‘Pacific Breeze 3', Neil Baselo and Marina Sena

0:13Hello and welcome to the Monaco Weekly. I am Fernando Augusto Pacheco and we have a music special on The Weekly today. I speak with Yosuke Kitassawa from the Pacific Breeze compilations, French singer Neil Bazello and Brazilian pop star Marina Sena.

0:35Well, we start the show with Yosuke Kitassawa, who compiled the third installment of the acclaimed Japanese city pop series Pacific Breeze, The mix of AOR, R &B, funk and disco is a delightful affair. Let's hear more from Yosuke and how he would define what City Pop is.

1:05City Pop, it's sort of a genre, but stylistically there isn't like a set definition of what City Pop is. So when the team first started working on these compilations, the first thing we asked ourselves is, what is City Pop? How do we define City Pop? And basically, it's like a vibe. It's kind of corny to say that it's a vibe, but since stylistically it varies quite a bit, but there's a thread that runs through all the songs in these compilations that you can call it City Pop and it kind of makes sense to us. and basically all these tracks are from the mid 70s to around the mid 80s and that's the era in Japan that a lot of people call the bubble era when the economy was doing really well and there was lots of money flowing everywhere and the record companies had a lot of money to spend on these records and the feeling that they wanted to convey with this music was at leisure and just like cruising down the boulevard in a convertible and just like basically spending their money for leisure and just to have fun.

2:21That's the vibe that kind of runs through all the tracks. Why the revival? Why do you think this is happening? Is it something more the international audience is finally noticing this period in Japan? Or do you feel that also in Japan, people are actually saying, oh, you know what, we like the music from this period. And perhaps it becomes even influential in today's artists as well. It's gotten a revival in Japan as well. I guess in Japan, it would be called a revival. But overseas, it's basically entirely a new thing. Almost all of it, they never came out outside of Japan. So for audiences and for fans outside of Japan, it's new music to them.

3:01In Japan, I guess it's a revival and it happened probably around the same time as all the other parts of the world. And a big part of it is probably like a nostalgia. It's been written about that. It's not real nostalgia because they didn't actually live through these eras, but it's just this feeling that they get of imagined nostalgia, I think is a lot of people use to describe the feeling when they listen to this stuff. It's like they listen to it and feel that they're transported into this. They were part of the whole movement, of the whole era. Right, right.

3:50How did the revival start? Was there kind of something that happened? Tell us about the process. Well, this revival, people have different theories about how it started. But to us, as the producers of these compilations, it was always about record shopping. And like whenever any of us went to Japan, we would go to the record shops. And these were basically like the dollar bin finds that you would find in the back of the store. no one was really paying attention to them but a lot of djs started buying the stuff because it just sounded so good and it sounds great when you play it at a club or anywhere and that's how a lot of international like overseas the trend kind of got started just through djs and them buying up like Tatsuro Yamashita or like Masayoshi Takanaka like all those records that were kind of everywhere at the time in Japan.

4:50And just kind of slowly spread through those circles, like the DJ club circles. And in some ways in Japan, some people heard that it's getting kind of popular overseas and then it's like a reverse import. I think they actually have a word for that. Because people like to see like, oh, something that actually is from our country actually is doing very well. So it's kind of, it makes you feel proud almost, I guess, right? Right. Yeah, people in Japan started paying attention to this type of music again because they started hearing that it was getting popular overseas. So there's that theory of the revival that happened.

5:30And even in Japan and parts of Asia as well, there were DJs that were playing. And in places like South Korea, there were DJs that specialized in playing city pop music. And yeah, I think that's kind of how it started spreading. And then the first La Lima Pacific Breeze came out in 2018 or 19, I believe. And that also helped a lot in the spread of this music.

6:25Tell us about some of the artists in Pacific Breeze 3. I mean, do you want to make sure that there is a kind of a nice mix? Perhaps some songs are more well-known and sometimes there's some rarities as well. Because I have to say, I mean, it's amazing. I love the song Scandal Night, the one by Pizzicato 5 as well. There's so many good choices in there. But tell us about some of the highlights of Pacific Breeze 3. Yeah, with Volume 3, a lot of the songs were tracks that we were trying to put on the previous volumes. But due to licensing issues or just taking a long time, we weren't able to put them until this one.

