes up to 240 km/h!" (laughs).
He had a wooden four-channel stereo system, though I’ve forgotten the brand. Not only that, but he also had an open-reel deck and an 8-track player. When I was in elementary school, I used to cut and splice reel-to-reel tapes and play around with editing (laughs). I still love messing around with wiring behind machines, and I think it’s because I grew up in such an environment.
━━Did your father have a large collection of records as well?
CT: He had quite a few records as well. People from my parents' generation often liked easy listening and lounge music, like Paul Mauriat and Percy Faith. He had records in that style, as well as mood music featuring Japanese jazz musicians like Akira Ishikawa, who we talked about earlier. There were also some with "cheesecake" covers (laughs). Among those, there were a few hit titles from kayōkyoku artists like GARO and Akiko Kosaka. That’s what sparked my own interest in collecting records.
━━Do you remember what kind of records you first bought?
CT: The first record I ever bought with my pocket money when I was in kindergarten was a single by the Izumi Taku Singers called "Kaerazaru Hi no Tame ni" (1974). It was the theme song for the drama "Warera Seishun!" starring Masatoshi Nakamura. I watched the drama with my parents, and even as a kindergartner, I was really moved by the youthful musical vibe (laughs).
One LP that stands out for me is the "Symphonic Suite Space Battleship Yamato" (1977), which we talked about earlier. When I was in early elementary school, I was really into Yamato and moved by the music, so I absolutely had to have that LP.
━━How often do you visit record shops nowadays?
CT: Recently, I often check online, but having records simply delivered to me feels a bit impersonal. I still enjoy searching for records surrounded by physical stock, so I think it’s important to visit stores occasionally. I’ve been using in-store pickup services for online orders, and I frequently visit Disk Union in Shimokitazawa. When I go to pick up records, I also browse for others and sometimes come across great finds or new reissues that I end up buying.
━━How many records do you currently own?
CT: Right now, my collection is overwhelmingly centered around 7-inch records. I have about ten of Disk Union's 7-inch storage boxes, so roughly 1,500 records. It's a carefully curated selection. For LPs, I keep only the ones I truly love, like Marlena Shaw's Who Is This Bitch, Anyway?, which is something I regularly want to listen to. I also have some records stored at a friend’s café, but even including those, I think it’s around 150 LPs.
As I mentioned earlier, I got rid of a large part of my record collection in my 30s. So, when RYUSENKEI first took off and I started getting invited to DJ in different places, I was playing with CDs. But everywhere I went, people would say, "Takiguchi-san, you don't play on vinyl?" (laughs). Everyone wanted me to play on vinyl. I had to repurchase records, but I realized that if I kept branching out into different genres, it would never end. So I decided to focus only on Japanese "Wamono" records. Plus, LPs take up a lot of space, so I decided to stick to 7-inch records for Wamono. Now, my collection consists mainly of 7-inch records.
━━How do you manage your 7-inch record collection?
CT: For Wamono records, I organize them into different groups like first-string, second-string, and third-string boxes. I don’t like playing the same tracks at every DJ set, so this system helps me choose more easily. I also separate recent titles from the rest. For Western music, I categorize them more broadly into soul, jazz, and world music.
━━When you were actively buying LPs, did you have a preference for original pressings?
CT: About 30 years ago, the genres I was into, like soft rock or spiritual jazz, hadn't seen much reissue activity yet. So, I often ended up with original pressings simply because that was what was available. I also bought Japanese records, but back then, there weren’t reissues like today, so almost all the records were originals. Of course, for jazz, there were some varied releases like BLUE NOTE and OJC reissues, but I wasn’t specifically seeking out expensive originals. Instead, I focused on finding records in good condition.
━━Is there a particular genre you are currently searching for or really into right now?
CT: As I touched on with Ebo Taylor, there’s been a bit of a resurgence in Afro music lately, and I’ve been picking up 7-inch records. I’m also enjoying amapiano from artists like Tyla, but I listen to that more from a pop perspective. What I’m really seeking in African music now are the darker, more intense sounds like Afrobeat and funky highlife. Additionally, there are always specific Japanese 7-inch records I’m looking for.
