Flower of the Sun

February 23, 2009 5:50 PM

Vocalist Sayuri Anpo is far from well known, even in her native Japan, despite an extensive discography, the ability to cross multiple genres and an amazing voice. But you can listen to a number of her works online: she does rock both here and here, something gentler here, and something closer to dance here (video image slightly NSFW). She recently teamed up with other musicians to form a light jazz group, with demos available for free download here (alternate link to demo files here for those who can't open .lzh files).
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing (5 comments total)

Does she doing anything that isn't... uh... anime?
posted by KokuRyu at 6:58 PM on February 23, 2009

Cosmic coincidence strikes again...Youtube kept suggesting a lot of those songs to me and I listened to them and enjoyed them just for their sheer musicality. Quite a voice on her indeed, and definitely some real talent to cross genres so effortlessly.

Thanks for pointing out who sings it all for me though, I never did research any of it...the magic of Youtube suggestions.
posted by Chan at 7:01 PM on February 23, 2009

Does she doing anything that isn't... uh... anime?

Those are just the videos. Those allergic to animation (which isn't for everyone, sure) can tab away or minimize the window, and just listen to the music.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 7:03 PM on February 23, 2009

I like a fair bit of Japanese music and I speak the language semi-fluently, but I just can't get into this.

If you're interested in hearing a Japanese singer with an interesting voice and some real musicality, I recommend Mika Nakashima:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbOdYqmHSaA

(There's a high-quality download link attached to the video's description)

And if you want to hear some incredible R&B/hip-hop female vocals, I recommend Miss Monday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbMNENhEcWo


The chorus of that last song (the title is pronounced "Yakusoku", means "promise") haunts me every time I hear it.
posted by Televangelist at 12:22 AM on February 24, 2009

and i'd be recommending Tujiko Noriko.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:35 AM on February 24, 2009