135 -- Wǒ ài nǐ（我愛你）

A couple of months ago, I introduced a band called 135 (Ichi-Go-San) which really must have stood out in the 1980s for its more worldly view in its arrangements. I still don't know all that much about the works of Shigeto Kajihara（梶原茂人）, keyboardist/bassist Shigeharu Takagi（高木茂治）and percussionist Yoshihiro Honda（本田義博）but I have enjoyed their "Tokio no Kao"（トキオの顔）which, despite the title, seems to be taking place in a much more exotic locale, perhaps Europe. "Tokio no Kao", by the way, is a track on their February 1987 debut album "135".

Also on that album is their 2nd single "Wǒ ài nǐ" which in Mandarin means "I Love You". Released a few weeks before the album, this celebratory song was written and composed by the band itself, and it really doesn't sound like a tune that originates in China itself. Instead, I think that there is something about it that ranges all throughout Asia, and being a love song from what I could understand from the lyrics, wouldn't that be the logical thing to do since the emotion is universal.

In the J-Wiki article for 135, it was put down that the single version and the album version are different but to be honest, I think the only difference (and "Wǒ ài nǐ" is the first track on "135") is that the latter starts with a minute of mesmerizing alto saxophone before perhaps a slightly more drawn-out intro of the main melody. In either case, that sensation of festival and good feelings is ever-present with the proud vocals by Kajihara, a good bouncy bass and the rejoicing keyboards.

I've noticed that a number of 135's singles have been used for commercials, and "Wǒ ài nǐ" was used in an ad for a JVC stereo system. The fellow there may have meant it for the system or the futuristic setting, but I think his Japanese voicing of "Exotic but splendid" can also apply to 135 and the songs that I've covered so far on the blog.