Sunday, November 1, 2020

Ruiko Kurahashi -- Kaze ni Kaita Tegami(風に書いた手紙)

 

Well, that didn't take long. Less than 24 hours out of Daylight Saving Time and into November, we here in Toronto are already seeing snow flurries flying out all over the place. I wonder if accumulation is soon to arrive at our doorstep.


Rather hard to believe but it's been about a dozen years since I went to that Ruiko Kurahashi(倉橋ルイ子)concert in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo on that rainy Friday night. I will always look to her for the classy pop from the 1980s.

Her 4th single "Kaze ni Kaita Tegami" (A Letter Written In The Wind) from July 1984 was actually used for what sounds like a couple of international cuisine shows on NTV: "Seiko Gurume World"(SEIKOグルメワールド...Seiko Gourmet World) and "Sekai Tabechau zo!"(世界食べちゃうぞ!...Gonna Eat Up The World!). If so, it looks like the producers were going for some fine dining just from the sounds of Ruiko's song. "Kaze ni Kaita Tegami" has that imprint of what I've often heard in her music: her light and smoky vocals surrounded by moody and sophisticated arrangements with strings and horns, but there are also the City Pop part before the refrain and the refrain itself which take a turn into sunny hope.

The song was written by Machiko Ryu(竜真知子)and composed by Tetsuji Hayashi(林哲司). I also have to compliment those echoing piano chords. I was telling my friend tonight that I would just love to have a ramen joint open in my neighbourhood but considering that my area skews a lot older in average age, I don't think it's gonna be quite possible for now.

2 comments:

Feel free to provide any comments (pro or con). Just be civil about it.