Miharu Koshi - Parallelisme
| Comments: | This is a wonderful release in every way. |
| Artist: | Miharu Koshi |
| Rating: | |
| Genres: | Synthpop, Techno Kayo Ambient Pop, Art Pop, New Wave |
| Released: | 1984 |
| Type: | Album |
| Label: | Yen Records |
| Link: | YouTube |
A very special record! It's 1984, producer Haruomi Hosono has been in the business for a decade and progressed from his tropical dandy sound towards a highly synthetic texture, refining his signature sense of melodic layering. Riding the wave of success with Yellow Magic Orchestra he takes time to produce for Miharu Koshi with obvious pleasure following a first venture together (the album 'Tutu')....
The LP blends perfectly Hosono's cadenced logic with Koshi's gothic sense of grandeur. She's also snappy here (Capricious Salad), self-affirmed and determined (Image), her voice sometimes full of command, (Mephisto Feres O Sagase). Hosono is fully involved in this portrait, notice the break in the last tier of Mephisto..., or the progressive shift in mood in San Taman No Mori, from playfulness to intimidation.
When Koshi goes softer tonewise (Tobosha) it's not for seduction but to elevate in tragedy, carrying the legacy of an age-old insular singing tradition to the highest pitches. And when demonic Orientalism is at play (Decadence 120) she makes use of a simpler palette to interact with the drums.
For the closing track (Bara No Yakai), Hosono is perfectly in tune with the neo-noir cyberpunk landscape of the era, while Koshi feels like the priestess of a long-lost cult. It's no happy ending, it's no ending at all, it was just a glimpse.
But this record wouldn't be fully fledged without its opening track, Ryugujo No Koibito. A pure musical treasure, it bears a mark of ecstatic-melancholy, and you probably didn't know these feelings could be mixed that way. ~Golomann via discogs
The LP blends perfectly Hosono's cadenced logic with Koshi's gothic sense of grandeur. She's also snappy here (Capricious Salad), self-affirmed and determined (Image), her voice sometimes full of command, (Mephisto Feres O Sagase). Hosono is fully involved in this portrait, notice the break in the last tier of Mephisto..., or the progressive shift in mood in San Taman No Mori, from playfulness to intimidation.
When Koshi goes softer tonewise (Tobosha) it's not for seduction but to elevate in tragedy, carrying the legacy of an age-old insular singing tradition to the highest pitches. And when demonic Orientalism is at play (Decadence 120) she makes use of a simpler palette to interact with the drums.
For the closing track (Bara No Yakai), Hosono is perfectly in tune with the neo-noir cyberpunk landscape of the era, while Koshi feels like the priestess of a long-lost cult. It's no happy ending, it's no ending at all, it was just a glimpse.
But this record wouldn't be fully fledged without its opening track, Ryugujo No Koibito. A pure musical treasure, it bears a mark of ecstatic-melancholy, and you probably didn't know these feelings could be mixed that way. ~Golomann via discogs
Editions:
1984
Original Release
Yen Records
| YLR-28019
| Vinyl, LP
| Side A: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| A1. | 龍宮城の恋人 | (4:53) | |
| A2. | Capricious Salad | (3:31) | |
| A3. | Image | (3:56) | |
| A4. | サン・タマンの森で | (3:26) | |
| A5. | メフィストフェレスを探せ！ | (4:25) | |
| Side B: | |||
| B1. | 逃亡者 | (5:00) | |
| B2. | パラレリズム | (5:10) | |
| B3. | Décadence 120 | (4:52) | |
| B4. | 薔薇の夜会～あるいは甘い蜜の戒め | (5:37) | |