Natsu Summer -- Hello, future day / Koi No Timing

Humans have an innate urge to categorize and with music the first thing asked is usually "what style" ?  While everyone says they know what Reggae is, the musical, religious, and socio-political aspects are best left to the anthro-ethno-musicologists.  I like the terms "city pop reggae", or "tropical" ( a format recognized by Nielson and Billboard in the US ) with emotive connotations of languid, limpid, swaying, and peaceful undercut with a thick bass, chopping guitar,and rhythms that roll like waves onto the beach.  When J-C posted "Jamaican Affair" by Yuki Okazaki early last summer, I thought of Natsu Summer （ ナツ・サマー ）- and while it's still winter .....

Natsu's real name is Natsuki and she was born in Ehime in July, so her producer punned it into Natsu Summer (he says he was drunk).  She was influenced by her parents' tastes and considers herself both a city pop and reggae singer.  Her producer is Cunimondo Takiguchi (クニモンド瀧口), originally behind Ryusenkei (already covered in KK+), and he's pitched her music towards the DJ and Club scene while striving for an 80's and 90's feel.

http://e.usen.com/frontline/19035/ 

While she debuted in 2016 I first knew of her a year ago through the wonderfully entertaining - if hellacious to read in translation - blog of DJ Takehiro Gold.  Her voice is distinctive, light and clear, and with little of the affectation often heard in non-Jamaican reggae.  Production is very clean and yields a sparse, almost pure sound - in headphones the instrument separation is a joy to hear.  This keeps the music light and floating; less reggae - more tropical.

So far Natsu has released mini-CDs, a full-length CD, and some analog boards (a popular trend these days).  Here are excerpts from the full CD "Hello, future day"

The sound is not a slave to any particular category but mixes different types into a stylish mélange; discussing influences she and Cunimondo hit all the bases: Yuming, Yamashita, Miki Imai, Anri, even Microstar.  "Hello, future day" is an eclectic selection that, as Amazon.jp describes it, is full of the "urban night smell" 😊

The single released - Koi No Timing ( 恋のタイミング ) - will sustain me through the rest of winter until a future (spring) day .....