I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
We're coming up to the end of another KKP day so let's go with something especially light and mellow. It seems as if over the last year, whenever I've posted an article on singer-songwriter Jin Kirigaya（桐ヶ谷仁）, it's to mention him in a Yutaka Kimura Speaks item such as No. 36 on that list.
So, let's wrap things up with an article specifically attuned to him, shall we? There is his track "Shizuka da ne" (You're Quiet) from his 1983 album"Jin". Written and composed by Kirigaya, it gives off an appropriately whispery-soft atmosphere as a man reminisces a past relationship fondly if somewhat sadly. As the song progresses, the arrangement and volume get a little higher including a feverish flute, perhaps signifying the guy getting deeper and deeper into his remembrances (maybe it's a bit of "Inception"). It definitely has that late summer/early fall vibe.
Initially coming out with normal ballads with a languid tempo, "Shiosai"(The Sound of Waves) is a 16-beat medium-slow masterpiece by Kirigaya（桐ヶ谷仁）with a floating sensation, thanks to Hiroshi Sato's（佐藤博）touch. With the effective playing of the Moog and the timbre of the sax solo during the bridge, no matter how you cut it, this is without a doubt a miraculous pairing and it takes my breath away every time I hear it. I have to tip my hat to Alfa Records back in those days.
The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).
Hello, J-Canuck here and just like with last week'sYutaka Kimura Speaks with Yumi Arai（荒井由実）, I'm here with another song that I hadn't previously covered on the blog although I have posted about another track on Kirigaya's "My Love For You", "Yotsuya Yuumagure"（四ツ谷ゆうまぐれ）. I guess as we get deeper and deeper into these 100 masterpieces, this sort of thing will be popping up, so we'll just play it by ear.
Anyways, although I'm not quite ready to be as gushing as Kimura about "Shiosai" since I've only started listening and only really appreciating the first track of "My Love For You", it's growing on me. The first few measures did have me wondering whether I was in for a prog rock thing but the melody quickly turned into something more warm and comfy. And Kimura was right about the pairing of the Moog synthesizer and a saxophone that sounds a lot like Artie Shaw's playing. I can only imagine how Hiroshi Sato came up with that sort of arrangement.
Jin Kirigaya（桐ヶ谷仁）is a singer-songwriter who has displayed a refined sensibility just short of lyrical folk songs. "Umi e Kaerou" (Let's Return to the Sea), which also shines from Masataka Matsutoya's（松任谷正隆）splendid arrangement, is an excellent song with a comfortable medium groove and soft vocals which melt into our ears. It's the type of song that I want to hear while driving to the ocean once summer has passed. Drummer Tatsuo Hayashi（林立夫）chose the song as one of his favourites for his own album of selected music, "Non-Vintage".
The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).
A slightly sheepish J-Canuck here. Usually I wouldn't step on Mr. Kimura's shadow here but the fact is that I hadn't covered "Umi e Kaerou" either until it was time for this particular episode of "Yutaka Kimura Speaks". There's really nothing much for me to add since I agree with he has said about this comfy tune which hits me as a "Margaritaville" song. It's got bounce and sway and I do like the flute that lands and flies about like a butterfly.
By the way, co-lyricist Yumi Kojima（児島由美）is someone that I have covered for a couple of articles including her own 1979 album "Comme Des Garcons"（コム・デ・ギャルソン）. And I have written about another "My Love For You" track by Kirigaya: "Return to the Sky".
"Weekend Game" is a nice and medium-tempo song from Jin Kirigaya's（桐ケ谷仁）4th album backed up by Tatsuro Yamashita's（山下達郎）band and Kazuo Shiina's（椎名和夫）arrangement that goes well with a summer afternoon nap. Having to leave his girlfriend at the office in the city who's busy with work, a fellow spends some carefree time at the weekend resort by himself while naturally waiting for her. For a guy, it really is the ideal weekend trip. No matter where you are, it's a comfortable tune.
The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).
Hopefully all of you are enjoying your lead-up to the weekend. Some good and bad news on the COVID front here in the Toronto area. Daily cases have decreased once again but unfortunately all of the summer events have had to be cancelled so fans of events such as the Honda Indy and The Taste of the Danforth in Greektown will have to wait at least another year.
Anyways, let's start off our urban contemporary Friday with "Saigo no Regatta" (The Final Regatta) by Minako Ito（伊藤美奈子）from her 2nd album"Yuu Gyotou"（誘魚灯...Inviting Fish Lights） from March 1984. I've already written about the title track and back then, I hadn't been sure about the proper pronunciation of the title but I think that it is probably indeed "Yuu Gyutou".
