Mogamigawa Tsukasa - MATSUPOIYO

During the past months, TSUKASA has undertaken some serious steps in his solo career as an enka singer. He changed his name to Mogamigawa Tsukasa and has worked eagerly towards his major debut. On June 10th, he will debut with MATSUPOIYO. Two editions will be released, both of which feature a newly arranged version of the title track and the cover song Kita sakaba.

First of all, let us take a listen to the new version of MATSUPOIYO, Mogamigawa Tsukasa’s declaration of love for his hometown Yamagata. Compared with the indies version from October 2014, the track has indeed undergone some changes. On the original, I Shingo and Kusunose Takuya were responsible for the arrangement of the track, whereas for the major release, Uesugi Hiroshi serves as arranger. Consequently, the flutes have been moved more into the background, with the guitar becoming more dominant. MATSUPOIYO sounds more dynamic than before, and the ending has also been altered; Tsukasa closes the song with a final shout of "MATSUPOIYO!", a word meaning "brilliant" or "lovely" in north-eastern Japanese dialect.

Digital bojou, the second track on the limited edition, is a fast and catchy number composed by Tsukasa himself. Only for the completion of the lyrics did he seek help from Yamamoto Narumi. Next to the electric guitar melody, traditional Japanese instruments such as a koto and shamisen also stand out. The result is a rousing, danceable love song with a standout vocal performance from Tsukasa. Cover tracks aren't rare on enka releases, so it should come as no surprise that Tsukasa has chosen to include one: in fact, he decided upon the aforementioned Kita sakaba by Hosokawa Takashi. This track also possesses a fast basic tempo with portato by the guitar, drums and the traditional Japanese instruments. Subsequent to this track are karaoke versions of each song.

The regular edition of MATSUPOIYO features a different b-side: Sakurambo koiuta, another of Mogamigawa Tsukasa’s own compositions, with lyrics co-written once more by Yamamoto Narumi. The start of this enka song has somewhat mysterious and wistful character. The latter impression of homesickness gets stronger as you hear the first chords of an acoustic guitar, and a melody that seems to come direct from a sailor's accordion. Tsukasa's vocals also support this basic mood.

Those lucky enough to own the indies release of this single may notice that Mogamigawa Tsukasa is now writing more sophisticated songs. In the end, it doesn't matter which version of MATSUPOIYO you own; both versions reflect his ambitions, and his enduring love for his hometown. Furthermore, this major single release is a delightful first step towards a future album release.

A preview of the music video for MATSUPOIYO can be watched below - the full version features on the limited edition's DVD:



JaME would like to thank Prime Music, a division of Universal Music Japan for the provision of the material.