Maaya Sakamoto – Kingfisher Girl
Today’s MSMOTD
Maaya Sakamoto – Kingfisher Girl
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I’m a bit of a sucker for Japanese pop, and with good reason! A lot of it is really fantastic. Maaya Sakamoto is no exception. She’s a 29 year old singer-songwriter and voice actor from Tokyo who’s appeared in a vast array of animated tv shows, games, dubbed movies (She was Amidala/Padme for Star Wars I-III) and starred as Eponine in the Japanese stage production of Les Miserable. It’s clear that she has some special when it comes to her voice, and her music immediately demonstrates this. She has a clear, ethereal voice, and her music (often used as themes/scores for anime/movies) is unpretentious, atmospheric, uplifting, satisfying, and ranges from folksy acoustic ballads to multi-layered synth pop and rock… It’s utterly pleasing to spend time with Maaya’s music.
The lovely and talented Maaya Sakamoto
The main MSMOTD for today is Kingfisher Girl (The Song of Wish You Were Here), from her 2003 album “Shōnen Alice“. It’s a simple, beautifully pastoral and folksy song featuring her voice, piano, strings and guitar (banjo?). It really showcases her voice well, and unlike many japanese singers, her english is actually quite good. I love the little orchestral flourishes, the perky guitar lines and did I mention I love her voice?
I’m also showcasing another of her songs from an earlier album called Inori. This is the song which introduced me to Maaya in the first place, thanks (as I recall) to a Swedish friend of mine who has his fingers on the pulse of Japanese pop culture. I think I spent a week obsessing over this tune, having it playing in the background constantly. The last half is among my favourite musical passages and just conveys a really peaceful, contemplative mood. It’s a dream. A memory. A trip across the mountains at sunset, pastel colours streaking above as shadow creeps across a verdant river valley far below. It’s great study and travel music.
The rest of her Shonen Alice album is really fantastic. It ranges from simple piano music to rock, pop, folk, ambient… Make sure to check out some of the other songs via the youtube links below! Also, please comment and let me know what you think of the music I post here. Like it? Hate it? Have your own suggestions? Let me know!
More music by Maaya Sakamoto
Maaya Sakamoto – Inori
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Call To Me (Orchestral pop song with English vocals)
Makiba Alice (A very “freedom of the open road”, end-of-”The Rock” tune with slide guitar)
Uchuu Hikoushi no Uta (An intimate soft piano-vocal piece. This was almost the MSMOTD)
Further info about today’s MSMOTD
Official Website: http://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/maaya/
Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maaya_Sakamoto
You can buy Shonen Alice on Amazon
Hope you enjoy!
- Mons
I like the addition of a photo for the artist, but I’d prefer to have the Flash music player at the top of the post. That way I can hear the song while I read your text.
Also, I think you need a favicon.ico so your tab will stand out in my Firefox tabs bar. I got like 40 tabs up there, and spending an extra 10 seconds trying to locate the generic MonsTunes tab gives me mini nerd rage.
Keep posting and I’ll keep reading!
Hmmm, that’s a good suggestion. Still playing around with the format, so feedback like this is great. I think I’ll change it back.
I’ll have to figure out something to use as a favicon!