Time Capsule have readied their second selection of Jamaica-influenced Japanese songs. The collection could be broadly described as “city pop lovers rock”. The rhythms borrow from reggae but tame the roots sound with gospel choirs and big disco orchestras. Showcasing the tailored, tutored pipes of sweet pin-ups and pop idols. The music is manicured, mannered and polite, reflecting Japanese culture, not wild, dreadlocked and ganja-fuelled… and therein lies its particular charm. To be honest, I suspect at the time of recording many of the riddims were viewed as a gimmick, giving the popular singers a novelty Caribbean twist. However, it’s exactly this unique worlds not colliding but bowing to one another that’ll make the pieces standout in a DJ mix. Yosui Inoue’s Anata Wo Rikai boasts righteous horns and dubwise desk effects, that threaten its conventional verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo structure. Juicy Fruits’ Oshiete Ageru is super bass-heavy, yet somehow still sugary. Yuki Nakayamate’s Trois riffs on Grace Jones’ Libertango. Risa Minami’s Jamaican Blue has a cute Rachel Sweet / So Different Here-esque groove. The opulent productions are a potent flashback to Japan’s 1980s economic bubble, when no expense need be spared. Like flying Ryuichi Sakamoto to Kingston to play keys on two skanking Teresa Noda tracks, both of which – Tropical Love and Yellow Moon – are included here.

Tokyo Riddim Volume 2 can be ordered directly from Time Capsule.