City Pop fans are being treated to an early Christmas this year. Mariya Takeuchi’s viral hit ‘Plastic Love’ is finally available for streaming on Spotify and Apple Music. Listed amongst 41 other tracks on a compilation album titled Expression (originally released in 2008), this new addition to Mariya Takeuchi’s catalogue marks a major event for fans of vintage pop from Japan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bNITQR4Uso
Produced by her husband Tatsuro Yamashita and released in 1984, the song, the song has come to be known as one of the most popular examples of the City pop musical aesthetic thanks to a remix of the song whose viewership was heavily boosted by Youtube’s recommendation algorithm. The artists associated with the genre have earned themselves newfound international popularity, thanks in part to their influence on Vaporwave and Future Funk artists.
Full-length releases by artists associated with the genre remain sparse on the streaming platform but have been emerging sporadically in recent years, sparking hopes of more widespread distribution of City Pop music overseas. Taeko Onuki, another major figure in the City Pop genre, has been earning streams in the six-figures since having made her albums available on Spotify. Will the stats behind these streaming numbers be enough to provoke a response from the Major Labels in charge? We’ll just have to wait and see…
Thumbnail photo credit: Alan Levenson
