VOL.74 1st album“first soundscope 〜水のない晴れた海へ〜”

●○○ From music freak magazine Vol.74

GARNET CROW

First album *first soundscope 〜水のない晴れた海へ〜*

Released January 31, 2001!

Interview

● Did you have a concept in mind when making the album?

Yuri Nakamura: We consciously wanted to express more clearly the Neo Acoustic and acoustic elements at the root of GARNET CROW. We wanted to make an album that brought listeners back to GARNET CROW’s starting point.

Hirohito Furui: We did not want simply to recreate the genre known as Neo Acoustic. We wanted to develop it further.

● Since this is your first album, you must have thought about many things. Now that it is finished, how do you feel?

Nakamura: While releasing singles one after another, we were also moving forward with the album. Within the limited time, I think we completed a work we are satisfied with. It is an album you can keep listening to from beginning to end, and it conveys the GARNET feeling fully.

AZUKI Nana: It was finished in the blink of an eye.

Hitoshi Okamoto: It was especially fulfilling.

Furui: I think it turned out very well.

● What does the album title mean?

Nakamura: The title of our independent album included the word “kaleidscope,” so this time we created a word that echoes it and contains the meaning “a kaleidoscope of sound.” When you look inside, you see all kinds of music, with music continually pouring out. We wanted to make a work like that.

● Did you select songs from a large body of work and then record them, or did you discuss the kind of songs you wanted and move forward while consulting one another?

Furui: There was certainly discussion among the members, but we also selected the songs from several dozen pieces.

Nakamura: We made an initial selection and then began recording. As the work gradually took shape, we looked at the overall track order and replaced and adjusted songs.

● Please tell us about a song that each of you feels especially attached to.

Nakamura: “巡り来る春に.” It was the last song we recorded, and it was also the song I wanted to make most simply on the album. Rather than continually adding sounds, we worked in the opposite direction, removing things and expressing it with only the minimum sounds truly needed. Please be sure to feel the space between the sounds. Do not hold back—if you want to cry, cry... (laughs)

Furui: I put care into every song... It is difficult to choose.

Okamoto: “Mysterious Eyes.” It contains GARNET CROW’s history.

● You are starting 2001 with an album and have made a great opening. How would you like to proceed this year? Is there anything you want to do or aim for as GARNET CROW?

Nakamura: We still want to work at our own pace and create high-quality pieces.

Furui: We are considering various things, so please look forward to them...

Okamoto: I hope more people will hear us.

● Did anything memorable happen during the recording?

Furui: We made various mixes, carefully selected among them, and settled on the current versions. So every song actually exists in several different versions. We could not have done it without the engineers’ help. We are very grateful to them.

● Which song made you feel that you were taking on a challenge as GARNET CROW?

Nakamura: “Holding you, and swinging.” If GARNET CROW tried making something with a little Black-music influence, this is probably what it would feel like. It is a song where we genuinely tried to challenge ourselves.

● What do you hope listeners will feel from this work?

Nakamura: I hope everyone will feel the atmosphere unique to GARNET CROW: although it is pop music, somewhere inside it there is melancholy, a fleeting quality, and warmth.

Furui: I hope it becomes a work that remains in people’s memories...

Okamoto: Twenty-first-century Neo Neo Acoustic.

●○○ From music freak magazine Vol.74

Track commentary

In November 1999, GARNET CROW began its career with the independent mini-album *first Kaleidscope 〜君の家に着くまでずっと走ってゆく〜*. The group consists of four creators: AZUKI Nana (keyboards), active as a lyricist; Hirohito Furui (keyboards), an arranger who has worked on ZARD and other artists’ material; Hitoshi Okamoto (guitar), active as a session musician; and melody writer Yuri Nakamura (vocals), who composes all of the band’s songs. By March 2000, they had made their major-label debut with the two Maxi Singles “Mysterious Eyes” and “君の家に着くまで走ってゆく.”

Now they have completed their first full-length album, *first soundscope 〜水のない晴れた海へ〜*. Released January 31, it summarizes a year of activity from their independent period to the present. Containing twelve works, including all six lead tracks from their singles, it is a kaleidoscope of sound that conveys GARNET CROW’s rich and original musical character. Here are the twelve appealing songs in order.

1. *水のない晴れた海へ*

The opening song, which also supplies the album’s subtitle, represents GARNET CROW as it is now. The surreal phrase “a clear sea without water” contains literary feeling, two contradictory sides, romance, and an introspective resonance tinged with languor, conveying the full outline of GARNET CROW’s musicality. Nakamura’s restrained singing, an economical structure with nothing unnecessary, and a hidden heat in the quiet world give the song a mysterious charm, almost as if it were praising the sea goddess Siren.

2. *君の家に着くまでずっと走ってゆく*

This is both the title song of their independent mini-album and a single released for their major-label debut. The independent and major-label versions have different arrangements; this album contains the version by Miguel Sa Pessoa and Hirohito Furui used at their major-label debut. Clear acoustic guitar, sounds that keep unfolding, refreshing harmonies, and a well-placed saxophone solo create a detailed arrangement. The level of songwriting is astonishing for a debut song. AZUKI Nana’s lyrics capture the happiness a couple feels in ordinary days, and her delicate, close-to-life viewpoint is appealing. It may also be effective as a song to soothe the heart.

