Midnight In Tokyo Vol.4 - Various Artists

Tsunaki Kadowaki, a staff member at Kyoto’s record store Meditations, the supervisor of "New Age Music Disc Guide", and the founder of Sad Disco, curates the fourth installment of "Midnight in Tokyo" themed around Ambient Kayō.

The album presents 12 exquisite pop tracks infused with an ambient feeling, resonating deeply with the evolving landscape of the mid-2020s—a Dme of post- hyperpop and Y2K revival. The Midnight in Tokyo series by Studio Mule focuses on Japanese music, serving as a soundtrack for Tokyo nights—whether for home listening, club play, or as a driving BGM, transcending location and space.

Ater a six-year hiatus, the fourth volume takes "Ambient Kayō" as its new perspective, compiling genre-defying tracks released between 1977 and 1999 to explore the intersection of Japanese ambient and pop music. For this long-awaited fourth installment, selections were made regardless of record label status (major or independent), era, format (vinyl or CD), original release price, or prior reissues.

Instead, the focus was on music that deeply moves the listener, is open-minded and evocaDve, brims with inspiration and spiritual insight, and embodies the "utagokoro" (singing heart) of Japanese artists. 

Tracklisting
A1 Yousui Inoue Umi He Kinasai 00:05:29
A2 Keiko Nosaka / George Murasaki Oritatamu Umi 00:05:17
A3 Higurashi Natsuno Kowareru Koro 00:03:56
B1 Blue Mangrove 00:06:45
B2 Rehabilual Yaponesia Sakura 00:05:07
B3 Sachiko Kanenobu Asano Hitoshizuku 00:04:36
C1 E.S.Island Yumefurin 00:03:47
C2 Akiko Kanazawa Esashi Oiwake(Maeuta) (Virtual Reality Mix) 00:05:53
C3 Voice From Asia Sweet Ong Choh 00:04:43
D1 Nami Hotatsu Asa Hikari Ame Yume 00:01:53
D2 Nav Katza Heaven Electric 00:05:26
D3 Naomi Akimoto Tennessee Waltz 00:03:01