03. I Hate the City (Patrick St. Michel // Taeko Onuki)

Episode notes

Singer-songwriter Taeko Onuki released the landmark album SUNSHOWER in 1977. Taeko and this album were maybe a little ahead of their time. This jazz fusion pop record sold pretty poorly when it first came out and audiences weren’t too keen on this new, strange music. As time has gone on, it received a much more positive reception and has gone on to be reissued a few times and is now seen as a progenitor of the City Pop sound.

Music writer Patrick St. Michel joins us to talk about his experience interviewing Taeko Onuki, the incredible personnel on this incredible album, and how ahead of the game SUNSHOWER really was.

Check out our Spotify playlist for this episode! We also have the playlist on YouTube

If you enjoy Primer please support the show and get some cool gifts too!

Follow Patrick: Twitter | Substack

Follow Primer: Instagram | Twitter | TikTok

In this episode...

Christian Dueñas

Host

Yosuke Kitazawa

Host

Kevin Ferguson

Senior Producer

Richard Robey

Producer

Guests

Patrick St. Michel

About the show

Primer is a music podcast about translation and illumination. Host Christian Dueñas is joined by a different co-host each season to explore a genre of music from outside the English-speaking world. In its debut season, music writer Yosuke Kitazawa (PBS SoCal, Light in the Attic, Temporal Drift) joins Christian and special guests to explore Japanese City Pop. They celebrate the lives of its artists, explore the cultural and historical context of the songs, and reflect on the impact that music had on listeners everywhere – including personally, as fans. Primer invites both newcomers and crate diggers alike to find their next favorite album and learn more about the music they already love.

Podcast art by Geoff Tice.