Nagoya Singers

Nagoya Castle
by Base64 via Wikimedia Commons

Last week, I posted up "Sagamihara Singers" in tribute to the fact that my hometown of Toronto and the city of Sagamihara had a sister-city relationship. Tonight, I'm talking about "Nagoya Singers" but my inspiration isn't connected to any similar bond between Nagoya and a Canadian city. In fact, I don't think Nagoya has any sister-city relationships with any urban zones in my nation although it does have them with Los Angeles, Mexico City and Sydney.

Nope, the impetus for writing about singers or bands who come from Japan's 4th-largest city is today's edition of NHK's "Asaichi"（あさイチ）morning information show. It just so happens that the focus was on Nagoya and all of those scrumptious dishes that originate there and elsewhere in its Aichi Prefecture. When I saw that wonderful dish of grilled eel called hitsumabushi（ひつまぶし）on my screen earlier, I just went "OK...got my second article for Hump Day!". But have a look at hitsumabushi and some of the other famous local treats in the video above from Mui's Diary.

Anyways, I've got four acts here from Nagoya. Please enjoy!

(1983) Junko Yagami -- Jealous

(1984) Yukiko Okada -- Dreaming Girl

(1993) Yoshiko Goshima -- Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro （白い色は恋人の色）

(2011) Sentimental City Romance -- Sun Sunny Friend

Anyways, Nagoya has been in the news for being one of the hottest places in Japan right now, so I'm hoping that folks there are trying to keep cool and safe. As a PS, you can also take a look at another Nagoya specialty, ten-musu（天むす）, from YouTuber Just One Cookbook.

Mika Nakashima -- Aroma

Good heavens! It's been a long time since I wrote about Mika Nakashima（中島美嘉）. Was able to find one of her appealing jazzy ballads from "Love Addict".

Like that title "Aroma", the song is quite heady in the intro with the aural twinkling and the bluesy guitar. Written by Nakashima and composed by singer-songwriter Yoshiko Goshima（五島良子）, "Aroma" has that attraction of listening to it in an intimate basement club...the one with that brick wall behind the performer. Along with the guitar and groovy keyboards, I do hear those drum brushes sliding on the snare and a more subtle bass puffing away. Lovely solo they have, too.

Nakashima's lyrics are bittersweet. She describes someone recovering from a relationship that didn't end too well. There's the hurt and resentment but also the aroma of the former lover that she still can't quite let go of.

"Aroma" first made its appearance in "Resistance", Nakashima's first mini-album from November 2002 and it hit No. 1 for 2 weeks. The one version that I have is her live performance of the song that has been recorded onto "Love Addict" that came out in April 2003 and peaked at No. 5.

Yoshiko Goshima -- Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro （白い色は恋人の色）

Wherever you are, I hope you are hanging in there.

Last month, I first mentioned about singer-songwriter Yoshiko Goshima（五島良子）and her collaboration with techno unit Denki Groove（電気グルーヴ）on "Niji"（虹）back in 1995. Apparently, according to her J-Wiki article, that was the song which put her on the map, so to speak, but she did put out a good amount of singles in the 1990s starting from 1990 itself. Not a whole lot more information about her except that she was born in Nagoya, and from another webpage, she has a 5-octave range.

It's more of the high notes from her July 1993 single. For kayo fans, this particular song may sound rather familiar since it is a cover of "Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro" (White is the Colour of Lovers) which was originally recorded by Betsy & Chris all the way back in 1969 with Kazuhiko Kato（加藤和彦）and Osamu Kitayama（北山修）of The Folk Crusaders creating it. Yoko Kanno（菅野よう子）was behind the arrangement of the song, and Goshima's heartwarming and child-like delivery (with the harmonies that also distinguished the Betsy & Chris original) help in selling the ever-calming song. The fantasy element is further enhanced by Kanno's arrangement that sounds as if it had been made for "Lord of the Rings".

Denki Groove & Yoshiko Goshima -- Niji（虹）

Adorned by those groovy propulsive beats and the rest of the synthpop accessories is this sweet tune regarding rainbows. This was Denki Groove's（電気グルーヴ）6th single, "Niji" (Rainbow) from April 1995 sung by band leader Takkyu Ishino（石野卓球）and singer-songwriter Yoshiko Goshima（五島良子）. I didn't quite have time to track down the original less-than-5-minutes single but I think the above live performance by everyone will suffice.

The single, written and composed by Ishino, peaked at No. 27 on Oricon, and also became a part of Denki Groove's "Dragon", their 5th original album released in December 1994. The album went all the way to No. 13 on the charts with the album version of "Niji" clocking in at a little under 11 minutes. Rather contemplative. I really feel like chasing rainbows at supersonic speed...and having some Skittles.

Never saw the 2005 anime "Eureka Seven" although from reading some of the information on Wikipedia, it sounds quite interesting and involved. I'll have to ask my friend about that. Anyways, "Niji" was used as an insert song for Episode 50, and apparently that left quite the impression on viewers.

There are quite a few remix versions of "Niji" but I have to admit that I like this 1999 version by Paul van Dyk the best. Maybe Monday may not be the most optimal of dance nights but if you've got plenty of floor space wherever you are, feel free to cut a rug.