After I returned from Japan, I have been checking out the few vinyl record websites like Disk Union, HMV, Tower Records regularly. On a day coming to mid-December, I was browsing the homepage of Disk Union, and a rotating banner caught my eye. It’s a record launch with a green forest cover design.
What is this album about? Who is the artist or composer? What is the title in English? My first impression is that the song should be related to nature. Is it an instrumental? Piano album? Then there is the launch date of 20 Dec. Is it on preorder? Is it a popular title? Should I order it before it goes out of stock?
And so this is what I found out:
- The album 言ノ葉 (koto no ha, officially titled “Words” in English) is performed by 秦基博 (Motohiro Hata). It contains the theme songs of a short anime film called 言の葉の庭 (Kotonoha no Niwa).
- The official English title for the short film is “The Garden of Words” written, directed and edited by Makoto Shinkai
- The 46-minute film premiered in 2013. It won the 2013 Kobe Theatrical Film Award and awards at the Fantasia International Film Festival and the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film.
- The title theme song was never heard in the film. It is a song written for the film.
- The second track, “Rain”, is the end-title theme song and the only vocal song in the film. The entire film uses a piano-based soundtrack composed by Daisuke Kashiwa.
- The theme of the film is about loneliness, where the two characters seek emotional refuge with the rain. Through interacting with each other, they learned to be better persons.
I listened to the first track “Words” and found it quite nice. It has a familiar laid-back J-Rock ballad beat, while Motohiro’s voice is pleasant to listen to, one that is attuned to live performance. I then listened to the second track “Rain” and it was ok, more upbeat and apparently the more popular song of the two, though I prefer the first.
I pondered whether I should buy the vinyl release and was put off by the retail price of 4000 yen, considered over-priced for an EP. I considered just getting the CD instead which costs about a quarter of the vinyl price. As luck would have it, a friend had planned his holiday to Japan and asked me if I needed anything from there, so I decided to ask him to buy the record for me.
I just collected the records from him today, and once I got home, I played it on my Audio-Technica AT-LP2022 turntable with VM540ML stylus. With the clear green vinyl press, the LED light I lined below the acrylic turntable illuminates the vinyl to elevate the visual glow. The cover is printed on white card stock applied with a gloss finish. There are light static noise, but otherwise, the vinyl cut delivers excellent audio resolution with no compression. The overall sound is characteristic of analogue player, with slightly more pronounced midrange, overall weightier sound compared to the “refined” digital reproduction.
About the Vinyl Record Release
The 5-track EP was released in 2013 as CD. After 10 years, the analogue record is available in clear green vinyl pressing at the retail price of 4000 yen, under the joint label of Hobbyless Records and Diskunion DIW.
Vinyl Records: A Collection of Music Art
These days, my primary reason for buying vinyl records is to get satisfaction of the tangibility in music ownership, with the huge thick album sleeves, distinct cardboard smell, weighted vinyl, additional liner notes, etc. On top of that, the vinyl-pressed audio – specially the pressing before the 1990s – sounds different from any available digital versions. So to me, it’s never about “sounding better”, but it’s all about getting music that “sounds pleasantly different” that are not available online.
And the other enjoyable feature of playing vinyl records is the visual element. There are so many turntable designs, so many vinyl colours, it is a beautiful showcase of music that every music lover can appreciate. So, don’t buy vinyl expecting it sounds better. Buy vinyl because it is the best format for music ownership and for supporting your music artist.
