Miyuki Hara - 1989 - 凛

 

Speaking of death metal Miyuki Hara was/is a pop artist from Japan that was briefly active in the late 1980s. More specifically she was of the City Pop variety with lots of synth parts on her tracks. There is not much information about her or her discography on the English side of the internet so I can't really comment or provide any kind of context to the music on the album. Looks like she has at least 4 albums with this one being her second one and it's the only one I could find. It seems that she retired in the early 90s and is living in Europe with her family. but yea, who knows. 

The album starts with a very upbeat  almost "anime opener" tempo and energy but you'll quickly notice that her vocals aren't matching the energy completely. Her vocals are very subdued almost like they lack in interest of what is going on around her. I like it but it takes some time to get used to it, there is certainty a lot of strangeness in her songs from weird synth sounds to janky passages or bridges in the middle of songs. Her somber tone obviously fits better with the more slower paced and sadder tracks while the more upbeat ones are just kinda strange and detached. It still is a pop record so ti is relatively safe and accessible but some parts of it stick out which makes it more memorable to me. As with most city pop albums it is best experienced at night with a comfy cup of tea.

Get it!

Atsuko Nakazawa - 1973 - 中沢厚子ファースト・アルバム

 

Atsuko Nakazawa was (is?) a jpop/enka singer who made two albums in the 70s with this being her first. I don't know much about her - nobody does from what I can tell from light google research but that shouldn't matter too much anyway.

The album itself, as one would expect of jpop, is a fairly safe trek through loveable melodies and vocal harmonies with appropriate strings and 70s brass sections. What it lacks in creativity it compensates in how good Atsukos vocals are. I would say they remind me of Meiko Kaji a bit but Atsukos voice is much softer, more melancholic than angry and she doesn't get overly dramatic or expressive. There's a good balance here of happy and songs, most of them are pretty laid back tho so this whole thing is a very comfy experience.

Get it.

Akiko Yano - 1976 - Japanese Girl

Akiko Yano is a female Japanese pop/jazz singer and also a pianist. This was her debut album (she has another one from this year according to discogs) and apparently it made a splash in the scene for its unique sound. In retrospective I don't think it's that unique considering that in the 70s there were a lot of more experimental Japanese "sort of" mainstream artists but the hype should not detract the actual value of this record. The music is a big salad of all kinds of styles but if we tried we could pin it on psychedelic pop? Maybe? The album starts with a relatively jazzy track that devolves into scat singing solo by Akiko. As we go on with the tracks you'll notice more congas getting ever present.  But they stop and the music take a more Japanese turn in sound. After a while it tones down and when you reach track six it's all happy piano ballad with prog rock weirdness in the back. The album is glued together with a consistently great vocal performance by Akiko in all of the tracks. For some it might be over-expressive but if you're used to jazzy vocals you should not have a problem with this. As with music her singing changes styles often but she seems mostly comfortable in all of the settings. This album is a journey, if you're up for one then you're bound to have a good time. Background listening this is not.

Get it.

Carmen Maki ‎- 1969 - 真夜中詩集 ーろうそくの消えるまでー

Carmen Maki is a half American, half Japanese singer/songwriter that was mainly active during the 70s. Her first album (this one) is a common mixture of enka singing and folk-rock instrumentation. There's nothing really outstanding here aside from her voice which is heavenly as fuck. It reminds me of Meiko Kaji but a bit more softer and more nuanced. The album might be off putting due to a lot of "talking" parts where she probably delivers some kind of backstory or context for the songs (pretty sure she introduces her upbringing in the second song) but they're mostly short and not that jarring. The songs themselves go at a mainly relaxed pace with a lot of flutes, strings and harmonicas. Kinda western-ish sounding in a lot places. Nice and relaxing sunday tunes.

Get it.

Ralfi Pagan ‎- The Legend

I have a very soft spot in my heart for slow, smooth pop songs and Ralfi Pagan is pretty much just that. Cheesy love songs with a bit of a latin salsa thing was all this dude had in mind and they're fucking beautiful. His voice is light and heavenly so all songs have a very dreamy texture. He made a couple of albums in the 70s and that's it so this compilation offers a good introduction to his music. If you're in the mood for simple love songs this is a great choice.

Get.

Try.

Allo Darlin' - 2010 - Allo Darlin'

Once upon a time twee pop and jangly indie garbage was all the rage on the internet but it all died down relatively fast. What was left were a bunch of two-three album bands that are no longer active. Allo Darlin' is one of those short lived bands and this is probably their best and most famous effort. For what it is it's an enjoyable trek through twee pop songs about food, movies and love. They're all trite but ultimately lovable and catchy. If you are in a mood for it can be great. Check it out.

Get.

