Here we've got an undiscovered pearl of a modern pop record, a well-kept secret polished in collaboration between a new artist and a legend of the industry. Strap in, this is going to be a long one!
To understand why Miki Nakatani's Food Chain album is so uniquely fascinating, you'll have to get a bit of history on Ryuichi Sakamoto, the executive producer. First off, he's literally one of the most decorated, well-known Japanese musicians alive. (If I had to come up with an American equivalent, I'd probably put him on the ranks of Pharrell or Kanye. Seriously.) He was one third of the iconic Yellow Magic Orchestra band that pioneered Japanese electronic music for decades; he's earned an Academy Award and a BAFTA for his work composing film soundtracks (including The Last Emperor, Babel, The Revenant, and classic anime film The Wings of Honneamise); he produced the opening theme song to the freaking 1992 Barcelona Olympics, for Christ's sake.
Sakamoto's techniques were originally drenched in the "experimental electronic fusion" side of things, but he's stuck around for as long as he has in part because of his incredible dedication to real experimentation, more in the line of evolution, constant boundary pushing and retooling that makes everything new he does different than the last. He's got 21 solo albums under his belt as of 2017, but as a producer (IMO) he really shines when he collaborates.
So let's get down to the collaborations. In the 80's he worked heavily with a number of artists and musicians in a number of mediums - from acting with David Bowie, producing for Iggy Pop, collaborating with Nam June Paik, etc, etc. In 83 he produced Mari Iijima's debut album Rosé, a blissful synthpop record that's one of my cherished personal favorites. In 1996, ten years later and with a number of new accolades and techniques in his belt, Sakamoto took a chance on an up-and-coming actress named Miki Nakatani.
I can't find any literature or notes explaining why this collaboration happened, but I can conjecture. By 1996 Nakatani had only acted in some small roles and regular appearances on TV. (Finding English information on these shows has proven difficult to say the least.) According to some sites I've scoured, she debuted with an idol group in 1993 that produced a grand total of zero (0) memorable hits. (To her credit, after 96 Nakatani went on to star in a number of movies and TV dramas, including the original The Ring film.) Why would a legend like Sakamoto work so closely with someone as inexperienced and fresh as Nakatani?
All it takes is one listen to Food Chain for us to figure that out.
I can't find any literature or notes explaining why this collaboration happened, but I can conjecture. By 1996 Nakatani had only acted in some small roles and regular appearances on TV. (Finding English information on these shows has proven difficult to say the least.) According to some sites I've scoured, she debuted with an idol group in 1993 that produced a grand total of zero (0) memorable hits. (To her credit, after 96 Nakatani went on to star in a number of movies and TV dramas, including the original The Ring film.) Why would a legend like Sakamoto work so closely with someone as inexperienced and fresh as Nakatani?
All it takes is one listen to Food Chain for us to figure that out.
"MIND CIRCUS" was the first single released for Food Chain back in 96, and from the very beginning of its promotion it was clear that Sakamoto and Nakatani were not interested in simply producing generic, palatable pop. From the distressing album art (notice the insect on Nakatani's neck? recognize the Twin Peaks curtains behind her?) to the oddball music video and even to the song itself - overlong, hypnotically repetitive, pervasively catchy, with a main melody that is half-shrill and half-angelic, thanks to Nakatani's odd trembling voice. It's a tune that actually puts me in a trance until I realize I've been listening to it on repeat five or six times...
The second single for the album was "Strange Paradise", a slower ballad-esque song that doesn't really hold my attention as much. It's as illustrious and mind-bending as MIND CIRCUS and the rest of the record, but it goes in a different, slower direction that doesn't excite as well as it could. And it's six minutes long! Why is this six minutes long?!
Which leads me to my next point; as interesting and unique as this record is, it's still a debut album, and even Ryuichi Sakamoto can't carry a new artist to perfection. Nakatani's voice is mysterious, tenuous, and a bit clumsy; there's times when it works to the sound's benefit and there's times when it just feels amateurish. "Strange Paradise" and ballads "The Silence of Innocence" (6 minutes long...) and "WHERE THE RIVER FLOWS" (7 god damned minutes) are the worst offenders here, where the instrumentals are interesting but a little meandering and Nakatani doesn't really offer much to make it worth your while sitting through.
Luckily this record doesn't dwell too much on these disappointments. Every other song explores a new genre (with varying results) with a sort of daring experimentation that I really respect. Third track "Aibiki No Moride" is an energetic, jazzy number; "my best of love" is an electronic-heavy "graduation" esque tune that, unfortunately, also goes on too long. It's interesting to listen to, but nothing I think I'd keep on heavy rotation.
Then we get to the second half. This is the part of the record I really love. "Tattoo" has a sound you can only get from those late 90's records, a really nocturnal song that splendidly shows off Sakamoto's appreciation for the contemporary hip-hop sound.
"colors" (~7:44)
Right after that comes the beautiful Latin-inspired "colors" co-produced by legendary Brazilian musician Vinicius Cantuária; here we've got Nakatani's sultry voice over an aimless string background, a fusion which puts you into a stupor no opioid could compete with. "LUNAR FEVER" is as late 90's "cool" as Tattoo but with a little more energy, much better suited to a night walk in the rain with your Matrix-inspired black leather, illuminated by the light of the coy crescent moon above you. "Tsuki no Yomi" indeed.
Final track "sorrio escuro" is what inspired me to get off my ass and write a feature on this album. What is this song? How can you describe it? The guitars and walking-speed drum beat in the back lure you into thinking this is another lounge-y chill track, but then you hear the disembodied vocals and off-kilter, barely comprehensible whispers from Nakatani in the midst of it all. Surreal, calming, and unsettling all at once, this track is perfectly embodied by the weird cover art and Nakatani's concerned, off-camera gaze. Guess what? This track was co-produced by Cantuária and Arto Lindsay, another Brazilian legend and innovator of the New York "No Wave" wave (lol) in the early 80s. Honestly I'm still baffled that a track like this exists!
"sorrio escuro" (~7:45)
It might sound like Nakatani's first record is a little all over the place, but to me that speaks more for her artistic ambition and experimental inclinations rather than a lack of focus. She knew she didn't want to be the run-of-the-mill pop star, and this yearning was strong enough to win over musical legends into working with her. That means something! It never comes into a level of perfection here, nor in her subsequent albums, but her sound is always engaging, always new, and in my book that's much more admirable than achieving huge success or becoming a household name. Maybe you'll agree with me, maybe you won't, but I don't think anyone should be writing her off without giving a listen; I almost guarantee you'll find something you like here, something with a melody that you'll find yourself humming when you least expect it.
DREAM...
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