Dreamy, sultry Akino Arai
This will not be to everyone’s liking and probably also raise a few eyebrows, after all the post-punk, noise, math-rock, thrash metal weirdo music from Japan I’ve posted here, but Akino Arai is simply one of my favorite singers ever.
I don’t know very much about her, she’s mainly known for the songs she’s made for anime and, God forbid, commercials. These songs may sound very commercial at first hearing, but when you really listen to them, they’re just very well written songs, very well composed.
Add to that the soothing soft voice of Arai who, judging from the live registration above, stands her own on a large podium too, singing loud without ever missing a note and still keeping that soft, soothing quality.
Somehow her singing, and her songs too, remind me of Argentinean singer Juana Molina, especially on Molina’s albums Segundo and Tres Cosas. Dreamy, sultry songs that take you to another world, a new dimension. I am a total sucker for them. I never heard a bad song by Arai either.
I don’t know whether she writes her own songs or she has other people writing them for her, but whoever does, knows how to write a melody.
And to quote the great Chilly Gonzales: “try to write a fucking melody for once, and quit being such an indie snob pussy.” (PB)
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