Blog - arcorhyme has arrived!
arcorhyme has arrived!
These days I'm one happy fan! I finally received the present offered to those who had reserved arcorhyme's two albums directly from their web site! I had placed my reservation back in November actually, just after seeing them perform 2 songs at Future vol.2, and had since been waiting impatiently for the release last week.
Actually 2 days before the release I had the pleasure to find both albums in my mailbox, along with the label's limited edition black & white slipcase that fits the 2 albums. Eagerly opening each CD, I was very pleased with what I saw, each contains a lyric sheet that unfolds into a mini-poster. Designer Sally Kubota (Sally Soul Stew, ex-Les 5-4-3-2-1) obviously put a lot of attention to detail.
As you already know if you've been attentive, arcorhyme is the new unit of Takanami K-tarō (early Pizzicato Five) with singer Nishimura Ikuyo. Music is written by K-taro and lyrics by Iku who also sings most of the songs with a soft but pitch-perfect voice (she also wrote music for one song, Koiny Baby). K-taro also sings chorus, and on a few songs lead vocals.
The concept of debuting this new band with 2 albums released at the same time is that each of the albums has a different sound. The first, "la douce vie" was recorded with a live band in studio, and the other, "Soundmatic Brain" features songs of which the base was programmed on a computer with some instruments added afterwards. In consequence, the 1st is a bit more laid back and the 2nd more upbeat with even a bunch of club-ready danceable tracks. Out of the total 16 songs are included 4 covers, of songs by Lovin' Spoonful, Carol King, Southern All Stars and the Kinks.
While each song is a catchy pop gem that I can't see myself growing tired of, here are some of my current favorites.
Starting with album "la douce vie", Rough Sketch is so far my favorite. It's an upbeat pop song with a catchy rhythmic chorus with hints of trumpet and xylophone. It gets stuck in my head all day.
スケッチブックに未来予報を （スケッチ） / In my sketch book
夢見るように / like future predictions seen in a dream
スケッチブックに指で描いた （スケッチ） / In my sketch book I finger-painted
消えないように / so that they don't disappear
sketch in my heart 眩しい季節を / Sketch in my heart, a dazzling season
スケッチブックにしまった / I put it in my sketch book
(Lyrics: Nishimura Ikuyo, rough unofficial translation by me)
Snow Queen, a cover of Carol King, features prominently the vibes of The Fascinations' Watanabe Masami. This one is completely sung in its original English lyrics, while the other foreign covers (Lovin' Spoonful's Do you believe in Magic? and The Kinks' You Really Got Me) have been partially translated to Japanese.
Koiny Baby and amai hibi ~la douce vie~ are in the same versions (as far as I can tell) as had been available on iTunes since the end of May last year, and they remain favorites.
"Soundmatic Brain" feels more like a concept album, with a radio-like "beep" before each song as if to get you back to reality... As reality is one thing you might forget about after listening to tracks like Don't you believe in Magic?!, the lead track for this album.
tsukiyo no hōseki ~Les bijoutiers du clair de lune~ is perhaps my favorite from the early "Secret arcoroom" CD-R, here completely redone. The song's short syncopated intro may make it sound difficult, but once you get to the main melodies everything is clear.
Sung by K-taro, the upbeat fukigen na shinjitsu has somewhat of an 80's pop taste and a chorus with a catchy bass line. One of my favorites is the closing koi no jigoku, featuring Sally Kubota on bass, and it might be a coincidence but it sounds to me like if it could be a Les 5-4-3-2-1 song! Samples of this one and several others can be heard at MySpace.
On each CD is also found one music video as CD-Extra content, for the songs amai hibi ~la douce vie~ and Don't you believe in Magic?. Here's the first one from YouTube:
And, the arcorhyme.com reservation present that just arrived is an autographed copy of the music score for the song "amai hibi" handwritten by K-taro for the albums' recording sessions!
arcorhyme will play an in-store live at HMV Shibuya on February 10, and hold a special workshop at a café on March 1st. The two albums "la douce vie" and "Soundmatic Brain" are on sale now. It's probably not too late to buy them at Tower Records and get the limited edition slipcase.
Now I'm already excited about the next release, which is supposed to be a remix vinyl. No word on who the remixers are, but the albums' special thanks include Halfby and Groove Unchant... Here's hoping!
Posted on January 29, 2008 at 23:59 | Tweet
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Awesome! I love their music. Thanks for information on this group!!!!
Posted by kndy on January 30, 2008 at 02:32
The music in the YT video sounds great ... oh if only those 2 albums would happen to be somewhere online .. like some secret place fancily called toddlerflesh or so ...
I keep reading about your groovy times in Tokyo and I can;t wait to get back ... probably around xmas again .. hope to see ya then. ta ta
Posted by Peter Nacken on February 1, 2008 at 01:05