STUTS & Taeko Onuki - Ohayō

 

Its always refreshing to know that older artist you grew up listening to still have "the sauce", and they can still turn out great music years later. It's kind of like seeing an old friend years later and knowing that he's doing great in life. That's kinda' how I felt after hearing Taeko Ohnuki's voice in the new song "Ohayo"( (おはよう) / Good Moring).

Produced and arranged by the artist STUTS, Ohayo feels like the perfect marriage between Ohnuki's 70s sophisticated jazz sound and the modern indie/ lo-fi vibe that us chronically online folks have grown accustomed to. We even get a relaxing music video accompanying the song, which I gotta say, this is probably the best music video I've seen for a City Pop song, ever. 

We follow a day in the life of nameless woman as she runs her motorcycle garage, located somewhere what looks to be Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). We even gets some lovely shots of Enoshima Island in the background as she rides her own bike down the highway as she greets all her neighbors throughout the peaceful coastal town. We even gets some cameos from SPUTS and Ohnuki scattered throughout the video. 

I've never heard of STUTS before this song, but after exploring some of his other work, he seems to be a really good producer. The Nagoya born musician really excels at creating a nostalgic sound clearly influenced by 90s hip hop, House, and R&B. I think any Nujabes fans will gravitate forwards this guy real well. 

If you want to get a good sense of his style, I'd recommended checking out his Tiny Desk concert.

 Overall I think Ohayo is the perfect marriage of old & new and show cases both artists strengths very well. I think anyone who misses the easy listening quality of Taeko Ohnuki's music and those who are on the search fore more beats to study to will both be satisfied. 

Yoru ga Kuru (夜がくる）by Asei Kobayashi: Suntory Old Commercials

  A lot of typical weeaboos fantasies about visiting Japan go something like, “I want to go to Shibuya,” or “I want to visit a maid café.”

Me? I'm a simple man.

I just want to sit down at a old izakaya and enjoy a glass of that good old Suntory Old Whisky.

Suntory it is certainly one of the country’s most famous and recognizable brands. Its commercials are especially iconic—and they happen to be some of my favorite advertisements of all time.

I still remember the first time I saw the classic 1969 commercial. 

A tall foreign traveler walks into what appears to be a traditional Japanese inn. Without needing to say a word, the hostess seems to understand exactly what he wants. Before long, the two are sharing glasses from a bottle of Suntory Old.

It’s a simple commercial, but it’s effortlessly cool and classy. More importantly, its music is unforgettable.

The commercial’s theme,  “Yoru ga Kuru/夜が来る” (The Night Comes.) , written by composer Asei Kobayashi (小林亜星), is a short but catchy combination of bluesy guitar and soulful jazz scatting. The piece was reportedly originally titled “Ningen Mina Kyōdai,” or “All Humans Are Brothers.” Which I think perfectly captures the atmosphere these commercials were trying to create. 

The original vocalist performing the memorable scat singing was reportedly Silas Mosley, an acquaintance of Kobayashi’s. Mosley was also a theology professor at Sophia University and a gospel singer, still looking for photos of the guy but his work can be found in anthology album called "The History of Jazz, The Birth of the Blues" by Jinichi Uekusa (植草甚一).

Over time, “Yoru ga Kuru” became an iconic piece of Japanese popular culture. Suntory has continued using the melody for decades, and it remains closely associated with the brand. There is also a version featuring actual lyrics, sung by Kobayashi himself. That rendition is quite good, but there is something especially grounded and inviting about the original, wordless jingle.

Maybe it’s the simplicity of it. The gentle guitar, the relaxed scatting, and the dimly lit atmosphere make it feel less like an advertisement and more like the beginning of a good evening.

Creating a genuinely memorable commercial jingle is difficult, but Suntory struck gold with this one. Even after all these years, the moment that melody begins, you immediately understand the mood: the day is over, the night has arrived, and it’s time to pour a drink.

