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.
Happy Monday! We're finally getting something resembling summer here in the Greater Toronto Area, but I think it'll still take some time before the gleaming days and the warm temperatures hit the city for the next few months.
The second-best thing next to getting to hear a new amazing bird single is being able to hear a past bird single that I'd never heard before. When the above video popped up on her official YouTube channel last year, I'd assumed that it was something new from the singer-songwriter when it was actually the video for her third single all the way back from August 1999, just some months following her splendid debut of "Souls".
Yup, I confess...I'd not heard of "Kimi no Oto ga Kikoeru Basho e"(To The Place Where I Can Hear Your Voice) although in my defense, I have heard a lot of bird's other wonderful tunes. It may not make me the most dedicated of bird fans, but here in 2025, I can once again enjoy the lovely notes and chords of a bird song for the first time. Written by the singer and composed by Shinichi Osawa（大沢伸一）, aka Mondo Grosso, I love those determined and groovy piano chords which anchor the 1970s jazzy soul feeling of the melody, as bird herself seems to be in her own blissful world while everyone else is tripping the light fantastic on the dance floor. The song reached No. 76 on Oricon.
I've already done my two articles for today but I just had to do one more because it is an Author's Pick that I'd been letting stew in my brain for a little while. Approximately a decade ago, I posted a similar article titled "Happy Songs for Me (for International Happiness Day)" on occasion of the annual March 20th tribute to all things happy. I realized that there were a number of songs already posted on the blog that simply made me happy each and every time I listened to them and so all those endorphins were flowing around like cars in the Indianapolis 500.
At the same time, I also recognized that there were other songs that not only provided an emotional high to me but also got me moving in my chair...not particularly easy considering a man of my mass and for that matter, a man of my often stoic temperament. But indeed, those tunes actually got me to dance...after a fashion. As such, I opted to put up my own list of tunes that have gotten me to shimmy. When I did a bit of research for this article, I found that there is such a day as International Dance Day but that's all the way ahead on April 29th. I'm not quite willing to wait that long.
So, without further ado, here is my list of up-and-at-'em tunes. As with the "Happy Songs" article, I've left out the years from Labels since that part of the article would have exceeded the limit of twenty and anyways, the years can be included easily enough beside the singer and the title.
I believe I've given my opinions on each of the songs but allow me to add some more for each song. Knowing that there was basically no way that "TOWN" would be played at the Tokyo Olympics (especially since the song was actually more about New York City), but if it had been devoted to Japan's capital city, the music video would have had the buildings and the populace get into one massive dance party. It can almost...not quite, but almost...get me to play air guitar near the end.
Dancing?! I don't need to dance to the well-titled "Sugar Time" to have a great time. All I need to do is jump all over the place. Whenever I listen to this fun fest, I always envisage Bobby Van's amazing sequence from the movie "Small Town Girl" released in 1953. Play "Sugar Time" and the Van dance while muting the latter. You'll lose a kilogram!
I do my best air drums when I hear Carl Smoky Ishii and company blast this one out the headphone speakers. And then if I'm really in a mood, I even try to emulate the K2C dancers on stage (I make sure no one's home).
I usually just repeatedly shift my weight to this technopop tune but my overactive mind envisions this being a battle and a dance simultaneously on the level and magnificence of the fights in the very first "Matrix" movie which was a mere two years after the source album "cure" had been released. It could be the background music for a fighting manga brought to life. And when the composer is the legendary Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）...well, quality guaranteed.
When you link back to the original article, you'll notice that I only supplied one paragraph to this song, something that I haven't done in years. However, it really is the song that can give the oomph compared to anything that I could put down in prose. Some great samba beats by Mondo Grosso and some lovely vocals by Bird to get me doing my own line dance. I'm sure any concert performances of "Life" would have the audience frenetically dancing to theirs.
Once you get past the technopop intro, it's all wonderfully soulful brass and bass and disco strings and the Sawayama sisters. Yep, this is another one to get the blood pumping and the shoulders shimmying all over the place. Of course, I encourage you to be more ambitious in the movements.
Honestly speaking, I had to include both of these songs which come from Kirinji's heavy rotation 2018 album"Ai wo aru dake, Subete"（愛をあるだけ、すべて）. I mean, I probably would have included a few more tracks but I didn't want to go overboard. Of course, "Jikan ga nai" is the finest example of SALARYWAVE that I've seen especially with that section chief tripping the light fantastic on the disco floor in the music video. And then with "Hi Zero Wa Game", I never thought that I could dance to a Doobie Brothers-like arrangement but here we are. The concert performance videos are splendid but I wonder what a conceptual music video would have looked like.
