Real World (album)
Encyclopedia
Real World is Kokia
's 11th studio album, released on March 31, 2010. Kokia travelled to the Tunisia
n Sahara
for inspiration for songs on the album. Because of this, much of the promotional material is themed around her trip to Tunisia, including the album booklet and the music video for "The Woman."
All three singles were billed as double A-sides, featuring four tracks and a digital booklet
each. Each single featured an original B-side not listed in the title, as well as a cover of a Western artist's song (Louis Armstrong
's "What a Wonderful World
," Charlie Chaplin
's "Smile" and The Beatles
' "The Long and Winding Road
" respectively). Only the first track from each EP features on the album.
This album is Kokia's first since her second greatest hits collection, Coquillage: The Best Collection II
.
"U-Cha-Cha" is a song Kokia originally performed live in concerts in 2002, at her first solo concert "That's Why I Was Born."
for concerts (June 2009), he suggested she travel to Tunisia.
She travelled to Tunisia in November 2009 for roughly a week and a half. Inspired by the scenery, Kokia chose the themes of life and death, the Earth and about womanhood.
Eight of the 14 songs on the album were written about her experiences in Tunisia: "Birth," "Kodoku na Ikimono," "Kono Chikyū ga Marui Okage de," "Love Is Us, Love Is Earth," "Oto no Tabibito," "Real World," "Saishū Jōei" and "Watashi ga Mita Mono." The songs were inspired by many aspects of the trip, instead of solely from visiting the Sahara desert. "Birth" was inspired by a visit to the Chott el Djerid
lake.
Recording for the Tunisia-inspired songs from the album began in late December, after Kokia finished her Jū Ni Gatsu no Okurimono tour. However, not all of them had been written by this point. The album was fully completed in late February.
Japan online game Dragon Nest. Tachibana from the Dragon Nest Japan management team, when posting news about the theme song, believed the song fitted well with the world outlook in the game, and felt moved by the song.
A music video for the final track on the album, "The Woman," was created. It was based around footage of Kokia in the Tunisia
n Sahara
that was filmed while the photos for the CD jacket were being taken. The song was specifically written before her trip to Tunisia, as a central song that summed up she wanted the album to become. The music video is Kokia's first in four years, since 2006's "" The video was to be shown from a screen on the Twin21 building in the Osaka Business Park during album promotion, at five points during the day.
In April, Kokia performed a tour in promotion for the album, Oto no Tabibito. It had four dates across Japan.
's daily album chart, however quickly slipped to the lower end of the top 50 during the week of release. It debuted at #44 on the weekly charts, selling 3,100 copies. The album charted for a further two weeks at #161 and #241 respectively, selling a further 1,000 copies in this time.
Critically, CDJournal described the album as "a work made with all her might, that records her feelings (on life, death, Tunisia, etc) just as they were, with real melodies."
Kokia (singer)
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, who performs under the stage name Kokia . She is best known for her songs and "The Power of Smile." She is also recognised for her numerous contributions to anime/game soundtracks, the most notable being "Ai no Melody/Chōwa Oto " for the film...
's 11th studio album, released on March 31, 2010. Kokia travelled to the Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
n Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
for inspiration for songs on the album. Because of this, much of the promotional material is themed around her trip to Tunisia, including the album booklet and the music video for "The Woman."
Background
Before the album, three digital singles were released over eight months. Dubbed the Life Trilogy (Life Trilogy ～いのちの3部作～), the three singles featured message songs for humanity. was the first of these, released in August. "Kimi o Sagashite" asked the question "What is life, and why does it disappear/why does the end come?" in its lyrics. The second single was , released in December. "Single Mother" was an autobiographical story about the unreplaceable bonds Kokia has to her mother. The final, , was released in March two weeks before the album's Japanese release. The song has a message that people have the power to change sadness and loneliness with kindness.All three singles were billed as double A-sides, featuring four tracks and a digital booklet
Digital booklet
Digital booklets are the digital equivalent of liner notes that often accompany digital music purchases. They are most commonly distributed in Portable Document Format. One well-known distributor of digital booklets with digital purchases is the iTunes Store; the first instance of this on the...
each. Each single featured an original B-side not listed in the title, as well as a cover of a Western artist's song (Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
's "What a Wonderful World
What a Wonderful World
"What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released as a single in 1968. Thiele and Weiss were both prominent in the music world . Armstrong's recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999...
," Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
's "Smile" and The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "The Long and Winding Road
The Long and Winding Road
"The Long and Winding Road" is a ballad written by Paul McCartney that originally appeared on The Beatles' album Let It Be. It became The Beatles' 20th and last number-one song in the United States on 23 May 1970, and was the last single released by the quartet...
" respectively). Only the first track from each EP features on the album.
This album is Kokia's first since her second greatest hits collection, Coquillage: The Best Collection II
Coquillage: The Best Collection II
Coquillage: The Best Collection II is Kokia's second greatest hits album, released on December 2, 2009.-Background:...
.
"U-Cha-Cha" is a song Kokia originally performed live in concerts in 2002, at her first solo concert "That's Why I Was Born."
Conception
Kokia first planned to release an album in March 2010, however had no solid plans for a theme. However, after sharing a meal with a Japanese cameraman friend of hers when she visited ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
for concerts (June 2009), he suggested she travel to Tunisia.
She travelled to Tunisia in November 2009 for roughly a week and a half. Inspired by the scenery, Kokia chose the themes of life and death, the Earth and about womanhood.
