Yesterday, my Twitter feed showed me something which led me to a page on InterFM, a radio station in Japan, and I gather that the staffers there had a chance to interview fellow Torontonian and far more charismatic and talented singer and musician The Weeknd. The Weeknd apparently has his own love of Japanese pop music and he offered a playlist he has enjoyed which includes Hiromi Go's（郷ひろみ）"Kimi no Na wa Psycho"（君の名はサイコ）from 1983. That shouldn't be too surprising considering that a few years ago, he was more than happy to sample a piece of Tomoko Aran's（亜蘭知子） "Midnight Pretenders".
Another song from that year of 1983 that was also on his playlist: fusion band Casiopea's（カシオペア）"Dazzling" from their 9th studio album "Photographs". He loves to listen to his playlist whenever he's in Tokyo (wonder how many times he's been there) and "Dazzling" is a nice fit. Composed by Casiopea guitarist Issei Noro（野呂一生）, it's got that fun-loving atmosphere of a night out on the town; if it's Tokyo, then let's head out to Shinjuku, Roppongi or Ginza (Odaiba was yet to be created). Noro has his time to show how he fiddles on his guitar but the rest of the band (including vocalists) also have their turn to wang chung the night away via their instruments. A truly dazzling time can be had by all.
He's performing at the Belluna Dome on the 19th and 20th, which is why he's doing a little bit of promotional activity in the country. He also re-released his last four albums in Japan with bonus tracks and new artwork from Yoshitaka Amano. He also released a slightly different version of "Out of Time" that samples a different part of "Midnight Pretenders" and he credits Tomoko Aran officially on the song. So, he's keeping busy in Japan!
ReplyDeleteLooks like he's got plenty on his plate right now. Just hope that he's also enjoying some of the sights and the food over there.
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