I've enjoyed these and even burned some calories to them. How about you? Any danceable kayo kyoku out there?
from Yiannis Theologos Michellis via Wikimedia Commons
I've been in plenty of Japanese taxis since I was a kid, but I don't think I've ever encountered a cabbie who looked like and acted like Rinko Kikuchi's（菊地凛子）driver in the above music video. The lass may be hallucinating out of sheer boredom with her job, but I wouldn't mind being a customer bearing witness.😁
But the song this video is centering around is Mondo Grosso's August 2022 digital single"Crypt" with the star vocal this time being PORIN from the band Awesome City Club. Written and composed by Shinichi Osawa（大沢伸一）with Kei Owada（大和田慧）also writing the lyrics, it's a pretty groovy tune of the 2020s with some funk here and technopop there...and of course, Kikuchi's interpretive dancing. Although the video has her going off on some sort of dream-like tangent, the words for the song create a world out on the town in real space and also cyberspace with the titular crypt being the container for those troublesome emotions.
Well, if "Neuromancer" ever gets its debut on the big screen, I wouldn't mind having this one as part of the soundtrack. How about having Kikuchi appearing in that one, too?👍
I've seen various iterations of an invisible man over the years in movies and on TV, but I have to say that the most chilling version was the one played by Claude Rains in the 1933 film "The Invisible Man". Dr. Griffin could be erudite and even charming but he was also insane and absolutely murderous. Perhaps he may have preceded Hannibal Lecter by several decades. The one scene where he described to one helpless victim how he was going to meet his maker is the stuff of horror legend.😱
Fortunately, this "Invisible Man" is far less terrifying. It's actually Mondo Grosso's debut single from June 1994. I've had several articles on KKP featuring the musician and producer Shinichi Osawa（大沢伸一） from Shiga Prefecture and his brand of jazz, R&B and dance beats over the years via songs such as "LIFE" and "Everything Needs Love" but by that point, he was pretty much seen as a solo act.
However, when Mondo Grosso first started out, it was as a group with leader Osawa along with rapper B-BANDJ, keyboardist Hajime Yoshizawa（吉澤はじめ）, saxophonist Masato Nakamura（中村雅人）and saxophonist/flutist Hidehito Otsuka（大塚英人）. And such was the case with "Invisible Man", an icy cool acid jazz piece with rapping and funky horns. Written by B and OKINO with Osawa handling the melody, this is a tune that I could see someone like hirokoboogie happily demonstrating or some of us just chilling on the sofa to...with some fine cocktails. By the way, was it indeed Monday Michiru in the original recorded version as well as in the performance below?
I guess Kayo Grace and Mr. Calico both have the same idea. It's summer, the patios are open as well as the dance floors, and right now in Toronto, there is the annual Salsa Festival for this weekend. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, the annual Samba Festival will be taking place in Asakusa, Tokyo later this season. Frankly, I was thinking about putting up some previously posted songs which can potentially have listeners doing a bit of the salsa, cha-cha, samba and other dances from around the Equator (well, the salsa is actually from New York) and southwards. Enjoy!
I haven't really been an avid follower of actress/singer/dancer Hikari Mitsushima（満島ひかり）in her movie and TV career although I've known about her acclaimed portrayal of real-life TV veteran Tetsuko Kuroyanagi（黒柳徹子）and the observation that one movie critic in "The Japan Times" admired her bravery in one early movie in allowing the camera to do a close-up of the inside of her nose (yes, I know that I've made that point before). Of course, I also remember her as a member of the song-and-dance kids' group Folder around a quarter of a century ago.
Since then, she's been collaborating with music producer Mondo Grosso over the past several years which has resulted in "Labyrinth"（ラビリンス）in 2017 and then "In This World" last year. This has included accompanying mesmerizing music videos which have reminded folks of a certain generation like myself that she is indeed a talented dancer. Such is also the case with her and Mondo Grosso's latest work together "Shadow Dancing" which now has Mitsushima front and centre on the credit byline instead of Mondo Grosso.
Released last month in August, both aforementioned artists provided words and music for "Shadow Dancing" which strikes me as a very chill dance tune so I can imagine anyone hitting the floor for this one moving slowly and rhythmically. As I was watching, I was getting some Chris Nolan"Inception" vibes from this one. Speaking of which, will Mitsushima make a break into Hollywood someday?
Around this time in August, I wrote about this amazing collaboration among music producer Mondo Grosso, singer-songwriter UA, special guest Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）and vocalist Hikari Mitsushima（満島ひかり）for the 2022 synthpop tune"In This World".
Well, much to my surprise and delight, those first two figures of Mondo Grosso and UA actually had worked together much earlier. Going back to 1997, they worked on music and words respectively to create Yoko Oginome's（荻野目洋子）36th single"Look Up To The Sky" which was released in March that year.
