Maiko Nakano -- Imitation Blue

 

Over five years ago, I provided an article regarding a little-known singer by the name of Maiko Nakano（中野麻衣子）and back in 2018, I lamented that I couldn't find much on this singer-songwriter. Well, in the years since, there has been some movement on that front with Discogs showing that she had released at least one album and a couple of singles dating back to 1989 including the topic of that first article, "Chinatown"（チャイナタウン）.

Well, along with "Chinatown" also being included on Nakano's one album from June 1991, "Bay Side Story", I was able to find its track mate, "Imitation Blue". Written by Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）and composed by Ken Sato（佐藤健）, "Imitation Blue" actually precedes the more conventional sophisti-pop of "Chinatown" and it's a little more different in style. For one thing, there is a slightly gloppy technopop thing going for it thanks to one synthesizer but the overall feeling is that of a jazzy time at an old-fashioned faded glory nightclub somewhere in the big city. Maybe there's even a bit of Matt Bianco in the proceedings.

Listening to Nakano, she does have that voice of a jazz chanteuse which makes me wonder whether she did go into that genre later on. But I have just discovered that she is currently running a drinking establishment in Yokohama called Rick's Café according to one blog and she has her own Facebook page. Being a fan of "Casablanca", I wouldn't find tracking down the place myself. It's located within five minutes' walk from Nihon-Odori Station（日本大通り駅）on the Minato Mirai Line, and from the looks of it online, I think that I may have indeed walked by the station.