━━What's at the top of your record want list?
CT: I’ve managed to buy some of the top items on my list, like the UK-only 7-inch single of Richie Rome’s “Deep” and the 7-inch of Azymuth’s “Dear Limmertz.” I was able to get them quite affordably on eBay before the yen weakened.
I’ve always wanted the LP of Naomi Chiaki’s Amagumo, but by the time I decided I wanted it, it was already out of reach in terms of price.
Apart from that, I’m always on the lookout for Wamono 7-inch records. It’s more of a “if I find it, I’d like to get it” situation, but I’ve been searching for these for a long time.。
-The promo-only 7" of EPO with “Ame no Kennel Dori” on the B-side.
-The promo-only 7" of Yoichi Takizawa’s “Saishu Bus”
-The promo-only 7" of Hiromi Ohta’s “Suisha”
This single by Hiromi Ohta has a fantastic track on the B-side called “Shiroi Anata.” I’d love to have it on 7-inch, but since it’s a promo-only release, it’s quite expensive.
I have a strong attachment to 7-inch records. Maybe part of it is the sense of superiority from thinking, “Wow, this is on 7-inch!” I also find the style of playing exclusively with 7-inch records quite cool. I think my appreciation for this started with seeing Hiroshi Nagai’s DJ sets. He only plays 7-inch records, and having known him for just over ten years, his dedication has definitely influenced me.
━━What makes a "good record shop" for you?
CT: It applies not just to record stores but in general, I’d say it’s about having a “comfortable environment.” Somewhere you can spend a bit of time and chat with the staff.
This is from my personal experience. When I was in high school, I used to visit a record store in Ikebukuro quite frequently. I can’t remember the name of the store, but it was located on about the third floor of a building, and there was a guy with dreadlocks who would quietly clean records. I was really nervous at first, but the records there looked so appealing. When I asked the store staff about the music playing, they kindly told me about it. After that, I started going there regularly. The atmosphere of the staff and the feeling that there were great records around made it a very pleasant place for me.
Major stores like Disk Union are easy to enter, but generally, record stores can be quite intimidating at first (laughs). I think that moment when initial nervousness turns into a sense of comfort often comes from the atmosphere created by the staff and the store itself.
I really wish more young people would listen to records. However, young people often don’t have much money, and records are quite expensive these days. So, if they decide to spend, say, 10,000 yen from their paycheck on records, it’s important what kind of records they start with. In that sense, it would be great if there were more comfortable stores where knowledgeable staff can help young people enjoy buying records.
Bonus Track: How Cunimondo Takiguchi became the “Wamono specialist”
From here on, we present the interview portion that couldn’t fit into the main feature as a bonus track. Dive into Takiguchi’s rich musical journey, which feels like experiencing the eras firsthand, and his thoughts as a proponent of city pop. There are surely parts that resonate with music fans and insights that will be valuable.
━━Please tell us about your awakening to music in earnest and your encounter with what is known as "city pop" today
CT: When I was in the early grades of elementary school, the era was dominated by folk music, so I started listening to artists like Chiharu Matsuyama, Masashi Sada, and Miyuki Nakajima, influenced by older neighbors. From there, I gradually moved on to Off Course and similar music. By the time I was in middle to high school, YMO was playing on TV, Tatsuro Yamashita’s "Let's Kiss The Sun" (1979) was featured in a JAL Okinawa commercial, and artists like Minako Yoshida, Taeko Onuki, and RAJIE were making appearances. So, I became familiar with those names. However, for me, folk and what was then called New Music still resonated more with my sensibilities.
━━When did city pop start resonating with your sensibilities?
CT: It was after I entered junior high school. When I started junior high, I encountered friends who were incredibly knowledgeable about music. I had been watching "Best Hit USA" and gradually getting into Western music toward the end of elementary school, so I thought I knew a fair bit about music. But in junior high, there were a lot of people who knew music I had never heard of (laughs). So, I started hanging out at one of the houses of friends who were into Tatsuro Yamashita and Eiichi Ohtaki. Moreover, that friend's older brothers was a university student who had a massive collection of fusion and AOR records. He also had an impressive audio setup. My friend played me a lot of his brother’s record collection, including artists like Neil Larsen and Rupert Holmes. So, after school, I’d go to my friend's house and spend late nights immersed in music. However, I was sneaking around when his brother wasn’t home, so my friend later got in trouble with his brother and was beaten up (laughs). That friend is now a professional bassist.
