East Asia (album)
Encyclopedia
East Asia is the 20th studio album recorded by Japanese singer-songwriter
Miyuki Nakajima
, released in October 1992.
The album features "Shallow Sleep (Asai Nemuri)", a hit single released in July 1992. Nakajima wrote the song as a theme for Shin'ai Naru Mono e, a television drama
that she made guest appearance and played acting as a doctor. It peaked at #2 on the Japan's Oricon chart in summer of 1992, and became her first single that has sold more than a million copies.
Prior to the release of the album, "Two Boats" and "Haginohara" were already performed on Yakai, the experimental theatres which she had annually performed since 1989.
"Tapestry (Ito)" is a love song Nakajima dedicated to Zenji Nakayama, a later leader of Tenrikyo
who got married at that time. In 1998, it was featured on the television drama
Seija no Koushin and also released as a double A-Side single with "Another Name for Life". The song has become well-known through a cover version recorded by the Bank Band, a project which Kazutoshi Sakurai
and Takeshi Kobayashi launched for the purpose of charity. Their interpretation featuring Sakurai's vocals was included on their 2004 Soushi Souai album.
In December 1992, East Asia won the 34th Japan Record Awards for 10 Excellent Albums, the prizes conferred for ten magnificent studio albums released in that year.
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Mastering at Future Disc Systems in Los Angeles, by Tom Baker
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Miyuki Nakajima
Miyuki Nakajima
is a Japanese vocalist, guitarist, lyricist, composer and radio personality. As a principal Japanese female veteran singer-songwriter she is often compared to Yumi Matsutoya, she has released 37 studio albums, 40 singles, 2 live albums and multiple compilations to date, and whose sales have been...
, released in October 1992.
The album features "Shallow Sleep (Asai Nemuri)", a hit single released in July 1992. Nakajima wrote the song as a theme for Shin'ai Naru Mono e, a television drama
Japanese television drama
, also called , are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including murder romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, and many others...
that she made guest appearance and played acting as a doctor. It peaked at #2 on the Japan's Oricon chart in summer of 1992, and became her first single that has sold more than a million copies.
Prior to the release of the album, "Two Boats" and "Haginohara" were already performed on Yakai, the experimental theatres which she had annually performed since 1989.
"Tapestry (Ito)" is a love song Nakajima dedicated to Zenji Nakayama, a later leader of Tenrikyo
Tenrikyo
Tenrikyo is a monotheistic religion originating in revelations to a 19th-century Japanese woman named Nakayama Miki, known as Oyasama by followers...
who got married at that time. In 1998, it was featured on the television drama
Japanese television drama
, also called , are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including murder romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, and many others...
Seija no Koushin and also released as a double A-Side single with "Another Name for Life". The song has become well-known through a cover version recorded by the Bank Band, a project which Kazutoshi Sakurai
Kazutoshi Sakurai
is a Japanese musician and entrepreneur. He composes and writes almost all of the songs for his band Mr. Children, in addition to writing lyrics and singing for his solo project group Bank Band. In 2006, Sakurai ranked #8 in HMV's "Top 30 Best Japanese Singers of All Time" and in 2007 was voted #4...
and Takeshi Kobayashi launched for the purpose of charity. Their interpretation featuring Sakurai's vocals was included on their 2004 Soushi Souai album.
In December 1992, East Asia won the 34th Japan Record Awards for 10 Excellent Albums, the prizes conferred for ten magnificent studio albums released in that year.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Miyuki Nakajima, arranged by Ichizo Seo (except "East Asia" co-arranged by David CampbellDavid Campbell (American arranger/composer)
David Richard Campbell is a Canadian-American arranger, composer and conductor. He has worked on over 450 gold and platinum albums including Death Magnetic , Minutes to Midnight , KISS Symphony: Alive IV Spirit , These Days , Fallen , and various albums by his son...
