Within specific genres of music, there are those ‘staple’ songs. A set of pieces that capture the essence of a genre. Within the City pop genre, you would find some staples, Plastic Love, Dress Down, Stay with Me, and Flyday Chinatown.
Jazz Fusion sensation, Casiopea would be a staple band for the genre.
Still going today as Casiopea-P4, (Their 4th iteration) has been around since 1976 and became very popular in the 80’s even having a world tour. With almost 60 albums since its inception, the band focuses on instrumental music with high-energy and high-tempo music.
Over the years, they have had 13 different members come and go with the guitarist Issei Noro being the only member who has been in the band the entire time. The band even disbanded from 2006 until 2012 due to exhaustion.
For more about the history of Casiopea, I would highly recommend checking out T2norway’s video on the band which was uploaded in 2021.
Arguably, the band’s most popular song, Galatic Funk became a staple for City pop fans.
Galactic Funk originally was on the band’s 6th album Cross Point released in 1981 but has been re-arranged and re-recorded over the years.
Live
Studio
For me, this band and their live performances remind me of the Miami Sound Machine with Gloria Estefan with their high-energy, high-tempo music.