━━Listening to Niagara, fusion, and AOR as a middle schooler sounds like you were being perfectly cultivated to eventually form RYUSENKEI (laughs).
CT: Well, when I got to high school, another friend invited me to start a cover band, playing punk like The Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Damned, as well as new wave bands like Joy Division, The Cure, and Thompson Twins (laughs). I had been playing electric guitar since middle school, but I thought that playing that kind of music with friends seemed cooler than fusion. Plus, fusion was too difficult to play anyway (laughs). At the time, synthesizers and keyboards were all the rage because of YMO’s influence, so I wanted to be in a band that had a keyboard player, which is how I ended up going in that direction.
Around that time, The Style Council emerged, and I became interested in Tracey Thorn, who sang on their album Café Bleu (1984). This led me to start paying attention to the British music scene as well. Around that time, I also listened to Curtis Mayfield on a radio show where Paul Weller was selecting the tracks, which got me into listening to new soul.
━━You were quite a sophisticated high school student! Were you only listening to Western music at that time?
CT: No, not at all. As a listener, I continued to enjoy what we now call city pop, and I was a big fan of Tatsuro Yamashita, following his work closely even back then. Then, in my late teens, the next major influence on me was PIZZICATO FIVE. I was introduced to them by a stylish girl I met around that time. I started with their slightly New Wave-inspired work from the NON-STANDARD era (the label founded by Haruomi Hosono under Teichiku Records) and later got hooked on their first album, couples (1987). From there, I started reading the liner notes written by Yasuharu Konishi obsessively, which led me to discover soft rock. By the way, I have great respect for Konishi-san as a lyricist too. I think there are very few people who can write lyrics that feel like a movie the way he does.
To go back to the story, that girl also introduced me to early Original Love and various other music, and we really hit it off, so we ended up playing in a band together. Around that time, Lollipop Sonic (the predecessor band to Flipper's Guitar) emerged, and a girl from a vintage clothing shop in Shimokitazawa who I was close with just so happened to be friends with them. She invited me, saying, "My friends' band is about to debut, so let's go see their live show." That made us want to start a band like Lollipop Sonic, so we started playing soft rock and neo-acoustic music on the streets of Shimokitazawa. We never really made it big, though (laughs).
━━I’d love to hear your neo-acoustic music, Takiguchi-san (laughs). You really had a musically rich teenage years!
CT: I was fortunate to be surrounded by great people. When I hit my twenties, I started working at Tower Records in Ikebukuro. At that time, there was a record store called On Stage Yamano inside Ikebukuro Parco, and their selection was incredible. You could find the US original sealed copy of Roger Nichols & The Small Circle of Friends, or Frank Cunimondo Trio’s Introducing Lynn Marino also sealed. They even had albums like Salt Water Taffy’s Finders Keepers or The Carnival, and they weren’t just selling one or two copies, but stacks of them—10 at a time. Since it wasn’t a second-hand shop but a store for new records, everything was basically sealed. It sounds like a dream now, but that place was overflowing with soft rock and sophisticated music, both on vinyl and CD, that I didn’t know about. I frequented that shop a lot. The store manager, Mr. Saito, was there, and even Taiji Sato from THEATRE BROOK worked there, so I often asked, “What’s this one like?” I bought a lot of records from there, and they were sold at prices you wouldn’t believe today.
━━At that time, soft rock wasn’t really appreciated in its home country, so they were probably able to bulk purchase deadstock. It truly sounds like a dream. By the way, how did you end up becoming the jazz buyer at Tower Records?