As with that title track, "Saigo no Regatta" was created by lyricist Shun Taguchi（田口俊）and composer Jin Kirigaya（桐ケ谷仁）, and because of that certain keyboard being utilized, I can't help but be reminded of Yuming's（ユーミン）"Cinderella Express"（シンデレラエクスプレス）. Couldn't find the lyrics online but the song itself sounds more like a wistful mid-tempo love ballad than any sort of boat event. Melodically speaking, I will never turn down a Fender Rhodes, tight horns and silky strings in a song, and though it has its melancholy side, I think overall there is quite a bit of hope and sunrise in "Saigo no Regatta".
It's after dinner as I write this and I need time to digest the Friday meal (especially with all of that fibre). Well, I don't really drink so no digestif for me.
However, I can get that effect to a certain extent thanks to a Jin Kirigaya（桐ヶ谷仁）number called "Return to the Sky" from his 1979 debut album"My Love For You". The album also has the melancholy "Yotsuya Yuumagure"（四ツ谷ゆうまぐれ）which involves a man dealing with perceived romantic betrayal. However, "Return to the Sky" is quite the opposite, thanks to that mélange of a bit of jazz here and a good dollop of bossa nova there within an AOR arrangement. Interesting thing I noticed was how Kirigaya's vocals sound like a combination of the voices of Kazumasa Oda（小田和正）and Yasuhiro Suzuki（鈴木康博）from the band Off-Course（オフコース）.
Kirigaya took care of the music while Fumiko Okada（岡田冨美子）provided the lyrics. As I said in the "Yotsuya" article, I purchased that double-CD package "Complete Alfa Years - Jin Kirigaya" which consists of his first two albums, the aforementioned "My Love For You" and then his 1981 "Windy". While "Windy" is more solidly in the City Pop/AOR genres, I think "My Love For You" is a bit more free-wheeling as the singer-songwriter was probably exploring across the music spectrum which might explain some of the influences in this track especially.
Friday night so perhaps folks may be letting their hair down a bit more than usual just before the weekend. They may be hitting the bars or even firing up the BBQ one more time before things really start cooling down.
Or they may be looking at aquaria. The reason I say this is because of the subject of this article which is the title track for Minako Ito's（伊藤美奈子）2nd album "Sasoi Gyotou" or "Yuu Gyotou"（誘魚灯...Inviting Fish Lights） from March 1984. Still not sure how to pronounce it although I've chosen the latter for the title line at the top.
The album also has a couple of tracks that have gotten their due on the blog: "Derringer"（デリンジャー）and "Sayonara wa Iwazu ni"（さよならは言わずに）, and compared to those two, "Yuu Gyotou" seems to head for more of a straight pop sound although there is enough in the arrangement and instrumentation that I've kept the City Pop label. Lyricist Shun Taguchi（田口俊）and composer Jin Kirigaya（桐ケ谷仁）created this story of a young lady who's looking at the various fish in her favourite aquarium as a form of comfort while thinking about the fact that after graduation, all of her friends will most likely be going on their separate paths.
"Yuu Gyotou" also became Ito's 3rd single from July 1984. Masataka Matsutoya（松任谷正隆）was handling the keyboards, and I mention this because I think that despite the songwriters involved, there is something about the song that reminds me of the works of Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）at around the same time. Perhaps it's that particular keyboard sound.
Happy Monday! I've been in touch with some of my friends in Japan and although TyphoonFaxai has wreaked a good amount of destruction in the Kanto, luckily, none of them have been unduly affected.
Considering the name of the album here, this has no connotation with the typhoon but I have wanted to feature Jin Kirigaya's（桐ヶ谷仁）1981 2nd album, "Windy" for some time so I'm taking the opportunity today. Actually, I was able to get it as a 2-for-1 deal through a 2005 release of the singer-songwriter's "Complete Alfa Years" which brings together "Windy" and his first album"My Love For You" from 1979.
Kirigaya was responsible for all of the music while he split lyric-writing duties with Michio Yamagami（山上路夫）. Based on what I heard from the first track on "Windy", "Wind Surfing", I made my choice to grab "Complete Alfa Years" since at the time, the individual albums were too difficult or pricey to get. As well, Masaki Matsubara（松原正樹）and Masataka Matsutoya（松任谷正隆）also had their hands full here with the arrangement.
