Galali -- Escape

 

Everyone needs an escape once in a while. Whether it be to a hot spring in Japan or just even meeting up with old friends in a restaurant in Toronto, it's healthy to get away from the usual routine for some good food and conversation.

Maybe that's the case with Galali's（がらり）"Escape" which was released about a year ago in late 2024. It's got the usual groove and keyboards and vocoder. And I guess with the music video above, even a couple of robots have decided to go out on the town. Galali's even thrown in a bit of rap and keyboard jazz riffing. I gather that he also likes to keep things short and sweet, a la my first discovery of him through his "Sayonara wa Mayonaka ni"（さよならは真夜中に）...kinda too bad since I could use some more of his groove but I respect his artistic desires.

Galali -- Clear Summer

 

With less than a week to go before autumn officially arrives, Torontonians have been enjoying a late summer blast of warmth and sun so I'm sure that there has another spurt of bicycling, swimming and wind surfing among other summery activities. The nights have become pleasantly cool, though.

It's almost been a year and a half since I put up my first article for the singer and songwriter Galali（がらり）and his Neo-City Pop "Sayonara wa Mayonaka ni"（さよならは真夜中に）. Well, this time around, he released this new number a few months previously titled "Clear Summer" and it reflects probably what a lot of people here have been feeling this week with all of that tropical fun in the sun. There's nothing particularly urban and groovy here; it's just a melodic version of one final blast of summer enjoyment.

Galali -- Party Tune

 

Well, my previous article's song was something which I likened to a fine theme for a Nike commercial, so why not finish up tonight's Urban Contemporary Friday with something that could be great for a beer ad?

Yup, there's plenty of luscious beer in the video for singer-songwriter Galali's July 2024 single "Party Tune" and the song is definitely short-and-sweet at barely over two minutes. However, it's got plenty of that Galali fun and bop about a fellow who's having his own little party by himself for himself. The drink du nuit is pretty obvious. Still, it looks like the video has included a lot of Galali's character buddies from previous videos.

Man, you suds fans are really going to like this song. "Party Tune" was used as the opening theme song for the third season of TV Tokyo's 2024 late-night drama "Banshaku no Ryuugi"（晩酌の流儀...The Art of Drinking in the Evening）. Yup, that is indeed actress Chiaki Kuriyama（栗山千明）from "Kill Bill" as the star. Cheers!🍻

Galali -- Odore Maria（踊れマリア）

 

Looks like Kayo Grace has been cutting up a rug under the moon again. Perhaps it's a tad early in the week for that sort of thing, but I'm not one to judge.

Well, for this song, it's not Kayo dancing but Maria dancing about. I am posting "Odore Maria" (Dance, Maria), an April 2024 digital single released by singer-songwriter Galali（がらり）who I introduced in the blog back in that month with his Neo-City Pop "Sayonara wa Mayonaka ni"（さよならは真夜中に）from 2023. I liked the cut of his jib back then, so I wanted to listen to another one of his creations.

This time around, Galali's "Odore Maria" has got its jazz, soul and Latin all rolled up into one delectable tune as the fellow sings about the title character who seems to have loved and left the poor protagonist like a wad of used tissue. However, she did it with panache and Galali likes to sing it with a certain flair as well. In fact, I think the early part of the song reminded me a bit of Grover Washington Jr.'s "Just the Two of Us".

Galali -- Sayonara wa Mayonaka ni（さよならは真夜中に）

 

I've often felt like what singer-songwriter Galali's（がらり）lyrics are saying...trying (but failing) to get to sleep while wallowing in the misery of what the next day might bring. The only thing is that I didn't get a modern groovy beat to accompany everything.

"Sayonara wa Mayonaka ni" (Goodbye at Midnight) was released as a digital single last November, and it's a nice slab of Neo-City Pop with that aforementioned groovy beat. It was written and composed by Galali with arrangement by Gento Miyano（宮野弦士）who has worked with acts such as Dance for philosophy. There is a nice little slow burn with "Sayonara wa Mayonaka ni" that finally pops into a bit of happy disco and a key change at the end. I could quite relate with those little black ghosts in the music video; I kinda think they popped out of an older Studio Ghibli movie.

I couldn't find a lot of information on Galali. But what I could glean was that he started his career in 2022 and amassed a lot of popularity via TikTok. For me, the only thing that disappointed me about "Sayonara wa Mayonaka ni" is its length. Just wished that it was several dozen seconds longer. Anyways, you can enjoy a brief look at a fellow named Dyson interpreting the song via En Dance Studio.