I've already mentioned singer-songwriter Kingo Hamada（濱田金吾）in my previous article on midnight-themed City Pop songs, but I just had to mention him one more time today on Urban Contemporary Fridays on KKP. But if you can allow me one brief aside: who da thunk it? Hamada went from being a member of a 1970s folk group Craft to becoming a crooner of jazz ballads and a funkster in City Pop.
We may have a hybrid of sorts between that jazz and City Pop with his splendid "Ink Blue no Yoake" (Ink Blue Sunrise) which is a track on his August 1983 5th album "Mugshot". I realize the title makes dawn the temporal setting but I think that "Ink Blue no Yoake" can be perfect for anything in the wee hours, even midnight. Still I kinda imagine a couple walking woozily after a crazy night out back to the car or apartment with the lady just carrying her heels as this song is playing and the sun is just rising out of the horizon. Written by Takako Ozawa（大沢孝子）and composed by Hamada, it's indeed a classy type of Japanese metropolitan music that has me thinking of Tohoku Shinkansen's take on "September Valentine" or, for that matter, any sort of sophisticated pop ballad.
Some enterprising fellow has even used some of "Ink Blue no Yoake" to adorn scenes from the classic "Taxi Driver". Inspired idea! Good on you, TBI 3D_M Slamet Riyadi!
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