In the early summer of 2016, I saw a performance in Beijing that I still remember. That night, two gentle female voices weave a wonderful dream in the theater, which deeply introduces me from the stage. On stage, one is Cheng Bi, and the other is a female singer-songwriter from Japan, Kumagi Apricot.
Cheng Bi has seen the scene several times, but that is the first time he has heard Kumagi Apricot singing on the spot. As soon as she opened her mouth, it was like an invisible hand, gently but powerfully touching your heart, and the sound could never be forgotten again.
"The first time I heard a song from Kumagi Apricot was in my sophomore year of college, and when I heard 'Memories of the Wind' and 'Friends of July', I thought how the pronunciation could be so clear and transparent." Introducing Kumagi next to her, Cheng Bi is like an excited little fan, "It was also from her that she became interested in this kind of healing music, and she slowly began to listen to Aoi Teshima, listen to wool and flowers, all the way to Yukawa Shioyin, Humburt Humburt, Fukuhara Yukie, Aoba Ichiko." In the blink of an eye, she has been debuting for ten years, and I have begun to walk on the road of music, as if it is an arrangement in the dark, and we can perform together on the same stage this year. ”
It turned out that Kumagi Apricot was a singer who had an important influence on Cheng Bi's musical style. "From the first meeting to the acquaintance, time gives people a lot of miracles. Now she learned that she is the mother of a three-year-old child, but she is still full of girlish atmosphere and continues to sing. ”
Kumagi Was born in 1982 in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. In 2001, Kumagi Participated in a singer audition for Japanese television, and finally stood out from 5210 candidates, and has since embarked on the path of music. At the age of 20, she officially entered the music scene with the single "Suffocation". She sang her own songwriting and composing in a clear and gentle voice, the melody was integrated with people, and the album was very popular with Japanese fans as soon as it was launched, and her unique voice and temperament immediately made Kumagi Apricot's name a unique label.
In the following years, Kumagi Apricot experienced marriage and children, but still did not stop composing music. By this year, she has released ten albums, composed and sung theme songs for many film and television dramas, and her voice is not only a household name in Japan, but also gradually loved by more fans around the world.
Many people define her work by "healing system", but she says that the music should be called "Kumagi Apricot Songs": "I want to be a creator who creates songs that even after decades of listening to them, people will still find these songs very good, and continue to write these as my most important things." 」 ”
If you had to use one word to describe the sound of Kumagi apricots, what would you choose?
This is a question from the Douban group. Chinese fans, wrote their answers like this:
Comfortable, clear, soft, transparent... This is the most mentioned adjective.
Others use terms beyond the scope of sound to depict the bear wood apricot in their hearts.
Some people say that she is a dandelion, a wind chime;
Some people say that she is clean and soft air,
Some people say that hearing her voice is like seeing the moonlight sprinkling down and seeing the clouds drifting by.
Some people say that she is the sky after the rain, a dream made by lying under the sky...
Like Cheng Bi, many people know Kumagi Apricot through the song "Memory of the Wind". The lyrics are still all composed by Kumagi Apricot himself, the lyrics are as beautiful as a poem from afar, and the quiet melody makes people completely immersed in it, as if the whole world is only left with you and her gentle singing.
Her voice is ethereal and natural, fresh and at the same time with a little sand, calm and powerful. Following her song, it's like walking in the forest, the breeze is blowing over your face, the spring is flowing, and the birds in the forest are chirping. Everything gives people a sense of freshness. Listen, you will really let go of impetuousness, calm down and feel the good. Probably because of the temperature of the mind, I can write such a beautiful song.
In 2015, Kumagi Apricot composed and sang the ending song "Junji Text" for the Japanese anime Charlotte, the song was popular all over the Internet, had an amazing number of plays on Youtube, and let more people remember Kumagi Apricot's name.
"The pursuit of a peaceful and happy life, as long as you can achieve it, but it is still impossible to achieve, but as long as you are around, I am very satisfied..." No one is more suitable for singing for beauty than her. The love words told, plain and sincere, she was as beautiful as the existence of the two-dimensional world, but gentle enough to feel the temperature of her word by word.
However, this song is not Kumagi Apricot's most satisfactory work, she said: "I know some of my singing habits, I am not good at the field and my own area of expertise is also very clear, I want to go beyond this part to try something new." 」 So, after a few popular healing singles, Kumagi Apricot broke through his past self in "Unadorned Tomorrow": "I already know that I am not a child who dreams of miracles, although it is cruel, but this is the reality.... One era is over, another is coming. ”
She said that only the pursuit of superficial rhetoric and the gorgeousness of the music is by no means the music she wants, so there is no gorgeous singing voice, no flashy rhetoric, but it has spoken a lot of far-reaching philosophies in a roundabout way. Probably many people have had this thought, "I'm just a walking dead who holds his breath, I'm no longer a child expecting a miracle to come, I've returned to reality" - Kumagi Apricot sang, but there was no sadness in the clear voice. She tells you the truth and teaches you how to face it – "Needless to say, I want to believe that I can shine in the light."
At a time when "healing" has become a label that many singers have labeled themselves, Kumagi No longer needs to explain much about his style. True healing is not as simple as a few lyrical melodies, and it is not something that contrived sensationalism can be learned. The music in Kumagi Apricot has long been integrated with her soul, thinking, personality and life, and when the music flows naturally and sincerely from the bottom of her heart, the power is irreplaceable. (End)
<h1>【Universal Music Department】"The Story of Snow" - Kumagi Apricot Debut 15th Anniversary Tour Schedule</h1>
12.21 Guangzhou Station Xinghai Concert Hall Symphony Concert Hall
12.22 Shenzhen Station Nanshan Cultural and Sports Center Theater Grand Theater
12.24 Wuxi Station Wuxi Great Hall of the People
12.26 Shanghai Station Majestic Theatre
12.27 Chongqing Station Chongqing Cultural Palace Grand Theater
12.28 Chengdu Station SHE SAYS Xichan International Theater
12.30 Dalian Station Dalian Development Zone Grand Theater
12.31 Beijing Railway Station Beijing Xinjiang into the wine