Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Megumi Satsu -- Je m'aime


In the last few days, I was made aware of a singer that I had never heard before by the name of Megumi Satsu/薩めぐみ (1948-2010). According to her bio on J-Wiki, she was labeled as a chanson singer but having come across some of her videos on YouTube, I think there was more to her than just that one label. When I started this blog back in early 2012, I not only wanted to talk about the songs which I've enjoyed of my past and present, but also converse about new singers and songs that I've been lucky to encounter. I certainly expected that in fields like City Pop and enka but never thought I would find something new in the Chanson label. In fact, the only singer that I knew in that genre was Fubuki Koshiji(越路吹雪).

As I told the fellow who had introduced me to the late Ms. Satsu via her music, I received a number of musical impressions from the stylish chanteuse. It wasn't just chanson or the fact that she sang mostly in French. Genres like New Wave, avant-garde and techno also washed over me, and then I was reminded of singers such as Taeko Ohnuki(大貫妙子)and Miharu Koshi(コシミハル)in the 1980s, although their music still had an anchor in Japan. Megumi Satsu was definitely someone in a class all by herself.

Looking at her videos, her visual style was also quite striking. For her release of "Je m'aime" in 1980, I was intrigued since that was about the same time that I was introduced to some of the more out-there music videos from America and the UK with folks such as Klaus Nomi, Nina Hagen and the band Visage. And yep, she was certainly different from anyone that I had known about from that year in Japanese pop music.


Considering that I've only known about this very unusual singer for just a few days, I don't think I can really give any useful insights on Ms. Satsu until I do a bit more exploration. However, there is a Wikipedia entry on the singer and also a website dedicated to her.


2 comments:

  1. Oh! thank you so much for this tribute. Your kind words are exquisite. Megumi would really appreciate being mentioned in your blog. Thanks again for this precious support. Matt

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello, Matt.

      Thanks very kindly for introducing me to Ms. Satsu. It's always a pleasure to come across new and different singers across the spectrum.

      Delete

Feel free to provide any comments (pro or con). Just be civil about it.