Tetsuro Kashibuchi featuring Akiko Yano - Hotel Lilas (Canyon, 1983)

Released 6.21.1983

The hotel seems to have had a special appeal for Japanese musicians in the synthpop era. On a trip down the highways and byways of this music, you will end up visiting many of them, perhaps beginning with Yokoo and Hosono's neon-lit pan-Asian Marienbad, the Malabar, then checking out for the nightlife at Tsuchiya's Hotel Atlantis, following that up with a rest at Yano's homey Elephant Hotel or Hosono and Koshi's serene Hotel Etoile. Most pleasant of all is Tetsuro Kashibuchi's seaside Hotel Lilas. The name's fragrance evokes the breezy, relaxing feeling of spending time with this record. A day's itinerary listed in the chorus of "Friends" is instantly enervating, though the 8:30 wake up call may be early for some. The brilliantly catchy "Himawara" and "The Two Mice in the Attic" could help with that. Kashibuchi hosts some superb collaborators too, including Akiko Yano, who duets, co-produces and shares piano and synth duty with Ryuichi Sakamoto, as well as fellow Moonrider Ryomei Shirai on electric guitar and Haruomi Hosono on electric bass. A late citypop classic.

A1. ひまわり / Himawari / Sunflower

A2. リラのホテル / Lila no hoteru / Hotel Lila

A3. Friend

A4. 冬のバラ / Fuyu no bara / Rose of Winter

A5. 屋根裏の二匹のねずみ / Yane-ura no nihiki no nezumi / The Two Mice in the Attic

B1. Listen To Me, Now!

B2. 朽ちた恋 / Ochita koi / Fallen Love

B3. 恋ざんげ / Koi zange / Love Confession

B4. 憂うつな肉体 / Yu-utsu na nikutai / Melancholic Body

B5. 春の庭 / Haru no niwa / Garden of Spring

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Tetsuro Kashibuchi

Drummer and vocalist for Hachimitsupai who survived its mutation into one of the most significant Japanese bands of the seventies and eighties, the Moonriders. His compositions immediately stand out for their sensitivity, sympathy, and lushly romantic sound, reminiscent of the great French chansons of the era. He remained active as Moonrider, solo artist, producer and actor until his untimely death due to esophageal cancer on December 17th, 2013.

BLOGOGRAPHY
Hotel Lilas (Canyon, 1983)

with MORIO AGATA
El Jaguar Del Bandoneon (Columbia, 1987)

Morio Agata - El Jaguar Del Bandoneon (Columbia, 1987)

 

Released 1.21.87

Technically, "jaguar" should be pronounced with a soft "h" sound. This is not how Morio Agata pronounces it. His jaguar is hard, sharp, jagged, dangerous. With this album, Agata discovered tango, and in it perhaps the ideal medium for the switchblade violence always inherent in his furious, sarcastic vocals and relentlessly propulsive songwriting. One can imagine that, finding folk too laconic, psych too meandering, synthpop too brittle, Agata turned in calm desperation to something more solid with which to express himself in greater clarity. Unlikely as it may at first seem, tango's exquisite blend of complete command and sweeping, cosmic romanticism suits Agata perfectly. At the same time, Agata remains a restless experimenter, introducing strands of synthpop and rock to create a new breed of music, a notable forerunner of today's electrotango, but perhaps still without direct descendants. Conceptually cohesive, it is held together by a constant tension between the turn of the century Euro-American avant-gardism that acts as its model and the more cutting edge, distinctly Japanese electronic sound of the instrumentation and arrangement, similar to Kato's Papa Hemingway or Miharu Koshi's Boy Soprano (Koshi also sings a prelude here).  The record is bristling with appearances from, amongst others, three Moonriders (Shirai, Kashibuchi and Suzuki), Nobuo Nakahara, Takehisa Kosugi, Koji Ueno, and a duet with Akiko Yano.

Lado Pierra (地上篇 / Chijou hen / Above Ground)

A1. La Vuelta Del Barón / 男爵のおかえり / Danshaku no okaeri / Return of the Baron

A2. Para Dos (El Jaguar Del Bandoneon) / バンドネオンの豹 / Bandoneon no hyou (Jagaa) / Jaguar Bandoneon

A3. El Tigre Que Murió En Paris / パリで死んだ虎 / Pari de shinda tora / The Tiger that Died in Paris

A4. Bandoneón Bajo La Luna / SP「月光のタンゴ」 / SP 「Gekkou no tango」 / SP "Moonlight Tango"

A5. Invierno En Buenos Aires / ブエノス・アイレスの冬休み / Buenos Airesu no fuyu yasumi / Buenos Aires Winter Vacation

A6. Amor Humano (Extrano Amor Del Doctor Megata) / 博愛（目賀田博士の異常な愛情) / Haku-ai (Megata hakase no ijou na aijou) / Benevolence (The Strange Love of Doctor Megata)

A7. A Media Luz (Luna Road) / 夢のルナロード / Yumē no luna rōdo / Lunar Road of Dreams

A8. Super Expreso Tango / タンゴ超特急 / Tango chou tokkyū / Super Express Tango

A9. Uno (Triste Bandoneón De Quién) / 誰が悲しみのバンドネオン / Dare ga kanashimi no bandoneon / Whose Sad Bandoneon

Lado Fondo Marino (海底篇 / Kaitei hen / Undersea)

B1. Recuerdo /夜のレクエルド / Yoru no reku-erudo / Nighttime Recuerdo

Suite: La Cruzada Del Fondo Del Mar / 組曲「海底十字軍」/ Kumikyoku「Kaitei juujigun」/ Suite "Underwater Crusades"

B2a. La Cruzada Juvenil / 少年十字軍（星の界）/ Shōnen jūjigun (hoshi no kai) / Juvenile Crusades (World of the Stars)

B2b. Para Dos - En 78 Rpm; Mono / SP「バンドネオンの豹」/ SP「Bandoneon no hyou」 / SP "Jaguar Bandoneon"

B2c. Fondo Del Mar /  海底の豹 / Kaitei no hyou / Jaguar Under the Sea

B3. Pescadores De Las Perlas - Frágil Anhelo / シフィリスの真珠採り / Shifirisu no shinju tori / Pearl Fishers of Syphilis

真珠採りのタンゴ〜シフィリスのもののあわれ / Shinju tori no tango ~ Shifirisu no mono no aware / Pearl-taking Tango ~ Aesthetic of Syphilis

B4. Jardín De Perle-Déco / パール・デコレーションの庭 / Paaru dekorēshon no niwa / Garden of Pearl Decorations

B5. Bandoneón Bajo La Luna / 月光のバンドネオン / Gekkou no bandoneon / Moonlight Bandoneon

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