Welcome to Akino's Eden...

As I promised, it's time to fully introduce you to the incredible artist that this site owes its name to: Miss Akino Arai. Yes, I posted the "Kanaete" single as my first entry in this blog, and she was also mentioned on the "Escaflowne" and "Windaria" posts, but I say her own full album article is long overdue, and after all this is my blog, so 'nuff said ! :-P

I'm a fan for life of this woman and of her music. I swear once you let yourself be carried away by the sweetness of her voice and for the ambiances that she builds up around each of her melodies, you just cannot get enough of her. Each song she composes and arranges with longtime musical partner Hisaaki Hogari is a world in its own where the most dissimilar instruments (from strings to synths, from mandolin to electric guitar and everything in between) are combined to ellaborate a flowing mood that is... just impossible to describe. You may read user reviews of her CDs and everybody agrees on the musical genius that she is: her lyrics are poetic, enchanting, metaphorical... her sound is unique, original, unclassifiable, yet absolutely distinctive. I could go on praising her music but I think that if "Kanaete" was not a fair sample that should speak on my behalf, then I don't know what will it take...

Akino Arai was born in August 21 1959, though the exact date is subject to debate, since she's such a reclusive person that seldom is open for interviews and shies away from discussing about her music and most of all her personal life... She's said to have turned to music as a creative outlet in order to express herself after her father abandoned the family when she was 8 years old. She used to perform at her mother's coffee shop (sort of a "Phoebe" from "FRIENDS", but with talent... :-P) when she won a popular song contest in Japan that would open the doors for her in the music industry.

But the way was not easy: her recording company and management were trying too hard to mold her image and sound. After a first album she was not happy with, she left disenchanted the company and focused in singing backing vocals for the likes of Tomoko Tane and Yuri Shiratori, and started composing singles for commercials. She was rescued from this relegated position by none other than Yoko Kanno, with whom she formed a collaborative team in the "Please save my Earth" soundtrack. This experience made her regain confidence in her creativity and resume her own music career. Since then, she has put out the amazing music we are acquainted with, and collaborated with animation projects... mainly productions of the Sunrise Studio.

The list of anime titles that she has collaborated with is impressive. While many singers and groups turn to anime music as soon as they see their popularity declining, Akino is an artist that was introduced to the masses through anime music, and only later developed a parallel career as a singer/songwriter and published her own albums. She never forgot about her beginnings and the adoring followers that she found in the anime fandom. The first single of her professional career was "Yakusoku/Utsukushii Hoshi", from "Windaria" and the love affair between her and the Japanese anime followers was instantaneous. Her name became known internationally when she composed OP & ED of the classic OVA Series "Record of Lodoss War" (both performed by Sherry), one of the first hits in that format in the US. By the time she sung "Voices" in another OVA megahit, "Macross Plus", she was a familiar name but that song undoubtedly placed her on a pedestal in anime music. "Voices" is a classic on a par with "Ai Oboeteimasuka" from the Macross movie or "Zankoku na Tenshi no Teze" from the TV series "Neon Genesis Evangelion"... The EDs she performed for the TV Series "Noir" ("Kirei na Kanjou") and "Outlaw Star" ("Hiiru no Tsuki" & "Tsuki no Ie") reaffirmed her status as a leading artist in anime music, while also introduced her to a new generation of fans that got into anime thanks to the segment "Adult Swim" in the American version of Cartoon Network.

I'm posting today her 2005 compilation album "Sora no Uta", which was put out to celebrate the first 20 years of Akino's music career. To try to encompass in a single disc 20 fruitful years of music is a nightmarish task for many artists. In the case of Akino it is extremely difficult since she has done songs for videogames, commercials, background music for her radio show, collaborated with groups such as Marshmallow and Goddess in the Morning... let's say she's really a prolific composer that knows no boundaries in her creativity. "Sora no Uta" focused then on extracting songs from her albums as a solo artist, and while I cannot actually complain about the selection, of course many favorites of mine were left out. It's particularly puzzling not to see any tracks from "Eden", which is one of my favorite albums of her... Here you have an extremely rare clip of her performing live her song "Little Wing", as part of her 2002 RGB Tour. The video is taken by a fan but it's really a treat to see her in concert (credit: allirow @ YouTube):

This is the tracklisting of the album below, with a brief description of the songs:

1) Sally no Beedama (this song is actually a self cover of "Ningyo Hime" by Rie Tanaka, ED of the TV series "Chobits"; Akino rewrote the lyrics of her own song, rearranged it and performed it herself for this album).
2) Kakusei Toshi (ED of TV series "Tokyo Underground")
3) Voices (from OVA "Macross Plus"... a true classic)
4) Sputnik (only Akino can combine subtle opening with a sample in Russian and finish the song with hard rock breaking loose... and making it work !)
5) Kouseki Radio
6) Hiiru no Tsuki (ED of TV series "Outlaw Star"... the reason why she got so many new fans)
7) Moonlight Anthem ~Enju 1991~ (from OVA "Please save my Earth")
8) Silent Stream (from TV series "XAXZA: Your own personal number"; a little known gem that I'm glad she included in this album)
9) Koneko no Shinzou
10) Gareki no Rakuen
11) Satellite Song
12) Natsukashii Umi (OP of TV series "Kurau: Phantom Memory")
13) Kirei na Kanjou (ED of TV series "Noir"... one of the most beautiful songs you'll ever hear !)
14) Furuu Purachina
15) Wanna be an Angel (from OVA "Macross Plus")
16) Utsukushii Hoshi (ED of movie "Windaria"; rearranged version for this album... as beautiful as it's always been!).

Track 1, 2, 8, 12 & 16 previously unreleased in an Akino Arai album
Tracks 3, 7 & 15 from album "Sora no Mori"
Tracks 4, 10 & 14 from album "Furuu Platinum"
Track 6 from album "RGB"
Track 9 from album "Sora no Niwa"
Tracks 5, 11 & 13 from album "Kouseki Radio"

Should you need any more information about this amazing artist, there's no better place on the net right now than Kimiko's website; check that one out; it's in English and she did an awesome job compiling information on each of Akino's releases. Akino releases this week her latest single, entitled "Kimi he Mukau Hikari", OP of TV series "Zegapain", so you can see that she's still very active participating in anime soundtracks.
Here's the album... more than ever, enjoy it ! And remember: "we can fly/we have wings/we can touch/floating dreams...":