Ongaku Cafe (2010-2019): aiko – aiko no uta. (2019)

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In 1998, aiko released her first major label single “Ashita”. The single was used for the film “Shinsei Toire no Hanako-san”.

Considering that she was a radio host for FM Osaka two years prior and released a CD that she produced independently with her friends from college, aiko would go on to take part in “The 5th Music Quest Japan Final” and was awarded the Excellence Award which was shared with another artist, named Shiina ringo.

That’s a pretty solid accomplishment.

And to celebrate the 20th anniversary, we have the definitive aiko music release with “aiko no Uta.”.

From her first single “Ashita” (1998) to her 38th single “Straw” (2018), the collection will feature 56 songs including 38 A-sided singles (a total of 42 songs) on three discs and the fourth disc featuring aiko’s selection of coupling songs.

For one, aiko and Pony Canyon did something different than most labels, for one, they made the 4CD+1DVD release cheaper than the normal 4CD release.  And the fact that they released a set with four CD’s containing every A-sided single from “Ashita” (1998) up to “Straw” (2018), a 20-minute DVD, a cool slipcase box and booklet for under Y3500.

That’s a bit unheard of for a multi-CD release, but for the price alone, it’s hard to pass up!

As far as the album is concerned, it’s always interesting to see how aiko’s music has evolved since the release of her first single “Ashita”, which had an upbeat dance beat.  And actually made me interested in her because of the similarities to another pop artist I enjoy, Hirose Kohmi.

And I actually enjoy her music, as she moved away from the dance song to her second single “Naki Mushi” and this set a style that worked for her and has become consistent with that style of music for the last 20 years.

It’s important to note that the songs are not presented in chronological order, the songs are mixed up in random order on each disc.

So, her first single “Ashita” is on disc 1, her second single “Naki Mushi” is on disc 3, her third single “Hanabi” kicks off disc 1 and her fourth single “Kabutomushi” is on disc 2, and so on.

Favorite songs on this collection includes her sixth single “Boyfriend”, a song which debuted at #2 on the Oricon Charts, got her into “Kouhaku Uta Gassen” for the first time in 2000 and was a tie-up CM song for “Bridgestone Albert” and her biggest selling single so far:

Her 22nd double A-sided single “Hoshi no Sekai/Yokogao”. “A World Without Stars” is the image song for Nintendo DS “FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES Ring of Fates”, while “Yokogao” was the theme song for the drama “Hotaru no Hikari”:”

Her first #1 single on the Oricon Charts was her double A-sided singled “Milk/Nageki no Kiss” (her 25th single from 2009). Her first single which debuted on the Oricon Charts after making her debut in eleven years:

Her 26th single “Moderenai Ashita”, her second consecutive #1 single and was the theme song for the NTV drama “Magerenai Onna”:

Her seventh single “Hatsukoi” which debuted at #3 on the Oricon Charts but in terms of sales, sold 322,000 copies. The song is about aiko moving to Tokyo and having a boyfriend for the very first time:

Her 18th single “Kirakira” which was the theme song for the Fuji TV drama “GanbatteIkimashoi”:

Her 17th single “Mikuni Eki”, a promotion was made with posters at Mikuni Station in Osaka and also at a local music store which aiko would visit a lot as a student:

But there are so many songs that I love from aiko and feel that this album is such a no-brainer, considering how many songs (all remastered) are included and the price for this singles collection set.

As for the slipcase, the slipcase features a photo of a young aiko playing the piano, the slipcase holds the four-CD set, the special DVD and the 74-page lyrics booklet features images from previous singles through the 20-years of aiko and the lyrics.

As for the DVD (which is available as a limited edition for first printing), which is “aiko Hajimete no Studio Live” features a total of four tracks and is about 20:50 minutes long.  The live features aiko and her musicians performing “Dryer”, the coupling song from her 32nd single “Atashi no Mukou”. “Reitobin” from her 12th album “My Dream”, “Ame wa Yamu” from her 10th album “Toki no Silhouette” and “Taisetsu no Hito” from her 11th album “Awa no Youna Aidatta”.

Overall, the release of “aiko no uta.” makes this album not just a singles collection but a complete best album.  This is the definitive aiko release that costs less than many multi-disc best collections, so if you really enjoy aiko’s music, then “aiko no uta.” is highly recommended!

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