Mariko Kouda -- Binzume no Uchuu（びんづめのうちゅう）

 

The above is Chocolat Brewery, basically chocolate-tasting beer in a can. Around late January 2010, I guess in a bid to capture the Valentine's Day market, Sapporo Beer and Royce' Confect Co., Ltd. collaborated on this rather odd concoction for limited release.

Hmm...my living room table was rather crowded, wasn't it? Anyways, that's the glass of the Guinness-looking Chocolat Brewery front and centre. I do love my chocolate and I've had Royce chocolates before, but I was never a huge beer drinker. And yet, I was tempted to give this a try, and so I did. Yeah, it did taste rather deep and strong and smoky...and then some seconds later, the chocolate notes began to populate my tongue. It was quite the magic treat: beer goes in, chocolate comes out.

Chocolate beer in a can? Well, I can now give you "Binzume no Uchuu" (Universe in a Bottle). I was initially going to translate the title into "Space in a Bottle" but that sounded rather obvious and mundane, and I think that the singer was trying to sing about something more profound.

But before anyone mistakes this for something on the level of "2001: A Space Odyssey", allow me to say that "Binzume no Uchuu", a track from Mariko Kouda's（國府田マリ子）10th-ranking 3rd album "Happy!Happy!Happy!" from July 1996 is actually very aurally approachable. However, I'm trying to wonder why Kouda had wanted to sound like she was scatting underwater from time to time. Regardless, I enjoy "Binzume no Uchuu" for its pleasant beats. Written by Kouda and TADASHI, the melody and arrangement were provided by Tatsuya Nishiwaki（西脇辰弥）, who was part of the light and mellow group PAZZ in the late 1980s. Interestingly enough, the album title was also the name for Kouda's official fan club.

I assumed that I'd already added at least one Kouda article to the blog, but actually "Binzume no Uchuu" is the first one, so I figured that I've probably heard of the Saitama Prefecture-born singer-songwriter somewhere else. That is probably because she's also been an actress and a seiyuu. In fact, I discovered that she had played the mother of the main character of Nanako in the 2018 anime "Senryu Shojo"（川柳少女...Senryu Girl） who you can see above at 48 seconds. I saw the show back during our old Sunday anime outings. Kouda has also done narration work so I have probably heard her voice on one of the NHK shows. As for her music career, Kouda released 24 singles and 14 original albums up to 2013.

Well, there's been chocolate beer in a can and a universe in a bottle. How about a shower in a briefcase?