The Miracle Trajectory of City Pop: Takizawa Yoichi and Magical City – [Vol.2] Demo Tapes Filled with Masterpieces　

2025.09.20

Magical’s Crisis and the Aoyama & Ito “Rhythm Training Camp”

Though Magical continued helping with Takizawa’s demo creation at Alfa, there were technical performance conflicts. Previously, at Meguro’s Mouri Studio during RCA demo creation, Robby Wada warned Aoyama “The snare sound differs every time you hit it!” After moving to Alfa, Shinkawa yelled at Aoyama “You’re terrible!” creating band dissolution crisis.

Ito remembered impressive words from Aoyama during this crisis:

“When Magical was facing dissolution or ‘You’re fired!’ type situations, Shinkawa asked Aoyama ‘What do you think?’ and Aoyama said ‘I want to work with Koki-kun!’ Those words grabbed my heart. I thought ‘Alright, I’ll work with this guy forever!'”

So Ito and Aoyama loaded a bass amp onto their Mitsubishi Galant GTO with ski carrier, stuffed the drum set in back seat and trunk, and headed to Shiga Highland Hotel for “rhythm training camp.” In the hotel’s ski equipment drying room, they repeatedly practiced various rhythm patterns, playing instruments to their hearts’ content. Thanks to this, Aoyama’s drumming improved dramatically, forming a perfectly synchronized “golden rhythm section” with Ito’s bass. This Ito-Aoyama “rhythm training camp” arguably created the later Jun Aoyama and Koki Ito.

Colleagues praised the two’s performance after the training camp, saying “You’ve improved” and “Amazing.” Hearing this, Ito and Aoyama seriously thought “That can’t be right – this must be a conspiracy to trap us,” but in fact, their performance ability greatly changed after this camp.

Opportunities from “Demo Creation Part-time Work”

Connected with Alfa, Magical received requests from Awano to create demo tapes for songs composed by Alfa-related artists including the late Junko Hirotani, earning 50,000 yen monthly as part-time work. Demo recordings occurred at Otowa Studio, newly built in the basement of composer Murai’s Bunkyō ward Otowa residence (first floor later became “LDK Studio,” second and third floors called “Otowa Studio”).

Ito reflects on Magical’s demo tape part-time era:

“Part-time work creating demo tapes of new artists’ songs to give to companies. We’d listen to artists singing at home with just guitar, then discuss how to arrange it together. Thanks to this, we learned a lot about recording know-how. We did it for 50,000 yen monthly.”

Arranging and performing young composers’ original songs in optimal form, completing them as songs. This part-time experience undoubtedly became major sustenance for their later success as studio musicians and arrangers. Magical was also allowed to practice at the studio during free time. According to Awano, the Ito-Aoyama combination often practiced hard at Otowa Studio.

Under Awano’s leadership, Takizawa and Magical demos recorded at Otowa Studio included “Hamabe nite” (the original of “Shiokaze no Lullaby” later included in ‘Leonids’), light pure-love pop “Saintpaulia,” and “Nemurenai Yoru” with experimental development and beautiful Shinkawa solo parts. Awano was “constantly” at Otowa Studio for demo creation, even sitting at the console like an engineer.

At the beginning of “Saintpaulia,” Awano’s cue-giving voice was recorded directly: “Saintpaulia, please.”

City Bird Pop · セント・ポーリア

Awano: “Jun and Koki were the ultimate rhythm section. So recording demos at Otowa was incredibly fun. Well, naturally, since they both became professionals later (laughs). They really produced great sound even then.”

City Bird Pop · 眠れない夜

While Magical’s four members spent days absorbed in demo tape part-time work, a big opportunity arrived. Shinkawa recalls this sudden event:

“It was early summer 1976, I think. There was a band called Garbo-Jin backing Hi-Fi Set, with Masataka Matsutoya on keyboards, Masaki Matsubara on guitar, Masato Shigeta on drums, and Keisuke Miyashita on bass. When Garbo-Jin accompanied Takuro Yoshida’s tour for about half a year, Hi-Fi Set needed backing band recruitment during that time. So they decided ‘There are guys called Magical City recording demo tapes at Otowa Studio daily – let’s have them do backing.’ This gave us our first proper paid work.”

This was Magical’s first “professional” paid work opportunity.

Not only that – they also handled backing for other artists belonging to Hi-Fi Set’s “Bird Corporation” management company, including folk singer Masamitsu Tayama and Akiko Kosaka (known for the hit “Anata”). They backed concerts for Hi-Fi Set and these artists, enjoying fulfilling musician days for a while.

Incidentally, “Garbo-Jin” was a portmanteau of Greta Garbo and Aladdin, reportedly named by Yuming.

Shinkawa’s Departure and Turning Professional

However, this lifestyle didn’t last long. When Garbo-Jin returned from Yoshida’s tour, pinch-hitter Magical was “dismissed.” Just as they worried “What do we do now?” Shinkawa received an unexpected offer:

“Just as Matsutoya was marrying Yumi, he said he had to work for his wife (Yuming) now, so he asked me to stay. I joined Garbo-Jin replacing Matsutoya. So I alone left Magical.”

Leader Shinkawa left Magical at 1976’s end. Afterward, Shinkawa supported Alfa-affiliated artists including Hi-Fi Set’s “Garbo-Jin” and Yuming tours, receiving many arranger requests and rapidly displaying his talents. His 1980s work arranging numerous kayōkyoku hits needs no elaboration here.

The successor keyboardist was Hidehiko Koike, known as early Casiopea member who had also helped Far East as roadie with Aoyama. Koike later joined Victor Music Industries as director, handling Beat Takeshi and Hiromi Iwasaki.

New Magical (Aoyama, Ito, Makino, Koike) with Koike made their recording debut backing Takashi Nishioka’s solo album from folk group “Five Red Balloons.” They backed three Nishioka solo albums: “Watashi no Mimi wa Roba no Mimi” (1977), “Kodomo-tachi ni Okuru Ai no Uta” (1977), and “Mos” (1978). Afterward, Aoyama and Ito each received separate backing requests.

Finally, each member began working as professionals. (Continued in Vol.3)

Series Archive