Yoko Nagisa -- Tasogare Minato Machi（黄昏みなと町）

 

2024 has been the year that I first found out about the late singer Yoko Nagisa（渚ようこ）, a somewhat mysterious figure who loved to sing her own brand of Showa-era pop music in a way that brought back memories of the 1960s and 1970s although she recorded her songs in the 1990s and 2000s.

The last time I wrote about her was back in late July with her 2003 single "Ai no Toubousha"（愛の逃亡者）, a reminder of all things American Sunshine Pop and Burt Bacharach. Well, apparently the coupling song, "Tasogare Minato Machi" (Sunset Port Town) is much more of a return to Japan. In fact, there is something downright Ayumi Ishida（いしだあゆみ）and her classic 1968 "Blue Light Yokohama" about her vocalization and the arrangement surrounding this song. I don't get any hints of the 2000s here; musically, I get shot back to when I was only four years old.

The composer was Gary Ashiya（ゲイリー芦屋）while the lyricist has been listed on the JASRAC database as Kazuki Tozai（東西蘭月）, although his real name was Akihiro Yoshida（吉田明裕）according to this tweet on Twitter. Unfortunately, he passed away in early 2022.