Masami Urabe -- Aishuuza（哀愁座）

 

It's been an interesting ride thus far with singer-songwriter Masami Urabe（浦部雅美 or うらべまさみ）, someone that I first discovered earlier this year. I first heard her 1976 debut single, the congenially country "Sukoshi Tōde wo Shitemimasen ka"（少し遠出をしてみませんか）and then there was her City Pop "Tomadoi"（とまどい）from 1982.

Yup, it's been observed that a number of singers made a leap from folk or country over to the more urban sounds of City Pop between the 1970s and 1980s. I think Urabe is just one of them. Now, I've come across her 5th single from 1981 which is "Aishuuza" that I can only speculate as meaning "Constellation of Sorrow" but perhaps one of you can confirm or deny this. In any case, this was written by Mariko Ogi（荻まりこ）, composed by Urabe herself and arranged by Tadashige Matsui（松井忠重）. I wouldn't say that this is a wholly City Pop song although there seems to be a sprinkling of it hovering over everything like stardust, but I'd say that this is an urbane kayo kyoku, something to be savored with a cocktail rather than a tumbler of Old Parr.