Hopefully, one day, I’ll get to sit at a quiet bar in Japan, order a glass of Suntory Old, and hear some old man on guitar singing “Ba di dum dum dum Shoobie da dum” somewhere in the background.

Now that would be a dream come true.

I was originally going to post this article on Kayokyoku Plus, but J-Canuck beat me to it years ago lol. Check out his article about it here.

Shake it Paradise by Toshinobu Kubota - 1986

Forty-some years ago, a young Japanese boy came into possession of one of the greatest albums ever recorded: Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder. That moment became the spark that ignited a lifelong journey into becoming one of the most influential figures in Japanese pop and R&B: Toshinobu Kubota.

Kubota’s path into music began in earnest in 1981, when he met Ichiro Haneda at Komazawa University. The two formed a band called Hottentots, marking Kubota’s first serious step into the music scene. Just a year later, he entered the Eastwest ’82 contest, where his exceptional vocal ability earned him the Best Vocalist award. 

As his reputation grew, Kubota began appearing as a guest vocalist on various projects, including works by famous jazz pianist Naoya Matsuoka (松岡直也). By the mid-1980s, he had expanded his role beyond performing, establishing himself as a songwriter and composer for major Japanese artists such as Hiromi Iwasaki, Kyoko Koizumi, and Toshihiko Tahara. This period of behind-the-scenes work allowed him to refine his sound—an increasingly confident blend of Japanese pop sensibilities with the groove and phrasing of American R&B.

That evolution culminated in his debut album, Shake It Paradise, released on September 10, 1986. The album arrived at a pivotal moment when Japanese pop music was beginning to more fully embrace the influence of American R&B.

THE MUSIC

1. 
   Ryu-sei No Saddle⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. Olympic Wa Hinokuruma⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. Shake It Paradise⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. Missing⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. Shitsui No Down Town⭐⭐⭐⭐
6. To the Party⭐⭐⭐⭐
7. Mou Hitori No Kimi Wo Nokoshit⭐⭐⭐
8. Somebody's Sorrow⭐⭐⭐⭐
9. Dedicate (To M.E.)⭐⭐⭐
10. Inside Carnival⭐⭐⭐
11. For You⭐⭐⭐

THE VIERDICT

I once came across a YouTube comment calling Toshinobu Kubota the “Japanese Bruno Mars.” I couldn’t tell if it was meant as a compliment or not—after all, Bruno Mars himself has often faced accusations of “pretending to be Black.” But I get the comparison. I’ve always believed that if music is truly the universal language, then race doesn’t matter. That said, it’s clear that Kubota took inspiration from groups like New Edition and Boyz II Men, building his sound around that smooth, radio-friendly R&B style.

In the 1990s, Kubota even tried to cross over into the U.S., moving to New York with the determination to break into the American market. Unfortunately, it never really panned out. Perhaps if he had taken the “Bobby Caldwell approach”—keeping his face in the shadows and letting the music speak for itself—he might have stood a better chance. The truth is, Kubota wasn’t offering something radically different from what Black artists were already perfecting at the time.

Still, that doesn’t make his music disposable, far from it.  Shake It Paradise proves Kubota had a keen ear for R&B hooks and arrangements, delivering a record that feels both globally informed and distinctly his own. Tracks like “Ryūsei no Saddle” and the title cut “Shake It Paradise” still hold up today—if they came on in a club, I’d have zero complaints. The album is undeniably a product of its time, a prototypical mid-80s pop-R&B record, but it’s executed with such polish despite being a bit clichéd.

Shake It Paradise is like  a “familiar dish, well-cooked.” You’ve tasted it before, but there’s comfort in the familiarity, and a certain satisfaction in how skillfully it’s prepared. That being said, if you want to listen to the best Kubota has to offer, just listen to his compilation album THE BADDEST. It has all of his best songs of the 80s (except Dance if You Want it, for some odd reason), it's the best way to experience the Kubota at his peak.