According to the J-Wiki article for the single, Oginome was able to listen to a CD by Mondo Grosso that she had received from photographer Itaru Hirama（平間至）who had accompanied the producer on a concert tour. The singer was duly impressed from what she heard and stated that she wanted to infuse that groove in any future music. I gather that it was only a matter of time before she and Grosso got together with UA to come up with "Look Up To The Sky".
I do love my groove as well so I do like "Look Up To The Sky". In a way, the song does hint at some of that Mondo Grosso goodness that was to come with stuff like bird's "Souls" and BoA's "Everything Needs Love". Plus, the previous year, UA herself had one of my very favourites thanks to her and Mondo Grosso with "Rhythm". The music video with Oginome going all sexy and tropical doesn't hurt either. "Look Up To The Sky" has got groove and perhaps some house with the singer going mellower in her vocals compared to her aidoru-era nasally delivery. Incidentally, the song also got into her 17th studio album"Chains" from December 1997.
Almost five years ago in 2017, I put up an article on the groovy "Labyrinth"（ラビリンス）, a collaboration between musician/producer extraordinaire Mondo Grosso, aka Shinichi Osawa（大沢伸一）, and actress/singer/dancer Hikari Mitsushima（満島ひかり）. I had been reminded through Mitsushima's tripping the light fantastic through Hong Kong that she was indeed that third descriptor because of her time as a kid in the song-and-dance group Folder decades ago.
Well, this year, Mondo Grosso and Mitsushima got back together again, and this time, they had a couple of more big names in Japanese music helping out. Not only was Osawa providing music and Mitsushima singing, but R&B chanteuse UA wrote the lyrics and Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）was on the piano for the March 2022 digital download single "In This World". A song hauntingly delivered by Mitsushima, "In This World" is a siren song set to beats as if an angel hit the dance floor and had to interpret the music (wouldn't that be an idea for an anime?). UA's lyrics seem to feel as if they were addressing the urge to get out of the shadows of self-isolation due to the pandemic and actually engage the five senses once again beyond the computer screen in a world that's worth experiencing and saving.
In an article on "In This World" for Anime News Network, there was a comment from Sakamoto stating that he hadn't been sure how he could actually contribute to such a song but Osawa's music was able to lead the way. For me, I'm glad that MG did ask The Professor to help out. It was a sign that I had wanted to hear for some time that Sakamoto was still able to work despite his cancer battles over the past few years.
The music video with Mitsushima literally dancing in air in a theatre is quite the tour-de-force performance, and it gave me a "What If?" thought. A couple of years, there was that NHK Kohaku Utagassen in which the annual New Year's Eve special had to be held without any spectators due to COVID regulations. It would have been quite the thing if "In This World" had been formulated and recorded earlier with Mitsushima appearing as part of the Red team to do this at NHK Hall. I'm not sure if that would be done now in the now-renovated facilities with full audience participation expected (unless the situation really worsens in Tokyo).
A couple of weeks following the release of the original single, an EP of "In This World" came out, and this particular track has Sakamoto performing "The Piano Mix" an orchestral instrumental.
I guess that I was going for a bit of abstract when I took this picture of the many floors in Diver City, Odaiba, Tokyo back in 2017.
When I was in Diver City, there were plenty of folks walking around doing their noshing and shopping. However, in recent years, I've been aware of the phenomenon of folks being fascinated by abandoned structures such as shopping malls in both Japan and America, and YouTuber The Proper People gave this tour of the absolutely empty Medley Center Mall in the town of Irondequoit, New York State in the same year as my most recent trip to Tokyo. It is quite interesting and eerie at the same time despite the fact that the tour was done in broad daylight. After all, the regular image of shopping malls is for them to be filled with people walking around with open stores looking for their business. It's almost as if humanity had disappeared long ago due to some calamity.
That's the vibe that I get from at least the lyrics of "ōtōseyo", a song created by composer Mondo Grosso and lyricist Tica α（ティカ・α）. I was going to translate the title into "Speak To Me", but I actually like the translation given at "Lyrics Translate" for the song which is "Hello, Do You Copy?". In fact, the page gives the entire translation for "ōtōseyo" which paints a pretty bleak picture of someone living in the aftermath of an apocalypse. A shopping mall is even given a shoutout although it seems to be populated by zombies now.
Mondo Grosso, aka Shinichi Osawa（大沢伸一）, still has beats in there with the feeling of beatnik bongos but "ōtōseyo" is surely made for the mysterious vocalist form of Tica α, aka Etsuko Yakushimaru（やくしまるえつこ）. Those opening measures of the song sound as if they had been made for the sometimes sinister tones of Mallwave before her vocals and an introspective piano enter the scene. The melody is actually a little more upbeat and perhaps even child-like and wondrous in comparison to the lyrics, and the protagonist in those lyrics insists that even if everyone were to disappear, the world will not end, so maybe there is some hope.
