Citrobal -- Reutlingen

 

Commenter BasicallyHuman was asking about singer-songwriter Miyako Yoneyama（米山美弥子）, aka Citrobal for the last article that I wrote about her earlier this morning and what has become of her. I dutifully checked out her website and blog, and frankly if dust could exist online, then I think that there would be a fairly thick layer there since nothing seems to have been written in several years. To add insult to injury, I accidentally referred to her as "Cristobal" when I gave my response. Of course, I corrected myself as soon as possible.

That last article was for "Signal" which I wrote up in 2021 and then there was the first article for Citrobal, "Celluloid" (both songs of which appear on her 1999 album "My Caution Line") which I provided in 2019, so I've been rather biannual with my entries on her. In any case, being reminded of her again, I decided to seek out another song of hers. Luckily, that wasn't too difficult and I did find "Reutlingen". However, unlike those two tracks, "Reutlingen" actually appears on a compilation album "rabid chords compilation vol. 1 -standby for "action"-" which also came out in 1999. I don't know whether the album specializes in Shibuya-kei and it appears that it has long been discontinued.

Citrobal has once again cooked up some really happy pop here and at first thought, I'd assumed that this was more straight pop but on listening a bit closer, there was some of that Bacharach-inspired rhythm coursing through its veins, so I ended up throwing in the Shibuya-kei label, too. It's just a cheerful sunny Sunday tune. Her lyrics talk about some schlub with a huge cloud over his head that simply isn't dissipating when a young lady comes by to insert a ray of sunshine in his life. 

The title does pop up in Yoneyama's lyrics and apparently it's some unpopular literature by an author named Reutlingen. However, I couldn't find any evidence of there being a real author by that name. Instead, Reutlingen is a city located in southwestern Germany that boasts the world's narrowest street, Spreuerhofstraße, according to the Guinness Book of World Records (I guarantee that there would be a major tragedy if I tried to traverse that street). It's also the hometown of racing driver Michael Krumm who was once married to Japanese tennis player Kimiko Date（伊達公子）. I actually noticed the former couple from afar when we were all at the same Xmas party years ago in Tokyo. Allow me some namedropping.

Citrobal -- Signal

 

A couple of years ago, I was encountering (and still do encounter) a number of bands and singers through YouTube that I never got a chance to even hear about in the wind while I was living in Japan. Thankfully, that magical algorithm on the platform has materialized some of their videos on the side. 

One such singer was Citrobal and since that article that I wrote on her "Celluloid" back in 2019, I found out that her name is Miyako Yoneyama（米山美弥子）. In addition, according to the Amazon page describing the 1999 source album "My Caution Line", Yoneyama was giving an extra push to the Tokyo guitar pop scene at the time which included bands such as Rocky Chack and Advantage Lucy. As well, the blurb mentions that Citrobal, who has also had backup from members of pop bands Cymbals and Folk Rat（フォークラット）, is reminiscent of 1970s New Music via Sugar Babe at its peak. Come to think of it, that guitar work does remind me of what Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）and his old band were doing back then, but as I also indicated in the "Celluloid" article, there is also that Shibuya-kei sheen.

I also pointed it out in that first article for Citrobal but now it's getting its own article here. I'm referring to another track on "My Caution Line", "Signal". And yup, like "Celluloid", this song also has plenty of pep but there is also some more buzzy rock guitar included in the arrangement. In fact, I think "Signal" has so much energy that I think Citrobal herself sometimes comes across as needing a little breather between verses.

Citrobal -- Celluloid

Some really nice artists that I didn't get to discover during my 17 years in the Tokyo area have been popping up thanks to those YouTube side recommendations. Earlier, it was the guitar pop band Easycome which has been active since 2015.

Well, for this article, we have to go back about a couple of decades. The Tokyo-born singer Citrobal, according to her website, is a multi-instrumentalist (keyboards, guitar, percussion) and songwriter who has provided backup for other bands. Furthermore, she has provided commercial jingles and video game music and even narration for ads.

She has also released a number of albums starting with "My Caution Line" in August 1999. One track that I've discovered is the frenetic "Celluloid". Just imagine taking a walking tour throughout Shibuya at about the highway speed limit and that's the sort of feeling that I get with "Celluloid". The song does indeed give me wings (a bit of a joke based on a certain energy drink) with its crashing percussion and flying keyboards. I've just heard another song by her, "Signal", and it seems like her brand of Shibuya-kei has also infused some rock as well....or is it the other way around?