2011 Maui Chrysanthemum Festival
This is the 3rd year I've been asked to make a Japanese pop (Jpop) mix to be played during the dinner of the Maui Chrysanthemum Festival. Last year I was told to make it R&B and not anything jumpy. This year, I was told to have R&B and some obon type of music. I added a couple of obon/ethnic-sounding music, PLUS a surprise for the last song. I hope they like the selection I made. Good luck to the girls!
Zipped download of all the songs
Link to individual songs
TRACKLIST:
01 SONOMI - Everyday
02 Jasmine - sad to say
03 Tohoshinki - Bolero
04 Sakai Noriko - Nori-P Ondo
05 the Indigo - Kimi no Melody
06 Matsushita Yuya - Naturally
07 SOULHEAD - Itsu Demo Kimi no Koto wo
08 Rin' - Fuhen
09 AAA - Get Chu!
10 Tawata Emi - Naturally
11 URATA NAOYA - anything about sex
12 Hamasaki Ayumi - sweet season
13 BENI - Anything Goes!!
14 Hitoto You - Morai Naki
15 DOUBLE - Tattoo
16 Nakashima Mika - Sakura Iro Mau Koro
17 MAX - Nirai Kanai
BONUS TRACK:
Sara Mari - Mirror Mirror ft. COMA-CHI
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01 SONOMI - Everyday*Everyday
SONOMI is one of my favorite artists. Her music is on the R&B side, but like all Jpop artists, she dabbles in different genres. "Everyday*Everyday" has a bit of reggae flavor to it. Kreva provides the intro and "On and on" lines. The PV for this song amuses me.
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02 Jasmine - sad to say
Jasmine is another R&B artist and I was blown away by her songs when I first heard them. Her debut album GOLD is impressive and her vocals are great. I hope she releases a new album soon even though her singles after this album are forgettable.
I added "sad to say" with a little bit of reluctance since she says "fucking sorrow" in one of the lines. I don't think anyone can hear it so too bad. Maybe they'll think it's some form of English-sounding Japanese.
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03 Tohoshinki - Bolero
This is one of the songs that my karaoke friend Stacey likes to sing and it grew on me. Tohoshinki is a Korean boyband who also released Japanese music. This is a slow dramatic ballad type.
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04 Sakai Noriko - Nori-P Ondo
I was asked to put some obon music into the mix, so here is the only obon song that I have in my possession. Thank goodness my friend Nadine provided a bunch of obon songs and Natsukawa Rimi songs for another mix I was asked to make.
"Nori-P Ondo" is a cutesy obon-sounding song. One of my faves from Sakai Noriko, who might be more well known for her Heaven's Coins (Hoshi no Kinka) Japanese drama, in which she sang the theme songs.
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05 the Indigo - Kimi no Melody
Even though this song might not fit well with this mix, I had to add another fave artist of mine, the Indigo. It's a mellow song with a relaxing sound. The performance is just an acoustic version of the original.
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06 Matsushita Yuya - Naturally
Matsushita Yuya is Japan's answer to those male Korean singers who can dance and sing. I heard about him a while back and had his album on my laptop but never really gave it a listen till just recently and I'm liking it. His stuff is R&B pop and quite good too.
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07 SOULHEAD - Itsu Demo Kimi no koto wo
Ah, another fave of mine is SOULHEAD. I love the melody and harmonization that the SOULHEAD sisters do in this song. They both have such lovely voices that it's almost unbelievable that one of them (TSUGUMI) is also the rapper of this duo.
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08 Rin' - Fuhen
Rin' is a jpop group who use traditional instruments, which they play themselves. All 3 girls sing as well. "Fuhen" is one of the songs of theirs that I like.
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09 AAA - Get Chu!
AAA is a pop group made up of guys and girls. Their music is quite catchy, especially since they put a hint of rap in some of their songs. "Get Chu!" is a fun, cutesy song but I love it a lot. They look like they're having fun in the PV.
-------
10 Tawata Emi - Naturally
Tawata Emi is another artist that I had laying around in my ipod. When I randomly listened to her album, I was blown away. I loved her smooth sultry vocals and her music is R&B jazz, which is a welcome change from all the upbeat songs/artists out there.