Meiko Kaji

Like many other people I discovered Meiko Kaji through Kill Bill, it could very well be my first enka discovery for that matter. Ever since I heard her voice I was enamored with it and I come back to her albums often. Years ago I shared her most common album (or compilation) called Zenkyoku Shu and someone in the comments left megaupload links to a boxset of her. Recently I went through this boxset and considering how the links are long dead I decided to share it again, this time giving it a proper post. The set includes 6 of her albums containing large volumes of songs making this pretty much the go to collection of Meiko Kaji. The songs of course vary in quality, some are absolute cheese garbage while others tend to be more subtle and refined. All in all she's a great singer and this collection is essential if you like her music.

CD1 - Gincho Wataridori

CD2 - Kaji Meiko no Hajiki Uta

CD3 - Yadokari. Kaji Meiko Original Best 12

CD4 - Sareyo Sareyo Kanashimi no Shirabe

CD5 - Kyou no Wagami wa

CD6 - Onna wo Yametai Soshite

Scans

Rachel Goswell - Waves Are Universal

Rachel Goswell is a name commonly associated with a band called Slowdive. I'm not very familiar with them so I can't really make any meaningful comment but I'll get around to them one day. She played for them the guitar and also sang and she also played in another band called Mojave 3 which is a great band and you should definitely check out their albums. Especially if you end up liking her solo album which I'm sharing.

On her solo album she combined the music of Mojave 3 with some of her own styling and instrumentation. Even though this came out in 2004 the album sounds a lot like the 90s. It's a quaintly melancholic affair with love songs throughout and songs of longing. It's one of those albums that you put on when it's raining outside and you just made tea and you're comfortably snugged somewhere warm. The songs themselves are diverse enough to feel unique in terms of instrumentation albeit being relatively simple in terms of structure. It's definitely varied enough to keep things interesting throughout the album.

Get.

Taeko Ohnuki - Mignonne

For the first album of the year here's a heavy dose of jpop cheese coming straight out of the 70s. I'm always infatuated with this sort of tasteless pop from Japan. Mostly because it reminds me of 80s and 90s anime from my childhood. All of the tracks on this album could be an opening or a closing for some garbage 3 episode OVA.

Taeko actually has a very decent voice even though there are several layers of reverb on everything. I hate reverb but I think here it brings that special fuzzy atmosphere. Apart from her voice everything else is the same "city pop" fare that's on every album of this kind. There's even a track with a over the top alto saxophone solo. Choirs in English as well. Piano ballads too!

Wallow in it.

Mari Atsumi ‎– 夜のためいき +6

Hey everyone. It has been a long while but I'm back with some more shares! I finished college more or less so I'll have more time to write and post. More importantly my internet connection is far better than before so I'll be able to do it with less hassle. I'll be reuploading requested files today or tomorrow with my new glorious upload speed of 84KB/s.

For starters here's some old school jpop (or enka more specifically).

If I had to compare then Mari Atsumi is mostly similar to Meiko Kaji in terms of voice. While Meiko's music is more rock and blues oriented with some traditional stuff thrown in for good measure. Atsumi on the other hand does things more folk oriented and more ballad esque. This isn't anything riveting or eye opening in total but it's just good 70s pop songs from Japan. Her voice has a very good soothing mature sound to it, there's nothing quirky or "moe" here which is usually what sells me on stuff like this.

The album itself was released sometime in the 70s but this is a newer reissue that adds a bunch of 7'' singles she did back in the day. Atsumi was also an actress so there's another comparison with Meiko in check.

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bôa ‎- Tall Snake EP

Serial Experiments Lain was the first anime show that I watched from a source that wasn't the TV and I was stunned that Japanese can draw something else than big eyes and explosions! It still had schoolgirls though! Aside from being an excellent show the opening is something that really stuck with me over the years. I still listen to it today and it is one of few select opening/closing songs from anime shows that I, every now and then, listen (Bonnie Pink's Last Kiss being close second, of all things). First and foremost the song is incredibly catchy but more importantly it's not hyperactive pop or a charade of edgy rock inspired pop. It's a well made, fittingly melancholic, song by a British band that didn't really catch on as time went on. Now that I think of it, I never really bothered with anything else they've made.

Tall Snake EP contains this song in its original form (uncut) and two other versions. One is a Cyberia remix which sounds pretty much like any late 90s electronic-pop garbage and an acoustic version which is great if not even better than the original. The EP also contains two other songs (I don't remember if they were featured in the anime, probably not) that are fun to listen but different from the main showcase.

Get the EP.

There's a video of the song here.

Battlefield Band - The Road of Tears

It has been a long time since I last made a post and it's raining heavily outside so I've decided to share something sad (but not really) and rainy.

