Review: Percussionist and singer-songwriter Mami Kakudo returns with her latest album, Contact. A graduate of Tokyo University of the Arts' Department of Instrumental Music, Kakudo has gained recognition in Japan and internationally for her expressive use of marimba, percussion, voice and music boxes. Four years after her debut album, Oar (featuring covers of Maki Asakawa's 'My Friday' and Fishmans' 'Ikkareta Baby'), Contact showcases her signature sound again here in all its glory. Recorded with a talented ensemble-including Mugi Furukawa on guitar, Akita Goldman on bass, Wataru Mitsunaga on drums, and Yumiko Iwao on cello-Contact highlights Kakudo's ethereal voice, poetic lyrics and whimsical arrangements.
Review: A lesser-known but electrifyingly slick city pop record (her fourth) by Junko Ohashi. 1979's Full House hears the Japanese singer's graceful but powerful contralto in full collaborative force, paired against the historic instrumental talents of her backing band, Minoya Central Station. Perhaps second only to Ohashi's timeless New York paean, Magical, Full House is yet another discographic dazzler that most likely contributed to the revival of the city pop genre after its retroactive but no less ironic recognition in the popular music sphere by the vaporwave subgenre, future funk. The mood throughout Full House is vital and joyful, suggesting something close to complete emotional fulfilment and idealistic glee on the singer's part - all part of the city pop's objective - its grand plan - to portray metropolitan life as an ultimate ideal.
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