CT: At that time, influenced by DJs like Norman Jay and Gilles Peterson, acid jazz and rare groove were popular among my generation. So, while I was also listening to soft rock, I was into those genres as well. During the Tower Records interview, when asked about my favorite music, I mentioned, “I’m into jazz right now.” They responded with, “Alright then, you’ll be our jazz assistant” (laughs). I started as an assistant, and since I was passionate about music, I naturally delved deeper into the world of jazz. Initially, I listened to classics like Bill Evans and John Coltrane’s well-known albums, but by the time I was promoted to buyer, my tastes shifted towards labels like impulse!. Instead of Coltrane’s “Giant Steps,” it became more about “A Love Supreme.” As I got into Archie Shepp and Pharoah Sanders, I discovered a more profound world and started exploring labels like Strata-East, Black Jazz, and Tribe. Around that time, there was a reissue campaign of ESP abroad, and when I brought those records into the store and listened to them, I found them to be challenging but really cool. At the same time, there was a sense of feeling cool for listening to such music (laughs). From there, I got really into free jazz and Sun Ra. That was my twenties.
━━Were you still actively involved in your own music projects during that time?
CT: I was still doing occasional live shows with friends and working on home recordings. I continued making music from high school onwards, and at that time, I bought an AKAI MPC2000 sampler (released in 1997) and started creating music through sampling. I also worked on drum and bass tracks using the sampler. I approached music creation with a listener's sensibility, so the sampler was a great tool for that. The more music you know, the more interesting things you can create.
━━Did you also look for music from a sampling perspective?
CT: Yes, exactly. At that time, there was a DJ instructional video with two records called HOW TO DJ (1989) supervised by Yann Tomita as well as the sampling sources on Seiko Ito's album MESS/AGE (1989), featured spiritual jazz by artists like Pharoah Sanders and Carlos Garnett. I was strongly influenced by such sources and started digging into old music. Later, with the emergence of Free Soul and similar compilations, I discovered even more unknown old music.
During my twenties and thirties, I focused more on old music, so I wasn't really into the music that was trending at the time. I consider that a bit of a weakness on my part. For instance, while I did listen to Manchester bands like Happy Mondays and Primal Scream, as well as Britpop like Oasis, I didn't get deeply involved. The same goes for hip-hop; I listened to early groups like Jungle Brothers and Afrika Bambaataa, and also A Tribe Called Quest, but I was more interested in the sampling sources rather than the broader hip-hop scene.
━━Let's move on to talking about RYUSENKEI. Given that you reached deep into worlds like spiritual jazz as a listener, what made you decide to pursue pop music like RYUSENKEI as a musician?
CT: So, it was a matter of changing my environment and setting limitations for myself. I had been DJing with records since my 20s and had even formed a DJ unit with two Europeans living in Japan, one British and one French. We were influenced by Giles Peterson and played jazz funk, soul jazz, and spiritual jazz together. However, over time, I started to drift apart from them.
On the other hand, at that time, the J-POP section at Tower Records was playing KIRINJI, who were still indie at that point. It was the CD with the giraffe-patterned jacket released by NATURAL FOUNDATION (the 1997 ep KIRINJI). I actually received a cassette tape of that album back then and thought it was really good.
Around that time, I started getting invited to friends' events again. I had this sense that if I were going to DJ, it wouldn't be with jazz. I thought that indie J-POP, which wasn’t as widely listened to, might be a good choice. So I began playing CDs of artists like KIRINJI, advantage Lucy, and Atsuko Hiyajo’s "Mebius." At that time, old works by Taeko Onuki and Haruko Kuwana were also being reissued on CD, so I mixed those in as well. My DJ style received positive feedback, and soon people began requesting Japanese music from me. So, I decided to commit fully to a "Japanese-only" approach. As a result, from the late 90s onward, I stuck to playing only Japanese music at DJ events. Of course, as a listener, I continued to enjoy a wide range of jazz and other genres.
━━I see. So you imposed the "Wamono specialist" label on yourself.
CT: That’s right. By setting these self-imposed limits, I feel a sense of pride in being recognized as a go-to person for city pop amidst the current wave of Wamono interest. It feels like the efforts I’ve put in are finally bearing fruit.
