Masami Urabe -- Aishuuza（哀愁座）

 

It's been an interesting ride thus far with singer-songwriter Masami Urabe（浦部雅美 or うらべまさみ）, someone that I first discovered earlier this year. I first heard her 1976 debut single, the congenially country "Sukoshi Tōde wo Shitemimasen ka"（少し遠出をしてみませんか）and then there was her City Pop "Tomadoi"（とまどい）from 1982.

Yup, it's been observed that a number of singers made a leap from folk or country over to the more urban sounds of City Pop between the 1970s and 1980s. I think Urabe is just one of them. Now, I've come across her 5th single from 1981 which is "Aishuuza" that I can only speculate as meaning "Constellation of Sorrow" but perhaps one of you can confirm or deny this. In any case, this was written by Mariko Ogi（荻まりこ）, composed by Urabe herself and arranged by Tadashige Matsui（松井忠重）. I wouldn't say that this is a wholly City Pop song although there seems to be a sprinkling of it hovering over everything like stardust, but I'd say that this is an urbane kayo kyoku, something to be savored with a cocktail rather than a tumbler of Old Parr.

Masami Urabe -- Tomadoi（とまどい）

 

Back in early April, I introduced a singer by the name of Masami Urabe（浦部雅美 or うらべまさみ）who I'd never heard before until commenter Robert B. informed me. The song that I covered was "Sukoshi Tōde wo Shitemimasen ka"（少し遠出をしてみませんか）, her debut single from September 1976. It's quite the amiable country song including a happily plucky banjo.

Well, her sixth and penultimate single from 1982 is "Tomadoi" which can be translated as "Wonderment" or "Confusion". Written and composed by the singer herself, I'm hoping that she meant the former meaning. Urabe's voice had become richer and mellower by this point, and "Tomadoi" is one of those tunes that is delectably difficult to categorize outright. First off, it's got a folksy waltz rhythm but with an intro and chorus that hints at City Pop especially with the breezy and minty background vocals. At the same time, there's something also some rather old-fashioned kayo kyoku meshing with the City Pop of the chorus. 

Masami Urabe -- Sukoshi Tōde wo Shitemimasen ka（少し遠出をしてみませんか）

 

Commenter Robert B. informed me of a kayo singer that he enjoyed by the name of Masami Urabe（浦部雅美）. He asked if I had heard of her before but I couldn't say I did. However, that family name reminded me of our family's old insurance agent since she had the same last name.

In any case, there's no J-Wiki file on Urabe but we've been able to glean some information about her. For instance, according to Discogs, she was born on Christmas Eve 1959 and hails from Abashiri, Hokkaido. At the very least, she did release seven singles and two albums between 1977 and 1982.

Her debut single from September 1976, "Sukoshi Tōde wo Shitemimasen ka" (How About Taking a Short Trip?) is a friendly country kayo kyoku which seems to follow the rhythmic pattern of John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Road", one of the most well-known non-Japanese pop songs of all time in Japan. Written by Tsuzuru Nakasato（森田公一）and composed/arranged by Koichi Morita（森田公一）, Urabe sings about inviting the boyfriend for a nice little journey somewhere to get some fresh air and perhaps some fresher love. The Hokkaido lass has a pleasantly deeper voice which reminds me a tad of the vocals of Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）.