Akiko Yano - 7 O'Clock In Tokyo (We Want Sounds Reissue)

WeWantSounds brings Akiko Yano's 7 O'Clock in Tokyo to international listeners for the first time, and it is a superb live document from 1978 that was recorded on the cusp of Japan's electronic pop explosion. Capturing Yano, backed by an all-star lineup of Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yukihiro Takahashi, Tatsuro Yamashita and Minako Yoshida, the performance radiates a playful fusion of jazz, funk and early synth experimentation. Remastered and packaged with care, this version restores the album's warmth and energy while contextualising its role in the transition between Japan's 1970s city pop sophistication and the futuristic edge of YMO. Historically important and musically thrilling, as well as a fine snapshot of a scene on the verge of reinvention.