Various

★★★

Tokyo Dreaming WEWANTSOUND.

CD/LP

Double set of rare, funky ’80s pop selected by Japanese music expert Nick Luscombe.

Granted exceptional access to the vaults of one of Japan’s oldest and most collectable labels, Nippon Columbia, Nick Luscombe has clearly had a ball, unearthing a slew of uncut gems from a time when Japan’s rapidly changing technology meant Tokyo musicians finally had the tools to soundtrack its futuristic cityscape. There’s something to sate most electronic tastes here. Whether it’s the staccato bass and fluttering flutes of Mariah’s classic synth pop, Ryuichi Sakamoto’s bountiful melodic touch, Yumi Seino’s slinky sultry cinemascope, Shigeo Sekito’s reflective ambient jazz, Kyoko Furuya’s slow-burning sadness or Colored Music gamely trashing a piano in lieu of a solo. If you can block out the occasional