Song of the Week: Secret Base (Kimi ga Kureta Mono) – Zone

This week’s Song of the Week is Secret Base (Kimi ga Kureta Mono) by a girls group called Zone. The song Secret Base ~君がくれたもの (Kimi ga Kureta Mono) is about a sad goodbye to a good friend.

Zone was an all-female pop rock band who formed in Sapporo, Japan in 1999. They released their first single, “Good Days” on February 7, 2001. The four piece band comprises of lead vocalist/guitarist Miyu Nagase, vocalist/drummer Mizuho Saito, vocalist/bassist Maiko Sakae and vocalist/guitarist Takayo Ookishi.

Interestingly, Zone originally started out as a dance group, but due to the overabundance of dance groups at that time in Japan decided to breakout as a band that played instruments as well as sing and dance. They were part of a new genre in Japan called “bandol” which is a combination of the words band and idol. Indeed, you could call Zone an idol pop-rock band. A group that can sing, dance and play an instrument.

Secret Base (Kimi ga Kureta Mono) was the bands most famous song and was released on August 8, 2001. The single was a massive hit for the band reaching number 2 on the Japanese Oricon charts. The song has also been covered by popular girls band SCANDAL in Japan.

Zone officially disbanded on April 1, 2005, but reunited briefly (without Mizuho) in 2011 in honour of the 10th anniversary of “Secret Base’. They officially broke-up (ended) on March 2, 2013.

It is a great song and reminds me very much of the joys of summer and that it all must come to an end.

Zone Official Website 

Here is Secret Base (Kimi ga Kureta Mono) by Zone

Song of the Week: Natsu no Owari – Moriyama Naotarō

This week’s Song of the Week is Natsu no Owari by Moriyama Naotarō. The title “Natsu no Owari” (夏の終わり) means The End of Summer, which is perfect for this week’s song as last week signaled the end of summer in Japan and the start of Autumn. 

Moriyama Naotarō ((森山直太朗) is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter from Tokyo, Japan. He made his major debut in 2002 with the single “Hoshikuzu no Serenade” and made his big break with the hit song “Sakura” in March, 2003. Naotarō comes from a music family, his mother is the famous 1970’s Japanese folk singer, Ryōko Moriyama.

It was during University at Seijo University that Naotarō started seriously planning guitar and writing songs. He started doing street performances from there as well as playing in music clubs in the Tokyo area. He was picked up by the music label ‘NNR’, releasing a mini-album in 2001.

Natsu no Owari was released on August 20, 2003 and followed up on the success of “Sakura” released earlier that year. Natsu no Owari was Naotarō’s third single and is still very popular today as a summer song.

Moriyama Naotarō is a really interesting singer with a unique distinctive style. You can check out his official website here naotaro.com.

 I hope you like the song and if you’re in Japan like me enjoy the Autumn ahead.

Natsu no Owari by Moriyama Naotarō

Song of the Week: Eiko no Kakehashi - Yuzu

This week’s Song of the Week is Eiko no Kakehashi by a duo called Yuzu. The title “Eiko no Kakehashi” (栄光の架橋) means The Bridge of Glory.

Yuzu (ゆず) is a Japanese folk/pop rock duo who formed and made their debut in 1997 and released their first single in June 1998 with Summer Color (夏色). The duo comprises of vocalist/guitarist Yujin Kitagawa and vocalist/guitarist Koji Iwasawa.

Both members of Yuzu come from Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture. Yuzu started out as street musicians in High School and their move into the J-Pop music industry was a big success story. The original name of the band was “Lights”, but Kitagawa disliked the name, so they changed it to Yuzu (after the fruit).

Eiko no Kakehashi was released on July 22, 2004 and was a massive hit for the band becoming one of the most popular songs of 2004. It reached number 2 on the Oricon charts. The song was Yuzu’s 21st single and was used as the theme song for NHK’s transmission of the Athens Olympic Games that summer.

I really like their music and songs with their mainly lush acoustic and upbeat sound.

Here is a live performance of Eiko no Kakehashi by Yuzu

Song of the Week: Kona Yuki - Remioromen

This week’s Song of the Week is Kona Yuki by a group called Remioromen. The title “Kona Yuki” (粉雪) means powdery snow, which is what I’m dreaming of right now as I sit here in the 34C heat & humidity of the Japanese summer.

Remioromen (レミオロメン) is a Japanese rock band who formed in 2000 and made their debut in 2003 with the single Ameagari. The band is a three piece and comprises of vocalist/guitarist Ryota Fujimaki, bass guitarist Keisuke Maeda and drummer Osamu Jinguji.

Kona Yuki was released on November 16, 2005 and was a massive hit for the band becoming one of the best-selling singles of 2005. It reached number 2 on the Oricon charts. The video for the song also picked up “Best Pop Video Award” at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards Japan.

It is a great song and I hope you enjoy it.

Kona Yuki by Remioromen

Song of the Week: Fragile - ELT

I have started a new weekly post series called 'Song of the Week' which will highlight one of my favourite J-POP songs from my time in Japan ranging from 1997 - 2015.

First song off the list is Fragile by a group called ELT (Every Little Things). ELT, a pop/rock duo made their debut in August 1996 and from the late 90's to early 00's were one of the biggest and most popular groups in Japan. They are one of the few groups from the mid 1990's that is still active in the music scene.

ELT were huge when I first arrived in Japan in 1997 and you could hear their songs everywhere. Originally formed as a trio, their keyboardist left the group in 2000 leaving the group as a duo. ELT comprises of Kaori Mochida as the singer and Ichiro Ito as the guitarist.

Fragile was their 18th single and was released on January 1, 2001. It was their fourth single to top the Oricon charts. The song was also the theme song for Fuji Television's drama 'Ainori' which was broadcasted from October 2000 to September 2001.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have over the years.

Fragile by Every Little Thing (ELT)