And then, as a continuation of this trend, I formed RYUSENKEI in 2003. Thanks to a friend who was running a label, we were able to release City Music (2003). Following that, Maruyama-kun from Disques Dessinés suggested that we should also make records. I told him it might not be worth it because it might not sell (laughs), but he insisted, promising that we would definitely sell 1,000 copies and went ahead with the pressing. It turned out that DMR placed a huge order for it. This led to recommendations from people like Tatsuo Sunaga and Naruyoshi Kikuchi, and we received praise within the DJ community. Sunaga-san even included a track from it on his mix tape World Standard.
━━Were there other bands doing city pop like RYUSENKEI at the time of your debut?
CT: In 2003, there were other bands like Paris Match and PLATINUM 900 from the late '90s, among others, but they might have had a slightly different approach compared to RYUSENKEI. At that time, many bands were influenced by acid jazz, but RYUSENKEI aimed for something more refined and crossover, like Japanese fusion or pop and soul reminiscent of Tatsuro Yamashita's IT’S A POPPIN’ TIME. We consciously differentiated ourselves by focusing on elements like using a more soft, not bouncy, drum sound.
Regarding City Music, we openly talked about the influences behind it. For example, we mentioned that the guitar solo in "Koi no Cider" was inspired by The Isley Brothers, and that the album title was taken from Jorge Calderón's City Music. I think these details resonated with music lovers and DJs, which contributed to our positive reception.
━━Regarding the use of references, I personally believe that one of the key points of works by Cunimondo Takiguchi, including RYUSENKEI, is your exquisite sense of homage and citation that makes music fans smile when they recognize them. This seems to resonate with the style of Yasuharu Konishi and Flipper's Guitar, who influenced you. Do you have your own aesthetic sense when it comes to using these "references" in your music?
CT: That ties back to the earlier discussion about sampling. As a listener, I'm always exposed to various types of music, and there are moments when I come across a particular part or element that makes me think, "Ah, this is great."
To give a clear example, I created a track called "Rainbow City Line" (included on RYUSENKEI's TOKYO SNIPER) as an homage to Minako Yoshida's "Rainbow Sea Line." I did that because I absolutely loved the break in "Rainbow Sea Line." I specifically wanted to use that break, which is why I made that song. Of course, the melody is entirely different, though.
Another example is the track "DIVE" by Hitomitoi from the album CITY DIVE. It was inspired by my love for the track "SAY GOODBYE" from Hiroshi Sato's awakening, and I wanted to incorporate similar computer sequence sounds into the music.
I’ve listened to a lot of great music from the past, so there are many phrases I love and want to incorporate into my own songs. I often weave these into my arrangements. In that sense, it might be similar to sampling. However, I see it as distinct from outright copying or imitating.
━━I completely understand that sense. It feels like a kind of aesthetic similar to “honka-dori” in Japanese waka poetry.
CT: Yes (laughs). However, when it comes to melodies, I am very particular and dislike anything lacking originality. I have been influenced by great melody makers like Hiroshi Miyagawa, Hachidai Nakamura, Taku Izumi, and Koichi Sugiyama, and I always strive to create melodies that I am personally satisfied with. Therefore, I never mimic melodies or replicate chord progressions. My policy is to incorporate only one specific element from the past if I want to, while creating original content for everything else.
I don’t consider myself a track maker at all. Rather, I see myself more as a melody maker. And if the melody is solid, you can be flexible with the arrangement. Even if there are parts that make you chuckle, I think that can be interesting in its own right. In that regard, the arrangements for Natsu Summer incorporate a lot of experimentation and playfulness. For example, with Hello, future day (2017), I tried something reminiscent of The RAH Band, and on this year's new album Orange Airmail, I included tracks with an amapiano vibe. As for RYUSENKEI, I have a firmly established image in my mind, so I prefer not to deviate from it and stick closely to the old-school sound. So, it’s possible that Natsu Summer might actually have a sound that fits better with the current era.
━━That said, there must have been new challenges in the latest RYUSENKEI release, Illusion. The fact that it’s coming out through the newly formed ALFA MUSIC itself might have been a challenge.