Battlefield Band is one of those bands that is now less of a band and more of an institution. They formed way back in 1969 and they released a lot of albums but changed even more members. I haven't heard much of their stuff but what I did I liked it so I presume most of their discography is good if not excellent. This particular album is from more modern times and the music itself is a mixture of traditional music from Scotland and "modern instrumentation". So basically they're kinda like the Old Crow Medicine Show of Scotland on here.

This album packs a lot of songs so it clocks for about an hour. While the overall tone is somewhat sad there are plenty of merry instrumentals which are probably the best part of this album. Aside from the instrumentals there are a few traditional folk songs (Scottish and Irish) so there's a bit of everything in here.

In any case, it's a smooth listen if you're into it.

Get.

Roadside Poppies - Cycling and Crying

While twee pop isn't a genre of music that I know much about I still like to check out some of its artists every now and then. I can name a few bands and from what I heard this genre seems fun enough but I like it in short bursts. That's why I mainly have EPs of twee pop and perhaps this might be the time that I share probably my favorite twee pop EP. In case you haven't heard of it here are the basics of twee pop: it's mellow pop filled with happy melodies, cutesy vocals and silly lyrics (about love mostly).

Roadside Poppies released this back in 2007 and a few other demos and so. I don't think they have any official albums. The EP itself has a short and sweet set of just four songs. The first is probably the best one and it reeks of "It's summertime!" feelings, the whole EP is kinda like that actually. But all four are relatively catchy and fun to listen. The third track is probably my second best.

So yeah, if you're in the mood for some mellow tunes I suggest you check this out.

Get.

Advantage Lucy - Station

Since summer is starting to fade away I thought I might share one of my favorite summer time bands called Advantage Lucy. They're a three piece rock-pop band from Japan that released three albums. They're still active (I think?) but they didn't do anything new for a while now. I shared one of their albums before but that was a very long time ago so why not share another one?

This album is pretty much along the same line as the other one. It was released back in 2000 and I think it still sounds just as great. It's so happy and carefree that it makes me just sit around and watch birds shit on my window or something useless as that.

The melodies are very light (as expected of such bands) and quite catchy. The trio arrangement fits quite well with this sort of music. Too much instrumentation tends to bog down the melody so this is to me an optimal arrangement of instruments for this type of music. While the album is a bit samey it doesn't really feel all that long so I don't think that's a real issue here. Everything is nice and mellow in the land of Advantage Lucy and they help to bring that mellowness to the listener as well.

Get.

Coven - Witchcraft Destroys Minds And Reaps Souls

Coven was an interesting little flick back in the day. Yeah, I sound like an old man. This album and band were pretty much stereotypical cookie cutter product of their time (late 60s and early 70s) with one very distinct trait. Their imagery and lyrics were focused on the occult and satanism. Not very subtle and hidden but completely open and direct. This came out before Black Sabbath did their thing so ironically Sabbath were called a British answer to Coven. Sadly this isn't as nearly as good as is Black Sabbath but it has its shining points.

This whole album is like a silly exploitation movie about Satanism. The last track is actually a whole black mass recorded with chants and everything. Today we find this silly but in those days it managed to spur some controversy which eventually gave them some acclaim. Aside from their gimmicks this is nothing really nothing special and they keep the music in the boundaries of then standards. I don't mean to say that it's bad music, it's just not very innovative or original but it's fairly catchy and the (female) vocalist sounds a lot like the chick from Jefferson Airplane. So in a sense this is Jefferson Airplane that's devoted to Satan in the name of commercialism.

Some more info about it on Wikipedia.

Pulp download.

Dernière Volonté - Devant Le Miroir

Here's something that is a first of its kind on this blog. Dernière Volonté is supposedly something called "military pop" but I'm not really sure if that's a credible genre; at least it's not for now. Maybe it's just a transitional name for more poppy and catchy type of martial industrial music. Who knows? In any case I'm not all that knowledgeable about this so I'll just shut my mouth right here. At least for a moment.

As I have hinted already this is catchy pop in a more militaristic/neofolk~ish fashion. Along with the visual militarist fashion this also counts in music. Military drums, rhythms and such all play an important role here but they do not deviate into pure martial industrial in vein of Arditi and the similar. Except in a track or two which are probably tracks that didn't make it into the previous album. Or something like that, I'm just guessing because the previous one is much more "industrialized". This is dark and it's cold, it does not retain the usual warmth of music that pop provides. And I think this is really good and is holds an interestingly unique look on this sort of music.

Check it out if you want to experience something a bit different.

Download.

Oh and also check out his side project called Position Parallèle which is apparently a lot similar to this album. I haven't heard it yet so I'm no position to propose an opinion of it.

Meiko Kaji - Super Value

If you're a fan of Meiko Kaji you probably already own that one album that's circulating the internet. Not much more of her stuff can be found (or at least I couldn't find it) around. I nabbed this album off some Russian forum and there was another album as well but the link died or something, such a shame. The prices of her albums on amazon and ebay are outrageous as well.

