Akio KAWATO
Lately, pop music in many advanced countries seems increasingly mechanical, standardized, and overly technological. It feels very different from the American pop music of the late 1960s—artists such as Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, and Carole King—or from Japan’s City Pop scene of the 1980s, represented by artists such as Eiichi Ohtaki, Minako Yoshida, and Taeko Ohnuki.
The dreams, romance, and effortless sophistication that once characterized popular music seem largely absent today. Perhaps this reflects a broader reality: advanced societies themselves have lost some of their sense of purpose and possibility. There is a feeling that people no longer know where they are heading.
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Recently, however, I came across a Japanese singer-songwriter who struck me as genuinely original: Kaneko Ayano.
Born in Yokohama in 1993 and a graduate of Wako University, she comes across as an ordinary young woman who built her career from the ground up through live performances and songwriting.
The album I listened to was Shukusai (Festival, CD: WRCA-18).
With a young woman’s voice, she sings about the everyday realities of contemporary life.
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The message is something like this:
“My place in the world is modest. I will probably never be rich or extraordinarily happy. Yet I am content with what I have. I know that everything is fleeting, but even so, my life and my love matter to me”.
That is the feeling her songs convey.
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There is a touch of resignation in her singing, but also warmth. Her melodies are remarkably original. Let me quote a few lines from one song, Jet Coaster. They are even more moving when heard as part of the song.
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A trapeze in the air
Bathed in the light of the setting sun
We remain forever innocent and carefree
Unable to forget
The eyes of a child
Who sat beside me
As night falls
The stars are nowhere to be seen
But if you understand me
Then this city isn’t such a bad place
I want to reach out
I want to reach out and touch
Wanting to know someone
Isn’t such a strange thing, is it?
Even though I already know that…
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