Tag Archives: Lamp

Lamp “Akari Tsushin” Issue #1

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I have an exciting announcement to make.

Akari Tsushin is the name of Lamp’s digital magazine, previously available only in Japanese. Today, I am very pleased to be able to announce the publication of the English-language edition of its first issue, now available at Lamp’s Spotify store.

Akari Tsushin is created by the members of the band, with the English translation by yours truly.

Contents
■ Lamp in Conversation: “4 AM Chat”
■ Endless Rain Into a Paper Cup: “Language and Music” (Someya Taiyo)
■ Unaddressed Letter: “It Was Time Travel” (Sakakibara Kaori)
■ Pajama Travel Journals: “Winter 2009 Sado Trip” (Nagai Yusuke)
■ Casual Best 5: “The Beatles”
■ Yume Utsutsu: “First Encounters with Music and Instruments”
■ Photo Studio Reminiscences
■ Editorial Postscript

That’s 15 pages of Lamp goodness!

Lamp and I have worked closely together to produce a faithful English language edition of Akari Tsushin for their non-Japanese-speaking audience. I’m personally very pleased with the results, and it is sure to be of much interest to their listeners everywhere.

For a sneak peek, below is a small sample from the five-page opening conversation.

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Kaede – Sepiairo no Kugatsu (English Lyrics)

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セピア色の九月
Sepia September

Summer ends as though nothing had happened
Opening the window, watching the clear skies

It passed, never once looking back
Leaving only the swimsuit lines on my suntanned skin

My tears blur into sepia
Sweet, slightly languid September

Surely I’ll get to see the blue coastline again
Thinking that, I feel better

Autumn begins as though nothing had happened
As a trench coat envelops my dress

So now within this ambiguous season
I wish to be alone, as if on a journey by myself

My tears are sepia-colored syrup
Sweet, slightly bitter memories

Blue coastline so far away; summer forever gone
Thinking that, I feel lonely

I cried — In September
I cried — Sepia tears

Lamp – Tsumetai Yoru no Hikari (English Lyrics)

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冷たい夜の光
Cold Night Light

Conversationless passenger car headed nowhere
Memories of days past hang in the air like wings
It’s just as always, this enveloping world
Stealing up on me without a word or sound

Suspended neon signs; lies by the window
Holding my breath at the bottom of the universe

I have heard the sound of unending sorrow
The gentle embrace of this cold night light is all I need
Who would think of this town as it floats past unnoticed
Illuminated only by the cold night light?

Coffee stains remain on the letter
With words left unsaid, simply abandoned
Is it the same as always, the life you’re living?
A gentle kiss before drifting off to sleep

Winter illusion of a distant spring
Now-forgotten songs of days gone by

An endless silence fills the sky
My heart shaken by the cold night light
Quietly take with you these rusted feelings
Oh, cold night light, just like this…

Alone, humming an unending song of youth
Singing it to the cold night light for all eternity
Smells in the wind of this unknown land
Reminding me of times past

Lamp “Soyokaze Apartment 201” interviews & liner notes (2003)

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The birth of a legendary Japanese band. This is where it all began: Lamp’s first release, 2003’s Soyokaze Apartment 201. I have translated below two interviews pertaining to the album, as well as Someya Taiyo’s liner notes for all of the tracks.

The first interview was originally published on WebVANDA.

Original interview & text: Uchi Takahide (original interview)
English translation: Henkka
Lamp online: website, label, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, Instagram

You can buy Lamp’s music directly from the band, both physically and digitally, on Bandcamp.

This group of three men and women known as Lamp debuted in April 2003. Whenever I listen to their young, lively sound, I’m always brought back to the season of the blazing sun…

In this interview, we talked to the band about their origins and about the making of this album.

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Lamp “Koibito e” interviews & liner notes (2004)

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Less than a year after their debut, Soyokaze Apartment 201, Lamp came out with Koibito e, their amazing second album. Below you will find two interviews pertaining to the release along with Someya Taiyo’s track-by-track liner notes for all of the songs on it. Enjoy!

Original text & interview: OOPS!
English translation: Henkka
Lamp online: website, label, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, Instagram

You can buy Lamp’s music directly from the band, both physically and digitally, on Bandcamp.

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Updating the Concept of “Pure Ubiquitous Pop”

These three youngsters by the names of Someya Taiyo (guitar), Nagai Yusuke (vocals, bass, etc), and Sakakibara Kaori (vocals, accordion, flute) formed Lamp in 2000. They debuted in 2003 with their album Soyokaze Apartment 201 that demonstrated how well they understand city pop, bossa nova, and AOR — all of the “pleasant sounds.”

Not only is their sophomore effort way up there in terms of its degree of perfection, the group have also demonstrated here their will and resolve to “update” pop music as a whole. Above all, they are capable of analyzing themselves very objectively. At the risk of exaggeration, the author of this article feels that this band is an answer to the so-called “sampling era” of the 90s.

This is the pop music of a new era.

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