If you didn't listen to Meiko Kaji before your probably did hear two of her songs that were featured in the Kill Bill movies and that's how most of us westerners heard of her. This was a nifty little trick and reference that Tarantino used because Meiko was also an actress and most of her roles were something along the lines that Uma Truman played as well. A betrayed woman, seeking revenge on men etc. Standard B-action chick flicks from the 70s, the kind of movies we all secretly enjoy (at least sometimes). The movie where she really stands out is probably Lady Snowblood (manga adaptation of the same title) which I warmly recommend for anyone who enjoys a geisha murder spree. Tarantino used this movie as the inspiration for the final scene of the first part.

As usual with this type of actresses she also had a musical career. Her music isn't very distinctive or original compared to other enka singers but she has an excellent voice (it's not squeaky like most jpop singers) and talent to sing so all of her songs are highly enjoyable despite the fact that she brings nothing new. Then again, you can't really expect something new in a stale genre like this. People know what they want and if you don't deliver it you won't make it. But nevertheless I like her distinctive voice and the music is good as well so it's all good.

Compared to the other album this one has some songs that are on there as well (Urami Bushi of course) while some are new and some are the same songs but with different musical arrangements.

Download.

That other album (not my link but also mediafire).

See comments for a big compilation of her songs.

Sai Yoshiko - タクラマカン

Speaking of folky things from Japan here's another artist that's hovering somewhere in the obscurity. Perhaps most well known for collaborating with Jojo Hiroshige but she also put out several of her own albums.

Genre wise this album is a bitch to define. It flies all over the place but it's not a hit and miss type of flying. All of the songs are very well arranged and fit nicely with Sai's voice. Her voice sounds very mature and deep so thank the heavens she doesn't squeak while she sings (I hate that so much sometimes ;P especially in newer pop). A nice ballad here and and there, some psych rock, some jazz and some weirdness. Everything you could want is here.

Download.

Morita Doji (森田童子) discography

Morita Doji (or Douji?) was an (acid) folk singer during the 70s and early 80s in Japan. I don't know why they call her acid folk. I'm not sure what's that supposed to even mean. Her music is not psychedelic at all. She wasn't exactly popular at the time so the media didn't pay much attention to her but from what I read on the internets she was popular among college students. She didn't have fame but she did have a very distinctive sound and her music is something that I will always gladly listen.

All of her albums are heavily melancholic and calm so there are very few upbeat songs or anything that sounds remotely happy. I can remember just one actually now that I think about it. Her voice is finely tuned in with the music, it's very subtle and soft. A perfect fit for a melancholic sound. Through the 70s she maintained a non electronic sound with very little experimentation in sound. It's straightforward folk music until the 80s where she began implementing more electronic sound. This is apparent at most in her last album where it's mainly electronic driven. I have to admit though that her older albums are much more appealing to me because of their pure acoustic sound but her later stuff is alright as well.

Where to start? Well I started with "A Boy" (which is also my favorite album) and then got Mother Sky and then Good Bye. Her most popular album was Good Bye mostly because that's the only album that gave her some exposure (a song from that album was the only hit song she had and later on it was used in a 90s soap opera as an opening theme).

This should be all of her albums. There's also a live album but I think it's a bootleg see comments for download link (turns out it's an official live album).

Albums included:

1975 - Good Bye
1976 - Mother Sky
1977 - A Boy
1978 - Tokyo Cathedral Sei Maria Daiseidou Rokuonban (live album)
1980 - Last Waltz
1982 - Nocturne
1983 - Wolf Boy

Link: 1, 2, 3 and 4

I tagged everything in Japanese letters but the song titles on the actual files are in latin letters (Engrishly translated by someone else).

Shione Yukawa (湯川潮音) - Gray

Since the last album I posted sparked some interest, here's another one of hers. This is actually her latest one. It was released in 2008 and there is another album from 2009 but it's all covers from various other (damn) hippies.
Personally this is the least one I like from all the three albums I have. This does not means it sucks it's just that I prefer the other ones from this one. I can't really explain why but I guess it could be that this album is much more westernized. If that makes any sense. :S That should not turn you off from this album though. It has everything we all love and adore from this artist. Her distinctive voice is still there and the lovely merry compositions are still present. It has that feeling of early spring.
Tracklist:
01. 風よ吹かないで
02. 見つめてごらん
03. 秘密
04. しずくのカーテン
05. シェルブールの雨
06. 明日になれば
07. 恋は月をめざして(Voyage of the Moon)
08. 朝が終わる前の花
09. 巻き貝とわたし
10. キャロル

Bitrate: 192kbps

Download.