"ōtōseyo" is a track on Mondo Grosso's 6th studio album"Nando demo Atarashiku Umareru"（何度でも新しく生まれる...Reborn Over and Over） which was released in June 2017 (ah, that year again). It reached No. 8 on Oricon and the album also has "Labyrinth"（ラビリンス）featuring actress and former Folder member Hikari Mitsushima（満島ひかり）.
It's a Sunday but I think I'm going to write about Monday instead. To be specific, I'm writing about singer-songwriter Monday Michiru（Monday満ちる）, the daughter of jazz legend Toshiko Akiyoshi（穐吉敏子）and alto saxophonist Charlie Mariano. The first time I posited an article about the Tokyo-born Monday Michiru Mariano was for the dance-worthy "You Make Me", her 3rd single from July 1998.
I also mentioned in that article that I had purchased her BEST compilation "Selections '97-'00" but aside from "You Make Me", the songs didn't quite grab me at the time. Well, it's been a few years so I did give the album another spin and this time, there were some more tracks that finally sank a few claws into me. But first, here's the lineup.
1. Chasing After The Sun (Barefoot 'n' Pregnant Version)
The first track is "Chasing After The Sun (Barefoot 'n' Pregnant Version)", a single that came out in June 2000 that is just darn deserving of a caipirinha and a sun hat. The Latin rhythms fairly tickle the ear and give a sense of summer relaxation although I wouldn't say that it is a totally languid ballad. It's also included in Monday's December 2000 album"4 Seasons". I also found the Joe Claussell Mix which boosts the tempo a good notch.
From the singer's 1999 album"Optimista" is "Emerald Life (Nunca Tan Fermosa Cosa Vido)" which sounds like the ultimate samba party coming through the headphones. Monday came up with the music while James P. Vyner provided the lyrics. When I first started this article, I had initially jotted down "R&B singer-songwriter Monday Michiru" but on listening to "Emerald Life", I realized that I would have done her a disservice by just pegging her within one genre. There is club music, Latin and even some jazz milling about in this six-minute-and-change festival, and among the party chorus listed, Mondo Grosso himself, aka Shinichi Osawa（大沢伸一）, and another wonderful singer, bird, are in there with the chants and whoops.
"Chances" from "4 Seasons" is a number that has more of that sophisticated jazz that could have been inserted into one of those 1960s spy caper movies...the one with a Henry Mancini soundtrack. Perhaps that's exaggerating things a tad, but if there were ever a cover done of "Chances", I think Swingout Sister would be the ideal group behind it. Then again, when I hear the chorus work near the end of "Chances", I also wonder about Sergio Mendes and Brazil '66 as well.
"Stop n' Listen" is a short-and-sweet bossa nova tune just for "Selections '97-'00" telling folks in song to just slow down, breathe, and have some satisfying gulps of coffee. And it makes that clear by not nearly overstaying its welcome and finishing up at well under 3 minutes, still plenty of time to have that warm trombone solo.
One more song from "Selections '97-'00" is "Far To Go" which also comes from "Mermaid", and from the bluesy jazz/soul/club feeling, I think this could be something that Swingout Sister could tackle as well. But that's nothing against Monday Michiru who sings this with caressing aplomb, and "Far To Go" can be that pleasant chill-down song at home on a Sunday afternoon which, to remind readers, is when I'm writing this.
I was able to find a very brief video titled "Jazz Conversations" which has mother and daughter working together in the recording booth. Anyways, I've had a change of heart for "Selections".
Let's see...I just downed an entire baked potato with batajoyu along with some fish and other foodstuffs. I had been feeling rather tired after lunch and a translation assignment, and now look at me. I was about ready to melt into my armchair like spilled hot chocolate but I'm back in my room with the fan on behind me and my computer in front of me. Anything to keep me awake...plus, there's "Uta Kon"（うたコン）in about 40 minutes.
This helps, too. I get to hear some tantalizing uptempo dance-worthy material for a Tuesday night, thanks to the wonders of DJ, producer and musician Mondo Grosso. Other singers have worked with him such as BoA and Bird; this time, it's Brazilian piano player, singer and composer Tania Maria collaborating with him on "MG4BB", a track from his 4th album"MG4" released in July 2000.
Frankly the title reads like a license plate for a sports car but "MG4BB" runs like a well-oiled one roving on the highway by the ocean. Composed by Mondo Grosso, this Latin jazz cocktail has some dance beats in there and wonderful opportunities for Maria to add some of her lovely vocal qualities to really enhance that feeling to get onto the dance floor and knock off some calories...which I really need to do. Not that I'm doing so now but I am shifting back and forth in my chair quite nicely. I've decided that I will melt into my armchair a little later.
