Friday, December 30, 2011
Rajie/ ラジ - Quatre (1979)
Here's an eclectic 1979 album from Rajie/ ラジ, alias of Honda Junko, member of Moonriders spin-off group Pony Tail. The album is listed as Quatre (Cattle) in some places. Some really nice early technopop jams here, like track six, "星に乗って", and track eight, "月の光". I'm not as keen on the ballads and fusion songs here, although they're certainly sure-handed representations of form. The final track, "キリンのいる風景", is a really nice conclusion, sounding both cosmic and minimalist, and recalling the opening jam, "キャトル". Junko's classicist vocals float effortlessly through the album, almost defiant of form.
The technopop songs here definitely have the YMO sound, as Yukihiro Takahashi produced the album. YMO Works says Akiko Yano and Sakamoto worked on the album. Discogs and Wiki don't offer much information. Yoshitaka Minami is the second voice on duet "ときと き魔法". Thanks to Youtuber "slimglam", here's some YMO/YEN-heavy information about some of the tracks:
02. "ときとき魔法"
Vocals: Rajie, Yoshitaka Minami
Drums: Yukihiro Takahashi
Bass: Tatsuya Honda
Guitar: Masaki Matsubara, Yuuji Toriyama
Keyboard: Ryuichi Sakamoto
Production: Yukihiro Takahashi
05. "風の道"
Vocals: Rajie
Piano, Synth: Ryuichi Sakamoto
Production: Yukihiro Takahashi
07. "クリスマス"
Vocals: Rajie
Drums: Mikiya Kazama
Bass: Tatsuya Honda
Guitar: Yuji Toriyama
Keyboard: Hiroshi Matsumoto
Keyboard: Ryuichi Sakamoto
Production: Yukihiro Takahashi
09. "一枚のフォトクラフ"
Vocals: Rajie
Lyrics: Kazumi Yasui
Production: Kazuhiko Kato
Production: Yukihiro Takahashi
Production: Ryuichi Sakamoto
If readers have more information I'd be very interested to learn more about Rajie. This biography doesn't cite any sources, but states Rajie worked with Yukihiro Takahashi, Tsugutoshi Goto, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Akiko Yano, Keiichi Suzuki, Yoshitaka Mitami, Taeko Onuki and Masamichi Sugi. You can check out her earlier album Heart to Heart over at Fenikon's Fusion World, where Fenikon claims that her early work was a big influence on fusion-lord Toshiki Kadomatsu.
Discogs
YMO Works
Rajie Bio
Japan Wiki
PLEASE ENJOY
Labels:
Akiko Yano,
fusion,
Honda Junko,
Idol music,
Moonriders,
Pony Tail,
Rajie,
Ryuichi Sakamoto,
Technopop,
YMO,
Yoshitaka Minami,
Yukihiro Takahashi
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This is amazing... thank you so much. Instantly one of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteMore Rajie coming soon!
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