Lucky Kilimanjaro -- Ame ga Furu nara Odoreba Ii ja nai（雨が降るなら踊ればいいじゃない）

 

Japan was the place where I learned not only about the different high fashion brands such as Hermes and Gucci but it was also where I found out about the different types of coffee which include Blue Mountain and Kilimanjaro. I certainly didn't care about fashion brands and when it came to a barista at Starbucks in Tokyo recommending a certain type of coffee, I just said "Yeah" more out of a sense of "whatever" (I was polite, though) than out of an interest in the actual brand.

So when I heard the name Lucky Kilimanjaro, I thought it was something that a customer might win at some café raffle. Little did I know that it was actually the name of a six-strong band formed in 2014. According to J-Wiki, although the synths (and perhaps the rap) are strong here, vocalist and songwriter Yukimaru Kumaki（熊木幸丸）and his band incorporate the sound of City Pop and disco. 

Having released a mini-album and then a full album during their indies period in 2015 and 2017 respectively, their work with the major label of DREAMUSIC Inc. has resulted in 14 singles, 2 EPs and 4 full albums up to the end of 2022. Their March 2021 2nd album "Daily Bop" has one track that I've been enjoying, "Ame ga Furu nara Odoreba Ii ja nai" (If It Rains, Why Not Dance?).

With lyrics by Kumaki and composition by the whole band, "Ame ga Furu nara Odoreba Ii ja nai" definitely has the Neo-City Pop groove that I've heard from Kirinji（キリンジ）during their last band phase thrumming through their spacey synthesizers as Kumaki sings basically about making lemonade out of lemons. Plus, there are some shoutouts to Gene Kelly and Jim Carrey (the latter especially through his acclaimed movie "The Truman Show"). It would mean that in the last year and change, my fellow Ontarian has had some tenuous connection with a couple of tunes in the City Pop vein: this song and his association with The Weeknd's sample of Tomoko Aran's（亜蘭知子）"Midnight Pretenders" for his "Out of Time".