Asami Kobayashi/Port of Notes -- Typhoon

Right now as I write this, I've been checking on the various live stream cameras in different parts of Japan, since Typhoon No. 10 (aka Typhoon Krosa) is about to hit the archipelago. I'm hoping that everyone is taking care during this time. The above shot is the news coverage of a typhoon I experienced while I was visiting Tokyo in 2014. That time, it just left a glancing blow on the Kanto since it was purely a morning disturbance.

Last week, I finished up a 2-part article on Yumi Matsutoya's（松任谷由実）"Voyager" album where I wrote a small paragraph on the mellow "Typhoon", a ballad of a couple enjoying themselves inside their own home while a maelstrom is blowing outside. I also remarked that the song would later be covered by Asami Kobayashi（小林麻美）and the duo Port of Notes since I did see their videos on YouTube as well.

First off, Kobayashi's cover of "Typhoon" came about a year after Yuming's introduction on her August 1984 album "CRYPTOGRAPH ~ Ai no Angou"（愛の暗号...Code of Love）. There are parts of the song that almost take things fully into technopop, but overall I've just treated it as a pop song. Although the dreamy atmosphere is still nicely infused in there as was the case with the Yuming original, I also note that there is also a certain sunniness that makes me think that as this version is playing, the clouds have opened up outside of the couple's window and perhaps even some sun is streaming through. But again, why would they want to get out of bed when things are so pleasant inside?

Meanwhile, Port of Notes, a duo consisting of singer-songwriter Miyuki Hatakeyama（畠山美由紀）and guitarist-producer Daisuke Oshima（小島大介）that provides a lot of genres including bossa nova, soul and jazz, offered their own take on "Typhoon" when they participated in the December 2002 Yuming tribute album, "Queen’s Fellows -Yuming 30th Anniversary Cover Album". I found that Port of Notes took their cover in the opposite direction, making "Typhoon" sound even more ethereal and perhaps downright mystical. It's a minute longer than the Kobayashi cover, and with the very out-there guitar and echo effects along with Hatakeyama's hypnotic vocals, that couple in bed may still be enjoying the effects of their cocktail-laden night (we'll just leave the hangover out this time, for argument's sake).

I've heard a bit more of Port of Notes and although I've been covering Hatakeyama's solo material up to now, I hadn't covered her time as one-half of this duo. This will be rectified in the coming weeks. Anyways, for those of you in Japan, stay safe!