)
- "East Asia" - 6:48
- "" - 4:39
- "" - 5:21
- "" - 6:35
- "" - 6:49
- "" - 4:49
- "" - 4:39
- "" - 8:12
- "" - 5:07
Personnel
- Miyuki Nakajima - lead and backing vocals
- Hideo Yamaki - drums
- Eiji Shimamura - drums
- Jun Aoyama - drums programming
- Kenji Takamizu - electric bass
- Yasuo Tomikura - electric bass
- Chiharu Mikuzuki - electric bass
- Tsuyoshi Kon - electric guitar, pedal steel guitar
- Takayuki Hijikata - electric guitar
- Shigeru Suzuki - electric guitar
- Chuei Yoshikawa - acoustic guitar
- Elton Nagata - acoustic piano, keyboards
- Yasuharu Nakanishi - acoustic piano, keyboards
- Nobuo Kurata - acoustic piano, keyboards, synth bass
- Nobu Saito - percussion
- Toshihiko Furumura - alto sax
- Joe's Group - strings
- Neko Saito Group - strings
- Syd Page Group - strings
- Keishi Urata - computer programming
- Nobuhiko Nakayama - computer programming
- Tatsuhiko Mori - computer programming
- Ichizo Seo - computer programming, backing vocals
- Yuiko Tsubokura - backing vocals, featuring vocals on "Two Boats"
- Kazuyo Sugimoto - backing vocals, featuring vocals on "Two Boats"
- Keiko Wada - backing vocals
- Yoko Yamauchi - backing vocals
- Raven Kane - backing vocals
- Julia Waters - backing vocals
- Maxine Waters - backing vocals
- Akiya - backing vocals
Production
- Recording Engineer: Tad Goto
- Additional Engineer: Takanobu Ichikawa, Ray Blair
- Assiatant Engineer: Yutaka Uematsu, Yoshiyuki Yokoyama, Hajime Nagai, Masataka Itoh, Takamasa Kido, Naomi Matsuo, Nobuhiko Nakayama, Tomotaka Takehara, Masashi Kudo, Shouji Sekine, Kenji Nakamura,Jim Gillens
- Mixing Engineer: Tad Goto, Joe Chiccarelli
- Assistant for Mixing Engineer: Tomotaka Takehara, Jamie Seyberth
- Music Coordinater: Koji Kimura, Fumio Miyata, Tomoko Takaya, Ruriko Duer
- Art Direction & Photographer: Jin Tamura
- Cover Designer: Hirofumi Arai
- Illustrator: Shigeko Kashima
- Hair and Make-Up: Noriko Izumisawa
- Artist Management: Kouji Suzuki
- Assistant: Maki Nishida
- Management Desk: Atsuko Hayashi
- General Management: Takahiro Uno
- Promoter: Tadayoshi Okamoto, Shoko Aoki. Narihiko Yoshida
- A&R: Yuzo Watanabe, Koichi Suzuki
- Assistant for the Record Producer: Tsuyoshi Ito
- Promoter for the Recording Artist: Yoshio Kan
- Dad: Genichi Kawakami
Mastering at Future Disc Systems in Los Angeles, by Tom Baker
Album
| Year | Chart | Position | Weeks | Sales | Cetification (RIAJ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Japanese Oricon Weekly Albums Chart (Top 100) | 2(CDDA CDDA CDDA may refer to:* Circularly Disposed Dipole Array - a large circular antenna used by the military* Compact Disc Digital Audio - an audio recording format... ) |
15 | 357,000+ | Platinum |
| 8 (APO-CD) | 3 | ||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position | Weeks | Sales | RIAJ Certification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | "Birth" (double A-Side with "Maybe") | Japanese Oricon Weekly (top 100) | 13 | 7 | 69,000 | — |
| "Shallow Sleep" | 2 | 24 | 1,050,000 | 4x Platinum | ||
| 1998 | "Tapestry" (double A-Side with "Another Name for Life") | 12 | 11 | 159,000 | Gold |
Awards
| Japan Record Awards | ||
| Year | Title | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 (34th) | East Asia | 10 Excellent Albums |
Release history
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | October 7, 1992 | Pony Canyon | CD | PCCA-00397 |
| APO-CD | PCCA-00398 | |||
| Audio cassette | PCTA-00146 | |||
| May 23, 2001 | Yamaha Music Communications | CD | YCCW-00023 | |
| November 5, 2008 | YCCW-10072 | |||