Eight of the 14 songs on the album were written about her experiences in Tunisia: "Birth," "Kodoku na Ikimono," "Kono Chikyū ga Marui Okage de," "Love Is Us, Love Is Earth," "Oto no Tabibito," "Real World," "Saishū Jōei" and "Watashi ga Mita Mono." The songs were inspired by many aspects of the trip, instead of solely from visiting the Sahara desert. "Birth" was inspired by a visit to the Chott el Djerid
Chott el Djerid
Chott el Djerid , also spelt Shaţţ al Jarīd, Sciott Gerid, and Shott el Jerid, is a large endorheic salt lake in southern Tunisia.-Geography:The bottom of Chott el Djerid is located between 10 and 25 meters above sea level....
lake.
Recording for the Tunisia-inspired songs from the album began in late December, after Kokia finished her Jū Ni Gatsu no Okurimono tour. However, not all of them had been written by this point. The album was fully completed in late February.
Promotion
The song "Road to Glory: For Dragon Nest" was used as the theme song for the HangameHangame
Hangame is a popular South Korean online game portal operated by NHN Corporation. Launched in December 1999, Hangame offers casual, first-person shooter, MMORPGs, sports, and other genres. With over 24 million members and a peak concurrent user base of 240,000 in South Korea, it is the country's...
Japan online game Dragon Nest. Tachibana from the Dragon Nest Japan management team, when posting news about the theme song, believed the song fitted well with the world outlook in the game, and felt moved by the song.
A music video for the final track on the album, "The Woman," was created. It was based around footage of Kokia in the Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
n Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
that was filmed while the photos for the CD jacket were being taken. The song was specifically written before her trip to Tunisia, as a central song that summed up she wanted the album to become. The music video is Kokia's first in four years, since 2006's "" The video was to be shown from a screen on the Twin21 building in the Osaka Business Park during album promotion, at five points during the day.
In April, Kokia performed a tour in promotion for the album, Oto no Tabibito. It had four dates across Japan.
Reception
The album debuted at #14 on OriconOricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
's daily album chart, however quickly slipped to the lower end of the top 50 during the week of release. It debuted at #44 on the weekly charts, selling 3,100 copies. The album charted for a further two weeks at #161 and #241 respectively, selling a further 1,000 copies in this time.
Critically, CDJournal described the album as "a work made with all her might, that records her feelings (on life, death, Tunisia, etc) just as they were, with real melodies."
Track listing
All songs written and produced by Kokia.Japan Sales Rankings
| Release | Chart | Peak Position | First Week Sales | Sales Total | Chart Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oricon Daily Albums Chart | 14 | ||||
| Oricon Weekly Albums Chart | 44 | 3,100 | 4,300 | 3 weeks | |
| Oricon Yearly Albums Chart |
Personnel
- Shigeo Fuchino - soprano saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
- Kei Haneoka - arranger, programming (#12-13)
- Yuya Haraguchi - acoustic guitar (#3), additional arrangement (#4), guitars (#4),
- Shigeyuki Hirano - director (anco & co.)
- Atsushi Kawahata - electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
(#4) - Hiroshi Kawasaki - mastering engineer (at Flair)
- Mikio Koike - visual co-ordination (Victor)
- Kokia - chorus arrangement, design, make-up, producer, songwriter, styling, vocals
- Sae Konno - piano (#12)
- Masahiro Kuniyoshi - download sales (Victor)
- Masumi Ito - arrangement/programming (#2, #7, #11)
- Syuichi Matsuura - publicist (Victor)
- Tsuyoshi Miyagawa - drums (#6, #8)
- Susumu Miyake - celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
(#12) - Yutaka Nakamura - photographer
- Kenji Nozaki - package sales (Victor)
- Mio Okamura Quartet - strings (#1)
- Hiroyasu Okasa - quenaQuenaThe quena is the traditional flute of the Andes. Usually made of bamboo or wood, it has 6 finger holes and one thumb hole and is open on both ends. To produce sound, the player closes the top end of the pipe with the flesh between his chin and lower lip, and blows a stream of air downward, along...
, sikuSiku (panpipe)The Siku , is a traditional Andean panpipe. This instrument is the main instrument used in a musical genre known as the Sikuri. It is traditionally found all across the Andes but is more typically associated with music from the Kollasuyo, or Aymara speaking regions around Lake Titicaca...
(#3) - Aki Okiyama - visual co-ordination
- Mitsutaka Saito - electric bass (#6), washtub bassWashtub bassThe washtub bass, or "gutbucket", is a stringed instrument used in American folk music that uses a metal washtub as a resonator. Although it is possible for a washtub bass to have four or more strings and tuning pegs, traditional washtub basses have a single string whose pitch is adjusted by...
(#8-9) - Yoshikazu Sasahara - mixing engineer
- Katsuhiko Sato - guitars (#3)
- Shinozaki Strings - strings (#2, #7)
- Jin Sukegawa - A&R (Victor)
- Gen Tanabe - electric guitar (#5)
- Koichiro Tashiro - laúdLaúdThe word laúd is the Spanish word for lute. It is most commonly used to refer to a plectrum-plucked chordophone from Spain. It belongs to the cittern family of instruments. It has six double courses , similarly to the bandurria, but its neck is longer...
& bandolinBandolinThe Bandolin is a 15-stringed musical instrument from the country of Ecuador. It is used as a rhythm instrument in the Andean region of Ecuador during festivals where dancing and music are involved. It is a type of mandolin with a flat back and five courses of triple strings...
(#11) - Tetsuro Toyama - acoustic guitar (#6), electric guitar (#14), guitars (#2, #8-9)
- Kiyohide Ura - arrangement/keyboards (#1, #6, #8-10, #14), piano (#13)
- Eri Yaguchi - design support
- Yasuhisa Yamamoto - arrangement/backing track recording (#3-5), percussion (#3-5, #9), programming (#3, #5)
- Kei Yasui - tin whistle (#11)