Yoko Kuzuya -- MIDNIGHT DRIVIN' -KUZUYA YOKO MUSIC GREETINGS 1999〜2021-

 

My previous article on urban contemporary singer-songwriter Yoko Kuzuya（葛谷葉子）was on one of her two new songs, written and composed by her for the first time in a long while, "Midnight Drivin'", and I just found it such a nice slice of urban groove that I had to get the rest of the album that came with it. "MIDNIGHT DRIVIN' -KUZUYA YOKO MUSIC GREETINGS 1999〜2021-" is her September 2021 BEST compilation, produced a decade following her departure from the music scene. Let me show you the playlist.

01: midnight drivin'(new song)

02: Honey (new song)

03: TRUE LIES

04: my book

05: Natural

06: Hitori (ヒトリ)

07: All Night

08: Shinin' Day

09: Sayonara Ieta nara (さよなら言えたなら)

10: Sweet Rhythm

11: replay on ~Sugiteyuku Toki no Naka de, Michiteyuki Hikari no Tsubu de~ (~過ぎてゆく時の中で、満ちてゆく光の粒で~)

12: Koi (恋)

13: Side Seat (サイドシート)

14: Saigo no Yoru (最後の夜)

Along with the title track, I've got the links above to some of the other Kuzuya songs that I've already covered, so let's take a look at some of the other material that I haven't. The other new song is Track 2, "Honey", which has a hint of those dance beats and some 70s soul feeling blended into the 21st-century arrangements.

The penultimate track on "MIDNIGHT DRIVIN'" is "Side Seat" which was actually Kuzuya's 3rd single in June 2000 following "TRUE LIES" and "Koi". Adorned with some good ol' disco horns and strings, the singer goes into a woman's love of being in the titular position, presumably next to her boyfriend in some sort of conveyance while on a major highway. I always love a good wacka-wacka guitar.

Kuzuya's 4th single "Shinin' Day" was released just a couple of months following "Side Seat" and it's a nice R&B shuffle down the road about a couple simply enjoying each other's company. The arrangement was handled by Maestro-T and it is reminiscent of some of the uptempo material that Misia or Momoe Shimano（嶋野百恵）was providing at the time.

"replay on ~Sugiteyuku Toki no Naka de, Michiteyuki Hikari no Tsubu de~" whose Japanese title translates as "With The Particles of Light Filling Up in the Passing Time" was her 5th single released in December 2000. This one is much more in the languid pop vein with a Latin guitar added. Even Kuzuya's vocals seem a little higher and floatier and this time she reminded me some more of pop singer Miki Imai（今井美樹）. The song was also used for a Kao cosmetic commercial.

The final track on "MIDNIGHT DRIVIN'" is her March 2001 6th single "Saigo no Yoru" (Final Night), and it's a poignant slow jam about a couple having one last dinner or drink together before breaking up for good. They're trying to put on a good face about it but it's oh-so-hard. It's not exactly the happiest song but what lightens things up are those strings. 

One more song that I'll put up here wasn't a single but a track from Kuzuya's 2nd album "MUSIC GREETINGS VOLUME TWO" from May 2001. "Hitori" (Alone) kinda straddles that line between pop and R&B, and it's another laidback ballad about someone missing their significant other in a currently cold side of the bed while they are off on some sort of business trip, perhaps. Nice touch with the harmonica.

I will have to tackle the remaining tracks on this BEST album individually over the next number of months, but it's good to finally get to know Kuzuya better through "MIDNIGHT DRIVIN'". This is the type of album to hear when trying to cool down after a tough day at the office.

Yoko Kuzuya -- Midnight Drivin'

 

Allow me to send my compliments on this grand video of a night through one of the more modern areas of Tokyo. Titled "Tokyo Future City Takeshiba Night Walk 2021" by YouTuber VIRTUAL JAPAN, it's a sharp look at an area that I'm sorry to say that I never went through at night but I can say that I have traipsed through the neighbourhood very close to it via the Yurikamome Monorail, Odaiba, in Tokyo Bay. The angles and colours just pop out at me!

Now that VIRTUAL JAPAN video is a Night Walk and not a night drive but there are quite a few of those on YouTube via channels such as J Utah anyways. However, I did find this appropriate musical accompaniment to any sort of drive or walk through futuristic-looking Tokyo areas. And it's a nice return by urban contemporary singer-songwriter Yoko Kuzuya（葛谷葉子）who stopped her music activities in 2010 according to J-Wiki. She came back to get together a new BEST compilation called "MIDNIGHT DRIVIN' -KUZUYA YOKO MUSIC GREETINGS 1999～2021" which was released on September 22 this year via Sony Music Japan.

The first two tracks on her first album in a decade are new songs with the first one being "Midnight Drivin'". Written and composed by Kuzuya, this is a nice song while being behind the wheel on the Shuto Expressway during the midnight hour when traffic is hopefully more bearable. Considering what I've seen of those driving-through-Tokyo videos, it is indeed possible to enjoy a smooth ride in the megalopolis at night. And Kuzuya's music and vocals are just as smooth and groovy.

It will be my intention to get my copy of "MIDNIGHT DRIVIN'". The album also has another Kuzuya song that I wrote about years ago, "ALL NIGHT".

Yoko Kuzuya -- True Lies

I picked up this compilation CD titled "Smooth Vintage" back in 2003 just from looking at the lineup. There were indeed some smooth and groovilicious tracks including Toko Furuuchi's（古内東子）"Distance" and Masayuki Suzuki's（鈴木雅之）"Misty Mauve". It's been a long, long time since I listened to this one and a few days ago, I was happening to return one other disc back to its rightful place when I saw "Smooth Vintage" again and pulled it out. There were quite a few songs and singers that I had to re-acquaint myself with.

