alan - Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~ (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single Review)

“The first CD single for avex trax’s “elements” monthly CD single campaign for the Tibetan J-Pop singer alan.  An elegant, dreamy and positive ballad produced by Sakamoto Ryuichi.  Simply beatiful!”

ARTIST: alan

CD SINGLE: Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~ / 懐かしい未来 ～longing future～

LABEL: avex trax

CATALOG #:  AVCD-31415/B

DURATION: 25:48

RELEASE DATE: July 2, 2008

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

1. 懐かしい未来 ～longing future～
2. Seed of Green
3. 合唱 [懐かしい未来 ～longing future～]
4. 懐かしい未来 ～longing future～ (Instrumental)
5. Seed of Green (Instrumental)

DVD: Region 2, 4:3, Duration: 8 minutes

1. 懐かしい未来 ～longing future～ (Music Clip)
2. Seed of Green (Image Clip)

Starting with this CD single, Tibetan J-pop star alan will be releasing 5 consecutive CD singles covering the elements.  This CD single represents “Earth”.

“Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~” is a positive, elegant and dreamy CD single produced by music legend and mega producer Sakamoto Ryuichi who contributes as a pianist for the track and featuring a children’s choir.  The song is very positive and alan’s vocals are just beautiful for this CD single.  Very well done and showcases alan’s vocals and enjoyed how she incorporates her tibetan vocal-style in the chorus.  Also, we get to hear alan playing the er-hu (a Chinese fiddle/violin).  Simply beautiful!

The coupling track “Seed of Green” is another beautiful track, an upbeat, positive ballad.  Another well done, well-sung track on this CD single.

The second coupling track is an all children’s choir version of “Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future” which was nice to see added to the CD single. The following features the choir singing along with a piano accompaniment.

And the final two tracks feature the instrumentals for the first two tracks.

The DVD features two video clips.  The first is for “Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future” which features alan singing outdoors and performing in a variety of settings.  One that is desert, another in a plant filled outdoor scenery and also a cool scene with alan playing the er-hu.  At the end of the music video is details on the project and some ecological facts.

The next clip for “Seed of Green” is similar to her previous image videos which features the singer on location and singing her song.  This music video clip features alan on location, clips from the making of “Natsukashii Mirai” and more.

The CD insert features a bi-fold with lyrics and production credits and photos of alan on the other side.

Overall, the CD single was well done and well-produced.  I had no doubt that alan was in good hands with the collaboration with Sakamoto Ryuichi.

Both tracks on this CD single are well-done and I found myself entranced with alan’s vocals.  Very beautiful and the music was just equally enjoyable and I’ve wanted to hear more of alan performing the er-hu and to hear her incorporate that into “Natsukashii Mirai” was just beautiful!

I used the word beautiful a lot to describe this CD single because that’s what I felt.  Simply beautiful!

Check out more of our reviews at J!-ENT’s World Groove

Buy this CD Single:

Natsukashii Mirai - longing future [CD+DVD]

alan