uto -- Hirune（昼寝）

 

Ahhh, yes. Kayo Grace and Mr. Calico are having an afternoon nap in the backyard hammock. My envy goes out to them both. I used to take naps frequently on weekend afternoons when I was decades younger while the rest of the family was watching some form of sports on TV. Nowadays, although I do nod off immediately after lunch in the armchair for a number of minutes, I don't really take naps anymore. For one reason, I usually do at least a few of the KKP articles during the afternoon.

The music duo uto（烏兎）also has the right idea for that round of napping. Their 4th single from July 2024 is "Hirune" (Afternoon Nap) and there isn't a more apt song for sleeping in the hours between lunch and dinner. Written by vocalist Baysatoh（ベイ佐藤）and composed by her and her piano-playing partner Hikari Kubota（窪田ひかり）, the soft melody and Baysatoh's singing are so soothing that it's almost a shame that they can put me into slumber since I do want to appreciate their magical musical moment in its entirety.

I couldn't find a lot of information on uto but according to an Otaru record shop's website, uto hails from Obihiro in Hokkaido but their base of operations is currently in Tokyo. I also found their Twitter account where their name stands for "crow and rabbit", although the term can also mean "sun and moon" (and the YouTube explanation under the video points that out) and even "time" itself. Apparently, one of them is also quite the illustrator.