Norman Records
Whereabouts Records (previous releases by Chihei Hatekayama and Yui Onodera) of Japan have released this sweet CD by Yuiko. Right from the start of the album you get slapped in the face by the fragility of the whole thing. At any point the music sounds like it’s gonna break. The music is delicate (and twee) Japanese folk with neoclassical elements and there’s some keyboards mincing about ‘n all.
It’s very sentimental sounding and it’s not a million miles away from the more ballady end of Bat For Lashes but more Japanese and twee and folky. There are some odd arrangements in there a la Julia Holter ‘n all. Some of the tracks remind me of the sweet songs you get at the end of Studio Ghibli films which make you weep after you’ve just been made to feel really good. Her voice is kinda classical sounding and she’s exercising it to its full range.
With song titles like ‘Good Morning’, ‘Bird of Passage’, ‘Calm The Wind’, etc, I’m pretty sure that’ll give you an idea of what you’re in for. Ooh, I just heard a flute. Nice! I did really well to go through the entire review without mentioning Enya once.Don Peyote
Nearly 2 years ago Yuiko sent me a 5 song demo over the internet .
She then asked me to help with arranging , mixing and production work on her Album .
My first reaction ,
i was instantly taken away by the fine approach to singing and song writing,
her voice ,Angelic, pure ,emotive ,sometimes raw and very honest.
what drew me to Yuiko's music was her unique approach to song writing ,the themes and her refined sense of melodies and layered vocal harmonies.
She is an inspired artist with amazing talents and a colorful imagination.
Listening to "Felicity" now ,
It feels beautiful to be taken on this very sweet and heartfelt cinematic journey, gentle melodies and choruses.
It is a delicate collection of uplifting musical snapshots to dream to...