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Espadrilles...I've heard the term but wasn't 100% sure on what those were but thanks to Jisho.org and Wikipedia, I realized that they were a form of casual shoe. Perhaps they are trendy now but I wouldn't know about anything about that.
The reason that I have begun this article with a shoe is that I found out about this song by former Especia member Monari Wakita（脇田もなり）titled "Espadrilles de Tsukamaete" (Grab Him With the Espadrilles). This is Wakita's most recent single that came out over a year ago in July 2019. Earlier today, I had completed an article on a Satellite Young song and compared it to some of the stuff that Especia was doing, and I then wondered what other delights I could find of the now-disbanded group and then I stumbled onto Wakita's solo material.
I'll tell you...as soon as I heard those lovely synths in the opening of "Espadrilles de Tsukamaete", I knew that I was in for something good. Marcos V. introduced her solo stuff through a couple of Author's Pick compilation articles but I'm also happy to add an article in the Wakita file with her name in the actual byline above, especially for something this catchy. The synths are just the beginning here; the overall rhythm and chords involved are very appealing to me as I get hints of Neo-City Pop, soul and some of that synthpop. I think the arrangement is such that I can probably drop the aidoru tag for her here.
Moreover, "Espadrilles de Tsukamaete" and its urban contemporary goodness got the naruhodo remark from me when I read that it was genre mainstays Hitomitoi（一十三十一）behind the lyrics and dorian who took care of the cool blippity-bloppity beats. The two of them had also worked together almost a decade previously on the song "summer rich".
Finally, I have to also thank the video for pointing out what those espadrilles were all about. It was made pretty plain to me.
Hi J,
ReplyDeleteFirst time hearing Monari Wakita and it's a pleasant surprise. Nice use of synths to create a fun dance tune in the familiar city pop style.
Two great new songs for you to check out.
Kaede（Negicco）「ジュピター」 (Jupiter)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-niciPpjoY
早見沙織 「garden」 (produced by Keiichi Tomita)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeLCHvXI-rI
On a separate note, on August 31st, YMO member Takahashi Yukihiro underwent surgery to have a brain tumor removed. I guess the operation was a success since I haven't heard about any complications occurring. Hope he recovers. God bless the man. Can't imagine how he must've felt.
Hi, Michael.
DeleteThanks for the tips on Negicco and Hayami. Yeah, I actually caught the article on Takahashi's surgery the other day. It looks like it was successful. I recall Ryuichi Sakamoto had a bout of esophageal cancer some years ago as well.