Shibuya-kei

Shibuya-kei
Shibuya Crossing, 2007
Native name	渋谷系
Stylistic origins	Pop[1] indie pop[2][3] city pop[4] orchestral pop[5] soul[6] lounge[1][5] French pop[2] sunshine pop[2] yé-yé[5] hip hop[1] house[3] jazz[6] funk[6] bossa nova[3][5][2] Italian soundtracks[2]
Cultural origins	1990s, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Fusion genres
Akishibu-kei
Other topics
Chamber pop kitsch progressive music

Shibuya-kei (Japanese: 渋谷系, lit. "Shibuya style") is a microgenre^[7] of pop music^[1] or a general aesthetic^[8] that flourished in Japan in the mid-to-late 1990s.^[3] The music genre is distinguished by a "cut-and-paste" approach that was inspired by the kitsch, fusion, and artifice from certain music styles of the past.^[9] The most common reference points were 1960s culture and Western pop music,^[1] especially the work of Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson, Phil Spector, and Serge Gainsbourg.^[10]

Shibuya-kei first emerged as retail music from the Shibuya district of Tokyo.^[5] Flipper's Guitar, a duo led by Kenji Ozawa and Keigo Oyamada (Cornelius), formed the bedrock of the genre and influenced all of its groups, but the most prominent Shibuya-kei band was Pizzicato Five, who fused mainstream J-pop with a mix of jazz, soul, and lounge influences. Shibuya-kei peaked in the late 1990s and declined after its principal players began moving into other music styles.

Overseas, fans of Shibuya-kei were typically indie pop enthusiasts, which contrasted with the tendency for other Japanese music scenes to attract listeners of foreign anime fandoms. This was partly because many Shibuya-kei records had been distributed in the United States through major indie labels like Matador and Grand Royal.^[3]