Ballsack’s J-Pop Midlife Crisis, pt. 19: 矢野顕子

Starting sometime last year, I started really getting into Japanese music. This came as a bit of a surprise to me, because I had always thought I hated singing in Japanese. Turns out I don’t! In the night threads for the following week, I’ll write a little about each of my favorite artists that I’ve discovered, and share a streaming album for you to dutifully ignore.

I discovered Akiko Yano, again, through Wewantsounds’ reissues. I first saw the rather striking cover to her 1981 album, ただいま。(Tadaima). That album, apparently, marked a bit of a departure for her, as the first side more traditional synth pop, but the second features a 10 minute piano medley and more experimental songs. She was married to Ryuichi Sakamoto for a time and toured with Yellow Magic Orchestra, and members of YMO played on a number of her records. She concentrates more in the jazz field now, and released an excellent piano duo concert with Hiromi last year.