-------
11 URATA NAOYA - anything about sex
URATA NAOYA is one of the AAA guys (the blonde one with the white shirt & sideways black cap in the "Get Chu!" PV) and I absolutely love his debut album. His songs are mostly pop R&B compared to the strictly pop sound of AAA. It's too bad that more of his songs wasn't released as a single. "anything about sex" is, as its title suggests, sexy.
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12 Hamasaki Ayumi - sweet season
Since I added the other 3 Jpop queens in last year's mix (Amuro Namie, Koda Kumi, and Utada Hikaru), I figured I should add Ayu to this mix. Well not really. I just listened to songs that were already in iTunes and thought that "sweet season" was a nice song. It surprised me that this was released as a single since it seems like a filler track. What's up with Ayu's white kids in the PV btw?
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13 BENI - Anything Goes!!
Arashiro Beni. Those two words together scare me because of the atrocious music she used to have. BUT get rid of the "Arashiro" and capitalize BENI and her songs are quite catchy and good. "Anything Goes!!" is on the poppy side but I like it a lot. For those who dislike her old music, I recommend trying out her BENI albums. Her latest album Fortune made me change my mind about her and made me eat the arashitty I was spouting before.
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14 Hitoto You - Morai Naki
Hitoto You's debut song. I love the ethnic sound with a reggae beat and her voice is lovely.
-------
15 DOUBLE - Tattoo
I cannot make a mix without DOUBLE especially since she released a new album this year called WOMAN. "Tattoo" is more on the mellow side. I wish I could've added "Lips" but I don't think that would've worked in this mix.
-------
16 Nakashima Mika - Sakura Iro Mau Koro
Nakashima Mika is either a hit or miss with me. "Sakura Iro Mau Koro" is definitely a hit. It's one of the songs we sing at karaoke so I decided to make a quick add to this mix. It's a beautiful ballad and Mika's vocals are lovely.
-------
17 MAX - Nirai Kanai
Okinawan music with a techno twist. I think this is a great song for the end of a mix but I'm not sure if this will work for the mix I was asked to make. You know what? I don't care. I love this song and it does have the traditional music feel to it, so I'm making up my own rules. :D
-------
BONUS TRACK:
Sara Mari - Mirror Mirror ft. COMA-CHI
I'm not really familiar with Sara Mari but I do remember hearing this "Mirror Mirror" song and liking it a few years ago. I decided that this song wouldn't really fit in with this mix since the chorus is a little "in your face" sounding. It was between this and the AAA song and the latter won. I decided to add this song as a bonus anyway.
-------
Zipped download of all the songs
Link to individual songs
TRACKLIST:
01 SONOMI - Everyday
02 Jasmine - sad to say
03 Tohoshinki - Bolero
04 Sakai Noriko - Nori-P Ondo
05 the Indigo - Kimi no Melody
06 Matsushita Yuya - Naturally
07 SOULHEAD - Itsu Demo Kimi no Koto wo
08 Rin' - Fuhen
09 AAA - Get Chu!
10 Tawata Emi - Naturally
11 URATA NAOYA - anything about sex
12 Hamasaki Ayumi - sweet season
13 BENI - Anything Goes!!
14 Hitoto You - Morai Naki
15 DOUBLE - Tattoo
16 Nakashima Mika - Sakura Iro Mau Koro
17 MAX - Nirai Kanai
BONUS TRACK:
Sara Mari - Mirror Mirror ft. COMA-CHI
---------
01 SONOMI - Everyday*Everyday
SONOMI is one of my favorite artists. Her music is on the R&B side, but like all Jpop artists, she dabbles in different genres. "Everyday*Everyday" has a bit of reggae flavor to it. Kreva provides the intro and "On and on" lines. The PV for this song amuses me.
-------
02 Jasmine - sad to say
Click to viewJasmine is another R&B artist and I was blown away by her songs when I first heard them. Her debut album GOLD is impressive and her vocals are great. I hope she releases a new album soon even though her singles after this album are forgettable.
I added "sad to say" with a little bit of reluctance since she says "fucking sorrow" in one of the lines. I don't think anyone can hear it so too bad. Maybe they'll think it's some form of English-sounding Japanese.
-------
03 Tohoshinki - Bolero
This is one of the songs that my karaoke friend Stacey likes to sing and it grew on me. Tohoshinki is a Korean boyband who also released Japanese music. This is a slow dramatic ballad type.
-------
04 Sakai Noriko - Nori-P Ondo
I was asked to put some obon music into the mix, so here is the only obon song that I have in my possession. Thank goodness my friend Nadine provided a bunch of obon songs and Natsukawa Rimi songs for another mix I was asked to make.
