When I was doing the write-up for Tohoku Shinkansen's（東北新幹線）"Up and Down" the other day, I also came across another song on YouTube by a singer named Marico（真璃子）. Titled "Nijuu-ni Shoku no Heart" (22-Colour Heart), it was composed by one-half of Tohoku Shinkansen, composer Etsuko Yamakawa（山川恵津子）, and written by Goro Matsui（松井五郎）.
What caught my ears about this particular tune is that although Marico started her career as a mid-1980s aidoru, this "Nijuu-ni Shoku no Heart" which is a track on her debut album "Marico" from September 1986 is a cut above the usual aidoru tune. I wanted to say sasuga to Yamakawa. I mean, there are the cute aidoru synths in there but the arrangement of the song, especially when it comes to the guitars, almost takes things into City Pop/J-AOR territory, something that Yasuhiro Abe（安部恭弘）would concoct and croon. It's very laidback and comfortable. Perhaps a number of her other tracks and singles were conventionally aidoru but as a non-single track, "Nijuu-ni Shoku no Heart" definitely feels something more urban contemporary.
The Fukuoka-born singer, born Mariko Hiura（日浦真里子）, released 21 singles up to 1995 and released 6 original albums up to 1993. According to her J-Wiki bio, Marico has also done some acting on TV and radio broadcasts but is currently a regional tarento as well as a helper at her husband's bar at night.
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