Tujiko Noriko — From Tokyo to Naiagra

It is funny how one can sometimes feel as one with an artist’s music.  It is my case with the music of Tujiko Noriko. I might not understand it  the way she sees her music, but I still feel connected to the sounds. Having that in mind, you can well imagine how thrilled I was by the release of her new album, just 8 months after the previous one...

Actually I feel the same way towards Depeche Mode’s Violator and  Boris’ Flood (review here), but with Tujiko Noriko, it’s now a matter of three albums...

After two full-lengths for Mego, From Tokyo to Naiagara is released on Tomlab (Fonica –review here, The Books, Flim, Rafael Toral...) and marks the first collaboration of Noriko with a proper producer, Aki Onda. However, the collaboration did not seem very close. Onda lives in the USA and, from what I heard, him and Noriko were sending each other the music and were working on it thousands of kilometres apart. If this is true, it can’t be heard in the actual music. Onda has also brought with him quite a few of his friends. He is quite a prominent figure in the Japanese electronic scene. He has begun his musical career in Audio Sports with Nobukazu Takemura. People involved on this album are Riow Arai, Zak (sound mixer who worked with Takemura, Boredoms, OOIOO and Rovo amongst others), Yukimo Ohno (Buffalo Daughter) and usual Onda collaborators Takehiko Kamada and Sakana Hosomi. But apart from Onda, the highest profile guest on From Tokyo... is Samm Bennett (wavedrum on Robot Hero). Bennett is a drummer but does also electronic music and has deep ties with the improv scene. He has worked with countless big shots: Tom Cora, John Zorn (on New tradition in East Asians bar bands), Elliott Sharp, Otomo Yoshihide and Haco (which, at least in spirit, is pretty close to Tujiko Noriko). Well now it’s time to stop talking about who is on the album and start talking about the music in itself.

If there is one striking thing after the first listen is that the songs are much more beat oriented. The beats are much more present than on previous albums and together with the more focused songwriting, it makes for an album full of actual songs rather than beautiful sonic trips. That is why it is fair to say that we have here a much more pop and accessible record. But fear not, the quality of her other records are not gone and Noriko’s music is instantly identifiable as being her own. We still have the dreamy, featherlight  soundscapes, the sad, nostalgic moods and the weird twists.... And Noriko’s voice is even more assured: she kept her trademark qualities, the fragile, soft and playful aspect but now she is able to add much more variety.  Another change: for the first time, the lyrics have been translated into English and  printed in the booklet.

Song by song lowdown?
Narita Made. Narita is Tokyo’s main airport. Last year, Tujiko Noriko moved to Paris. The lyrics tell the story of her train travel to the airport when she left Japan. At the same time sad (leaving friends behind) and hopeful (a new era begins?). The duality of those feelings is made clear by the rather up-lifting beats and the rather nostalgic vocals. This is underlined by the lyrics: “I miss you terribly/ I don’t wanna miss anything”. She ends the song with “cry for no one”. A plea of independence? Crying for no one... Too difficult a task.
Zipper. I hear cicadas (I heard them on Shojo Toshi too...). A summer night, a bungalow, all windows are open. A woman. A man. Naked or almsot (“Unzip your pants for me slowly / What for do you undress?”). They dance and seem so happy it’s almost painful (yes I can’t stand others happiness). Deep bass, almost dub. Lalalalala.
Rocket Hanabi. Fans of Kitano Takeshi already know the meaning of Hanabi (fireworks). Beautiful music, sad story. I think of death, of people gone a long time ago. Goosebumps. A striking sense of poetry. An almost surrealist story yet so real. “I’m a rocket / I’ll show you fireworks / I’m flying, flying, flying / Although I may be crying / I’m a rocket / I’ll show you fireworks / I’m flying, flying, flying / While tears are falling”.
Mugen Kyuuko (Infinity Train). _________________________________________________ What are words for when the music is so overwhelming? A story of powerful love? I hear the train going far, far away. Come back one day, we want more songs like this one....
Kiminotameni. Is this a song that echoes childhood? Noriko’s voice is one of a child who tells, amazed, what she has seen after a long trip. Sweet memories. Once again the lyrics have something surreal about them. A strange cloud of unpredictability...
Tokyo. A remix of a song that first appeared on Shojo Toshi. “False lights shine in the city that’s about to fall apart”. Dreamlike, walking in an empty city. A not scary version of Kurosawa Kyoshi’s Kairo.
Tokyo Tower. Once more a song about Tokyo. Will there be a song about Paris one day?  A trip around Tokyo.  Tujiko Noriko and a friend are dressed like explorer, the hats, the jackets, the bags but no guns. A journey full of wonders and “Tokyo tower’s like a needle”.
Robot Hero. Album closer. Live version on the I forgot the title 12”. Samm Bennett’s wavedrum sound like an out of order robot trying to play on broken snare and bass drums. Very soft melody, scarce piano notes, scarce bass notes. This is the gem, the masterpiece, the most touching thing. The robot doesn’t look to well. Noriko is right beside him, comforting him and trying to be comforted at the same time. Tears on her cheeks.  Heart squeezing. Nostalgia. No more smile on my face. I’m mute. Bedazzlement. Awestruck.

If you read the whole review, I have to say I’m sorry. Once again, I got emotional. Once again I let my feelings do the talking instead of speaking at length of the music itself. My bad. But I can’t help it...

Last year’s Hard ni sasete was my album of the year. From Tokyo to Naiagara might be 2003’s one. Whatever happen next, I don’t know. But I’m 100% sure to be over-excited one month prior to the release date of Tujiko Noriko’s next music. You have the chance to witness the rising of one of the most exciting musicians of the time, don’t let it pass you by. Contrary to what I said in the review of Hard ni sasete, I’m not over enthusiastic. Thank you, Peter Rehberg. Thank you, Tom Steinle. Thank you, Aki Onda. Thank you, Tujiko Noriko.

Reviews of her other albums and an interview with Tujiko Noriko to be found here.

From Tokyo to Naiagara is distributed in the Benelux by Aim-Distribution