Early in the life of this blog, I provided an article on bird's single "Game" which was the impetus for me to get producer Shinichi Osawa's (大沢伸一...aka Mondo Grosso)April 2000 compilation album "Sakurahills Disco 3000". Did love the neo-disco that bird provided, and the version of that single on this particular compilation was just a shade under 10 minutes long.
Basically, that's what Osawa provides through his friends here: a set of remixes that brings together that old disco feeling incorporated into the contemporary clubbing atmosphere at the time. Some of the tracks stand out more than others, including the launching track "Discotique Murphy's Theme" by SHD 3000 and Murphy himself. Couldn't find out who exactly SHD 3000 was but I'm wondering if it's just another alias for Osawa himself. Yup, it's repetitive but the point is just to get you all warmed up on the dance floor and into the rhythm.
Monday Michiru will always be a welcome sound for sore ears. Thus, she is here with SHD 3000 to provide "Real Thing". Written and composed by Michiru herself, it's very nice to hear the good ol' sweeping and soaring R&B with some classy jazz. Could imagine darting among the skyscrapers of Manhattan on a magic flying carpet while listening to this one on a clear night.
I read about the band Kyoto Jazz Massive in my copy of Steve McClure's"Nippon Pop" years ago but didn't actually get to listen to the these fellows until I bought "Sakurahills Disco 3000". Their contribution to the album is "Substream" which also came out as one of their singles. According to their Wikipedia entry, they like to combine crossover jazz and electronic styles, and with "Substream", there is that mix of funk/soul with the improvisation of jazz with the result being something like the coolest AOR on a couple of cans of Red Bull. It certainly gave me wings.
One of the members, Hajime Yoshizawa（吉澤はじめ）, is on the Fender Rhodes and as I hear him noodling away, I couldn't help but be reminded of the late Vince Guaraldi when he was playing some of his "Peanuts" music in the 1970s entries of the beloved series with Charlie Brown & Snoopy. The other members are the brothers Shuya and Yoshihiro Okino（沖野修也・沖野好洋）.
These must be the cool kids of Seton Academy!
For the lack of a better expression, I guess Fantastic Plastic Machine's"Petitions" would be one of the more frantic chillout disco tunes that I've heard. It's been years and years since I was on the dance floor (and frankly, any disco that would have me nowadays would need the extra insurance), and "Petitions" is one of those songs that will have my legs twisting all over the place into a pretzel while my upper body goes all slow and rubbery. While FPM chugs up the beat, the sultriness is provided by the voice of Lori Fine, the vocalist of COLDFEET.
All these years, I've been waiting to get some excuse to get the legendary Earth Wind & Fire here. Well, now I've got the reason. The final track in "Sakurahills Disco 3000" is the Phats & Small Mutant Disco Vocal Mix of EW&F's just-as-legendary "September", known as "September 99". As soon as I got the video here, I turned up the volume solely as an automatic reflex.
I first got to know the original "September" back on the radio when I was in high school. Since then, I've never failed to listen to the song and appreciate it in the fall. The original was also a pretty short number but it's just so filled with fun and goodness, and when I heard that there was an extended remix, I just had to listen to it. If bird's"Game" was the bait that got me drawn to "Sakurahills Disco 3000", seeing the listing for "September 99" was the hook that finally landed me.
A few days ago, I hinted at providing such a list when I wrote about Lisa Ono's（小野リサ）cover of "One-Note Samba". With the passing of bossa nova legend João Gilberto along with the influence that the genre has had on kayo over many years, I've decided to join my fellow collaborators Marcos and Joana, who have given their own Author's Pick lists in the last few days, and give my own list about some of those Japanese songs with the kiss of Brazilian music.
My awareness of bossa nova has been in existence since I was literally a baby since I do remember hearing the classic "Girl From Ipanema" by Antonio Jobim. However, Ryoko Moriyama's（森山良子）"Ame Agari no Samba" is probably the first time I've heard the bossa nova treatment being given to a kayo kyoku, and that was through the radio program "Sounds of Japan" back in the early 1980s.
2. Gontiti -- Natsu no Riyuu（夏の理由）
Along with songs like the above "Ame Agari no Samba" which have their own articles here on the blog, I'm also inserting some new discoveries such as this one by the acoustic guitar duo Gontiti（ゴンチチ）. I was going to include their "Honto no Uso"（本当の嘘）which is their splendid collaboration with PSY-S, but I knew that Gonzalez and Titi had plenty of more fine bossa/samba in their vast discography, so looking around a bit, I was able to find this pretty lively affair called "Natsu no Riyuu"(Summer Reason) from their 2007 BEST album"gontiti Super Best 2001-2006"（gontitiスーパーベスト2001-2006）from 2007. I just didn't want to put up only the languid songs, and "Natsu no Riyuu" has more of a happy skip down the beach rather than just the gentle swaying of a hammock. Strangely enough, "Natsu no Riyuu" reminds me somewhat of some of the soundtrack from the anime "Amanchu!"（あまんちゅ！）which Gontiti produced.
