Chara was the first Japanese artist I found myself following for reasons other than my interest in anime. Before that point, I had only listened to artists I was introduced to through opening or closing themes, and even then, the vast majority of Japanese tracks in my iTunes library were directly from anime soundtracks. But one day by chance I ran into ‘70%–Yuugure no Uta’ from her Strange Fruits album, and her haunting voice instantly captured my attention, something that was cemented further when, on a trip to London, I was able to find her Madrigal album in a Japanese store in Soho.
Madrigal still remains my personal favourite, but her 2008, honey, has definitely found itself in second place.
In the two months since the album’s release, I’ve listened to the full thing at least 15-20 times, with some songs, notably ‘call me’, I’ve racked up over 40 listens. It’s this song that has really captured me at the moment. The feeling and melody of the song keeps seamlessly changing, something I adore in music; one moment sounding playful and poppy (the first few bars of the song give no indication of how the music is about to alter itself), the next deeply emotional and even a little depressing. I’m so delighted to hear it’s now being released as a single.
Altogether the album demonstrates Chara’s talent at mixing numerous genres to produce a balanced and original set of songs; Cherry Cherry is upbeat and cute, Aoi Kakera funky, MAHA simple but undoubtedly moving.
The whispering, child-like singing voice of Chara may turn some people away from her work, but if like me it is actually one of the largest draws, this is definitely an album worth buying. And after that, Madrigal, as well as the soundtrack, Montage (under the name Chara and the Yen Town Band), for the Shunju Iwai movie, ‘Swallowtail Butterfly’, should be your next ports of call.
Track List
01. Sumire (Intro)
02. TROPHY (Album Version) - View Video
03. Labrador - View Video
04. Cherry Cherry - View Video
05. Ai wo Oboeru
06. Marmalade
07. Boku no Koto wa Shitte - View Video
08. Aoi Kakera
09. Soshite, Boku ga Todokanai
10. Amai Tsurai
11. Nakdashisou.
12. MAHA
13. call me - View Video
