new york city. by dennis a. amith

Toko
Furuuchi
古内 東子
THE WELL-KNOWN SINGER/SONGWRITER TOKO FURUUCHI HAS HAD HER SHARE OF HIT CD SINGLES
AND ALBUMS AND AN ACCOMPLISHED MUSICAL CAREER IN JAPAN, BUT NOW SHE EMBARKS TO MAKE HER
DREAM TO PERFORM IN THE UNITED STATES COME TRUE WITH HER FIRST PERFORMANCE IN NEW YORK
CITY. J!-ENT INTERVIEWS TOKO IN REGARDS TO HER ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER AND HER PERFORMANCE IN
NEW YORK CITY. BY DENNIS A. AMITH
PHOTOGRAPH Y BY MIMI KO
w w w. m i m i k o p h o t o g r a p h y. c o m
J!-ENT
Covering Entertainment Worldwide
J!-ENT
PHOTO: Toko Furuuchi playing to a full house at Joe’s Pub on Jan. 20, 2009 in New York City. Photo by J!-ENT’s Mimi Ko
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INTERVIEW WITH TOKO FURUUCHI
J!-ENT’s Dennis A. Amith interviews Toko Furuuchi.
Photography by Mimi Ko.
TOKO FURUUCHI: LIVE IN NYC
Toko Furuuchi live in New York City at Joe’s Pub on January
20, 2009. Photography by Mimi Ko.
WORLD GROOVE ALBUM REVIEW
J!-ENT’s Dennis A. Amith reviews Toko Furuuchi’s latest album
“IN LOVE AGAIN”
previous articles
Visit www.j-entonline.com for the following interviews and articles currently
available on J!-ENT. Click on a cover to access a previous article/interview.
Copyright © 2009 by J!-ENT. www.j-entonline.com. All Rights Reserved.
T
oko Furuuchi is one the multi-talented singer, songwriter and musicans in Japan.
Looking back on the singer/
songerwriter and musician’s illustrious career, Toko made her debut back in
1993 with her album “Hayakau Isoide”, the
singer would have her sixth album “Koi” would
win the best album in 1997 for the Nihon Record Taishou Awards ( Japan’s equivalent to
America’s Grammy Awards).
Her hit ballad “Dare Yori Sukinanoni” released back in 1996 continues to be a powerful
song to this day, covered by several artists and
has become a slow jam classic.
Over 15 years as a music artist, Furuuchi
started a new fresh start with a new label (avex
trax) in 2008 with her 13th album “IN LOVE
AGAIN” and in Jan. 2009, she made her longtime dream of performing live in the US come
true with a performance at Joe’s Pub in New
York City.
To celebrate her marvelous music career, J!ENT interviewed Toko a few days before her
live NYC performance.
J!-ENT: Before we get into discussions
about music, let’s get to know a little
about you. When you were younger,
was it always your dream to become a
singer?
TOKO: I never thought about becoming
a singer, not until I was 19 when I started
writing music. My dream was to become
a pâtissier (a person who specializes in
French pastries and sweets) when I was
little. Then I started becoming interested
in becoming an interpreter which made
me want to go to the U.S. for studying
English.
J!-ENT: I’ve read that you attended
high school in Connecticut. How was it
like growing up in the USA versus living
in Tokyo?
TOKO: High school students in Japan
were more naïve and immature compared
to Japanese teenagers now.
Twenty years ago, I guess I was one of
those typical Japanese shy girls. It was
harder than I expected to get along with
the kids over there. No uniform, eat whatever you want at lunch and especially, you
always have to have your own opinion at
class and to not be afraid to fight about it
with anyone.
Connecticut was a very peaceful, quiet
state. I was amazed by the beauty of its
autumn.
Sometimes at the beginning of my stay, I
missed the city. I was born and raised in a
city but every time I went to see Connect-
4 J!-ENT
icut River which was only a five minute
drive from home, it made me calm and
happy. That’s something I never could experience living in Tokyo.
J!-ENT: Who did you listen to a lot
when growing up?
TOKO: Billy Joel, Hall & Oates, Stevie
Wonder and Michael Jackson were my
idols.
ally and how do you feel about so many
International fans listening to Japanese
music?
TOKO: This is going to be my very first
showcase overseas, I never ever got a
chance to meet a fan living in other countries. However, I started a new blog last
October and sometimes I get comments
from overseas. It’s amazing!
J!-ENT: If I was to look in your MP3
player right now, which artist or songs
would I catch you listening to?
TOKO: My favorite musician nowadays
is Musiq Soulchild. I have three albums of
his right now in my iPod.
