Hiroshi Saeki -- Night Cruise（ナイトクルーズ）

 

The above is a shot of the pool deck on board the Harmony of the Seas during our Caribbean cruise back in 2017. It makes for a wonderful night shot but I haven't dived into a swimming pool in decades. Me and water simply don't mix outside of the daily ritual of bathing.

Also, some years ago, I posted an article for the moody song "Ai wo Somete, Lisa"（愛を染めて、リサ）, a 1986 solo effort by Hiroshi Saeki（佐伯博志）who had once been known as Hiroshi Koide（小出博志）, one half of the duo Buzz. That duo was famous for the folk song-turned-car commercial jingle "Ken to Mary ~ Ai to Kaze no yo ni" (ケンとメリー〜愛と風のように〜) back in the early 1970s.

Lisa may have been the lucky lady in that single but the B-side seems to be focused on some lass named Stella in "Night Cruise". A playful and nocturnal song that probably indeed takes place on a ship rather than a car since there is a reference to window blinds being closed, it's got that bouncy urban  rhythm and some of those Fender Rhodes notes jangling away. Written by Hitoshi Shinohara（篠原仁志）, composed by Saeki and arranged by Michiru Oshima（大島ミチル）, Saeki's voice is pitched really high here which makes me wonder whether "Night Cruise" was actually meant to be a slower ballad in tempo.

Suzi Kim -- Maloa（マロア）

 

Several weeks ago, I wrote about an old Fuji-TV program known as "Wordsworth no Bouken"（ワーズワースの冒険...The Adventures of Wordsworth） which dealt in providing viewers about some of the more mature and refined hobbies out there. It lasted about four years and had a parade of celebrities helping out in the delivery such as actress Rie Miyazawa（宮沢りえ）above.

Now, the original theme song that was used with "Wordsworth no Bouken" was the fantastical and mysterious "Sha Rion"（シャ・リオン）as recorded by the late Eri Kawai（河井英里）and created by Michiru Oshima（大島ミチル）. I think that was also the theme song that everyone still knows the show by, but apparently (and this doesn't show up on the J-Wiki article for the program), in 1997, which was its final year, Oshima concocted a new theme titled "Maloa" (or "Maroa") according to the brief explanation for the YouTube video. Sung by Suzi Kim（スージーキム）this time, it's quite the perky Latin jazz tune that could tempt viewers to book that vacation to Brazil.

Suzi Kim is someone whose name that I've heard from time to time when it comes to Japanese music, but the only information that I could dig up so far on her was located at the website for the Zaza Voice Training School where I gather that she is an instructor. After studying in the United States, she returned to Japan where she provided backup chorus to singers such as Masaki Ueda（上田正樹）and Takuro Yoshida（吉田拓郎）. She also started up the Royal Funk Band in 1996 which is still performing today, but she has done DJ duties on radio and has participated in commercials.

Eri Kawai -- Sha Rion（シャ・リオン）

 

One of the many things I miss about living in Japan is that finding really stylish cafés and patisseries was never difficult. Even the franchises such as Vie de France had some truly buttery and delicious fare. It partially explains why I ended up gaining weight during my years there. Karaage bento and fast food restaurants make up another 60% of the reason. Another thing that I found stylish is some of the information and educational TV programming on NHK and the commercial television networks. The production staff could really generate some panache for the presentation of topics domestic and abroad.

There was one example of such a show in the mid-to-late 1990s. Fuji-TV had a program called "Wordsworth no Bouken"（ワーズワースの冒険...The Adventures of Wordsworth） on Sunday evenings from 10:30 to 11:00, so I'm assuming just before the iconic "Music Fair".  "Wordsworth no Bouken" was all about presenting various grown-up hobbies such as the love of tea, izakaya and Ginza bars in a half-dramatization and half-documentary style of whimsy. It was all very appealing with plenty of attractive guest celebrities helping out in the presentation.

The whimsy extends to the theme song. Sounding very ethereal, exotic and European, this was titled "Sha Rion" which was created by composer and arranger Michiru Oshima（大島ミチル）, who would later come up with "Chariot's Theme", the triumphant orchestral piece used in the hit anime "Little Witch Academia"（リトルウィッチアカデミア）and of course, the rest of the soundtrack. When I first saw the title, I was wondering which nation (Iceland, perhaps?) had inspired Oshima for the title, melody and lyrics. Well, as it turns out, the title "Sha Rion" was merely a neologism...something made up so that no particular country could be identified. The lyrics themselves, also by Oshima, were also made-up words sounding like a new language that apparently, according to the J-Wiki article on "Wordsworth no Bouken", bubbled up in the composer's mind after she had read some of Wordsworth's poetry upside-down and/or backwards.

Recording "Sha Rion" as her first single for June 1993 was singer-songwriter Eri Kawai（河井英里）from Tokyo. She released two more singles and five albums going into the 2000s, but sadly, she succumbed to liver cancer in 2008 at the age of 43.

