City-pop, there are essential artists. We have already talked about Tatsuro Yamashita , and Omega Tribe it is time to give way to women! So onwards to Eiko Kawashima , aka ANRI !
ANRI, rhythmic J-Pop singer in her debut
ANRI ‘s career began with a first album Apricot Jam in 1978. If the beginning of city-pop was truly launched in 1979 with Stay With Me , here we have – like other artists – the premises of city-pop as we define it: advanced arrangements, jazz harmonies and well-paced music. On the first album, Rhapsody is the track that comes closest: disco rhythm of the drums, well-paced bass.
The City-pop turning point
It is on the following two albums that we discover the ANRI that we know better.
Heaven Beach in 1982, which includes Last Summer Whisper and Fly By Day .
Bi-ki-Ni released on June 5, 1983 which includes Good Bye Boogie Dance and Lady Sunshine .
The consecration with Cat’s Eyes
In 1981, the manga Cat’s Eyes began to be published in the famous Weekly Shônen Jump . Meeting with great success, the manga was adapted into an animated series. The first episode was broadcast on Japanese television on July 11, 1983.
ANRI is therefore chosen to perform this song composed by Kazuo Ohtani and Yuichiro Oda . The lyrics of this song were written by Yoshiko Miura , who also wrote the songs 16 (sixteen) BEAT and Kimama ni REFLECTION for ANRI .
Released on August 5, 1983, the single ranked 1st on the Oricon top for 5 consecutive weeks.
Timely, the album with Toshiki Kadomatsu
Building on this momentum, the album that follows will be a little gem. Without context, the best album of his career, and for good reason, it is entirely written and arranged by Toshiki Kadomatsu (with the exception of Cat’s Eyes , “simply” rearranged). Accompanied by his faithful valet, bassist Tomohito Aoki , the album unleashes a number of ANRI ‘s essential hits :
- Windy Summer
- Stay By Me
- I CAN’T STOP THE LONELINESS
- Shyness Boy
- Driving My Love
From City-Pop to Synth-Pop
The following albums will keep a very rhythmic base, but will gradually evolve towards a style more in line with what is generally done in 80s pop. Some songs are reminiscent of Madonna .
A rich discography
Sixteen albums followed, many of which ranked in the top 10 Oricon
Cover albums
Alongside its main discography, ANRI has also graced us with a few cover albums:
Let’s Talk Concert
ANRI is a great performer, her appearances on stage are quite frequent. Here are some excerpts:
1984, just after the success of Cat’s Eyes and Timely , ANRI performed in Tokyo.
In 1987, it was a live performance at Budokan that we could admire. Note that one of his choirs is Joey McCoy .
ANRI regularly performs live. In 1988 she participated in the Hiroshima Peace Concert
In 1998, she sang Furusato (“My Hometown”), a traditional folk song, for the closing ceremony of the Nagano Winter Olympics.
(as of 01:12:20)
Since the 2000s, she has alternated between intimate performances in jazz clubs and larger stages.
In 2023, ANRI performed at the Fonda Theater in Los Angeles .
Sources :
Official website: https://anri-music.com/
DJ Van Paugam meeting ANRI : https://vanpaugam.com/blog/memoirs-of-a-gaijin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anri
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Oricon_number-one_singles_of_1983
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