J!-ENT: You will be performing at Joe’s
Pub in New York City. Your first performance in America. How do you feel
about performing to an American audience?
TOKO: Very nervous, very excited. What
else can I say?
J!-ENT: Were you aware that you have
so many fans of your music Internation-
J!-ENT: Let’s talk about your music.
Let’s even start from the beginning.
J!-ENT SPECIAL FEATURE: Toko Furuuchi
Your debut single “Hayaku Isoide”
debuted back in Feb. 1993. Looking
back at that moment in time, what is
the best memory that you have releasing your first CD single?
TOKO: I remember that I couldn’t believe that my first CD debuted for real,
because all I was doing was have fun at
studios everyday with staff and musicians
just like playing basketball or something
after school. I was a university student
at that moment, so I did go to studios
after school taking subways. I was very
young.
J!-ENT: What is the biggest difference
musically for Toko Furuuchi the singersongwriter (1993) and Toko Furuuchi
(2009)?
TOKO: Now, after 15 years of writing
and singing, I think I learned to have almost a perfect blend of having fun as an
artist and being serious as a professional
musician. Believe it or not, I love my career more than ever and am enjoying
myself being a singer-songwriter.
J!-ENT: In 1996, your song “Dare Yori
Sukinanoni” was such an incredible hit!
What was your first impression of the
song when you first recorded it and
looking back at the song now, how do
you feel about it today?
TOKO: It occurs to me very often that I
don’t remember how I wrote the song.
To me it is a good thing not to be able to
remember the process, for that should
mean I wasn’t tossing and turning during
the writing.
What I do remember is I had such an
incredible band including the producer
back then at the recording that song.
Very young and fresh but so talented
people.
I treasure this song for eventually having let people recognize me as a singer.
Being able to write songs and sing and
make albums even after 15 years because of this song.
J!-ENT: You have written your own
songs, you compose a lot of the music.
But I always wondered, when it comes
to your songs, are you a perfectionist
when it comes to your music or are you
pretty laid back in terms of your musical and songwriting approach?
TOKO: When I write music or lyrics, I
think I am laid back, all I have to do is
be myself, not an artist, I guess. Yes, it
is my job to write songs, but I try not
to think about all the business related
things during writing. However, once I
get into the studio for the actual sound
making part, I may be a perfectionist in a
way that “I LOVE” a perfect sound such
as Steely Dan’s!
J!-ENT: Let’s talk about your latest
album “IN LOVE AGAIN”. How was
the experience of working on this album? And how long was the process
of writing the songs, composing and
recording?
TOKO: I never enjoyed working on an
album before as much as this time. It
took some time, almost one year, which
I think is pretty long for Japanese artists,
to complete, but I loved every moment
of every process making this album.
Shin Kono, who is one of the two pro-
J!-ENT 75
J!-ENT SPECIAL FEATURE: Toko Furuuchi
ducers I had for this album, and he is to
me, a perfect musician to make my songs
glow. All the songs were written within a
year.
J!-ENT: My favorite track on the album
is “半分だけ”. Can you please tell me
how this beautiful song was created
and how it came about?
TOKO: Shin is such a great pianist. The
way he plays the piano inspired me a lot
to compose this song. About the lyrics,
every time I listen or sing this song, I always think that “Oh my god, this is so
me”. This song seems like a ripped page
from my diary.
J!-ENT:
On this album “IN LOVE
AGAIN”, is their a song that has special
meaning for you and why?
TOKO: Well, all of them mean special to
me, but the title tune, “IN LOVE AGAIN”
has a big message, especially for adults
who work too hard, that says “let’s be in
love again. That’s something we must do
now, isn’t it?”.
J!-ENT: Your music career has produced
25 CD singles, 13 full-length albums and
6 J!-ENT
15 years of beautiful music. Of all the
songs that you have written in your career, which song remains as a favorite
for you and a song that you will always
treasure and why?
TOKO: “Strength” is the most memorable album, because it’s the first album
that was recorded in New York. A lot of
great legendary musicians played for this
album, which influenced me as an artist
a great deal. Not understanding what
the lyrics were about, they felt the sound
of the lyrics as music, not as a language.
They taught me a lot of things by playing
the instruments beautifully to my songs.
J!-ENT: Let’s get to know more about
you with a few fun questions. Have you
ever sung your own songs at karaoke
and did you ever get a perfect score?
TOKO: Never! I think the highest score
I got was 70 or 80 something. It was so
embarrassing!
J!-ENT: Having lived in the USA and in
Japan, when you come to the United
States, is there a certain food that you
yearn for?
