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VARIOUS
ARTISTS
Reggaeton Hunter First Target: Primera Busqueda/Los Cazadores
(BMG)
Years after it conquered Latin America, the spicy, sexually
charged musical stew of salsa, hip-hop and dancehall reggae
known as “reggaeton” is hitting Japan in the form
of several releases. Better late than never, and if you’re
looking for a place to check out the musical currents of the
Caribbean in particular, you could do worse than this compilation
assembled by leading producers Los Cazadores, themselves no
slouches at the genre. The album launches in full bore with
the blazing beats of Tito El Bambino’s “La Cazadora”
and doesn’t let up through 19 tracks of rumbustious beats,
macho boasts and lyrical leers. Other artists featured include
Tego Calderon, Zion & Lennox and Ivy Queen, hailing from
locations including ground zero Puerto Rico, the Dominican
Republic and Florida. With US rappers now getting in on the
reggaeton scene, look for Japan to spawn its own producers.
DG
DONNA BURKE
Blue Nights
(Dagmusic)
Japan-based Australian singer Donna Burke has until now mostly
recorded standards, but on her fourth release, she finally
gives her muse free reign. The result is a collection of emotive,
jazz-influenced meditations by someone coming to grips with
turning 40 and deciding she’s glad she’s finally
grown up. Some songs, like “Where Did the Time Go,”
speak specifically to the passage of time, while others such
as “My Perfect Man” take up the pitfalls of finding
reciprocal love. Throughout, Burke’s winsome vocals are
backed by her guitar-playing husband Bill Benfield’s
understated arrangements, assisted by a klatch of expert studio
musicians in Tokyo and Los Angeles. With Blue Nights, Burke
and Benfield have transcended the role of interpreters to
emerge as artists in their own right. DG
NUMBER GIRL
Omoide In My Head 1: Best Of/B-Sides
(Toshiba EMI)
As the Zazen Boys continue toying with odd time signatures
and ill-advised stabs at hip-hop, bandleader Mukai Shutoku
has continued building his old band’s legacy with a series
of archival releases. Among Japan’s finest indie-rock
exports, Number Girl delivered the songwriting smarts of The
Pixies with a ferocity that would have most emo acts diving
for cover. For those unfamiliar, this collection is an excellent
introduction to Fukuoka’s finest. The knife-fight guitars,
whirlwind drumming and Shutoku’s visceral vocals are
all in full effect on infectious tracks culled from the band’s
seven-year career. The second disc contains mostly marginal
material that leaves little wonder why these songs were B-sides.
However, the first disc is an essential summary of one of
the past decade’s standout underground acts. Sebastian
Roberts
BONNIE PINK
Reminiscence
(Warner Japan)
Since her debut Blue Jam in 1995, Bonnie Pink has earned
a reputation as one of the leading singer-songwriters in Japan.
Somehow never fashionable, her Western-style girl-with-guitar
premise is well trodden, but Pink manages to make it authentic,
consistently inventive and familiar. Reminiscence is her first
cover album and offers insight into her influences, with Aimee
Mann, The Sundays and Fairground Attraction being obvious
peers. There’s a certain melancholy hanging over Pink’s
rendition of The Pretenders’ “Don’t Get Me
Wrong” and re-working of The Bangles’ “Manic
Monday,” while her reggae flavoring of Tatsuro Yamashita’s
“Your Eyes” uplifts an album that succeeds in sounding
uniquely her own, even if her albums of originals are superior.
Robert Poole
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to the editor at letters@metropolis.co.jp.
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