The first time I wrote about Monday Michiru (Monday満ちる) here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" was back in June when things were heating up for one of the hotter summers on record in Toronto. Well, this is my second go and now it's quite the opposite. I think it's barely above freezing at the moment and I saw some flurries outside my window earlier this afternoon.
Therefore, it's rather nice to bring in something nice and tropical sounding with Michiru's "Play It By Ear". This was her 5th single from July 1999 and unlike the happy-go-lucky strutworthy soul of "You Make Me" which was my first article on the singer-songwriter, "Play It By Ear" is more of the relaxing bossa nova. She worked on this alongside Mondo Grosso who just loves to bring in the Latin elements into his remixes.
"Play It By Ear" despite what the title says is anything but improvisational. It just seems tailor-made to bring down the heart rate and get you into a calmer state of mind...until that bit of Rio trickles in near the end. I actually found it in that BEST album of Michiru's "Selections '97-'00" which was released in 2001.
I was a big Monday Michiru fan back in the day. I got into her music via the Masters At Work remix of "Sunshine After the Rain"
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6B4nSo6H0c
I went on to pick up just about everything she produced until the mid 2000s. She then went to a platform called ArtistShare, which I guess is a crowdfunding platform? I didn't really understand that platform and wrote about it critically and she contacted me on email asking for feedback on the platform. It looks like she is still using ArtistShare (it is still on her website) but I just don't think it has helped her. Maybe it focuses her fanbase but I was just turned off by it at the time and lost interest. I haven't followed her career since then- she wanted to move away from the dance music influence and that's where I started, so I think in the end I drifted away.
Hello, Gen.
DeleteI just listened to "Sunshine After The Rain" and that added percussion from the intro sounds like the work of one of the fellows who provided remixes for Misia back around the same time. I definitely enjoy this song and would like to hear the original as well since I miss some of the cool soul that was coming out of Japan in the early 2000s.
Not sure what Monday is up to these days. Is she doing more jazz?
I haven't kept up with Monday's recent output. I'll be back in Japan next month and may look at Tsutaya.
ReplyDeleteMasters at Work did do a Misia remix of her "Melody" track in 2000. There's even a clear vinyl version.
https://www.discogs.com/Misia-Melody-Masters-At-Work-Remix/master/1041087
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFNBt2A8SQI
I may track that one down on vinyl just for the novelty.