Japan Unpacked

Music

Japanese artists who've built a real following outside Japan — where they're from, what they sound like, and where to start listening.

City Pop

City Popシティ・ポップ
A late-1970s/80s Japanese sound built for driving at night — and, four decades later, one of YouTube's most unlikely comeback stories.
City PopYacht RockFunkJ-Pop

Technopop

Perfumeパフューム
Three classmates from a Hiroshima talent school who became one of the most technologically inventive live acts in pop music.
TechnopopElectropopJ-PopDance-Pop