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Shibuya-kei




Shibuya-kei (渋谷系 Shibuya-style; also 渋谷系サウンド "Shibuya-kei sound") is a variety of Japanese Pop Music which combines elements of jazz, fusion, traditional music, and other styles. Shibuya-kei music first gained popularity in the Shibuya district of Tokyo , from which it took its name. Despite under-marketing, it enjoyed enormous success in this region.

Initially, the term was applied to Flipper's Guitar , Pizzicato Five , and Schar Dara Parr , bands strongly influenced by French Ye Ye Music and its most notable proponent, Serge Gainsbourg . Other influences include Lounge , Bossa Nova and Hip-Hop . As the style's popularity increased at end of the 90s, the term began to be applied to many bands, such as Puffy , whose musical stylings began to reflect a more mainstream sensibility.

Some artists rejected or resisted being categorized as "Shibuya-kei," but the name ultimately stuck. The style was favoured by local businesses, including Shibuya Center Street's HMV Shibuya, which sold Shibuya-kei records in its traditional Japanese music section.

Increasingly, musicans outside of Japan , such as Britain 's Momus , France 's Dimitri From Paris , and the US artists Natural Calamity and Phofo are labelled Shibuya-kei. Many consider this a sign of the genre's acceptance far beyond its original Anime and Dance Music audience.


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