Couldn't have asked for a better band and better vocalist to really tap into the romantic side of the genre than Anzen Chitai（安全地帯）and Koji Tamaki（玉置浩二）. This was the title track from their 1988"Anzen Chitai VI"album, and listening to it after so long, some of those nostalgic vibes of being driven home in my friend's car after another long Friday night extending into Saturday morning returned. Perhaps for other folks, the images might include that trip on the dance floor after a few cocktails.
The above is the long-form version of "LIFE" (2000) and it would be one of the only inspirations that I would have for actually getting up and participating in a samba. However, I do have compassion for sighted people, so I will refrain if asked. All joking aside, "LIFE" through the magnificent tandem of Mondo Grosso and Bird is one fun song, and I can only wish that my life could be as wonderful and happy as the song is expressing.
A touch of Henry Mancini class with this 1976 bossa kayo, "Douzo Kono Mama", that is the most famous song by singer-songwriter Keiko Maruyama（丸山圭子）. This was another discovery from "Sounds of Japan" all those years ago, and whenever I hear it, I think of a very ritzy but sedate bar serving martinis as their best cocktails. Young Sean Connery, Peter Sellers, and Audrey Hepburn are more than welcome here.
6. Taeko Ohnuki -- Voce é Bossanova
This is another new entry here and it's a really nice bossa nova number by singer-songwriter Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）. Ohnuki has created and recorded Latin-influenced songs in the past but I recently found "Voce é Bossanova" from her 1988 album"PURISSIMA" and felt that I needed to put it here. I find that her vocals became a little more whispery and more halting from around the mid-1980s, and as such, they became more fitting for the genre.
7. Shoko Aida -- Mezamemashou（目覚めましょう）
My final entry for the article is yet another song that hasn't seen the light of KKP before but it comes from my lone Shoko Aida（相田翔子）album "luz" from 1997. "Mezamemashou" (Let's Open Our Eyes) was well-titled since it was an eye-opening revelation for me as someone who was in Japan when Aida and Sachiko Suzuki（鈴木早智子）had their heyday as the successful aidoru duo Wink. I and probably most of Japan had no idea that Aida was a huge bossa nova fan, but she created most of the tracks on "luz" including "Mezamemashou" with Hiroyo Watanabe（渡邉浩世）helping out in the composition. The singer has that pleasant lightness in her voice perfect for bossa nova ballads.
My fellow collaborator and administrator, Marcos V., placed his own Aida bossa tune, "Jóia" from her previous solo album of the same title. In fact, the article was his first as a contributor on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" all the way back in early 2013.
Of course, there are many more bossa/samba-influenced kayo that I've covered in other articles, so this is just a sampling.
A grand start to the long weekend today with the sun and heat out there. Teaches me not to wear a black T-shirt out for a walk even in the morning. I may lose an extra few hundred grams here and there which isn't too bad a thing...as long as I stay hydrated. That sangria above would be a very welcome libation at this time.
So, how about the melodic version of sangria then? I bring you fusion band Casiopea's "Dazzling" from their April 1983 album"Photographs". Composed by band leader and guitarist Issei Noro（野呂一生）, it fulfills the title quite nicely as a summer tune with plenty of pop and a bit of Latin in there, too. Wouldn't mind being in an al fresco environment sipping on that cocktail while listening to this one.
I've read about the comparisons of "Dazzling" with Patrice Rushen's tour de force "Number One" from 1982, and I'm even more impressed with this song since I read that Rushen was responsible for nearly all or all of the instruments. If Jerry from Come Along Radio hasn't already included "Dazzling" and "Number One" in his videos of comparisons...well, here is another one.
A little over a decade later, groovy unit Mondo Grosso released their self-titled debut album in June 1993 with a cover of "Dazzling". It's got more of a downtown club feeling but with the sound of that vibraphone or similar instrument in there, it even has that sense of nostalgia from decades past with me getting reminded of Lionel Hampton. Still, I like both versions.
Perhaps it's a bit early in the week to hit the dance floor, but dang, I just like this one by Mondo Grosso. "Do You See What I See?" is a track from his second studio album "Born Free" from October 1995, and it's the type of groovalicious number that I've always liked by the fellow. Created by MG, Hajime Yoshizawa（吉澤はじめ）and Monday Michiru, this is the type of song for which I would have liked to have hit the floor near the beginning of the night when things were a bit slower, or perhaps after the first spate of high-energy songs when things needed to cool down a bit but it was not quite yet time to return to the table for a breather.