CT: Yes, that's right. This time, we were able to release through ALFA, so we made significant changes to the band members and also worked with a new engineer. By deliberately asking new people to join, I wanted to create something that went beyond my own imagination. Of course, the previous members were wonderful, but I felt that with the same lineup each time, the sound would just turn out as I expected, providing only the same level of satisfaction as before. This time, I wanted to have the surprise and unpredictability of seeing what kind of result we would get with new people involved.
The same can be said for the new vocalist, Sincere. When I first heard her sing, images of Minnie Riperton, Linda Lewis, and Syreeta immediately came to mind. And given how chaotic the times are now—what with wars in the world and political issues in Japan—I hoped that someone from the younger generation like her could use their voice to create something akin to new soul music.
━━As you mentioned, when I listened to "もしかしたら2人 (Maybe I Can Love My Neighbor Too)," I thought, "This is completely RYUSENKEI's version of 'What’s Going On'." "Monkey Business Part 2" also has socially conscious lyrics, doesn't it?
CT: That's right. If we're going to create something new in the city pop genre for today’s era, I felt that lyrics shouldn’t be about “palm trees” or “poolside moments with a girlfriend.” I’m not trying to push any messages, and it’s fine if not everyone resonates with it. However, since we are expressing something through music, I do want to convey my own thoughts to some extent and hope that it connects with listeners in some way. New soul, for example, carries a certain tension. This is similar to spiritual jazz. For instance, albums like Archie Shepp’s Attica Blues or The Cry of My People have this sense of tension from the oppressed Afro-Americans. I think this kind of element is important in music.
━━Well, the situation surrounding city pop has dramatically changed over the past decade due to an unprecedented revival involving international interest. Given that you’ve been working on RYUSENKEI for such a long time, do you have any thoughts on the current state of affairs?
CT: Personally, I don’t really see city pop as being “trendy” overseas. Of course, it’s great that it’s popular, but I don’t necessarily think of it as something with an expiration date. I see it more as a change brought about by the internet, which has made it possible for people overseas to listen to Japanese music.
I think there’s quite a difference between the city pop boom in Japan and its reception overseas. I felt this when I was recently invited to DJ in China. In Japan, city pop is often treated as nostalgic music, somewhat on par with Kayōkyoku, because it’s our native music. However, overseas, it feels like young people are approaching it as a “new genre of music,” which creates a very different atmosphere.
━━Do you also feel a generational difference between listeners in Japan and those overseas?
CT: I feel that strongly. In Japan, the term "city pop" has become established in recent years, but it still seems to have not fully penetrated the younger generation. There is a nostalgic feeling associated with it, and the listeners tend to be primarily men in their 40s and above. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that, but I hope that younger people will also listen to it not just as nostalgic music but as a genre in its own right.
Actually, that seems to be happening abroad. For RYUSENKEI, the monthly Spotify streams from overseas are ten times higher than those in Japan. Half of those streams come from the United States, particularly from the West Coast. The age distribution is overwhelmingly in the 20s, with the majority being in their late teens to 20s. On the other hand, people in their 40s and 50s are almost nonexistent. When I went to China, the audience was mostly young women in their 20s. They even tried to communicate with me in broken Japanese, which made me think, "Maybe I should move to China" (laughs).
But recently, there has been an increase in young musicians in Japan starting bands in the city pop genre. When I have the chance to talk to them, I often hear things like, "I grew up listening to RYUSENKEI because of my parents" or "I started making city pop because of RYUSENKEI." It's quite moving to see that after doing RYUSENKEI for over 20 years, it has had that kind of influence.
━━That's wonderful to hear. Do you have any messages or advice for these young musicians?
CT: Well, I’d say that my strong advice is to not just create City Pop by referencing City Pop itself, but to listen to a wide variety of music and express your influences in your own way. Simply replicating City Pop won't lead to something interesting. Of course, I love artists like Tatsuro Yamashita and Minako Yoshida, and they've influenced me, but I don’t make City Pop by just listening to City Pop. The jazz and soul that have strongly influenced me play a significant role, and those are what I draw inspiration from for my music. So, I’d encourage young musicians to listen to a broad range of music.
