Fujii Kaze -- Matsuri（まつり）

 

On Wednesday, I wrote up the lineup for the 73rd Kohaku Utagassen on NHK scheduled of course for New Year's Eve, and at the very bottom, I asked how readers thought about the Red and White teams coming out this year and whether they had been hoping for other acts to come on. One fellow answered that he had been surprised that singer-songwriter and pianist Fujii Kaze（藤井風）hadn't been asked back to the NHK special after appearing last year for the 72nd edition. Although I have one Fujii article up on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", his bouncy debut single of "Nan-Nan"（何なんw）, I have yet to put up his Kohaku contribution, "Kirari"（きらり）which was also one of the commenter's recommendations.

However, I've gotta say that I do like his 10th digital download single, "Matsuri" (Festival), which was released back in March this year. As with "Nan-Nan", the coolness factor is in "Matsuri", we get Fujii's soulful vocals, and there is once again the encouragement to drop the downer shackles and simply enjoy life. And in Japan, what better way is there than walking through the traditional festivals? 

In the "Nan-Nan" article, I mentioned that Fujii had taken in a lot of different musical influences such as R&B and kayo kyoku, so it's no surprise that "Matsuri" has mixed in some of that ethereal traditional folk music and a lot of Neo-City Pop feeling. Fujii has even brought a dollop of buzzy rock in the middle. As for the music video, he and his friends introduce their own little dance to go with "Matsuri"; not sure if that became a thing over the summer. According to the J-Wiki article for the song, filming was done at the Rinkoukaku（臨江閣）State Guest House (recognized as an Important Cultural Asset) in Maebashi, the capital of Gunma Prefecture and Rakusan-en（楽山園）which is a traditional Japanese garden also located in the same province; it has been designated nationally as a Place of Scenic Beauty.

"Matsuri" peaked at No. 10 on Billboard Japan's Hot 100. It is also a track on Fujii's 2nd original album "Love All Serve All" which also came out in March this year just like the single. The album hit No. 1 on both Billboard Japan and Oricon.