KAORU AKIMOTO

On a sparkling night, a single voice echoes across time. Kaoru Akimoto — a singer-songwriter who debuted in the 1980s, known for her acclaimed album Cologne and the song “Dress Down.” Her music, woven from a rich, free voice and a fresh, sophisticated sound, is now capturing the hearts of new listeners across borders.

Words by Makoto Matsuoka

She describes herself as “born into a very ordinary family with no connection to music.” Yet, contrary to those words, music seems to have been a “special place” for her from the very beginning. She recalls feeling, even as a child, that “somehow, I alone knew my voice and my singing were special.” That sense felt less like talent and more like instinct.

In her early elementary school years, she recalls sitting at the piano, not merely tracing melodies, but “absorbed in analysing the backdrop of sound — the chords — that beautiful landscape.” Even as a child, she must have sensed the space and colours unfolding beyond the notes. That way of listening was the budding seed of the sophistication and freedom that would later permeate her own compositions.

Her approach to popular songs was also slightly different. “Singing popular songs felt like surfing a wave I could ride,” she says. “Every song around me seemed like a wave I should challenge.” Rather than just being carried along, she read the waves, balanced her body, and moved forward. These words evoke not a passive “child singer,” but the image of a girl engaging in dialogue with music as a subject.

She also accumulated experience singing in public from an early age. During her elementary school years in Fukuoka, due to her father's job transfer, she once passed an audition for a children's singing program on TV. “When I heard I could appear on Tokyo TV, I was truly thrilled.” But that dream was unexpectedly cut short. Because it required her to miss school, her parents decided she should withdraw. “I was so sad back then.” Yet that event quietly took on decisive meaning within her. “From around that time, I resolved in my heart to ‘become a singer.’ But I don't think my parents took it seriously,” she says. Regardless of how those around her perceived it, the path she would follow was already set within her.

She spent her high school years in Sendai, where she started playing in bands. Though she had composed songs since childhood, it was around this time that she began writing lyrics and composing music in earnest, even challenging herself with auditions. Her expression shifted from play to purpose. Upon moving back to Tokyo for university, she soon found herself performing in the music scene as a backing vocalist for Yumi Matsutoya. Days spent observing professionals up close. “That experience led to my debut,” she reflects, acknowledging how those on-the-job experiences opened the door to her career as a musician.

Her only album to date, Cologne, was born when she was 21. She wrote the lyrics for every single track herself. “Looking back now, I was really young,” she reflects, yet describes that time, “But maybe sometimes, before your heart matures, you suddenly grasp something. The lyrics for Cologne flowed naturally, as if they were destined from the start.” True to her words, the album possesses a brilliance of intuition that transcends logic or calculation. The delicate, gentle impression of each lyric stems from the innate sensibility within her, naturally finding expression in words.

In terms of sound, this album also sharply captures the atmosphere of the time. Production proceeded with music professionals, including the co-producer. “I truly received so much support,” she says, yet there was a core principle she consistently upheld, “Never letting go of the ‘musical identity’ that remains within me to this day.”

The sound actively incorporated cutting-edge drum machines and synthesisers of the time. “It has a very rich sound, doesn't it?” she says with a smile, describing a sound that possesses a sophisticated, urban charm. "Listening to it now might evoke a sense of nostalgia. The impression of music changes over time,” she says. Indeed, listening now, one feels both nostalgia and freshness simultaneously — a unique charm of this music.

When asked about the artists and works that influenced her, the first thing she mentions is the many Japanese popular songs known as “kayōkyoku.” Among them, a particularly significant presence was Saki Kubota's first album, Yume Gatari, which she listened to endlessly during high school. Looking further abroad, she also cites a major influence from Chaka Khan's “Feel for You”. The emotional depth of kayōkyoku and the groove of black music. Naturally absorbing these two extremes and crystallising them into her own sensibility likely led to the unique sophistication and freedom found in her music.

Now, let's touch on the hit song “Dress Down” from the album Cologne. Regarding what she wanted to express in this song, she says, “I think I wanted to portray someone who is poised and dignified, yet still swept away by love. Someone who burns their life in fleeting moments and lives passionately.” She herself has consistently valued “the protagonist's freedom” in her lyrics. “Even if blinded by love, or heartbroken by a breakup, ultimately, I want them standing on their own two feet. That's the image I paint.” True to her words, the women in her songs never lose themselves, no matter the emotional turmoil they face.

And now, “Dress Down” is back in the spotlight amid the resurgence of City Pop, reissued on CD in 2017. A song born quietly in the 80s has been revived, crossing eras and borders through the new circuit of the internet.

Reflecting on its current overseas reappraisal, she says, “At the time of release, I was a singer hardly known in Japan. I'd been working behind the scenes for a long time, writing songs for other artists and doing backing vocals as a studio musician.” She continued, “My music, released into the vast ocean of the internet, has reached people worldwide, transcending time and place — this is truly cyberpunk!”

Describing this trajectory, she calls City Pop “music that took time to sprout. Japanese music was in a state of ‘seclusion’ for a long time. But during that time, it matured uniquely. It feels like a tiny seed, buried deep and forgotten, finally sprouted and has been growing slowly, slowly. It's like my past self is seeing so many people waving ‘Wow!’ at me. And there's this pure astonishment at how the world's barriers can be swept away in an instant.” Thus, her songs, polished by time, continue to meet new listeners even now.

In 2021, a re-edit version by Night Tempo was released, creating connections with an even broader range of generations and countries. Recalling her first impression when she received the offer, she laughs and says, “He genuinely loves Japanese music and knows me better than I know myself. And he has more of my recordings than I do. So, I was happy to participate vocally on his album too.” This connection led her to sing and write lyrics for “Passion,” featured on Night Tempo's album Neo Standard — her first time singing in decades. Upon hearing the finished track, she recalled envisioning a scene in a secret club where “Dress Down” played and people danced. She also reflected that “Today I'm Alone” felt “very chill and fresh.”

Moreover, the existence of listeners reaffirmed the meaning of music for her. During the period when the world closed down due to the coronavirus, she received numerous messages from overseas. “For the first time, I strongly felt the lives of the people listening. I sing. All I can do is sing. But that song, after decades, reaches someone in a distant country and comforts them. That fact made my heart tremble.”

The songs, which should have existed merely as recordings, were quietly connecting with someone's daily life and emotions — that realisation must have been the moment it took tangible form within her.

This experience prompted her to start interacting directly with fans via Instagram. While carefully receiving each voice sent to her, she still holds close to her heart the fact that singing continues to accompany someone's life.

Finally, when asked for a message to listeners, she shared, "I'm 61 years old, but I can come meet you as my 21-year-old self — immature, ambiguous, and interesting. I believe you can do it too. Enjoy your life!"

This interview appears in The MUSIC Issue 16, available here.

All images from Kaoru Akimoto's debut album Cologne. Courtesy of Victor Entertainment Inc