Taeko Ohnuki -

Taeko Ohnuki — 大貫妙子 (Nov. 28, 1953) — is a Japanese art-pop vocalist and songwriter who fronted the band Sugar Babe during the mid 1970s. As a solo artist, she released two albums on Panama in 1976 and 1977, followed by four albums on RCA between 1978 and 1982. In 1983, she released her first of six albums on Dear Heart, followed by a pair of albums on Midi Inc. in the late 1980s and a round of titles on Eastworld during the subsequent decade.

Background

Taeko Ohnuki was born in Tokyo in 1953 and grew up in Suginami, where music entered early through a home stereo and a house full of records. She studied piano as a child and also took singing lessons from the same teacher. A family move in fourth grade ended that training, but it left her with usable keyboard grounding and an early sense of voice.

Foreign records widened that base. She listened to FEN from a friend’s house because her own home could not receive the signal, and she absorbed classical LPs at home plus jazz-leaning records owned by her older brother, including Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 and Nina Simone albums. In junior high she took up guitar, sang the Beatles’ “This Boy” at a school festival, and carried a straight-ahead school routine into high school, where she kept perfect attendance while forming amateur bands with students from other schools. Those groups worked through songs by the 5th Dimension and the Mamas & the Papas.

Her listening changed again at the end of her teens. The Japanese release of the Woodstock film and live contact with Japanese rock broke open a larger musical horizon. Ohnuki pointed to the Who, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Sly & the Family Stone, Murahachibu, and the M among the acts that shook her sense of scale during that period.

At eighteen or nineteen she joined a folk group, the first band she regarded as a real working unit. She began writing songs for it, but the material came out too harmonically involved for that setting and did not get used. A Warner Pioneer producer then told her that the songs and lyrics did not fit the folk circuit, urged her to leave the band, and introduced her to musicians whose tastes ran closer to her own. Those meetings led to a session circle that became Sugar Babe in 1973. When the group took shape, Ohnuki left guitar for keyboards because Tatsuro Yamashita and Kunio Muramatsu already covered the guitar chairs, and she still had enough piano technique to step across. That shift placed her at the start of her first recording chapter, just before the album work began.

Grey Skies (1976)

Taeko Ohnuki released her first solo album, Grey Skies, on September 25, 1976, on PANAM/CROWN.

Ohnuki writes from piano and close, unforced lead lines. Guitarist Tatsuro Yamashita and keyboardist Ryuichi Sakamoto shape much of the album around light shuffle time, clipped electric detail, and small changes in color, while Haruomi Hosono, Hiroshi Sato, and Makoto Yano widen selected tracks with Rhodes, organ, prepared piano, cembalo, and restrained ensemble accents.

“Toki no Hajimari [The Beginning of Time]” opens with a loose shuffle. “Yakusoku [Promise]” and “Gogo no Kyūsoku [Afternoon Rest]” come forward from the Sugar Babe book, “One’s Love” leans into triple meter with a light skip, and “Ai wa Maboroshi [Love Is an Illusion]” pares the backing down to a small-combo texture. “Wander Lust” marks one of the clearest statements of the direction Ohnuki wanted to pursue beyond her first band, while “When I Met the Grey Sky” turns solitary city life into the album’s longest inward passage.

A1. “Toki no Hajimari [The Beginning of Time]” (3:53)
A2. “Yakusoku [Promise]” (3:49)
A3. “One’s Love” (3:56)
A4. “Gogo no Kyūsoku [Afternoon Rest]” (4:15)
A5. “Ai wa Maboroshi [Love Is an Illusion]” (4:47)
B1. “Wander Lust” (3:04)
B2. “Machi [City]” (3:53)
B3. “Itsudemo Sobani [Always by Your Side]” (4:07)
B4. “When I Met the Grey Sky” (5:49)
B5. “Breakin’ Blue” (5:36)

Ohnuki recorded Grey Skies at The Crown Studio between June 12 and August 1976 with co-producer Yasushi Nakane. The sessions drew in Yamashita, Sakamoto, Hosono, Sato, Shigeru Suzuki, Tatsuo Hayashi, Yutaka Uehara, Jiro Terao, Akihiro Tanaka, and Tetsuro Kashibuchi across the album’s rotating small-group setups.