My kudos to the singer Zhana Saunders as well who keeps soaring while the bass keeps bopping. To be honest, I like this speeded-up Deep Zone Main Mix of "Do You See What I See?" even better. Once again, I think Marcos V. is the better person for this paragraph in terms of explanation, but I think this would be considered to be a House remix? In any case, this remix would be in that spate of high-energy songs, and wouldn't it be quite the thing to have this playing during a montage of the wonders of the host city at the Opening Ceremonies at the Tokyo Olympics late next year? Mind you, considering the date and season, we may need the ambulances on standby to scoop all those folks dropping from fun and heat exhaustion.
Yes, I could use with a good vat of sangria over the next number of days since the forecast for my city is Humidex figures in the 40s. Summer is definitely not over with us yet...not by a long shot. And summer is not done with this article, Part 2 of my own favourite summer tunes coming over from Part 1 earlier this afternoon. Without further ado:
I didn't mention this in the original article that I wrote for Jun'ichi Inagaki's dreamy "Natsu no Claxon"（夏のクラクション）but I think I may have heard and seen this through a concert video that was put on Fuji-TV in the early morning winter hours as I was shivering in my futon in Gunma. Oh, the irony. But then again, either Fuji-TV had a very sardonic sense of humour or the network was trying to get us folks thinking of summer thoughts to get us through the bitter snowy season. In any case, I think "Natsu no Claxon" is one of the summer J-AOR classics, and compared with the early summer vibe of "Summer Connection" by Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）who I also listed in Part 1, I like to think of Inagaki's signature song as something more mindful of the last few weeks of summer...namely now.
Ugh! Trying to think of an absolute favourite summer song by Yamashita would be like a parent choosing which one of his/her kids is his/her favourite...in front of all of the kids. I just can't do it and any one I choose will probably get some push back from the Tats fans, so let me just phrase things diplomatically and say that "Loveland, Island" is the representative of the vast number of beloved hot season tunes by the singer-songwriter. And I gotta say, I really love the song. I mean, I'm not too big on traveling but listening to "Loveland, Island" could make even me want to head off to tropical climes. Viva Tatsuro!
When the 2020 Olympics finally hit the big stage in less than 2 years, I hope that NHK will pick a theme song for its coverage that at least matches the epic heights of Maki Ohguro's fiery "Atsukunare"（熱くなれ）which was used for the network's broadcast of the 1996 Games in Atlanta. Living in Ichikawa at that point, I did watch my fair share of the events but I have to confess that the big thing I wanted to watch at the end of each highlight show on NHK was the above video showing the agony and ecstasy of competition while "Atsukunare" was playing. Got the heart pumping, it did.
The above is the extended version but even the single version has been a very pleasurable melodic trip through Brazil. I was wondering in the few weeks before I finally bought this collaboration between music producer Mondo Grosso and the wonderful Bird who created this fun number although I was able to peg the singer in an instant. It's one of the relatively few songs that could instantly make me bop about in my chair...not an easy thing to do when I'm typing, but that's how much I love "Life".
TUBE was definitely not going to be left out of this list by any stretch of the imagination. If there is any Japanese band that could be known as the permanent resident of the beach, it would be Nobuteru Maeda（前田亘輝）and the guys. And again, tons and tons of summer fun have been provided by the band over the years, but if I have to pick something, I will always go with their first bona fide hit, "Season in the Sun". I'm just surprised that it wasn't used by any of the TV networks as a theme song for one of their dramas.
My next two favourites for the summer were picked because I first heard them over my cherished radio program "Sounds of Japan" during the summer itself. 70s aidoru Yamaguchi's"Yume Saki Annainin"（夢先案内人）may have been released in Spring 1977, but everything about it says summer to me. The song could apply to walking through the streets of Tokyo or the beaches of Shonan at that time but the weather is always blisteringly sunny and hot. It may be rather uncomfortable out there in a typical Japanese summer but Momoe makes it darn inviting.
"Mizuiro no Ame"（みずいろの雨）is another tune that I picked up on "Sounds of Japan" back in 1982, and along with the dulcet tones of Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）, Junko Yagami was another wonderful voice who made me realize that there were some truly amazing singers in Japan. Years before I even knew of the Japanese genres of New Music and City Pop, Yagami was already charming me with her brand of cool urban contemporary material with a Latin twist. I know that a lot of folks are going ga-ga over "Tasogare no Bay City"（黄昏のBAY CITY）on YouTube, and I love it too, but I will still have a special place in my kayo kyoku heart for "Mizuiro no Ame".
I will finish my tunes here with "Summertime Blues" which is not only a great Misato favourite but also one of my musical touchstones of my time in Gunma Prefecture. Perhaps even more than her most iconic "My Revolution", this particular single reflects Watanabe's big and bright presence on stage. I think everything about it brings back the memories of summer in Japan without the annoying heat and humidity...although I will accept the sounds of cicadas.
