Tamahime-sama starts off with the perfect introduction; the song "Dotou no Ren-Ai" may not be Togawa's most memorable song, but it begins with a de-tuned synth line, with Togawa's vocals crawling out and drenched in reverb. It sounds like something you'd hear in a cathedral, straight out of a vampire movie. "Teinen Pushiganga" is where Togawa starts to showcase her incredible sense for a catchy chorus and beat. The song sounds almost traditional, with a monotonous drum beat, jangling guitar, and wispy flute throughout. Togawa's voice is powerful, and carries the song perfectly. "Konchugun" (a Halmens cover) brings us firmly into the 80s, with some synths and thick bass. Togawa manages to jump from idol to opera singer at a moment's notice with one of the best vocal ranges I've ever heard. This becomes a trend throughout her career, bringing bubbly (if a little dark) pop together with opera-style music. The album takes a bit of a darker turn on "Yuumon no Giga", bringing back that super dark cathedral sound. It sounds like something out of a movie for sure. "Tonari no Indojin" is twisted with chirping synths and Togawa's powerful voice, until it explodes with violins and drums about halfway through. Track six is "Tamahime-sama", the title track. In my opinion, it's one of the best songs of Jun Togawa's career. The way the synths, percussion, and Togawa's amazing voice all mix together is perfect. It sounds pretty upbeat, but de-tuned and sinister. It sounds like something menacing is lurking underneath those bright synths. Jun Togawa - Tamahime-sama Live "Mori no Hitobito" is like a horrifying lullaby, and "Odorenai" brings us back into some kind of pop territory. It may be the strangest pop you ever hear, but it's just so infectous. Finally, we reach the closing track. "Mushi no Onna" is based heavily on Pachelbel's Canon, with Togawa's almost child-like voice and some gorgeous violins. Whenever she performed this song live, she would do an incredible punk rendition, but the studio version is a beautiful lullaby and the perfect end to one of the most unique pop albums of the 1980s.
Jun Togawa is extremely influental and important, if only in a scene which stays far from the mainstream. Her debut album was only a taste of what would come, but it's a definitive statement of her career, and just an amazing album overall. -Justin For today's Throwback Thursday post, we will revisit my favorite period of idol music, the 80s! This era is otherwise known as the "Golden Age of Idols" and is one of my favorite periods of music of any genre. The song we will look at is "Dancing Hero" and it is performed by Japan's original dance queen, Yoko Oginome! For those that don't know Yoko Oginome was one of the biggest idols of the 80s whose career was defined largely be a Eurobeat dance style. She started her career at a very young age in the three-member group, "Milk". Following the group's disbandment, she briefly tried her hand in both live and voice acting before debuting as a singer, at the age of fifteen, with the single "Mirai Kouka -Sailing-". Her early singles and albums were all under the major label Victor Entertainment and while she received large levels of promotion it wasn't until her seventh single, "Dancing Hero (Eat You Up)", that she truly achieved mainstream success. The song was a departure from her earlier style and featured an electronic sound that played well to her new image as a leader in popular dance music. It has that unique mix of 80s sound that is both retro and timeless at the same time. Her unique fashion and style in the promotional video for the song was also something that took the music and club scene by force. Some of the more sensational looks could also be seen as a precursor to the styles seen in some modern pop stars. Following this hugely popular song, Yoko's career took off with hit single following hit single. She would win several awards before the decade was out and appear on Kouhaku Uta Gassen no less than five straight years. Her acting career took off again from this point and she would appear in many popular dramas and variety shows, including a host spot on the show "Young Studio 101". Like most idols who take a turn into acting, much of her later career would be focused there as opposed to music. That being said, her career never truly stopped and continues in limited form even today. Also, like many other Golden Era-idols, Yoko took a try at the US pop music scene with the English album "VERGE OF LOVE". While this album was produced by the great Narada Michael Walden, it nevertheless failed to create the waves everyone hoped for. While her career had many ups and downs following this crucial point, it was the iconic "Dancing Hero" that would label her as Japan's "Dance Queen" (a title that would make its way over to contemporary idol, Chisato Moritaka) and also cement her place in the history of Japanese pop music and idol history. Check out the song and take a trip back to the Golden 80s... For this week's Throwback Thursday post, we travel back a few years and visit one of my favorite idols of all time, Kusumi Koharu. Who was a member of Morning Musume (as its sole seventh generation member), a member of the trio MilkyWay and a soloist. The song I chose here is her final solo single, "Happy Happy Sunday", which she released under the name "Tsukishima Kirari starring Kusumi Koharu". It was the eigth, and final, opening theme for the anime "Kirarin Revolution", a show where Kusumi voiced the title character. The song is indicative of her solo work at the time. While Morning Musume was focused on mature sounding songs like "Naichau Kamo" and "Shouganai Yume Oibito", Kusumi's solo work was a mix of up-beat pop and cutesy lyrics that were playful, but not annoyingly so. While her sound was carefree and fun, it still fit in well with the Hello! Project style that was heavily dominated by the Tsunku-written songs. The video for Happy Happy Sunday is also one of the most colorful ones to come from this era of Hello! Project. Slightly reminiscent of Aya Matsuura's "Ne~e" the song and video chronicles Kusumi's tough decisions regarding her impending first date. If you have not heard this song before, now's the time to check it out! Kusumi Koharu had an interesting, if short, career as an idol. She joined Morning Musume on May 1, 2005 as Morning Musume's sole seventh generation member. She debuted musically on the single "Iroppoi Jirretai", but she really hit her stride when she was chosen to star in the anime "Kirarin Revolution" in 2006. The show was extremely popular and ran for three years and would make Kusumi one of the most popular members of Hello! Project as well as net her a host spot on the show "Oha Star". Kirarin Revolution would also see video game adaptations and even make its way to France and Europe where it would be known simply as "Kilari". Besides the voice work, Kusumi also provided the opening, closing and insert themes for the show starting with 2006's "Koi Kana", which was also her first solo single. While a lot of her work on the show was solo, she was also part of two groups that provided music for Kirarin Revolution. The first of which was "Kira Pika" which was a duo with C-ute's Chisato Mai. The other was the longer lasting "MilkyWay" which was a trio that also included Kikkawa You and Kitahara Sayaka, both of who have since moved onto solo careers of their own. At the top of her stardom, she graduated from Morning Musume and Hello! Project on December 6, 2009 in order to begin a career as a model. Not completely done with the idol scene, in 2010 she joined the group "Dream Morning Musume" which was made up of past members of Morning Musume. More recently, she left the show Oha Star in 2014, signed with a new modeling agency and has appeared in several television dramas. |
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