Momoko Kikuchi -- ANATAKARA FLY AWAY

 

All these years I've known about Momoko Kikuchi（菊池桃子）and her May 1985 single "BOY no Tehma" (BOYのテーマ) with her distinctive aidoru sound, not knowing at the time that it was composer and arranger Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）adding a hint of his City Pop. In fact, it wasn't until recently that Kikuchi was probably becoming known among new fans in the 1980s that she was embracing some of that urban contemporariness for her early material.

Then, it was only within the last few days that I became aware that the B-side to "BOY no Tehma" had an even more City Pop beat. That would be "ANATAKARA FLY AWAY" (Flying Away From You) by the same songwriters for the A-side: Hayashi and lyricist Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）. Some of the keyboard work sounds so funky that I am reminded of the band Freez; and of course, what can I say about the boppy bass? It's all so refined right from Note One.