3. *夏の幻*

Released as their fifth single on October 25, 2000. Although the title explicitly contains “summer,” it appeared in autumn, after the season had passed, under the name *夏の幻*. This way of expressing things is characteristic of GARNET CROW. The difficult arrangement also displays Hirohito Furui’s skill: the minor-key rhythmic guitar suddenly changes, and when the singing enters, the song shifts to a major key. Both sound and melody make it a hard-to-grasp song, like an apparition.

4. *二人のロケット*

This song also appeared on their independent record and is an early work. Here it is based on the arrangement of the major-label version released as their third single on May 17, 2000, with live bass and drums newly added. Over a straightforward major-key melody, Nakamura’s voice moves lightly and buoyantly; she sings the chorus higher than usual, making a strong impression. Perhaps this was influenced by the lyrics’ comparison of the two people’s relationship to a rocket. It is a powerful work representing GARNET CROW’s bright side.

5. *巡り来る春に*

Completely different from the previous song, this piece is dramatic and dark, allowing you to fully appreciate GARNET CROW’s shadowy side. In this kind of song, Nakamura’s melancholy middle register is especially moving, and her distinctive tone is perfectly suited to expressing momentary emotion. AZUKI Nana’s pessimistic world, written with literary power, also deserves to be read and savored quietly. Try listening with your eyes closed.

6. *HAPPY DAYS?*

The song begins with an intro that still retains melancholy, then throws it off and turns to a clear beat. This unique entrance is impressive once again. Is it a feeling between the two? The structure maintains a delicate instability that cannot be called wholly minor or confidently major, while the sound construction follows basic principles. This is the work of skilled craftsmen. Once you begin to discover happiness in such careful arrangements and developments, you have already been drawn into GARNET CROW’s music. Listen on through the appeal of the unfolding and enjoy wondering which direction it will take next.

7. *Mysterious Eyes*

Released March 29, 2000, as one of two major-label debut singles issued simultaneously. Nakamura’s clear voice intertwines with a light rhythmic track, creating a fresh, youthful impression. But this is a major-label debut song, after all, and the accompaniment and arrangement are already so lavish and assured. It shows what kind of group of musical creators they were when they formed the band. What has that garnet-eyed, mysterious crow been watching ever since?

8. *Rhythm*

The group is skilled at combining digitally programmed rhythms with acoustic sounds, and this song demonstrates that technique beautifully. Nakamura’s voice settles comfortably on the finely detailed rhythmic track; an electric-acoustic guitar and live piano add just the right accents, while a synthesizer appears in the passages that catch the ear. The arrangement is detailed and varied to the very end, yet it carries you along naturally. GARNET CROW’s strength will be its ability to scatter carefully made gems like this throughout an album.

9. *Holding you, and swinging*

Another lyrical mid-tempo song. The accompaniment remains simple, as if cherishing and wrapping around Nakamura’s voice. The falsetto in this song, however, is impossible to resist. The lonely voice, supported by exquisite harmonies, is one of GARNET CROW’s precious assets. It is not showy, but gradually seeps into the heart and stays there—a song full of feeling.

10. *flying*

Released as their sixth single on November 29, 2000. The final release in their three-month single run begins with a heavy intro; as the song moves forward, its sonic world continues to expand and gradually becomes lighter, as if turning you into a bird beating its wings in the sky. It is sound magic. The lyrical world is also subtle: neither unreservedly bright nor despairing. For people who can identify with “moving toward the hope that still exists,” it contains an irreplaceable appeal. The sound, lyrics, and singing never impose themselves on the listener, which may also be one of GARNET CROW’s qualities.

11. *千以上の言葉を並べても...*

Released as their fourth single on September 27, 2000. The synthesizer tone in the intro alone can calm the heart, but the subject is the unavoidable separation of a man and a woman, and it is by no means a happy ending. Yet while preserving the sadness, the song transforms the scene of parting into fresh hope—a delicate treatment unique to GARNET CROW. Nakamura’s rich voice and the lyrical accompaniment are essential to expressing this subtle feeling. Some things cannot be fully said no matter how many thousands of words you line up. Exactly. There could be no more suitable requiem for a couple after a breakup.

12. *wonder land*

The closing song turns once again to a light, buoyant style. Its solid accompaniment brings to mind 1980s Anglo-American pop, while the melodic line receives a modern treatment reminiscent of Acid Jazz. Such a light song is just right to close this brilliant, ever-changing kaleidoscope of sound. By the time you finish the album, GARNET CROW’s music will surely have quietly become part of your body. That small feeling of happiness is deeply comforting.

Release information

GARNET CROW
First album *first soundscope 〜水のない晴れた海へ〜*
Released January 31
GIZA studio GZCA-1061
¥3,059 (tax included)