I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
RAMU - Shonen wa Tenshi wo Korosu「少年は天使を殺す 」
80s JPop group ラ・ムー (RAMU alternatively spelled La Mu) was one of
those eccentric, mixed-up bands that had an almost
schizophrenic identity. While band leader and keyboardist 松浦義和/Matsuura
Yoshikazu (occasional member of the Japanese fusion band プリズム) and drummer 中西望/Nakanishi Nozomu seemed to want
the steer the group towards a more "rock band" sound along the lines of
perhaps サディスティック・ミカ・バンド or 安全地帯, the band's songs seemed to be more along the line of R&B and Funk in thanks in large part to the powerful background vocals of American backup vocalists ロザリン・キール/Rosaiyu Renee Keel and
and ダレル・ホールデン/Darelle Foster Holden. With the inclusion of guest
vocalist, 80s Pop Idol 菊池桃子/Kikuchi Momoko, whose bubbly and ethereal vocals seemed in
stark contrast to Keel and Holden's strong R&B chorus, ラ・ムー sure made for a very confusing group
sound indeed. Over at his blog J-Pop Oya-Ji suggests that ラ・ムー was formed in response 本田美奈子's "MINAKO with
WILD CATS” group but I'm not so sure about that as the latter group seemed
more along the lines of SHOW-YA or プリンセス・プリンセス.
ラ・
ムー only released one full album with 1988's 「THANKS
GIVING」 which featured their singles 「TOKYO野蛮人」 , 「青山Killer物語」,
「愛は心の仕事です」 and their only hit 「少年は天使を殺す」 which charted at No. 4 on the
オリコン charts for that same year. Needless to say, they couldn't really
find an audience. Whether it was because of the odd pairing of モモコ's
idol pop singing style with Matsuura and Nakanishi's fusion of progressive
rock/R&B/Funk sound or the fact that they just didn't have the backing of
a major publishing label, they quickly faded into obscurity within a
year and a half. For モモコ (who had mixed feelings in the beginning about collaborating with Matsuura and Nakanishi) this was a blessing in disguise as she had
wanted to move away from singing to pursue her acting and CM work.
I personally love ラ・ムー and thought that their songs were quite upbeat and unique albeit their song titles were a bit morbid and dire sounding. While モモコ was brought on for her 'star power', the real great finds I thought were Keeland Holden whose vocals were very memorable. While neither spoke a word of Japanese, luckily most of their song chorus was in English for the most part.
After they disbanded, most of the members went their separate ways. I couldn't really find any more information on the whereabouts of Matsuura, Nakanishi and Keel and where they went. Holden returned to the U.S. where she continued to sing and now headlines a show in Las Vegas as a jazz performer. The name ラ・ムー is now more identified with the メガディスカウントスーパー"LA MU" in 大阪/Osaka.
Couldn't find a live performance of 「少年は天使を殺す」 unfortunately so here instead is a performance of 「青山Killer物語」. (Actually, I found a recording of the latter.)
RAMU - (L-R - Top Row - Matsuura, Nakanishi; L-R - Front Row - Holden, Momoko and Keel.
Thanks very much, JTM, for talking about one of the more eclectic acts that I'd come across. I saw RAMU on an episode of one of the ranking shows (perhaps "Best 10"), but it wasn't for "Shonen wa Tenshi wo Korosu"...something a bit more calmer. I don't remember much of the song, but it was a different delivery for Kikuchi.
As for "Shonen", yeah, I'm not sure if this were more of a challenge to Minako and Wild Cats than it was a fellow tune resembling some of the power pop that Anri and Kahoru Kohiruimaki were putting out at the time.
It's a real shame RAMU didn't stick around longer because they were great. I have a weakness for intertwined funky rhythms, and I thought Matsuura and Nakanishi created some brilliant tracks for the group. Interesting mix of upbeat R&B sound and surreal themes and melodies, especially in songs like "Shonen wa Tenshi wo Korosu" and "Tokyo Yabanjin". Of course, Holden and Keel were memorable as background singers, while Kikuchi's soft voice added a touch of mystery to their sound.
I am a massive fan of Ramu, and I thought I was the only person who had heard of them. Their songs "Rainy Night Lady" and "Late Night Heartache" were some of the driving forces behind me finishing my first novel, and I will always owe a great deal of debt to them in spirit. Never knew much about the group, and I'm glad I do now. Seriously, I cannot thank you enough for posting this.
Can anyone point in the right direction for some more Ra Mu? I'd like to get the album but I can't even find it for sale.
I'd love to download it - someone sent me "Mizu no Silk Road" a long time ago and it appears to be a b-side to the last clip in the post. I really liked that song and just stumbled on Rainy Night Lady on Youtube so now I'm really curious. I also found this:
And thanks for your comments. I looked through Amazon.jp under regular and MP3 music, but couldn't find any album for RAMU. I've informed the original author of this article, JTM, about your comments, so hopefully he may be of better insight about your request. Good luck!
Thanks for this killer write-up. Ramu is one of the underrated hidden gems of Japanese pop, and it's a shame they didn't at least make one or two more albums.
Thanks very much, JTM, for talking about one of the more eclectic acts that I'd come across. I saw RAMU on an episode of one of the ranking shows (perhaps "Best 10"), but it wasn't for "Shonen wa Tenshi wo Korosu"...something a bit more calmer. I don't remember much of the song, but it was a different delivery for Kikuchi.
ReplyDeleteAs for "Shonen", yeah, I'm not sure if this were more of a challenge to Minako and Wild Cats than it was a fellow tune resembling some of the power pop that Anri and Kahoru Kohiruimaki were putting out at the time.
It's a real shame RAMU didn't stick around longer because they were great. I have a weakness for intertwined funky rhythms, and I thought Matsuura and Nakanishi created some brilliant tracks for the group. Interesting mix of upbeat R&B sound and surreal themes and melodies, especially in songs like "Shonen wa Tenshi wo Korosu" and "Tokyo Yabanjin". Of course, Holden and Keel were memorable as background singers, while Kikuchi's soft voice added a touch of mystery to their sound.
ReplyDeleteI am a massive fan of Ramu, and I thought I was the only person who had heard of them. Their songs "Rainy Night Lady" and "Late Night Heartache" were some of the driving forces behind me finishing my first novel, and I will always owe a great deal of debt to them in spirit. Never knew much about the group, and I'm glad I do now. Seriously, I cannot thank you enough for posting this.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone point in the right direction for some more Ra Mu? I'd like to get the album but I can't even find it for sale.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to download it - someone sent me "Mizu no Silk Road" a long time ago and it appears to be a b-side to the last clip in the post. I really liked that song and just stumbled on Rainy Night Lady on Youtube so now I'm really curious. I also found this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAtBYlI5Lag
I'll check back here!
Hello, Anonymous.
DeleteAnd thanks for your comments. I looked through Amazon.jp under regular and MP3 music, but couldn't find any album for RAMU. I've informed the original author of this article, JTM, about your comments, so hopefully he may be of better insight about your request. Good luck!
Thanks for this killer write-up. Ramu is one of the underrated hidden gems of Japanese pop, and it's a shame they didn't at least make one or two more albums.
ReplyDelete