Formats
20202003 - CD
600197100424
Details
INTERNATIONAL SAD HITS: VOLUME ONE INTRODUCES FOUR SINGER-SONGWRITERS FROM ASIA TO THE ENGLISH SPEAKING WORLD. ALL FOUR ARE VETERAN MUSICIANS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE HOMES, WITH DECADES-LONG CAREERS, LARGE DISCOGRAPHIES, AND DEVOTED FOLLOWINGS. THE TRACKS WERE SELECTED BY 20/20/20 OWNERS DAMON & NAOMI, WHO FIRST ENCOUNTERED THESE SONGS WHEN TOURING THE WORLD THEMSELVES. THESE FOUR SINGERS ARE AMONG THE DISCOVERIES CLOSEST TO THEIR HEARTS. AND WHILE THE TITLE POINTS OUT THAT THESE ARTISTS ARE LINKED BY A LINGUISTIC FAMILY (ALTAIC) AS WELL AS A CONTINENT (ASIA), WHAT TRULY CONNECTS THEM IS THEIR LOVE OF MELANCHOLY. INDEED, THESE COULD BE AMONG THE SADDEST SONGS YOU'LL EVER HEAR. ONE OF THEM, 'BOHEMIAN' BY KIM DOO SOO, IS REPUTED TO HAVE CAUSED TWO SUICIDES IN KOREA. MIKAMI KAN AND TOMOKAWA KAZUKI ARE FAMOUS IN THEIR NATIVE JAPAN FOR THEIR EXTREME EMOTIONAL SINGING STYLES, AND TURKEY'S FIKRET KIZILOK PLAYS MELANCHOLY LOVE SONGS BACKED BY GUITAR, STRINGS AND PERCUSSION. RATHER THAN A COMMON STYLE, THE POETIC LYRICISM AND EMOTIONAL POSSIBILITY OF THESE SONGS UNITE THEM. THE FIRST OF DAMON & NAOMI'S (GALAXIE 500) INTERNATIONAL SAD HITS COMPILATIONS, A SERIES FEATURING THE DUO'S FAVORITE SONGWRITERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD INCLUDES A TWENTY-PAGE FULL-COLOR BOOKLET WITH LYRIC TRANSLATIONS AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
THESE ARE NOT POP STARS OR TRADITIONAL FOLK ARTISTS, BUT SINGER-SONGWRITERS IN THE TRADITION OF BOB DYLAN, TIM BUCKLEY, AND NICK DRAKE. AS A RESULT, THEIR MUSIC HAS, FOR THE MOST PART, NEVER TRAVELED BEYOND THEIR NATIONAL OR LINGUISTIC CULTURES. THIS COMPILATION IS INTENDED TO TAKE THE MUSIC ACROSS THOSE BORDERS, AND INTRODUCE IT TO THE WIDER AUDIENCE IT DESERVES. AFTER ALL, EVEN IF YOU GREW UP IN ANATOLIA, AND SOMEONE GAVE YOU A COMP WITH NICK DRAKE, TIM BUCKLEY, TOM RAPP, AND BOB DYLAN, WOULDN?T IT BLOW YOUR MIND WHETHER OR NOT YOU UNDERSTOOD THE LYRICS?
Tracks
1. FIKRET KIZILOK - JUST AS LONG
2. KIM DOO SOO - BOHEMIAN
3. TOMOKAWA KAZUKI - STORMS IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT
4. MIKAMI KAN - NEVER BEFORE
5. FIKRET KIZILOK - BEAUTIFUL, HOW BEAUTIFUL YOU HAVE BECOME
6. TOMOKAWA KAZUKI - WHAT IS THIS PLACE?
7. KIM DOO SOO - MOUNTAIN
8. MIKAMI KAN - WHY STOP IF YOU LIKE IT?
9. TOMOKAWA KAZUKI - KASAI ZENZO
10. KIM DOO SOO - SWEET BRIAR
11. FIKRET KIZILOK - WITHOUT NOTICING
12. MIKAMI KAN - THE SCARLET RUG
13. KIM DOO SOO - WILD FLOWER
14. FIKRET KIZILOK - I'M ANATOLIA
15. MIKAMI KAN - AT THE HARBOUR IN MY SHORTS
16. TOMOKAWA KAZUKI - MY BOY
Press
REVIEWS CONFIRMED IN THE WIRE, PLAN B