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I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Friday, June 20, 2025

Yutaka Kimura Speaks: Toshiki Kadomatsu(角松敏生)

 


When talking about Toshiki Kadomatsu, the fact that he graduated from a Department of Philosophy is quite suggestive.

In 1981, Kadomatsu debuted with the album "Sea Breeze", but it's this and his following two albums that completely positioned him in City Pop embellished with a resort vibe. After that, he would go through a New York-style dance music phase with albums such as "Gold Digger" (1985), but his three albums starting with the 1991 "All is Vanity" up to the beginning of his hiatus in 1993 showed a more personal singer-songwriter side. As well, in 1988, he set up his own label, Om, which is based on a Buddhist term that revealed some influence from Indian philosophy, something that he had majored in.

Putting aside his amiable image from things such as his role as a radio personality, Kadomatsu was basically a deeply thoughtful and philosophical man. Even taking into consideration his early works, they could come across as feel-good love songs at first listen, but they also enveloped a world of truth and proven experience.

Furthermore, his pre-hiatus "Aru ga Mama ni"(あるがままに)and "Kimi wo Kikoeru Hi"君をこえる日 laid bare personal anguish and isolation, and elicited strong sympathy from at least some of the listeners. As a result, Kadomatsu has possessed this charismatic attraction which hinted at a philosophical spiritualist side within himself. So for this sort of man, what was the message that he was willing to sacrifice himself to convey? You should be able to glean the answer from listening to each of his albums as meticulously as possible. 

During his hiatus, Kadomatsu produced his VOCALAND project and was an incognito member of AGHARTA. In 1999, he came out with his "Time Tunnel" album after coming out of his half-decade hiatus and restarted his career and went into a new musical direction, and then in 2016, he welcomed his 35th anniversary.

The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).

1 comment:

  1. Love this! This is pretty cool it blends a little bit of 1970's funk with that early 80's sound!

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