Takeshi Matsubara -- Saihoku Cinema（最北シネマ）

Last week on another episode of "Gogo Uta"（ごごウタ）, I was introduced to another enka singer that I hadn't encountered before.

I was a bit surprised since the song "Saihoku Cinema" (Northernmost Cinema), though sung by enka singer Takeshi Matsubara（松原健之）in the usual yukata, actually doesn't sound either like a conventional enka tune or a Mood Kayo for that matter. If anything, the elegant arrangement reminds me more of that area of traditional Japanese popular music that could be called European enka (one typical singer was Teresa Teng), and now come to think of it, perhaps it could even fall under that mini-umbrella of music known as Fashion Music of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The elegance of "Saihoku Cinema" is what caught my attention. Supposedly the story of Matsubara's 16th single from November 2018 centers it as a love song set in the city of Wakkanai, Hokkaido according to the description of the shortened version of the official music video from YouTube at the top. The lyrics by Shinichi Ishihara（石原信一）has the protagonist not only involving a movie theatre for the two lovers but perhaps an ardent scene that seems to come out of a movie. Kohei Miyuki（幸耕平）provided the tenderhearted melody.

Matsubara, who hails from Shizuoka Prefecture, has been singing professionally since 2002 with his first-ever single being an indies production before going with a major label in 2005. In addition to those 16 singles, he also has recorded 6 original albums. According to his profile at J.P Room, his catchphrase has always been "The Miracle Crystal Voice".