ELIKA -- Kono Mune wo Dakishimete（この胸を抱きしめて）

I had this song bookmarked for such a long time that I'd forgotten what it was all about, so getting to listen to it again, I was reminded why I had chosen it in the first place.

Singer-songwriter and radio personality ELIKA is originally from Gifu Prefecture and has loved music since she was very young. In fact, according to J-Wiki, she had really gotten into singing Naoko Kawai's（河合奈保子）"Young Boy"（ヤング・ボーイ）at a Nagoya recital at the age of 11 in the early 1980s. She made her way to Tokyo soon after graduating from junior high school, and took music lessons while working part-time and then going to night school. At a music academy audition, she sang an Ann Lewis（アン・ルイス）number where she was scouted by personnel from the entertainment corporation Being Inc. However, her debut single "New Vision" in 1989 was produced at what is now Bandai Music Entertainment.

"Kono Mune wo Dakishimete" (Hold These Feelings) was the coupling song for ELIKA's 5th single "Midnight Party"（ミッドナイト・パーティ）which came out in June 1992. Written and composed by the singer under her real name, Erika Shimakage（島影江里香）, the ballad has that overall arrangement that I remember about the music recorded by female pop singers in the early 1990s. Wistful and keyboard-driven, ELIKA also has that delivery reminiscent of ZARD.

With 8 singles, 3 mini-albums and 2 full albums and a number of songs that she wrote for other performers, ELIKA was basically active in the 1990s. J-Wiki mentions that there has been nothing heard of her going into the 21st century.