Chiemi Hori -- Ai wo Ima Shinjite Itai (愛を今信じていたい)

I used to listen to this song a lot about a year ago, but, unfortunately, it kind of vanished from my playlists as time passed by. But searching for one song I ended finding this nice little lost gem in my HD.

“Ai wo Ima Shinjite Itai” (愛を今信じていたい) was the last single released by Chiemi Hori (堀ちえみ) in March 1987 just before her retirement from the music industry. According to generasia, she was at the peak of her aidoru career when she did so.

The song is a good example of the late 80s synth-pop style. The pre-chorus is a highlight as Chiemi sings it in a very graceful manner (pay attention to how she pronounces “poketto” in the second pre-chorus, right after the 2:17 mark. Nothing can be more graceful than that). As for the chorus, the background arrangement really stands out with the dramatic synths typical of the late 80s (nothing quite dramatic as the synths used in "It's a Sin" by The Pet Shop Boys, though). Finally, the song gets quite a mysterious vibe around the bridge while the bass becomes very evident as well. All in all, this type of arrangement always give me a cold “feel”, something like “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by Eurythmics. In the case of “Ai wo Ima Shinjite Itai”, though, Chiemi’s vocals make the whole experience a lot warmer.

“Ai wo Ima Shinjite Itai” was written by Akimoto Yasushi (秋元康), while the music was composed by Tetsuya “TK” Komuro (小室哲哉). As for the arrangement, Takebe Satoshi (武部聡志) was the responsible.