TOKO: I am such a meat lover. Pork,
beef, chicken, anything. Hamburgers
and French fries are always my favorite
food for lunch when I go to the States.
My friends are surprised that how much I
love Western food, I don’t mind spending
months without Japanese food.
J!-ENT: I’ve read somewhere that your
favorite foods are spicy foods such
as Kim chi and Choriso. Is that true?
TOKO: Yes, I’m so into spicy food! I’m a
huge fan of Tabasco, too. The other day,
I had a plate of curry that was 80 times
hotter than the regular one.
J!-ENT: I noticed on your ameblo and
even on your website blog that you have
a lot of postings of food and wine and
going out with friends and staff. Now if
we were to spend time at a restaurant
with Toko Furuuchi, anywhere in Japan,
what restaurant would you recommend,
what food would you order and what
kind of wine?
TOKO: A yakitori restaurant called Fuku
in Shibuya-ku. They have a good selection
of wines as well as good chicken and lots
of side menus. I like quail eggs, smoked
cheese, and grilled shitake mushroom.
“Believe it or not, I love my
career more than ever and
am enjoying myself being
a singer-songwriter.”
J!-ENT 7
Though I’m not a connoisseur of wines,
Spanish red goes well with juicy grilled
chicken.
J!-ENT: Outside of music, what kind of
hobbies do you enjoy?
TOKO: My friend gave me PSP for Christmas, I love playing games. Also, I love to
cook for my friends when they come to
my place for BYOB party.
J!-ENT: You’re a very fashionable person. Are there certain designers that
you enjoy or their clothing line? And
also for shopping, which cities in Japan
or around the world that you love shopping at?
TOKO: I go almost every area for shopping, Barneys in Ginza, Estnation in Roppongi, Isetan department store in Shinjuku, etc. I always love dresses of Diane
Von Furstenberg, they make your body
look curvy.
J!-ENT: If there is one word to describe
yourself, what word would that be and
why?
TOKO: Carefree. I think I am such an optimist.
8 J!-ENT
J!-ENT: In every interview we have a
section called, word play. We give you
one word and you give us your definition of that word. With a new album
and 15 beautiful years of music, I want
to celebrate your career by doing
something different with the word play.
Here’s the first word:
myself of the present not the past.
a. LOVE
TOKO: Hard to notice when it’s there.
i. CONNECTICUT
TOKO: Fine scenery of colored leaves.
b. SUCCESS
TOKO: Seems strange but something
that people would judge, not yourself
j. Family
TOKO: Where I came from. Unconditional love.
c. Distance (your third single)
TOKO: Sometimes it’s necessary in relationships.
J!-ENT: What final words would you like
to say to your fans?
TOKO: Please come and see me in NY,
I’d like you to enjoy the sound of the piano and many many words of love.
d. Strength (your sixth single)
TOKO: Being able to care about others.
e. Koi (your sixth album)
TOKO: Romance… My beautiful vitamins.
f. Kinou ni Sayonara (your 16th CD single)
TOKO: Proud to say that I always enjoy
g. Kono Tenohira (your 20th CD single)
TOKO: Love to watch people’s hands..
h. Sayonara Aishiteta Hito (your 22nd
single)
TOKO: Pain, pain, pain, ouch!
For more information on Toko Furuuchi, please
visit her website at:
http://www.tokofuruuchi.net/
Visit her blog at:
http://ameblo.jp/furuuchitoko/
“IN LOVE AGAIN has a big message, especially for adults
who work too hard, that says “let’s be in love again. That’s
something we must do now, isn’t it?”
Toko Furuuchi
A J ! - E N T S P E C I A L F E AT U R E
Live in New York City @ Joe’s Pub - 1.20.09
PHOTOGRAPH Y BY MIMI KO
J!-ENT 11
Toko Furuuchi -
12 J!-ENT
- Live in NYC
J!-ENT 13
Toko Furuuchi Live in NYC
1.20.09 - Performance Set List
1. Aitaikara
2. Ginza
3. Mystical
4. Game
5. IN LOVE AGAIN
6. Koijyouzu
7. Dare Yori Sukinanoni
8. Hohaba
9. Beautiful Days
10. hoshizora
14 J!-ENT
Toko Furuuchi - Live in NYC
J!-ENT 15
world groove
J!-ENT
A J!-ENT MUSIC REVIEW
Toko Furuuchi
IN LOVE AGAIN
Tearbridge Music
RELEASE DATE: October 15, 2008
Format: Album
TRACKLIST:
1. 歩幅
2. 恋の不思議
3. あなたのトモダチ
4. IN LOVE AGAIN
5. Mystical
6. カサノバ
7. 今夜ベッドで
8. 帰る場所はあなた
9. よくある物語
10. Confusion
11. game
12. 半分だけ
13. Beautiful Days - New Version-
Toko Furuuchi made her return on a
new a label with her 13th album and a live
performance in New York City in January
2009.
