Hiromi Kondo - Feeling You - Japan CD

Credits:

Hiromi Kondo

Description:

"Hiromi Kondo, with her expansive and nostalgic vocals, sings of Japan’s poetic spirit accompanied by Fabian Reza Pane’s beautiful piano! The long-awaited second album." 192 kHz/32-bit high-resolution recording. [Album Notes] 1. "Encounter": The only track on the album where Kondo sings accompanied solely by Pane’s piano. Overflowing poetic sentiment and a serene atmosphere serve as an introduction that invites you to surrender yourself to this album. 2. "To the Island": This song expresses the longing for a "stranger" to become the island one eventually reaches. Pane’s piano sounds like a sparkling water surface. 3. Feeling You: Kondo’s latest work, in which a woman sings of the emotions she feels upon discovering the wonder of mutual love for the first time. The cello accompanies the chorus melody with rich emotion, heightening the moving sense of love. 4. Love Shines Brightly: What a uniquely distinctive arrangement! Pane’s beautiful piano phrases intertwine with the simple chords of the vibraphone, which sound like waves gently lapping the shore. Kondo sings the heart of this masterpiece with deep feeling, giving us a moving experience that makes us think from the bottom of our hearts, “Ah, what a wonderful song.” 5. Sunset: An original song by Hiromi Kondo. She says the melody came to her while watching the sunset over Zushi Beach. Pane’s piano evokes the spirit of Piazzolla. 6. Red Dragonfly ~ Amazing Grace: It seamlessly transitions from a deeply moving children’s song to a hymn, and then returns to “Red Dragonfly.” Truly a one-of-a-kind Kondo performance. 7. Crystal-Clear Sorrow: Kondo wrote the lyrics to Hamada’s composition. She says it evokes the vast skies of Hamada’s hometown, Furano in Hokkaido, and the mountains and rivers of her own hometown, Toyama. A song that deeply moved Hamada with the expressiveness of Kondo’s singing. 8. Child God: The duet between lyricist Misako Koga and the masterful singer Rimi Natsukawa is a masterpiece that touches the heart with a mother’s love for her child no matter how many times you hear it, but Kondo carries on this song in her own style. Kondo sings it as a lullaby that conveys the strength of Okinawa. 9. Suzhou Night Song: Li Xianglan sang this in 1940 (Showa 15). Regarding her decision to sing such “classics,” Kondo says, “There are masterpieces I want to preserve and pass on.” Even if her own generation doesn’t know the songs, she sings them simply because she thinks, “It’s a good song, so I want to sing it.” This holds true for both “Ai San San” and “When the Rain Stops on the Acacia.” 10. When the Acacia Rain Stops: A song Hamada suggested to Kondo. Hamada describes it as a chorale with the theme of “prayer.” Kondo sings with the intention of expressing a prayer for “herself (a dove) setting off on a journey to the sky.” 11. Once Again: An original song that reveals Kondo’s bluesy side. Hamada’s cool jazz vibraphone envelops the track. 12. Small Sky: A deeply moving and lovely song written and composed by Toru Takemitsu. Kondo’s expansive, nostalgia-filled vocals make this the final track, enveloping the listener with a “goodnight” amidst the starry sky. Announcer: Hirohisa Hamanaka Hiromi Kondo / Vocals Fabian Reza Pane / Piano Hitoshi Hamada / Vibraphone Masafumi Sekiguchi / Cello