And that included the first song, "True Lies" by Yoko Kuzuya（葛谷葉子）. Listening to it again, I mentally smacked myself upside the head, wondering why I would ever forget something this sultry and slow funky. This was Kuzuya's debut single from August 1999, a song that she composed and wrote and a song that I should be equating with some of the soul-good material from divas such as Misia, bird and Momoe Shimano（嶋野百恵）.

Right from the introduction percussion and Kuzuya giving that soft howl (also love the bass, by the way), "True Lies" had me strutting my shoulders for a nice little workout in front of my computer. Her lyrics talk about a woman who's caught between a jerk boyfriend and a hard place...she hears about these terrible things about him that are most likely true but she is really hoping that they are not. It's a pretty cool way to listen to romantic distress. The song was also in her debut album "MUSIC GREETINGS VOLUME ONE" which came out in September 1999.

Yoko Kuzuya/Miyuki Hatakeyama -- Romance wo Mou Ichido （ロマンスをもう一度）

I didn't make it a habit of traveling too much outside of Tokyo during my years in Japan but I was able to get out to the onsen area of Hakone once or twice with friends although we never spent the night at one of those ryokan. Although there were plenty of accommodations in the area, the expense of spending even one night out there and the fact that Hakone was quickly accessible from Shinjuku meant that a day trip was good enough for us.

Nope, not particularly romantic of us...or me, specifically. But hey, I was never much of a traveler to begin with. Therefore, it's a bit ironic that I am introducing "Romance wo Mou Ichido" (Romance Once More) which has been the long-running campaign song for the Odakyu Romance Car Express originating from Shinjuku Station. And yep, I never got to ride the train since Japan Railways was supposed to be the less expensive option (although from what I see of the rates on the official website, they are not too bad), but I had always wondered about hopping aboard one of those Odakyu trains to get over to Hakone. Naively, I had thought that the Romance Car was truly just for the couples, with love seats installed in lieu of the regular seats, but it is just a more luxurious form of train.

Still, I remember the commercial song playing whenever the ads for the Romance Car popped up on the telly. I didn't find out about the title or the singers until last night. Five singers gave their own versions of "Romance wo Mou Ichido" between 2002 to the present day but I still remember the original version by Yoko Kuzuya（葛谷葉子）who composed the song with Hiroaki or Yasuaki Ueno（上野泰明）providing the lyrics.

My impression of a theme song for a trip out to summery Shonan Beach would be something appropriately rock n' roll a la TUBE, but I speculate that Kuzuya was looking for a tune that was more freshly green, soft...and well, more romantic. More strolling, less running. And "Romance wa Mou Ichido" has that melodic feeling of a traipse through the woods almost as if it were Alice in Wonderland. Over the past year, I've translated a number of articles about parks and forests in Japan, and this particular song would make for an ideal theme tune for those places as well.

Kuzuya provided her original version for the commercials from the summer of 2002 to the spring of 2003 and then between 2007 and 2008, although it didn't come out as her official 7th single until July 2007. Between the fall of 2003 and the winter of 2004, though, Miyuki Hatakeyama（畠山美由紀）gave an even more laidback cover of "Romance wa Mou Ichido".

To finish up, the above is a video of some of those Romance Cars gliding through the crossings.

Maybe I ought to try one of those Romance Cars out the next time I hit Japan before I get a little too old.

Yoko Kuzuya -- ALL NIGHT

Another nice and groovy way to finish the work week here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". I came across Yoko Kuzuya's（葛谷葉子）"ALL NIGHT" by accident on YouTube and the singer-songwriter came up with this urban soulful ballad filled with these shimmering strings that had me thinking of the 1970s again. Of course, it might not be the 20th century anymore in Japan but there is also that hint of City Pop and even that bit of Minako Yoshida（吉田美奈子）.

"ALL NIGHT" is a track from her 1999 debut album, "Music Greetings Volume One". I've already talked about another song that's on the album, "Koi"（恋）.

I often pulled off some all-nighters, academically as well as recreationally back in my wayward 80s. Of course, I preferred one over the other although sometimes I inevitably overindulged on the cocktails. However, years in Japan and just plain age have blunted my inability to enjoy the overnight hours. Mind you, most of my fellows from those days are now far too busy with work and family to also pull off those extended hours at the discos, karaoke bars and drinking establishments. Still, there are the fine memories.

Yoko Kuzuya -- Koi （恋）

Today, I came across a compilation disc of female artists titled "GINZA - Evening" that I'd bought over a decade ago. Considering the title, I'd initially thought that the CD would be filled with some pretty brassy music, but actually, the songs are pretty introspective laid-back affairs. So, instead of the exclusive nightclubs crammed into the tall buildings, these tracks are more reminiscent of being in that Ginza cafe alone on a rainy night.

The first track is "Koi" (Love) by singer-songwriter Yoko Kuzuya （葛谷葉子）from Gifu Prefecture who released this as her 2nd single in January 2000, although the song had already been a track on her 1st album, "Music Greetings Volume One" from September 1999. It's a bluesy affair as she sings about trying to give up on that guy for one or two glaring faults...only to find that he's still got a fair number of strong points. The song sets the theme for the rest of the album rather nicely.

Kuzuya has also provided songs for other singers such as Mika Nakashima（中島美嘉）, Masayuki Suzuki （鈴木雅之）and Kumi Koda（倖田來未）.