I love UA. Simple as that. I was lucky enough to see her at the same concert festival I saw Polysics. She's one of the first Japanese artists I really got into (that award goes to Chara which I'll save for another entry). My job at the time was pretty light so I had plenty of time to download music and listen in our office. My co-worker told me if I like Chara then I should check out UA. I did and she was right! I began collecting every UA CD I could find and now have a large collection of her work including Japanese 8cm CD singles. Those 8cm CD's were discontinued around 2000 and I'll say few have withstood the test of time musically as well as hers have. Many a time I found myself wondering the streets of Japan listening to her powerful voice.
UA was born Kaori Murakami, which means both flower and kill in Swahili. She grew up in Osaka. After she graduated from Saga Art College in Kyoto, she began singing at jazz lounge in Osaka. Someone took notice and before long she released her debut CD. Over the twelve years since her debut UA's music has matured from intelligent pop to something more abstract, jazzy and experimental.
The single, Uncountable Footsteps of the Night or Kazoe Tarinai Yoru No Ashioto, in Japanese, was released in 1999 on the album Turbo. It is representative of UA at the height of her popularity. The video is pretty cool too. I'm not a huge fan of hoodies but UA can really work it. I just like how smooth the whole operation is. The music is pretty spot on and really makes me want to know more Japanese.
UA at her worst is Bjork at her best.
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