UA - Niji (Japan)
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Song: Niji
From album: Breathe
Genre: Ethereal Daydreamcore.
[buy this album] [UA site (Japanese)]
UA is a Japanese girl with a Swahili name. If you look it up, (click “u” under Swahili->English) you’ll find that it means a LOT of things, but it’s most touted for its double meanings of “kill” and “flower”. She’s definitely not your typical Japanese female vocalist; and though I’m nearly loathe to do so, it’s very difficult not to draw comparisons to the eccentric Björk, who has become a referential catch-all in times of classificational crises. In this album, more so than in her others, she explores interminglings and frolics of sound, and from it, this song is probably my favorite.
I imagine this song in a of couple ways: One is a leisurely midnight ride through a newly-made city of modern-esque design. It’s all glass and chrome and amber light, high angles and sweeping curves; and there’s not a soul in sight. There’s just her voice gliding along on an expensive suspension, and the designs the light makes in reflections and refractions on everything. Sometimes they come across as little whimsical sounds flowing around and through the main melody of the light.
The other was the first and strongest that impressed itself on me. Imagine if you will, Christopher Doyle as cinematographer for this dreamy scene. The amber light is here too, and he makes it alive. It glows with its own power and feeling. It contrasts the dark room and enriches the heat of a sultry evening in this, some tropical corner of the world. It reflects from the dull corners and intricacies of the time-worn furniture and walls. The veranda doors are open over the city, and a breeze with the lingering smell of sunset enters like a peaceful sigh. With it, the sound of dusk and people living their lives wafts in to mix with the song being played somewhere on an antique phonograph. Wong Kar Wai directs as a lone girl dances dreamily around the room. She is basically just turning in circles, her hands up, and down; but he completely captures the liquescent feeling of her moment. Slow, luxurious motion and lush atmosphere has made for her a sensuous draught. She is completely detached from the world and yet so intensely connected to life. A high-angle shot and she is looking up, her eyes are closed. As she spins, she can feel life flowing and breathing; so dense, so good, and bad, and neither. So unbearably beautiful. In the embrace of all this miraculous life she almost seems to be floating. The sounds wrap around and about her, the instruments hovering above the floor or dancing around her ankles.
Translated Lyrics in comments.
December 24th, 2005 at 11:49 am
虹
親指をくわえたその子は
不思議そうに 首かしげる
僕はだれ あなたは今どこ
あの人は 何故うばうの
この広い星のどこかで
友達が泣いてる
葉っぱの手紙を書こう
いちょうの木の下で
特別なことじゃなく
ただこうして 笑っている
いつまでも いつまでも
君の肩に葉っぱわ届く
ひぐらしが遠くで鳴いてる
時計草 風にゆれてる
お月さま あなたのひとみに
映るこの星は まだあおいでしょう
この広い星が全部
笑顔でつつまれたら
葉っぱの枕で眠ろう
いちょうの木の下でね
特別なことじゃなく
ただこうして 抱きしめている
いつまでも いつまでも
君の信じる 世界をまつよ
—————————————————-
Niji
Oyayubi wo kuwaeta sono ko wa
Fushigi sou ni kubi kashigeru
Boku wa dare anata wa ima doko
Ano hito wa naze ubau no
Kono hiroi hoshi no doko ka de
Tomodachi ga naiteru
Happa no tegami wo kakou
Ichou no ki no shita de
Tokubetsu na koto ja naku
Tada koushite waratte iru
Itsuma demo itsuma demo
Kimi no kata ni happa wa todoku
Higurashi ga tooku de naiteru
Tokei sou kaze ni yureteru
Otsuki-sama anata no hitomi ni
Utusuru kono hoshi wa mada aoi deshou
Kono hiroi hoshi ga zenbu
Egao de tsutsumare tara
Happa no makura de nemurou
Ichou no ki no shita de ne
Tokubetsu na koto ja naku
Tada koushite dakishimete iru
Itsuma demo itsuma demo
Kimi no shinjiru sekai wo matsu yo
—————————————————-
Niji
The boy with his thumb in his mouth
Tilts his head wonderingly
Who am I, where are you now
Why does that man rob
Somewhere on this big star
Friends are crying
Let’s write a letter of leaves
under the ginko tree
It’s no special thing
To smile only like this
Forever, forever
Leaves are received on your shoulder
Higurashi cicada chirping in the distance
Passion flower swinging in the wind
Dear moon, in your eyes
Is this star still blue?
When this big star is all wrapped in smiles
We will sleep on a pillow of leaves
under the ginko tree
It’s no special thing
To hug only this like
Forever, forever
I will wait for the world you believe in
January 3rd, 2006 at 11:52 pm
thanks for the lyrics translation. Every UA japanese fan tells me she is a great story teller, but it is far beyond my japanese abilities… hard to judge on this song though.
I first heard her on the radio while I was stucked in the usual Tokyo traffic jam one night. It was an acoustic set, just her voice and a folk guitar. it was amazing.
I used to listen a lot (a LOT) to her previous album (the one where she is wearing a prehistoric-like fur on an iguana-shaped landscape on the cover), mostly because I was fascinated by the atmospheres and the melodies of these acoustic songs.
Her electronic music never sounded as good to me as this original radio show…
January 4th, 2006 at 1:33 am
Herve: Thanks for the comment (first on the whole blog!). Do you know if that acoustic set was ever released? I would love to hear a raw presentation like that. I can definitely imagine it as a comfort in a sea of taillights. If you are a Tokyoite I would love to hear about any new and interesting music you might come across. I’m always availableish at dave@redruin.com