"Nori-P Ondo" is a cutesy obon-sounding song. One of my faves from Sakai Noriko, who might be more well known for her Heaven's Coins (Hoshi no Kinka) Japanese drama, in which she sang the theme songs.
-------
05 the Indigo - Kimi no Melody
Even though this song might not fit well with this mix, I had to add another fave artist of mine, the Indigo. It's a mellow song with a relaxing sound. The performance is just an acoustic version of the original.
-------
06 Matsushita Yuya - Naturally
Matsushita Yuya is Japan's answer to those male Korean singers who can dance and sing. I heard about him a while back and had his album on my laptop but never really gave it a listen till just recently and I'm liking it. His stuff is R&B pop and quite good too.
-------
07 SOULHEAD - Itsu Demo Kimi no koto wo
Ah, another fave of mine is SOULHEAD. I love the melody and harmonization that the SOULHEAD sisters do in this song. They both have such lovely voices that it's almost unbelievable that one of them (TSUGUMI) is also the rapper of this duo.
-------
08 Rin' - Fuhen
Rin' is a jpop group who use traditional instruments, which they play themselves. All 3 girls sing as well. "Fuhen" is one of the songs of theirs that I like.
-------
09 AAA - Get Chu!
AAA is a pop group made up of guys and girls. Their music is quite catchy, especially since they put a hint of rap in some of their songs. "Get Chu!" is a fun, cutesy song but I love it a lot. They look like they're having fun in the PV.
-------
10 Tawata Emi - Naturally
Tawata Emi is another artist that I had laying around in my ipod. When I randomly listened to her album, I was blown away. I loved her smooth sultry vocals and her music is R&B jazz, which is a welcome change from all the upbeat songs/artists out there.
-------
11 URATA NAOYA - anything about sex
URATA NAOYA is one of the AAA guys (the blonde one with the white shirt & sideways black cap in the "Get Chu!" PV) and I absolutely love his debut album. His songs are mostly pop R&B compared to the strictly pop sound of AAA. It's too bad that more of his songs wasn't released as a single. "anything about sex" is, as its title suggests, sexy.
-------
12 Hamasaki Ayumi - sweet season
Since I added the other 3 Jpop queens in last year's mix (Amuro Namie, Koda Kumi, and Utada Hikaru), I figured I should add Ayu to this mix. Well not really. I just listened to songs that were already in iTunes and thought that "sweet season" was a nice song. It surprised me that this was released as a single since it seems like a filler track. What's up with Ayu's white kids in the PV btw?
-------
13 BENI - Anything Goes!!
Arashiro Beni. Those two words together scare me because of the atrocious music she used to have. BUT get rid of the "Arashiro" and capitalize BENI and her songs are quite catchy and good. "Anything Goes!!" is on the poppy side but I like it a lot. For those who dislike her old music, I recommend trying out her BENI albums. Her latest album Fortune made me change my mind about her and made me eat the arashitty I was spouting before.
-------
14 Hitoto You - Morai Naki
Hitoto You's debut song. I love the ethnic sound with a reggae beat and her voice is lovely.
-------
15 DOUBLE - Tattoo
I cannot make a mix without DOUBLE especially since she released a new album this year called WOMAN. "Tattoo" is more on the mellow side. I wish I could've added "Lips" but I don't think that would've worked in this mix.
-------
16 Nakashima Mika - Sakura Iro Mau Koro
Nakashima Mika is either a hit or miss with me. "Sakura Iro Mau Koro" is definitely a hit. It's one of the songs we sing at karaoke so I decided to make a quick add to this mix. It's a beautiful ballad and Mika's vocals are lovely.
-------
17 MAX - Nirai Kanai
Okinawan music with a techno twist. I think this is a great song for the end of a mix but I'm not sure if this will work for the mix I was asked to make. You know what? I don't care. I love this song and it does have the traditional music feel to it, so I'm making up my own rules. :D
-------
BONUS TRACK:
Sara Mari - Mirror Mirror ft. COMA-CHI
I'm not really familiar with Sara Mari but I do remember hearing this "Mirror Mirror" song and liking it a few years ago. I decided that this song wouldn't really fit in with this mix since the chorus is a little "in your face" sounding. It was between this and the AAA song and the latter won. I decided to add this song as a bonus anyway.
-------