Here in Portugal, the sky is white as it's covered by clouds and the air is chilly. It's been like this since last week as we're experiencing an accumulation of cold fronts and mild storms. At least, we can be thankful for the rain since the country is facing severe drought.
"White Breath" is one of the songs that comes to my mind when I think about Winter - mostly because of the title, since the music is pretty warm and upbeat, and Takanori Nishikawa (西川貴教) doesn't seem cold at all in the video above posted - as expected of the man.
The first time I listened to TMR was through one of the opening songs of the 2006 anime "Soul Eater". It wasn't until some years later that I found out he is quite the famous personality in Japan and this was the song that got him popular in the first place.
J-Canuck already covered this song almost 4 years ago but I stumbled upon it in a different way.
It is Akina Nakamori's (中森明菜) version that comes first to my mind when I think about the song, because I first listened to her cover version, included in the 2016 album "Belie". That year, Akina fans had quite the treat since the album was later promoted as a bundle with the LP "Vampire", which contained more cover songs. It managed to reach 8th place in the Oricon charts, according to Wikipedia. Good thing she's been releasing one or two albums per year.
The arrangement by Takeshi Namura (名村武, former bassist and vocalist for Ann Lewis), Koushi Kishita (木下航志, called the "Japanese Stevie Wonder") and Yoshinari Takegami (竹上良成, brass arrangement) gives the song a more classy and soulful feel which I personally enjoy over the original by T.M.Revolution. I think it suits better the lyrics, which talk about warming up in a Winter night with a significant other, leaving oneself somewhat vulnerable towards the partner. Akina's rendition definitely has some of this vulnerability.
Keep warm, everyone (if Winter's still around you)!