Let me start off with "Natsu ga Sugite"（夏がすぎて...Summer Passes）which is along the lines of an Off-Course（オフコース）ballad in terms of mood and sound. Perhaps there is an even deeper richness with the arrangement as if the story were taking place in Europe with the music reflecting the happy and sad times of one person's romantic recollections. Kirigaya's vocals even remind me of those of Off-Course's Yasuhiro Suzuki（鈴木康博）. "Natsu ga Sugite" was also Kirigaya's 4th single from July 1981.
That same sort of Off-Course feeling imbues "Tooi Hi no Tokimeki"（遠い日のときめき...Heartbeats for Distant Days）, his 3rd single from March 1981, another languid ballad with sad piano and shimmering strings that kaz-shin at blog "Music Avenue" has described as being rather kayo-esque. What especially clicks with me is the second delivery of the refrain which takes on a certain subtle layering effect.
"Saraba Ai no Hibi"（さらば愛の日々...Farewell to Days of Love） is a Yamagami and Kirigaya collaboration with that overseas Steely Dan sense of adventure, thanks to Matsubara handling the rhythm while Matsutoya took on the strings. The effect is that I can easily hear "Saraba" as both a City Pop tune as well as a Resort Pop song somewhere away from the metropolis. In fact, I immediately thought of Akira Terao's（寺尾聡）"Reflections" the first time I heard it. Nice sax solo by Jake H. Concepcion, as well.
The only other track from "Windy" that I could find via YouTube was "Hitori dake no Waltz"（ひとりだけのワルツ...Waltz for Only One） which once again had Yamagami providing lyrics, a song with that lilting waltz melody punctuated by some lay-it-on-the-line percussion and guitar as if there were storms on the horizon for this romance. Again, there is something rather metropolitan about this song but perhaps somewhere beyond Japanese shores.
Initially assuming that "Windy" would keep itself to a City Pop/AOR environment, I was surprised (and delighted) to hear that Kirigaya was more than happy to go further afield for his melodies. The album has been described as pop but it's not the type of pop that I would often see on the Oricon charts or on the TV music ranking shows. It definitely sounds more like an adult contemporary creation with the recommendation of a capital A for the adult and a couple of cocktails at the hotel-top lounge. Will be looking forward to writing about "My Love For You" later on.
Around 1987, guitarist/composer/arranger Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）must have contacted a whole slew of his singing buddies who had dabbled in the mellow sounds of AOR and asked each of them to create a song of that genre, but without any lyrics. In other words, they were to come up with instrumental tracks, and Suzuki would produce and arrange all of the songs.
The result was a trio of compilation albums under the umbrella title of "Sunset Hills Hotel", and all three of them were released in 1987 with the first being "Sunset Hills Hotel". I was only aiming to pick out one song from the album, but decided to cover the whole of Side A because of the composers involved. Thankful to have found the album, by the way, through Rare Japanese Sounds.
So far, listening to the first side of "Sunset Hills Hotel", everyone kept their promises and kept their mouths resolutely closed which is unusual since in at least a couple of examples, their voices are so recognizable and distinct.
Track 1, "Night Flight" by Suzuki himself begins very quietly as if I were going to experience something very ambient. But then the serenity gradually segues into an innocent tete-a-tete between a romantic piano and the introductory synthesizer before the guitar and percussion come in like a wave. David Foster and TOTO were the names that automatically got thrust into my head as I was hearing this. "Night Flight" does indeed sound like it was made for a night flight as the passengers are asked to buckle up and prepare for takeoff before heading off on their tropical vacation late at night.
At 5:16 is "Cafe on the Wave" by Yoshitaka Minami（南佳孝）. Of course, he is one of the artists that I had expected to hear in full voice. Instead, though, he provides a softly tropical tune, sine voce, with just a saxophone and a piano leading the island tour. However, perhaps to keep things trans-national, there is even what sounds like an Italian mandolin so that there is a bit of that European representation. There are two saxophonists involved in "Sunset Hills Hotel", and one of them is the late Jake H. Concepcion. I'm betting that he's the one manning the sax here.
Jin Kirigaya（桐ヶ谷仁）then gives us the third track "Sweet Reservation" at 9:49 which sounds so sweetly AOR that it could easily have been included in any of the American AOR compilation albums that I used to collect when I was living in Japan. There's another lovely and even bluesier sax solo here. The Foster and TOTO feeling is bubbling up here, too.
