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.
Showing posts with label KANA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KANA. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

KANA -- OSAKA ~ Yuugurete(夕暮れて)

 

Usually when it comes to Osaka, my image will go to loud and boisterous people with plenty of tasty food in many restaurants. But then when it comes to music, especially the kayo kyoku stuff, it often but not always brings out the tenderhearted feelings in folks.

Case in point is "OSAKA ~ Yuugurete" (Osaka at Dusk), the coupling song to the November 2021 single by singer KANA, "Dare yori Itoshii Hito"(誰より愛しいひと...Someone I Love More Than Anyone Else). KANA is a singer that I first mentioned back in 2019 with a February single from that year, "Shiokaze no Machi"(潮風の街)which is more along the lines of a contemporary Mood Kayo.

 "OSAKA ~ Yuugurete" has a sweeping arrangement to Hirokazu Kobayashi's(小林宏和)original melody accompanying Chihiro Fuyumi's(冬弓ちひろ)lyrics. It pretty much demands that a recently heartbroken lady strides over to the nearest river in Osaka and cries under the moon. I probably would have preferred real strings instead of the synthesized version heard here, though. 

One thing that I didn't mention about Kobayashi, who had also composed the aforementioned "Shiokaze no Machi", in the first article is that he is actually KANA's older brother. Back in their high school days, she used to sing over Kobayashi's music on his demo tapes which finally got her noticed, leading to her debut in the late 1990s.

Friday, September 13, 2019

KANA -- Shiokaze no Machi(潮風の街)


Being a Friday night, I also thought about doing a Mood Kayo along with my City Pop choice tonight, and it's been a while since I put one up.


Heard one of the newer examples of Mood Kayo several weeks ago on NHK's "Uta Kon"(うたコン)or "Gogo no Uta"(ごごのウタ)via the smoky-voiced singer KANA. Her "Shiokaze no Machi" (Sea Breeze Town) was released as a single earlier this year in February, and I like the nice touch of wafuu urban contemporary class. This does sound like something that I would prefer as musical accompaniment while walking through the tony district of Akasaka in Tokyo.

(empty karaoke version)

Written by RIE and composed by Hirokazu Kobayashi(小林宏和), I get that atmosphere of barhopping in the nice parts of the megalopolis but there's also that underlying bass line that reminds me of other types of urban contemporary songs such as "Lonely Chaplin" by the Suzuki siblings.

As for KANA, according to her J-Wiki profile, she hails from Saitama Prefecture and in 1998, she was one-half of a duo called Rose(ロゼ)which was able to release three singles. Then in 2004, she made her indies solo debut under the kanji version of Kana(可奈), before making her major debut in 2009. Including "Shiokaze no Machi", KANA has released 9 singles and one BEST compilation album.