The late 1980s for me in terms of Japanese pop music meant a lot of things: overt diversification of the genres as we moved from kayo kyoku to J-Pop, a fresher and brasher type of aidoru in the form of Shizuka Kudo（工藤静香）and Miho Nakayama（中山美穂）as examples. And also, the emergence of female pop singer-songwriters coming up with some very mellow and eminently listenable material. Of course, I think of Miki Imai（今井美樹）, Midori Karashima（辛島美登里）and the young lady of note here, Reimy Horikawa（堀川麗美）.
But I have to admit that this final track, "Niji no Asa Kaze no Sora" (Morning Rainbow, Windy Sky), from Reimy's 3rd album, "Pansy", from May 1985 is perhaps one of the earliest examples of this breezy girl pop that I've discovered. With the melody by Reimy herself and then lyrics by Shun Taguchi（田口俊）and arrangement by Masataka Matsutoya（松任谷正隆）, the singer's oh-so-adorable and comforting vocals are the maraschino cherry on top of this swooning sundae that can actually induce images of morning rainbows and windy skies, and nope, nothing pharmacological is involved. Nice touch with the steel pedal guitar, too!
Reimy has been on my radar but I've not around to listening to her until this post. Quite the high pitched voice! Really nice arrangement on this.
ReplyDeleteThe melody and voice reminds me of Yuming maybe?
ReplyDeleteHello, Robert. Yes, it's quite the pleasant pop arrangement thanks to Matsutoya and so it wouldn't be any surprise that there is that Yuming influence. As well, Reimy had been covering a number of her songs early in her career. When Reimy began to write and compose songs on her own in the late 80s, her voice gained a bit more of a rasp.
Delete"Reimy had been covering a number of her songs" ... Ah ok so this explains what I was hearing.
DeleteI wonder if Rei Miyama back in the showa-era influenced some of the later high-pitched voices in the later heisei-era that J-pop and anime is sometimes associated with?
ReplyDeleteA lot of idol kayo from the late 80s to early 90s doesn't feel "kayo" to me.
ReplyDeleteHello, YMOfan04. I think the idea of what is kayo and J-Pop can depend on the person who listens to Japanese music. For me, aidoru kayo probably goes as far as the end of the 1970s. The Golden Age of Aidoru of the 1980s brought in synthesizers so I'm not sure if even Seiko and Akina can be thought of as aidoru kayo singers. The late 1980s was the transition from kayo kyoku to J-Pop in my opinion.
DeleteYes, I don't mind the synths being used in idol kayo songs, but sometimes I felt that they should have kept the 60s/70s-style songwriting and simple musical structure in that era.
DeleteAs much as we love the old style of songwriting and musical structure both in Japan and elsewhere, it's the inevitability that songwriters of succeeding generations will always be evolving their works and adapting from other influences. The good thing perhaps is that we still have folks of all ages discovering or re-discovering kayo kyoku even in Japan where the old school in music is still cherished.
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