UA -- Rhythm （リズム）

Along with City Pop singer-turned-Techno artiste, Miharu Koshi（越美晴）, UA's face was long a visage that I'd seen and been intrigued by every time I hit a Tower Records or an HMV. With those huge eyes and Jolie-class lips on a face that was often decked out in various types of makeup, I had wondered what kind of singer she was. But it wasn't until I heard this song that I finally pulled the trigger and picked up the single.

Born Kaori Shima（嶋香織） in Metropolitan Osaka's Suita City, she had a job singing in some sort of nightclub when she was scouted by producer Hiroshi Fujiwara（藤原ヒロシ） (also known as the father of Harajuku culture, according to Wikipedia). In June 1995, she debuted with "Horizon", taking on the stage name of UA, which means "flower" or "kill" in Swahili.

UA hit it big with her 4th single, "Jounetsu"（情熱...Passion), exactly a year later, but my first listen to her was with her next release, "Rhythm" in September 1996. Written by UA and composed by Shinichi Osawa（大沢伸一） (aka Mondo Grosso and the producer who helped launch Bird's career a few years later), I really enjoy its mellow R&B groove....it has that old-school and new-school feel at the same time. And UA's voice has that huskiness which reminds me of a cool muted trumpet. The official music video above (which I hope stays for a while at least) has the then-24-year-old as a bit of a bumbling garage mechanic struggling to get by in an American city, and the ending kinda reflects UA's dry sardonic sense of humour. I've seen her appear on "Hey Hey Hey Music Champ" with the Downtown boys, and she was able to render the guys (momentarily) speechless when she nonchalantly told them in front of a full audience that she had been knocking boots with her then-husband just before coming to the studio. Indeed.

As for "Rhythm", her 5th single peaked at No. 20 on the Oricon charts.

UA--Rhythm