Dip in the Pool

In doing what little research I could for a post I'm planning about mid-80s Japanese video-countdown show Music Tomato Japan, I came across this video for Dip in the Pool's "Ritual", a song composed for the 1987 Brigitte Lin/Tony Leung film Lady in Black.

The core duo is singer Miyako Koda (who also acts), and Tatsuji Kimura on keyed instruments (I'm not sure who's playing the stringed koto-like instrument on "Ritual"). While Dip in the Pool have a full discography and have been successful, information in English (and maybe in any language) is limited. This bio is the most comprehensive on the internet as far as I know, even though the discography may be incomplete. This Myspace page is fan-created I'm assuming, but it has some mp3s to listen to. Youtube is also useful.

While most of MTJ's content is derivative and immediately familiar, this track really stands out. It's haunted, sparse quality reminds of Cocteau Twins, but I feel like that's not a very useful comparison. The simple, compartmentalized elegance of the song is perhaps akin to Art of Noise's sublime "Moments in Love", although more tightly structured as a verse-chorus-verse "song". The video itself is literal, depicting not only strange rituals (the various egg routines, dipping the stuffed monkey into the water glass) but music-making itself as ritual, with some of the most pointed and meaningful "playing" I've ever seen depicted in a music video.



Enjoy this song and video, info and download for Dip in the Pool's 1991 Laserdisc-only album Dipping will be posted tomorrow afternoon. Limited overview of Music Tomato Japan to follow in the following week or so.