Itaru Hirama: Top 5 songs

Itaru Hirama

平間至
Photographer
His work includes the Tower Records 'No music, no life' series, magazines such as Rockin' On Japan, Cut and Gekkan Kaze to Rock, as well as CD jackets for various musicians such as Tomoyasu Hotei and Sambomaster.

Morio Agata: Yuri Collection
あがた森魚『百合コレクション』
'This song shows Morio's romantic side. I feel a sense of nostalgia and sadness unique to Japan.'

Happyend: Sora Iro Crayon
はっぴいえんど『空色のクレヨン』


'Happyend could be the first band to combine Japanese lyrics with western rock music. Few bands better them, in my opinion. To create something from scratch is always difficult but I think that they are a good example of having created something fantastic from scratch without any formats or templates.'

Friction: Cool Fool
フリクション『クール・フール』
'This song is included on their live album, released in 1979. Friction is a band that appeared when the punk thing kicked off in Japan. They're the coolest band in Japan, I reckon. They combine the cool aspects of rock and punk bands.'

Jagatara: Tango
じゃがたら『タンゴ』


'This song is a combination of sound and lyrics unique to Jagatara. After the death of Akemi Edo, their music just stank of death, which enhanced the allure of the band. It seems like this band is creating music by going back and forth over the gap between life and death.'

Sachiko Kanenobu: Anata Kara Tookuhe
金延幸子『あなたから遠くへ』
'Sachiko is a major guitarist and singer, though I think she may have started without wanting to be big. This song was written by Harunomi Hosono. Makoto Kubota once brought Sachiko to my birthday party. What a great memory!'