Hiroshi Saeki -- Ai wo Somete, Lisa（愛を染めて、リサ）

From Automobile Catalog

I gotta say that Nissan really put out some nice and popular songs for their commercials back in the day. For instance, there was the ad for the Skyline featuring "Ken to Mary ~ Ai to Kaze no yo ni" (ケンとメリー〜愛と風のように〜) by the folk duo Buzz（バズ）back in the 1970s which involved the traveling lovebirds, Ken & Mary. A tree in Hokkaido that was visited by the couple became supremely famous.

Then, tonight I found out that Nissan put out another ad in the mid-1980s for its Langley and the song there was again by Buzz. Well, actually, half of Buzz. Specifically, I mean Hiroshi Koide（小出博志）although he had changed his name to Hiroshi Saeki（佐伯博志）when he released this 1986 solo album "Jasmine"（茉莉花）with the launching track being "Ai wo Somete, Lisa" (Colour The Love, Lisa), the song for the Langley.

Once again, in another reflection of 70s folk singers metamorphosing into 80s pop/City Pop crooners, Koide isn't tackling folk here but a dreamy and atmospheric pop tune. Garbed in that moody black on the cover for "Jasmine", he does hit those high notes and whispery vibes while the urgent beat and the synths move on.

Along with the fact that "Ai wo Somete, Lisa" was used in a Nissan commercial, I also found out on this page that the song was written by a couple of veterans: lyricist Akira Ohtsu（大津あきら）and composer Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）with arrangement by Michiru Oshima（大島ミチル）. It had also been a single from the same year. Saeki's partner from Buzz, Masakazu Togo（東郷昌和）also had his own solo career at around the same time.

Michiru Oshima -- Chariot's Theme

The latest incarnation of "Little Witch Academia"（リトルウィッチアカデミア）finished its run several weeks ago but my anime buddy just got the soundtrack for the show a few days ago, and he's been quite smitten with it.

Furthermore, the folks who did the design for the soundtrack probably were inspired by "Chariot's Theme". Have all of the main characters dress up like a marching band a la "Hibike! Euphonium"...check. For the Little Witch Academia category, I've already talked about a couple of the theme songs bracketing each episode but the overarching song that truly accompanied the adventures of Akko, Lotte, Sucy and Diana has been "Chariot's Theme".

But even though composer Michiru Kojima（大島ミチル）titled this grand march for Shiny Chariot, the heroine and inspiration for Akko's quest, I think "Chariot's Theme" probably applies as the theme for the entire series and perhaps even as the school anthem for Luna Nova (plus if anyone needed a song to commemorate any sort of proud declaration anywhere at any time, it's this song). It's as if John Williams decided to go for a re-do for the theme for "Harry Potter". As such, I think for me to just categorize it as a "Pop" song would be somewhat insulting to the composer so it's getting the first nod to belong to the "Orchestra" category (which means that I will have to search for similar orchestral pieces on the blog and re-categorize them).

Since Oshima has been involved with "Little Witch Academia" since 2013 when it began as an Anime Mirai project (which I did see), I think my memory recalls the theme being used for that first short. In any case, if a new movie or new series ever comes out in the future, those heralding horns will get everyone's attention and perhaps stop a few hearts as well.

COSMOS -- Midnight Shuffle

If it hasn't already been done so, the following song should be adopted and molded into one of those Vaporwave/Japanese Future Funk videos that folks like Artzie Music have been creating. I'm pretty sure there would be fans who would swoon.

During one of my browsings on YouTube recently, I came across the keyboard trio of COSMOS, a band that was brought together by the Yamaha Music Foundation and had its debut in 1981 through the soundtrack for the movie adaptation of the novel "Hyouryuu"（漂流...Drifting）.

In November 1982, COSMOS released their album "Bourbon Suite" with one of the tracks being "Midnight Shuffle", a nice little nighttime boogie. The three core members of the band are leader Yumiko Tanaka（田中裕美子）, Keiko Doi（土居慶子）and Roman Kaieda（海江田ろまん）but they've had musical assistance by artists such as trumpeter Ichiro Nitta（新田一郎）and guitarists Masaki Matsubara（松原正樹）and Fujimal Yoshino（芳野藤丸）. Also, there were other members of COSMOS including Michiru Oshima（大島ミチル）who has gone onto bigger fame with her compositions for video games, TV shows, movies and anime. For that last category, I am watching one of her projects right now, "Little Witch Academia".

A few years later, Doi did her own side gig under KEIKO PROJECT and created the 1985 album "Compositions" which included a cover of "Midnight Shuffle" with some added lyrics and guitars. Perhaps by that time, she was already going by the name Keiko Matsui（松居慶子）.

"Midnight Shuffle" and Doi have reinforced those good memories of the urban contemporary side of synths and horns that I've known through artists such as Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生）, T-Square and Casiopea.

Here is COSMOS in action with "Spiral Dream". Not sure but I think they are performing on "Let's Go Young".