Takako Minekawa -- Sleep Song

 

With Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Insomnia", there was always that Nosferatu-like sinister feeling paired with some traditional Japanese vibes filtered through an eerie filter as Chris Mosdell, in a Kafkaesque mood, gives his exhausted opinions on not being able to sleep. If there had been a music video for "Insomnia", it would have borrowed liberally from Dadaism.

I did find a soulmate of sorts for "Insomnia" and it comes as the first track on Takako Minekawa's（嶺川貴子）3rd album "Roomic Cube" from May 1996 (released overseas in February 1997). With a synthesizer "mwoop" (not too good at describing onomatopoeia) leading things off, "Sleep Song" comes across as somewhat less sinister and more whimsical as Minekawa keeps intoning "I can't sleep...let me sleep", sentiments that I have echoed from time to time from my bed at 2 am. Not sure what was eating at the singer when she was coming up with "Sleep Song", but perhaps I can suggest some warm milk with a touch of nutmeg.

As well, I'm kinda wondering about that Shibuya-kei tag that I've put into Labels. On the face of it, "Sleep Song" feels like an avant-pop tune but there's a part of me that also feels as if this might be a gothic Shibuya song, knowing that Minekawa has been identified as being one pioneer in the genre. But I will also let you Shibuya-kei fans make the choice.

In any case, following "Sleep Song" in "Roomic Cube" is "Fantastic Cat", a song that I have already written about.