7:05Like Scandal Night by Mihaly Koshi that you just mentioned. And that's the track that we were trying to get since the first one. and that's kind of like an old school city pop track we always like to include something like from the early period of what we describe as the city pop era and that's like the mid 70s mid to early 70s that would be considered like early almost like proto city pop

7:45Susan Asoka kind of bridges the gap between the city pop era and like the new wave post-punk. A little bit different from the more, I would say, like R &B and soul influenced city pop tracks. I guess there's more of that type of tracks on this one. We kind of see this as the final volume of the compilation. Oh no. kind of well you never know but in our mind we were thinking like we wanted to include tracks that could bridge the gap into the next era of Japanese pop almost like the start of J-pop like what would that be that would come between city pop and J-pop and that's why we want to include tracks like pizzicato 5 boy meets girl and they're pretty well known as J-pop oh now you made me happy.

8:37So actually, it's not quite the end. It's perhaps just preparing for, who knows, a future compilation in the future, which I'm sure we would all love. And by the way, there's a song called Tropical Love, right? I even felt there's some reggae touches to it. Maybe I'm going crazy, but I really loved that one as well. Definitely. Yeah. I mean, that track I really love also. Teresa Noda, she was mostly known as an actress and she made this track with ruichi sakamoto as the arranger and there are actually some musicians from jamaica i'd have to look it up but i think people like marcia griffiths and a lot of the well-known session guys from jamaica that played on a lot of arcade records, they appear on this one as well.

9:39And I think it's part of the whole packaging as well, I have to say. I'm a big fan of the covers of Pacific Breeze, which I believe are by the illustrator Hiroshi Nagai. I mean, he's an icon of city pop, right? Tell us about Hiroshi Nagai and was he happy to collaborate with you guys? Yeah, Hiroshi Nagai, I mean, his stuff is just so iconic when it comes to this era of pop music in Japan. And for the first one, we actually commissioned him to do an original piece for us. So the first one, Pacific Breeze, that's an original painting that he did for us just for the compilation. and for two and three those were licensed images of works that already existed so Hiroshi has been very happy I hope around the time of the first one I guess he wasn't as well known outside of Japan at the time kind of similar to the music that's contained in the compilations his stuff was kind of everywhere in Japan especially in the 80s like he was very popular in the 80s but Recently, his works weren't as ubiquitous, but since the first Pacific Breeze volume, like his artwork has gotten kind of a revival.

10:56So I think it can be seen as part of the whole CD-pop revival that his artwork is also... The whole aesthetics as well. Right. And Josuke, just if we are to end the show, I mean, which song would you choose actually from this compilation so we can play a snippet of it at the end? I know there's many to choose, you know, but I wonder if you have a personal favorite. Let's see. The last track on the compilation, Untotoku by Chiemi Manabe. That's a really neat track. And it sounds like it kind of like sends you out into outer space or something. So it's kind of crossover with this sort of genre in Japan that they call Tekno-kayo.

11:40And kayo-kyoku is kind of like a traditional Japanese pop style. And techno is related to things that Yellow Magic Orchestra and members from Yellow Magic Orchestra were doing at the time. So kind of a fusion between like the techno pop that Yellow Magic Orchestra was doing and the kaio-kyoku that was the traditional Japanese styles. And Chiemi Manabe, she was kind of like an idol, pop idol. and she wasn't really known as a kayoukyoku singer but she worked with guys like haruomi from yellow magic orchestra and hideki matsutake who did synth programming for yellow magic orchestra so this track it's got all this crazy synth production and kind of almost like dub like textures and so it's a really neat track that there will be a good send-off send-off to outer space.

12:40I don't know where. Amazing. Well, I trust you and we'll play a clip of it. Thank you so much.

12:58Thank you so much, Yosuke. And Pacific Breeze 3 is out now by Light in the Attic Records. We had to France now to hear my chat with the new singer, Neil Bazello, Part of the Profude Face label. His music is beautiful and cinematic.

13:39You say I'm worthless. You think I'm sloppy. I make no money. But you're gonna see. Baby, please forgive me.

