Natsu Summer & Ryusenkei -- Twilight Shadow

 

One of the nicest pathways that I've strolled upon was a promenade or pedestrian boulevard, if you will, near Jiyugaoka Station just west of Shibuya. My good friend lived in the neighbourhood for several years before moving out to one of the newer hubs in western Tokyo. We used to get together to watch movies on the old VCR and there were a lot of good restaurants in the area along with a generously stocked supermarket and of course a video rental shop, so it was very convenient. 

I did pick out that thumbnail of twilight-time Jiyugaoka to match this song to start off Urban Contemporary Friday on KKP. "Twilight Shadow" is a collaboration between singer Natsu Summer and Ryusenkei（流線形）, both with their ears and toes in the Neo-City Pop pool, and true to the former's style, "Twilight Shadow", which was released in May 2022 as a single, has got that reggae beat infused into the City Pop arrangement, thanks to the music by Ryusenkei's Cunimondo Takiguchi（クニモンド瀧口）who also provided the lyrics.

First listening to "Twilight Shadow", I heard something familiar in the music and that's when I realized that Takiguchi had sampled Anri's（杏里）"Last Summer Whisper" for the song. So, allow me to include Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生）into the Labels as well. If I were still able to stroll on that Jiyugaoka promenade, I could be listening to this song while sitting on the bench at twilight time.