Yaida Hitomi

Vocals, Guitar

Too many solo vocalists sing what they are told to sing on music they did not participate in. However, this new wave of multitalented and committed artists making music on their own terms is particularly refreshing and has Yaida Hitomi in the first row alongside the cream of the crop of Japanese artists.

From the first bouncy notes of Not Still Over, I was hooked. I later found out her musical range extended far beyond what I first tasted. Embracing her eccentricity instead of trying to blend in, Yaida Hitomi owes most of her success to her own hands and flair. This happy-go-lucky attitude has taken her very far and she is even on the verge of becoming an international star. She has already given the United Kingdom a taste of her music under the pseudonym "Yaiko".

Yaida Hitomi is often compared to Shéna Ringö. Aside from their common record label and age, I feel both artists’ styles are unique enough to invalidate this assumption. Even if her voice is slightly more generic, her talent for voice effects, holding notes and music composition sets her apart from everybody else.

Hitomi can play most of the instruments she composes for, but decided to leave music production during recordings and shows to an underground band named Diamond Head. Every crazy beat and sound that pops out of Hitomi’s head is interpreted faultlessly, whether it is the trendy guitar, synthesizer or more atypical instruments like bells and trumpets. This makes me wonder how long these music buffs can remain in the shadows. Yaiko, herself, always accompanies her troupe with her own guitar and positive attitude.

She insists during interviews that her songs are the embodiment of deep feelings she wants to express. This produces an energetic style full of wonders and surprises: "heart rock," as she calls it. Yaida Hitomi is still human, though: she openly admits there are many ugly things about herself and promises to reveal those in her songs, as well. Her dark side is not as exploited as her joyous traits but since she stays true to herself, who can blame her for having such exemplary proportions?

Breaking out in the music industry usually requires a healthy balance of talent and luck. As a twenty-one-year-old student with no prior stage or recording experience, Yaida Hitomi composed, produced and mixed enough songs on her own to compile a demo tape that found its way to the right clique. In turn, these influential people did not miss the potential in such an amazing artist and a few months later, this Osaka-native was recording her first album and mentally preparing herself for her first shows.

The first local hit (straight off of that illustrious demo tape) was Howling. She then followed up with two singles, B'Coz I Love You and My Sweet Darlin', which were later added to her first album, Daiya-monde, in October 2000. Candlize and i/flancy were released during the same month of the two following years and were as big, if not bigger than her debut album in terms of popularity.

I was eagerly awaiting Yaida Hitomi's latest, Air/Cook/Sky, with high expectations, and it did not disappoint me the slightest. Aside from Kodoku na Cowboy, Hitori Jenga, Mama to Teddy and Chain, the previously heard singles and b-sides I already loved, her most recent release was full of great surprises. She will promote that wonderful album for the following months, but even though she finds it tiring, she seems quite happy and exited to share her new "heart rock" with her multiplying fans. We should expect more amazing video clips like Chain's early next year.

Favourite Album:

Air/Cook/Sky

I have been listening to that CD constantly since its release and it does not seem I will ever grow tired of it. Air/Cook/Sky is more than just another solid Hitomi album, it is proof that all this time she was just getting warmed up. Without a single humdrum song in sight, her latest child keeps you gripped from start to finish like a good movie.

Favourite Songs:

Chain

Hitori Jenga

Zeitaku na Sekai

Change your Mind

Life's Like a Love Song

Andante

B'coz I Love You

Mienai Hikari

Nee

Not Still Over

Why Chain?

Whatever worries I have always seem to wash away when I listen to Chain. It is a gradually evolving song starting with just Hitomi's innocent voice and a piano mixing in more and more instruments as it goes.

Official Site: http://www.aozorarecords.com/yaiko/

(Tip: use AltaVista's Babel Fish translator)