Originally released in 1972, Misora saw rerelease 2 years ago today from Chapterhouse A nice tidbit from their site for Kanenobu: "But just a few months before her debut album Misora was released in 1972, Sachiko left Japan and secretly emigrated to America to marry music critic Paul Williams (Crawdaddy Magazine, Rolling Stone). She did not record again for almost a decade and didn’t release another album until 1992. Instead she settled with Williams in small-town California and raised two sons. Misora was released in her absence and promptly disappeared, without an artist to promote it."
Sinfully pure and painfully simple yet complex, her voice seems to transcend time and space. I may not understand a lick of what she is saying and I must confess that I depend on the good will of the translator...
That said, I truly love the album from which this track hails, but this song in particular/
"Look Up, The Sky Is Beautiful"
Indeed
The following is an entry from the excellent Fire In The Mind blog one year ago:
" ...And then there was Sachiko Kanenobu, with her achingly beautiful folky Misora. The record is actually from 1972 and was produced by one of the YMO guys. They often refer to her as the Japanese Vashti Bunyan and comparisons are also drawn with Joni 'Boring' Mitchell, while I am myself more inclined to compare Misora with Linda Perhacs's heavenly Parallellograms. Comparisons aside this is one of those forgotten singer-songwriter pearls-for-swines that keep resurfacing in recent years. And it is totally, completely sung in Japanese. Which is a plus at my house because I am a total sucker for all things Japanese.
A more interesting fact about her is that it was one Philip K. Dick who encouraged her to get back into music in the early eighties, after meeting her in New York and hearing Misora. He even payed for the sessions of what was to be her first English-sung album. Unfortunately he died and the record never saw the light of day. Anecdotes, I love them. "
FYI: It was Harry Hosono of Yellow Magic Orchestra and Happy End
Her MySpace
If you dig Sachiko's voice, check Mike's post about Vashti Bunyan
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interesting about philip k dick's influence. lovely song.
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There's a good article with some more infos from her regarding Dick and her subsequent project "Culture Shock" Here
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the sonoma valley sun... who'd have thought.
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Simple, elegant, pure musical beauty.
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Beautiful.
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My god! That is exquisite. Not to repeat what I said about Vashti, but how did this slip past me (a YMO fanatic, to boot)? Thanks, wassonii. (PS: Joni "boring"? Someone better check theyself befo' they wreck theyself. The Joni influence is clear and present.)
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"Which is a plus at my house because I am a total sucker for all things Japanese." Make that two of us. This is beautiful. If she was singing in English it could definitely be an early 70s BritFolk tune. It kind of is, I suppose. JapFolk?
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Mos def, y'all. Mike, I am only reprinting, please don't cut me hands off, as yes, the influence is certainly there and I like the Joni:) JapFolk it is:)
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So beautiful!