Well, that is my list and there are quite a number of songs this time around but as I hinted in the first article, it's awfully hard to pare these down. Perhaps some of you collaborators and commenters have your own favourite summertime tunes. If so, let all of us know!
The first time I heard about actress Hikari Mitsushima（満島ひかり）was through a review in "The Japan Times" for a local movie. I don't remember the title or the story behind the flick but the reviewer was fairly gushing about Mitsushima's performance as a quirky character working in a factory; the fellow even complimented the fact that Mitsushima would even allow the camera to film right up her nose. Must have been quite indie, that movie.
Since then, she's been gaining a fine reputation as a thespian over the years. Last year, she even portrayed one of the biggest celebrity icons in Japan, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi（黒柳徹子）, so it was kismet that the real Kuroyanagi interviewed the Mitsushima Kuroyanagi on "Tetsuko no Heya"（徹子の部屋）.
However, I'd had no idea that Mitsushima was one of the members of the teen idol group Folder and its descendant Folder 5 back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I remembered that unit mostly from their appearance on the Fuji-TV kids' show "Ponkikies"（ポンキッキーズ）, and they were pretty darn dynamic on the stage.
Initially when I discovered this YouTube video of Mondo Grosso's latest single "Labyrinth" from April, I was caught a bit off-guard when I realized who this was skipping through the labyrinthine streets of Hong Kong. Then, I remembered that Mitsushima was once a song-and-dance lass from years ago. And she still is.
Compared to some of the other Mondo Grosso collaborations in the past, "Labyrinth" with Mitsushima is pretty laid back...a nice urban groove. But I think it's the video that has gotten my attention as Mitsushima is traipsing through the area. I couldn't help but remember a few movies as I watching: the recent live-action "Ghost In The Shell", "Absolute Beginners" with David Bowie, and even "Singin' In The Rain". I was half-expecting Scarlett Johannson's Major to jump out to do some jigging of her own.
Not sure if it will be enough for me to start searching for Mondo Grosso's latest but "Labyrinth" may be pleasant to hear over stereo speakers with a glass of brandy or a cup of coffee.
As someone commented for the above video, it's been too long since the last collaboration between bird and Mondo Grosso. I still fondly remember their sunny "Life" from 2000.
"Time" isn't an instant earworm but it's still pleasant enough. At first, I couldn't quite believe it was actually bird singing but as the song went along, that distinct voice started emerging again. Nice to hear her after so long.
It is the first track on Mondo Grosso's latest album"Nando demo Atarashiku Umareru"（何度でも新しく生まれる...Newly Reborn Over and Over）that was released just last week. And MG's website has some videos for the tracks. Along with bird, UA gives her contributions as well as actress/singer Hikari Mitsushima（満島ひかり）and Asuka Saito（齋藤飛鳥）from Nogizaka 46（乃木坂46）.
The first time I wrote about Monday Michiru (Monday満ちる) here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" was back in June when things were heating up for one of the hotter summers on record in Toronto. Well, this is my second go and now it's quite the opposite. I think it's barely above freezing at the moment and I saw some flurries outside my window earlier this afternoon.
Therefore, it's rather nice to bring in something nice and tropical sounding with Michiru's "Play It By Ear". This was her 5th single from July 1999 and unlike the happy-go-lucky strutworthy soul of "You Make Me" which was my first article on the singer-songwriter, "Play It By Ear" is more of the relaxing bossa nova. She worked on this alongside Mondo Grosso who just loves to bring in the Latin elements into his remixes.
"Play It By Ear" despite what the title says is anything but improvisational. It just seems tailor-made to bring down the heart rate and get you into a calmer state of mind...until that bit of Rio trickles in near the end. I actually found it in that BEST album of Michiru's "Selections '97-'00" which was released in 2001.
Earlier this afternoon, I was writing about Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生）weaving his City Pop magic for Anri（杏里）and her 1983 album"Timely!!", but the day before, I had come across this song on YouTube which took me back to my good old days of R&B back in the late 70s and early 80s. And it was produced by another artist who also wove some fine magic for various other artists.
This was "Family" by 90s musician-producer Mondo Grosso (aka Shinichi Ozawa/大沢伸一). Released in 1995 as a single, it also came out as a track in his album "Born Free" which came out in the same year. Listening to it, I couldn't help but shimmy a bit since the arrangement had me thinking about Stevie Wonder. Great horns and funky/mellow keyboards. It's just so nice and cool. It's no wonder that there were some wonderful tunes later on by songbirds such as Birdand BoA.
"Family" is a cover of the 1980 original by jazz flutist/saxophonist Hubert Laws with his sister Debra Laws providing those happy and velvety vocals. Now I'd be interested in hearing some more from the Laws' family. But I have to ask who the vocalist was in the Mondo Grosso cover. Was it Debra again or someone new? Inquiring minds want to know.
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