Dual Dream -- Winter Kiss

 

We got a nice sprinkling of snow yesterday but generally speaking, winter lovers have probably been somewhat disappointed in the start of this season so far due to the unseasonably warm temperatures and the rain that has been washing away the white stuff. Ah, well...as I've said to folks outside of the GTA, weather in Toronto is predictably unpredictable.

The above video for Dual Dream's "Winter Kiss" doesn't have the greatest resolution but it's perhaps for this reason that there's even more nostalgia imbued here. All that adorable fuzziness and all that. In any case, Dual Dream consisted of the duo of vocalist/guitarist Kenji Kojima（小島健二）and vocalist/keyboardist Michiaki Koike（小池道昭）. Koike actually became the new partner as of January 1994, replacing guitarist Makoto Nishiyama（西山誠）who had been part of the original tandem with Kojima when they started up the band in 1987 in Osaka.

Dual Dream's debut single came out in August 1990 but the duo didn't hit their peak until well into 1994 when their 8th single, "Winter Kiss", released in November, hit the airwaves and hit the charts by peaking at No. 13, their best showing with sales over 300,000 units. I wouldn't say that it was a Xmas song but it was more of a happy winter song for folks to enjoy themselves in the great outdoors, probably skiing or skating. Kojima handled the melody while Kanata Asamizu（朝水彼方）provided the lyrics.

"Winter Kiss" was also used in the commercial for Sapporo Beer's "Fuyu Monogatari"（冬物語...Winter Tales）, and after watching that music video above, that ad really hits the eyes with clarity! The smiling young woman back then was tarento Noriko Kato（加藤紀子）, a very familiar presence when I first got into Japan for my second stint. Personally, though, I would prefer a hearty bowl of barley soup to a can of wheat juice in the winter.😋

The duo continued to release 14 singles up to 1998 and four full albums up to 2006. After 2010 which was their 20th anniversary in show business, Dual Dream's activities came to an end.