14:35 is Taeko Ohnuki's（大貫妙子）contribution to "Sunset Hills Hotel" with "6:30 PM Breeze". Not only is it unusual since she doesn't sing but it's the first time that I've heard a song by her that incorporates some of that old-timey jazz and Hawaiian at the same time. It sounds so sleepily comical that it could accompany that slightly loony side character in a movie after he/she gets cut off at the bar and ambles back into the hotel. For some reason, I think that "6:30 PM Breeze" could even fit a typical Studio Ghibli movie soundtrack...maybe it's the slightly tipsy trumpet.
The last track on Side A, and therefore my final contribution to the article, is "West Beach Drive" by Ginji Ito（伊藤銀次）at 19:40. West Coast AOR and Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）circa 1980 come to mind as I hear this. There's an interesting combination of baritone sax and electone before another saxophone comes strolling in that makes up the arrangement. Then a jazzy piano literally crashes the party while shooing in a harmonica.
In addition to Concepcion, there are a lot of other notable musicians involved in "Sunset Hills Hotel" including Shin Kazuhara（数原晋）on flugelhorn, Masataka Matsutoya（松任谷正隆）on piano, and Tsuyoshi Kon（今剛）on guitar. Not sure how the album was received when it was first released in 1987, but the concept and the personnel involved have gotten me interested enough for me to try and obtain it. As I kinda hinted for Ohnuki's"6:30 PM Breeze", it has that feeling of a soundtrack for a movie or TV show highlighting the kooky characters of a hotel known as the Sunset Hills. I already have that need to wrap a pink sweater around my waist and buy a bottle of Perrier.
I'll have to talk about Side B sometime soon as well. In the meantime, the later two albums are "Sunset Light Cocktail ~ In Sunset Hills Hotel" and "Sunset Hills Hotel ~ Reservation Calendar".
Ugh! One of those translation assignments that was a lot more than I bargained for, and I had to stop because I was completely tuckered out. Fortunately, I have until sunset tomorrow to get it done but at least I've told my manager that I'm gonna need help.
Anyways, allow me to get this City Pop number into the "Kayo Kyoku Plus" record books before I collapse tonight. Strangely enough, "Airport Dance" and Etsuko Sai（彩恵津子）sound quite Yuming-esque for some reason although the lyrics are by Sai herself with melody by Jin Kirigaya（桐ヶ谷 仁）. It has those nighttime undulating Latin rhythms thrumming underneath the urban contemporary arrangement, and it certainly sounds like someone's having a dance ball right in the airport itself. Considering some of the sturm und drang that takes place at those places with cancellations and delays, having a dance floor in a terminal may not be a bad thing...if folks are in the mood.
"Airport Dance" is the first track from Sai's 4th original album"Passio" from October 1986. Nice strings in the song, by the way. Gives the place a touch of class.
OK, lame pun aside, Jin Kirigaya's（桐ヶ谷仁）"Taillight" is quite a nice and calming ballad for January 2nd, officially back to work here in Canada. Mind you, my work year has started off rather calmly already. Still, it's something very pleasant to the ears as I plow through those translations.
And for my ears, it's an intriguing mix of styles since some of that arrangement sounds somewhat Yuming-ish from that same time period; "Taillight" is a track on Kirigaya's 3rd album"Jin" from October 1983. There is that AOR feeling surrounded by some City Pop brass and bass, and the way that he sings is quite reminiscent of fellow urban contemporary singer Yasuhiro Abe（安部恭弘）. However, it is totally Kirigaya's creation, although Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）herself and Minako Yoshida（吉田美奈子）helped out on some of the other tracks on "Jin".
Singer-songwriter Jin Kirigaya（桐ヶ谷 仁）is starting to strike me as the equivalent of mellow singers such as Bobby Goldsboro and Michael Franks. From what I've heard, he is quite the tonic for some much-needed relaxation.
Case in point is his "Weekend Game", a track from his 4th album"Vermilion" from June 1984. That opening guitar sounds as if we're about to hear an indie pop tune but then enters that familiar AOR melody by Kirigaya. Suddenly, I hear that Evian being poured into the tall glass and blue sky fills everything overhead. It certainly isn't City Pop...it's not about being amid the bright lights and big buildings. In fact, Masako Arikawa's（有川正沙子）lyrics are about a fellow biding time lazily at a resort hotel outside of the metropolis while wondering (not too fitfully, I might add) whether his significant other will actually drop the pen and paper and stress at the salt mines, and make it out to the beach. Take your time, kid, while I have another margarita on the chaise lounge.
I've got Kirigaya's first couple of albums while he was at Alfa Studios. Pretty good stuff there and now I'm considering getting "Vermilion" as well, just judging from "Weekend Game". Hope your weekend has gotten off to a relaxing start as well.
