[Mini-Album] Mika Nakashima – Oborodzukiyo~Inori (Limited)

Oborodzukiyo ~Inori is Mika Nakashima's 2nd mini-album which released at September 15, 2004 and limited to only 111,000 copies. The title track later appears on her MUSIC album. Oborodzukiyo~Inori translated to 'A Misty, Moon-lit Night ~Prayer'. This mini-album reached #3 on Oricon charts, selling 93,000 copies in its first week. The title track was used as the Sokenbicha CM song, and was recorded with Japanese violinist Hakase Taro.

Oborodzukiyo~Inori is an amazingly beautiful song. Nakashima converted a folk song into a very beautiful piece of music. Actually, I didn't like Nakashima's vocal. But, I was completely wrong. Her vocal sounded really gorgeous here. Talking about the music, oh my god, it's so damn beautiful. Koto, percussion, acoustic guitar, some electronic effect and the strings mixed in a genius harmony. It's the best ethnical song I've ever heard. This song is even better than my old favorite Shinjitsu no Uta. The overall presentation is just stunning. The violin solo is also the best I can hear from Japanese music.

After the stunning title track, I was shocked when I hear the sitar intro of Sara. I didn't expect a middle-eastern influenced track here. Every piece of instruments was set to fit the middle-east theme, even the strings. I really enjoy the music. The strings were so playful, like her song Love No Cry from the LOVE album. In the song, there were some silences put which make the song a pure musical amusement.

Nakashima just keep on experimenting. Tsuki no Sabaku, AFAIK, is her first blues song. The song is in a mellow tune. The overall song was just vibrant and fitted Nakashima's vocal perfectly. The strings and saxophone added a misty, sand atmosphere. I love the improvisation made by the saxophone. Although this song runs about 40 seconds longer than Oborodzukiyo~Inori, the overall atmosphere presented was just kept me listening to this song.

Yuki no Hana (silent version) continued the mellow vibe from the previous track. This is probably Nakashima's most-known song. Accompanied only by a piano and a violin, the raw emotion from Nakashima really shines here. Her vibrato may be off-tone sometimes. But, it couldn't hide a fact that this song is even better than the original one. It was just more sad, depressing, yet hopeful.

We're near the end of the mini-album, but Oborodzukiyo~Inori (acoustic mix) still gives us the goodness of Japanese folk song. The acoustics, koto and violin has even more spotlight here (also Nakashima's vocal, of course). In a good note, the emotion in the verses was clearly visible. But, I was somewhat disappointed because they removed that gorgeous violin solo by Hakase Taro in this version. There was still a big dynamical difference between the second verse and the last chorus. Still, it was an excellent addition to this so-far amazing mini-album.

Not over, an electronic jazz remix of the second track namely Sara (Jazztronik mix) showed up. At first, this remix may be pretty annoying because its constant beat. Next part of the remix may be pretty nice. But, it becomes even more annoying when the vocal being 'chopped' and scattered EVERYWHERE. Luckily, the remix still kept the strings part at the bridge. This remix sadly made my overall perception on this mini-album decreased, but not slightly.

And YES! Nakashima included the instrumental of Oborodzukiyo~Inori here. It's very essential for me to sing with.

Conclusion: By far, this is the best mini-album I ever know. Nakashima put her best effort in this musically colorful mini-album. This mini-album instantly converted me to be her fan. Nakashima, I demand another fantastic mini-album like this to be sold UNLIMITED, because the price of this mini-album is in unreasonable nowadays for a poor student like me XC.

Mini-album grade: 100/A++

[Single] Tomiko Van – Tokyo Biyori

Tokyo Biyori is Tomiko Van's fourth single. It was released on June 18, 2008, and sold 5,219 copies. This single didn't have any tie-ins and Van's first single in 2 years since Yumeji.

Tokyo Biyori is a calm acoustic song. But, I have to say that this song is too easy-listening for her standard. The strings were too bland. They didn't fit the song well. I love the guitar works. But, they didn't solve the problem. This is a step down from her previous singles. But don't worry; her vocal is flawless as usual.

First Van's composition, message., appears as the first B-side. This is what a calm acoustic song should be for Van. The acoustics and a bit of pop were just really lovely. This song is better than its a-side. It reminds me of Do As Infinity's B-side materials just with a less rock. Really excellent job, Van!

Ah, a cover song again? Hum a Tune is an inconsistent rock song. At first I find this song promising. Van's vocal become more masculine than usual. But then, this song was just hell too long with many repetitions. Although the bass solo is awesome. Though, it's pretty nice. Oh, and we have a very good opportunity to hear Van's falsetto. It's fabulous XP.

Single Rating 83/B-

[Single] Ayaka X Kobukuro – Anata to

 

This is Ayaka and Kobukuro's second collaborative single. This single only contain a single song. It's used for Nissan CUBE commercial. I can't give the sales data since the wiki.theppn.org can't be accessed anymore XC.

Anata to is a gorgeously wonderful jazzy ballad. Aaah… 3 months has passed since this single released and this song even still exists in my regular listen-to and sing-to list. Crisp acoustic guitar and piano melt perfectly with the sweeping strings, tender saxophone and lovely percussion. More importantly, their vocals are just… perfect. Both of the singers, who actually excel in this genre, can pull out their true talent here, making this song sounded dramatic and dynamic. However, for the arrangement, I can really hear the kobukuro flair in everywhere. But, it's not a bad thing. Because this time I don't hear any overly-dramatized musical part that usually infect Kobukuro's ballads. Not only that, I also love the line "anata to, egaku mirai" which means (if I'm not mistaken) "with you, paint the future…" The PV is also in a lovely side.

Song Rating: 98/A+

To conclude, this song has my award as the ballad of the year and the PV of the year. Because, … I think you're already know that I have reviewed this song twice. But, you also have to know that this single only contain a song with its instrumental. But, despite of the excellent quality that this song has, it still not a good deal since you'll eventually (hopefully) get the song as a bonus track in one of their album.

Single Rating: 87/B+

Finally, a review after 2 months of inactivity due to the damned quarantine (oops..)