Riding the resurgence of Showa-era nostalgia, City Pop has once again sent ripples through contemporary Japanese music. Once a genre that mirrored the illusory dream of an affluent generation, its modern revival is no longer rooted in nostalgia alone. Instead, it reflects a collective longing for ease, escapism, and the fantasy of a life perpetually on vacation.

Among the artists shaping this revival, LUCKY TAPES stands out as one of the most precise interpreters of urban romance.

Turning Fragility into Atmosphere

Since forming in 2014, LUCKY TAPES has crafted music that feels like a honeyed glaze over the friction of city life. Centered around vocalist and keyboardist Kai Takahashi, the band blends jazz, soul, funk, and pop into a sound that is light-footed yet languid. Deeply influenced by Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Prince, Takahashi seamlessly fuses the rhythmic elasticity of Black music with the nuanced sensitivity of Japanese pop—inviting listeners to sway along almost unconsciously.

From their early release The SHOW to the style-defining Cigarette & Alcohol, LUCKY TAPES perfected the art of wrapping modern vulnerability in elegant sugarcoating. Their breakout film soundtrack “MOON”, along with “22”, a single shot in Taipei that transcends geography to connect shared urban imagination, positioned the band as true curators of contemporary mood.

Recommended Track 01: LUCKY TAPES – “22”

From Refinement Back to Reality

As artists evolve, there often comes a moment when excess refinement gives way to a desire for something more honest. Following the release of Blend, Takahashi admitted he had reached a sense of completion—if not fatigue—with the band’s polished, fashionable jazz arrangements. He even spoke of wanting to “destroy the established image.”

That impulse materialized in **2022’s Bitter!—**a work that revealed a deeper, more mature dimension of LUCKY TAPES. The title track opens with the sound of ice clinking in a glass being poured, its notes slightly off-balance, narrating the chill of being shut out by someone from the past. During this period, guitarist Kensuke Takahashi played a pivotal role, introducing fuzz and distortion—textures previously underused—to inject a sense of controlled chaos into the sweetness.

Kensuke once offered a memorable analogy:
“The guitar in a song is like spice in cooking. Sometimes it’s pepper, tightening the flavor; sometimes it’s a bay leaf, removing excess heaviness.”
This meticulous attention to detail is precisely what allows LUCKY TAPES to maintain musical integrity within their signature laid-back atmosphere.

Recommended Track 02: LUCKY TAPES – “BITTER!”

A New Beginning with 1991 and Cross-Border Dialogue

After 2023, following lineup changes, LUCKY TAPES officially transitioned into a solo project under Kai Takahashi’s name. Three years later, he returned with the EP ** 1991**, featuring tracks such as “Utsuroi” and “ASOBO”, showcasing a more experimental and emotionally expansive direction under this new framework.

Soon after, Takahashi released “Manatsu no Twilight”, a cross-border collaboration with Thai band Polycat, who share deep roots in AOR and City Pop. The track once again highlights Takahashi’s acute sensitivity to urban emotion—buoyant basslines weave through dreamlike synthesizers, evoking the fleeting tremor of late-summer skies as they fade into shades of orange. The lyrics carry a quiet melancholy: the wistful ache of a summer that can never be returned to.

Recommended Track 03: “Manatsu no Twilight”

From the spark of a band to the singular will of one artist, LUCKY TAPES continues to embody a simple yet resonant stance:
even when reality is bitter, we choose to dance with grace.

On February 1, they will take the stage at Billboard Live TAIPEI.
If you have ever been drawn to that lighthearted, nostalgia-tinged romance, this is a moment not to be missed.