I guess it's time to add another Minako to the "Kayo Kyoku Plus" roster. And like Minako Yoshida（吉田美奈子）, she also belongs in the City Pop genre.
Found this one purely by accident a number of days ago. Minako Ito（伊藤美奈子）is a singer-songwriter from Tokyo who was inspired by Mayumi Itsuwa（五輪真弓）and Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）when she was in junior high school, according to J-Wiki and the footnote from the liner notes of her debut album"Tenderly", and so she started on her path toward a music career.
Not quite sure why this particular song "Derringer" is named after a famous gun since I couldn't catch all of the lyrics (can't find them online) but it was a track from her 2nd album,"Sasoi Gyotou" or "Yuu Gyotou"（誘魚灯...Inviting Fish Lights）from March 1984. Still, it's got that nice City Pop beat with the tight horns and mellow keyboards. And yes, I also like the album cover. Shun Taguchi（田口俊）wrote the lyrics while Ito and Jin Kirigaya（桐ケ谷仁）composed the music.
I've just heard another one of her songs on YouTube. Will most likely cover that next month.
A few days ago I mentioned about that 3-month odyssey my CD Japan package took to get to my home. Well, one of those discs happens to be pictured above, "Complete Alfa Years - Jin Kirigaya"（桐ヶ谷仁）. It's not a BEST compilation but a merging of Kirigaya's first two albums"My Love For You" (1979) and "Windy"(1981).
After listening to his "Wind Surfing" which incidentally was the launching track on "Windy" and reading about him in "Japanese City Pop", I figured it was time to pull the trigger and hear more of his stuff.
Well, now that I got the double-CD, I gave it a listen over the past couple of days and again, I'm happy to say it is a keeper. The interesting thing is that his 2nd album was most definitely focused on J-AOR and City Pop whereas "My Love For You" was a bit more diffuse in genre. It was more on the general pop and New Music side maybe even with a tinge of folk in some of the tracks.
One song that especially caught my eye and ears is "Yotsuya Yuumagure" (Evening Twilight at Yotsuya), which was written and composed by Kirigaya and was placed in "My Love For You". A particularly sad ballad, it also seems to hide a lot of shock and rage on the part of the guy who may have been dumped rather suddenly. Through the lyrics, he is lashing out at the woman by telling her to get away and never come back. The concealment is quite good since the singer delivers the song very softly. In fact, I think he sounds like another J-AOR/City Popcrooner. Despite the anger, "Yotsuya Yuumagure" sounds like a rather introspective tune to be heard at a cafe during a rainstorm.
The setting for the song is the small Tokyo district of Yotsuya which is a bit east of Shinjuku. It's notable for the fact that Sophia University is located there and Yotsuya Station was where I got off every Monday to walk to the Hotel New Otani to teach a couple of the more wealthier students I had. In fact, the path that those students above in the video are walking is the same route I took. However, instead of the straight route they take when they cross the street, I turned right at the intersection and kept on going until it curved gently to the left and the hotel was across the street. That particular path is spectacular during the spring since it is lined with a lot of cherry trees coming into bloom.
I've also heard that singer Lisa Ono's（小野リサ）family has a restaurant in the area, too. Unfortunately I never caught a chance to check it out but I've heard that the singer herself makes unannounced appearances there to perform.
His is a name that I've seen among the pages of "Japanese City Pop" over the past several years but never got to him until recently.
Then I finally got to hear some of his stuff on YouTube and I gotta admit that I do like what he was selling back then. Jin Kirigaya（桐ヶ谷仁）is one of those City Pop/AOR artists that I would never have heard about if not for my bible "Japanese City Pop". He's one of those people who exists in that underwater 90% of my Japanese pop iceberg. Kirigaya hasn't even merited a J-Wiki page but he does have his own website.
Kirigaya was born in Tokyo and made his debut as a singer-songwriter in November 1979 with his first album"My Love For You" followed by his first single the year after, "Unhappy Day". The song for this article is "Wind Surfing", the first track of his 2nd album, "Windy", from July 1981.
With Michio Yamagami's（山上路夫）lyrics and Kirigaya's smooth melody and vocals, it's about as hammock-friendly a Resort Pop song as anyone songwriter can get. And what better instrumental touch than Jake H. Concepcion on sax? I will never get onto one of those contraptions for wind surfing but I would be more than happy to lay out on the beach to some of those wind surfers after hearing "Wind Surfing".
At this point, Kirigaya has released 4 original albums and 7 singles with a 2-CD Best compilation that was released in 2005. Let's see how much I have in the till to get that set.
