Kokusyoku Sumire -- Towa ni Uruwashiku Sumire no Hana yo（永久に麗しく、すみれの花よ）

Charron Freres Accordion by Uberprutser

It's hard to believe, but the very first time I posted anything about the eclectic accordion-based sister duo Charan-Po-Rantan（チャラン・ポ・ランタン）was over a decade ago in 2015 with their "Moebius no Ikitomari"（メビウスの行き止まり）. The sisters Matsunaga struck me as being unique within Japanese pop music.

But then, not too long ago, commenter YMOfan04 informed me of another duo who have a similar style and actually debuted around half a decade earlier than Charan-Po-Rantan. Kokusyoku Sumire（黒色すみれ）, which translates into Black Violets, started up in 2004, and they specialize in pop and retro kayo kyoku. There's Yuka（ゆか）who's the vocalist, accordionist and pianist while Sachi（さち）is on the violin and a number of other instruments.

On listening to "Towa ni Uruwashiku Sumire no Hana yo" (Beautiful Violet Forever) which comes from their 2nd album "Ander Meruhen Kakyokushuu"（アンデルメルヘン歌曲集...Andersen Fairy Tale Lieder Collection） from January 2006, Yuka and Sachi on their instruments brought that feeling of music from Old World Europe of a certain age as well as what I would imagine Taisho Era non-Japanese-style music was like a century ago. Not sure what Yuka, who wrote and composed "Towa ni Uruwashiku Sumire no Hana yo", was inspired by when she created it, but I've had hints of Russian folk music, Argentine tango and maybe even some of that Fashion Music essence from Japan. Maybe YMOfan04 can provide further insights, too.

Kokusyoku Sumire has continued recording up to the present day with thirteen albums including their most recent release, "Kinsei Club"（金星倶楽部...Venus Club） which came out last month.