13:58Neil Bazello, welcome to Monocle Radio. Pleasure talking to you. I've been listening to your music. I really, really enjoyed. My first question, I mean, we always ask this for musicians. What is actually your musical influence? Because some of your tracks, like your latest single Mystery, it's very atmospheric. I love it. Thanks, man. I appreciate it. Actually, about the influence and stuff, I used to... I'm really in love with also music, but also cinema in general. So I used to make music and I used to imagine them with images and stuff, in a movie or in a clip or something like that music video something like that and so for the music influence i'm like into coldplay billy eilish and maybe like for the moment for marapolo i don't know if you heard about this guy but maybe and also like hans zimmer i don't know if it's uh like a a famous music filmmaker.

14:59So he's basically doing some music for movies and stuff. So I'm more into those kind of guys. I'm glad you mentioned cinema because that's what comes across in your music, the cinematic vibes to it. And are you a case that you knew you wanted to be a musician from a young age or was it something that happened fairly recently? So I played the guitar on the piano, but I started the guitar when I was 15 or 16, something like that. But I didn't take any lessons or something. Like I just, you know, learned like a couple of songs. Just like I was not really like into it. It was not like something I wanted to do.

15:40Like it was not my dream or something at this time. And then like the COVID came in 2020 and I started to write songs. Basically, like basically what happened actually. And then I write songs. I quit my job. And now, like, became kind of my work now. And tell us about your plan when it comes to music. I know you've released a few singles. Are we, shall we expect an album perhaps by the end of the year? Because I know you have another great song I love, Nothing Left In My Chest Anymore. Very, you know, powerful track. And Mystery as well, which I love. The synths, this kind of atmospheric vibes, very cinematic, as you mentioned.

16:19but what's your plan music-wise? Is it more singles or an album perhaps? We're going to release, I think, two or three more tracks before the summer this year. They're going to come all together and it's going to be like an EP and just before the summer. And then we're planning to do an album, but I think it's going to be in 2024, but at the beginning of 2024.

16:49Drinking too much water Thinking out loud I'm full of regrets I know what you left You don't seem to care And that's alright Now I realize You won't forgive me

17:18Oh, I realize You won't forgive me

17:30Where did you film the video from Mystery, by the way? Such a beautiful piece of work. We went to Thailand. We went to Bangkok. And yeah, it was kind of a really, really nice experience, to be honest. like two days shooting video, like more than 10 hours of shooting per day. It was like, yeah, it was so crazy, man. But it was like, like so exciting, to be honest. That's fantastic. Listen, you really enjoyed it. I can't wait for the release of the EP as well, because the musics you released so far, they're great. Thank you so much for talking to us here on Monaco Radio. Thank you, Mike. It's a mystery It's a mystery It's a mystery Now I see It's a mystery It's a mystery It's a mystery It's a mystery It's a mystery Now I see

18:47Thank you.

19:19It's how I feel

19:27In my dreams And Yubazello's new song, Mystery, is out now. Finally on the show, a little snippet of my chat with Brazilian pop star Marina Sena, who has just released a new album, Vício Inerente, an euphoric mix of genres, a strong follow-up release after her strong 2021 debut. She starts telling me how her move to Brazil's largest city influenced her new album. After my first album, I moved to São Paulo, which is the largest city in Brazil. It's a place where you have connections to all types of music, different cultures, and as an artist, I absorb everything that I live through. all the sounds around me.

20:13Here in São Paulo, I had a strong contact with electronic music, like Brime, which is Brazilian grime. It's a very São Paulo sound. It connects with the world, but it's also very Brazilian. Marina, tell us about your new song. This song represents the new aesthetic of my new album. It's an easy song, very sweet, very summery, so you can listen to it at the beach.

21:03And are you excited to come to London? I'm in love with London. I played there last year, but I had very little time to visit the city. I remember saying to myself, wow, I'm in love, I need to return here. For me, the best thing is to perform. It's the peak of my work. During a concert, you put your persona forward in such a special way, and it's so good.

21:47That was Marina Sena. Her new album, Vício Inerente, is out now. And Marina Sena will be performing here in London on the 20th of May at the Village Underground. And that's it for the Monaco Weekly. The show was edited by Jack Dewars, Mariella Bevan and Steph Chungo. I'm Fernando Augusto Pacheco. Thank you. Thank you.