Here in Portugal, the sky is white as it's covered by clouds and the air is chilly. It's been like this since last week as we're experiencing an accumulation of cold fronts and mild storms. At least, we can be thankful for the rain since the country is facing severe drought.
"White Breath" is one of the songs that comes to my mind when I think about Winter - mostly because of the title, since the music is pretty warm and upbeat, and Takanori Nishikawa (西川貴教) doesn't seem cold at all in the video above posted - as expected of the man.
The first time I listened to TMR was through one of the opening songs of the 2006 anime "Soul Eater". It wasn't until some years later that I found out he is quite the famous personality in Japan and this was the song that got him popular in the first place.
J-Canuck already covered this song almost 4 years ago but I stumbled upon it in a different way.
It is Akina Nakamori's (中森明菜) version that comes first to my mind when I think about the song, because I first listened to her cover version, included in the 2016 album "Belie". That year, Akina fans had quite the treat since the album was later promoted as a bundle with the LP "Vampire", which contained more cover songs. It managed to reach 8th place in the Oricon charts, according to Wikipedia. Good thing she's been releasing one or two albums per year.
The arrangement by Takeshi Namura (名村武, former bassist and vocalist for Ann Lewis), Koushi Kishita (木下航志, called the "Japanese Stevie Wonder") and Yoshinari Takegami (竹上良成, brass arrangement) gives the song a more classy and soulful feel which I personally enjoy over the original by T.M.Revolution. I think it suits better the lyrics, which talk about warming up in a Winter night with a significant other, leaving oneself somewhat vulnerable towards the partner. Akina's rendition definitely has some of this vulnerability.
Keep warm, everyone (if Winter's still around you)!
Hello, Joana, it’s Marcos here.
ReplyDeleteI confess that, because of your name, I was quite curious about your home country. Since I live in Brazil, and your name can obviously be found here, I was wondering if you were not from Brazil too… but now I know you’re from Portugal, a country that, unfortunately, I haven’t visited yet, but would love to do one day, especially because of how the histories of our countries are connected.
Here in Brazil, or in Rio de Janeiro, to be more specific, we’re enjoying our last days of summer with heavy rain almost every day. It’s been incredibly hot as well (near 40ºC last Friday), even though we’re already in March.
Ah, “White Breath” is truly a famous song, isn’t it? I think even Nana Mizuki sang it with Takanori when both of them were releasing some singles back in 2013 (love their collaborations in “Preserved Roses” and “Kakumei Dualism”), but I can’t confirm. I also happen to like a good portion of the folks involved with this song, from Takanori himself, through the composer Daisuke Asakura (one of my favorite composers and keyboard players), to 80s aidoru diva Akina Nakamori.
About Akina's, it’s noticeable how her voice is quite husky nowadays, even though she’ll always be blessed with great technique. I'm more a fan of her strong vocals from the mid-to-late 80s through the 90s, but I'm always happy to see her releasing new stuff. From the recent material, I like the exotic Techno sound of "Rojo -Tierra-" (coincidentally composed by Daisuke Asakura as well) and also the urgent "Hirari -Sakura-".
Hello Marcos! Thanks for your comment.
DeleteI as well haven't been to Brazil (I never actually traveled out of Portugal yet) but your name also stroke me when I started reading your posts.
I'm also a fan of the collaborations between Takanori and Nana Mizuki! I remember when the anime (Valvrave) was released and everyone around me was hyped because of the opening song.
I love Akina's voice more or less equally throughout the years. I think she's managing to produce her albums without digital retouching, as far as I know, which is nice. I don't really like "Rojo -Tierra-" but I love "Hirari -Sakura-".
Hi, guys. I'm glad that the two of you have had a chance to meet.
DeleteJust to compare weather notes, we only got up to 1 degree Celsius today. At this point, people here are willing to kill just to reach 4 degrees! And it's going down to -3 tonight with the chance of snow.
Joana, as also someone who has never been to Portugal (or Europe, for that matter), I appreciate the story about your home and the different take on how you found out about "White Breath". I gotta say that I really love the Akina cover version of the song with the Latin jazz. Now, I'm kinda wondering if I should invest in "Belie" or "Vampire", it would be the most recent original Akina album I have ever bought.
Hello, J-Canuck!
DeleteIf I had to choose, it would be "Belie" since I simply love the covers for "White Breath" and "Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis".
Someday I want to cover one song or maybe the entire album "Akina" from last year. It's an originals album and easily my favorite release from Akina since, maybe, "Spoon" (1998). I'd describe it as an updated, ever so slightly less melancholic version of "Cruise".