"Would you believe in a love at first listening?"
I'm certain that it happens all the time, as Ringo would tell you. At least, it happened to me when I heard Yukimi Nagano's voice the first time.
The infatuation was almost instantaneous. I listened with "starry ears" to "Recommendations." and became completely obsessed with her warm timbre, rummaging the InterWeb for information about her.
Here's what I gathered: Yukimi was born from a Japanese father and an American-Swedish mother some 24 years ago in Sweden(?) She collaborated with many projects including Koop which earned her international recognition. She's recently released an album with a band called Little Dragon which is "[her] finally singing my own melodies and lyrics."
Of which you will now hear an excerpt:
Of course, Nature has also bestowed looks to match if not outdo the silky voice on her. (Just so She can laugh at her joke on us mere mortals).
It wasn't long before my frivolous self found more charms to Yukimi than hear the ears. (Her eyes could make the stars weep, I'm sure.)
More info [to feed my obsession]:
Her MySpace
Little-Dragon.se
Yukimi Nagano interview by Marc Kets for Basic Soul
Her collaborations
Girlcrawl's brilliant post on Little Dragon (which triggered the spark in me)
(You can also watch her in the "Summer Sun" video in the comments)
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I'd like to thank Girlcrawl again for introducing me to this loveliness of a (young voice).
Koop Summer Sun with Yukimi Nagano
Koop feat. Yukimi Nagano - Summer Sun
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wow....i loved this...thanks for sharing
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Fantastic peaceful song! Thanx for sharing! :-)
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Very cool indeed.
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I always loved this song but never knew who the vocalist was...thanks!
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There's a lot of good modern jazz coming from Scandinavia ( E.S.T, Eivind Aarset, Bugge Wesseltoft, Nils Peter Molvaer, Sidsel Edresen, Nils Landgren, Silje Nergaard, Terje Rypdal, Tord Gustavsen, etc.). Yukimi can be added to the list.
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An exceptional post, and appreciate the thoroughly researched links. Thank you for the generously kind acknowledgement! Am so pleased that you are enjoying the introduction to Yukimi - she is quite an enthralling performer. Cheers!
Yukimi also performs with the Japanese jazz quartet Sleep Walker (superb musicians; slightly avant-garde). They recently released a 12" EP and an LP (entitled 'Works') which contains a song that Yukimi wrote and performed the lyrics to ('Wind'). I've yet to acquire it, but I do have their 2006 'The Voyager' CD which features Yukimi on a track titled 'Afloat':
The Sleep Walker 'Works' CD can be found here: http://www.discogs.com/release/987645 or at www.inboxrecords.com
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Excellent stuff. I particularly like the Koop tune.
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thanks Bartleby, i particularly like the Koop song, which has an almost brazilian feel to it, like a caiparinha made with acquavit...
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Nakano has as affecting a voice as I've heard in quite a while. I first heard her on a track by Hird called "Keep You Kimi," which, alas, I cannot seem to find. (I must be missing at least a full box of discs, because that's the third piece of music I can't seem to find on command.) Should I find it reasonably soon, I will post.
But this too is great. I'll have to put it on the buy list.
Thanks for sharing.
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After furtive searching (inspired by your post), I found that track I was seeking.
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Satis: I'm glad that a music lover such as yourself finds Yukimi to his liking.
Tangerman: Hi there. It's always a pleasure to share with you.
Ivy: You command Coolness, sir.
Misstee: Glad I could shave shed some light on Yukimi for you.
Levek: So many interesting, I don't know where to start. Thanks for the recommendations.
Girlcrawl: How I can ever re-pay for posting the track? I've heard of this project of Yukimi's with Sleep Walker but have yet to explore. Thank you ever so much for your brilliant introduction.
Flux: You share Gilles Peterson's tastes regarding Yukimi and Koop. Glad you enjoyed the excerpt.
GA: You're quite right. The Koop song's certainly got a litte Gilberto Gil feel to it.
Soultron': I meant to post the Hird track "Keep You Kimi" here but didn't feel like cramming this quick rambling of mine. Your post corrected the oversight. Thanks ever so much.
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Bartleby-Please forgive my lateness in commenting to this fantastic extention of Girlcrawls post on Little Dragon. Thanks so much for the added tunes. The two of you are together in my keepers file. Cheers! ; )
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Hey Sunny. Glad to see around these shores. Yukimi is indeed worth more than one post. Check out Soultron's take on her.
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Always glad & most interesting to be around "these shores". Thanks for another link!