The singer/songwriter from Tokyo who
once lived and studied in Connecticut in
the US has had a string of hits in the 90’s
especially with the hit song “誰より好きな
のに”, which continues to be a wonderful
song today with many artists having
covered the song.
Having wrote songs and produced
hits for a good number of music artists,
it’s actually great to have a new original,
full-length album from Furuuchi, her first
in three years since “CASHMERE MUSIC”
back in 2005.
“IN LOVE AGAIN” continues Furuuchi’s
staple of music which showcases her
beautiful vocals, in-depth songwriting,
producing and also composing all music
on this album.
The album starts of with “歩幅”, a
beautiful mid-tempo ballad that features
a beautiful arrangement from Shin Kono
and features a good balance of strings
courtesy of Kinbara strings and an overall
beautiful medley.
The second track “恋の不思議” is an
upbeat track featuring another smooth
arrangement and many instruments by
Shin Kono and followed up by another
upbeat track “あなたのトモダチ” featuring
an arrangement, keyboard-driven dance
track by Toshiyuki Mori.
The fourth title track “IN LOVE AGAIN”
features an arrangement by Shin Kono for
a beautiful, smooth ballad which features
beautiful acoustic guitar playing and bass.
The fifth track “Mystical” features an
arrangement by Toshiyuki Mori and has a
funky style to it.
While the sixth track “カサノバ” has a
16 J!-ENT
< “Beautiful, smooth and sensual, Toko
Furuuchi continues to showcases her
vocals and in-depth songwriting for her
thirteenth album, ‘IN LOVE AGAIN’.”
more Summer-like arrangement by Shin
Kono with the acoustic guitar and jazz like
upbeat arrangement. One of my favorite
tracks on the album!
The seventh track “今夜ベッドで”
features a smooth, bass driven track
and another wonderful arrangement
by Shin Kono that also sports a hint of
brass. Very cool song and followed by a
beautiful ballad titled “帰る場所はあなた”
which is piano and acoustic guitar driven.
While the ninth track “よくある物語”
is more upbeat keyboard driven track,
while the tenth and eleventh track
“Confusion” and “game” features a little
experimentation with keyboards and
electronic bass.
The 12th track on the album “半分だ
け” is a beautiful and awesome ballad
and I can imagine Furuuchi performing
this song live and delivering a beautiful
performance.
The final track on the album “Beautiful
Days -New Version-” features a sort of
live-band type of feel with the piano,
bass, percussion and strings which were
all well-balanced with each other. Another
awesome track on this album.
As for the CD insert, the CD insert
booklet features lyrics, a picture of Toko,
a message from Toko Furuuchi and
production credits.
Personally, it’s hard to go wrong with a
Toko Furuuchi album.
Her music tends to be quite elegant
and you know that with each song, you
get a well-sung, well-written album that
features music that incorporates strings,
a bit of brass, piano, acoustic guitar
and overall, just a refreshing, lively and
elegant album.
Toko Furuuchi continues to look great
and sound incredible well over a decade
later when I first discovered her music.
“IN LOVE AGAIN” is a lovely album that
is just smooth, sensual and enjoyable.
Highly recommended!
— DENNIS A. AMITH
J!-ENT
Covering Entertainment Worldwide
www.j-entonline.com
Dennis A. Amith is the Editor-inChief and founder of entertainment and pop culture website
J!-ENT. He is also the owner of
the multi-disciplinary communications and design business,
nt2099 media and entertainment. Graduating from California
State University, Fresno with an
educational background in mass
communications and journalism,
Dennis A. Amith has interviewed
and featured many talents and
industry professionals in the United States, Europe and
Asia and is recognized for promoting the entertainment
and pop culture of different countries to an International
audience. Currently residing in California.
MIMI KO first joined J!-ENT
in 2006, where she found the
opportunity to combine photography with her passion for
Japanese music. An editorial and
portrait photographer, Mimi’s
work was recently selected for
Group Show 23 of Humble Arts
Foundation, and the 14th Juried
Exhibition at the Griffin Museum
of Photography. Originally from Hong Kong, she now
lives and works in New York City. For more from her portfolio, visit www.mimikophotography.com.
AVAILABLE NOW ON J!-ENT
J!-ENT’s Dennis A. Amith interviews “SWORD OF THE
STRANGER” director Masahiro Ando.
Image: Toko Furuuchi, image courtesy of avex entertainment, inc.