The album used the English title Grey Skies, and the original obi carried the line “Even in a still city, the sky spreads wide.”

PANAM/CROWN prepared “Ai wa Maboroshi [Love Is an Illusion]” (b/w “One’s Love”) as a promotional 7-inch in 1976. On March 5, 1977, the label issued “Ashita kara, Drama [From Tomorrow, Drama]” (b/w “Wander Lust”) as a commercial 7-inch tied to the album’s campaign. Grey Skies reached No. 55 on Oricon.

Sunshower (1977)

Taeko Ohnuki released her second solo album, Sunshower, on July 25, 1977, on PANAM/CROWN.

Ohnuki writes the album around short melodic cells, dry rhythmic placement, and a lighter vocal line than the debut. Ryuichi Sakamoto controls the full arrangement plan and fills the record with Steinway, Rhodes, organ, CS-80, and Arp colors. Chris Parker drives most of the set under alternating bass support from Haruomi Hosono and Tsugutoshi Goto, while Tsunehide Matsuki and Kenji Omura cut across the songs with compact guitar lines and brief solo figures. Ohnuki wrote nine tracks, and Sakamoto supplied the music for “Furiko no Yagi [Pendulum Goat].”

“Summer Connection” sets Steinway and Rhodes against Omura’s short lead break and Ohnuki’s paired vocal line with Tatsuro Yamashita. “Nanimo Iranai [I Need Nothing]” and “Law Of Nature” place Kazumi Watanabe in the solo chair, while “Tokai [City]” and “Karappo no Isu [Empty Chair]” thread Yasuyuki Shimizu’s saxophone through Sakamoto’s electric keyboard bed. “Sargasso Sea” strips the album to Sakamoto alone at the keys, and “Furiko no Yagi [Pendulum Goat]” closes the program with the only outside melody credit in the set.

A1. “Summer Connection” (4:30)
A2. “Kusuri wo Takusan [A Lot of Medicine]” (4:09)
A3. “Nanimo Iranai [I Need Nothing]” (4:01)
A4. “Tokai [City]” (5:10)
A5. “Karappo no Isu [Empty Chair]” (5:34)
B1. “Law Of Nature” (3:47)
B2. “Dare no Tameni [For Whose Sake]” (5:30)
B3. “Silent Screamer” (3:32)
B4. “Sargasso Sea” (2:47)
B5. “Furiko no Yagi [Pendulum Goat]” (5:40)

Ohnuki recorded Sunshower between May 13 and June 6, 1977, at Sound City and Crown Studio in Tokyo with producers Seiji Kuniyoshi and Aki Ikuta, co-producer Ohnuki, musical director Ryuichi Sakamoto, and engineer Shinichi Tanaka.

Kazuhiro Sato handled the art direction. Tohru Ohnuki contributed the sleeve photography.

PANAM/CROWN issued “Summer Connection” (b/w “Heya [Room]”) as a 7-inch on July 5, 1977. The single version of “Summer Connection” used a different take from the LP cut and introduced the album twenty days before release.

Mignonne (1978)

Taeko Ohnuki released her third solo album, Mignonne, on September 21, 1978, on RCA/RVC.

Ohnuki writes the full program, then splits the arrangements between Ichizo Seo and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Seo shapes one side with thicker guitar sections, horns, strings, harp, and chorus, while Sakamoto takes the other side toward piano-led charts, brass writing, and string voicings around Haruomi Hosono’s bass. Across the album, Ohnuki narrows the emotional address from the public edge of the prior record toward a more interior set of songs.

“Jajaumamusume [Tomboy]” opens with horns, sax solo, chorus, and strings, then stands as the album’s clear counterstatement to its otherwise inward lyrical pull. “Tasogare [Twilight]” and “Totsuzen no Okurimono [Sudden Gift]” place Sakamoto, Hosono, and strings in tighter ballad structures, while “4:00 A.M.” widens the sound with brass and stacked chorus lines. “Kaze no Organ [Wind Organ]” folds harp into Seo’s arrangement, and “Akogare [Longing]” closes with Sakamoto at the piano under a three-guitar surface and string support.

A1. “Jajaumamusume [Tomboy]” (4:35)
A2. “Yokogao [Profile]” (3:24)
A3. “Tasogare [Twilight]” (3:43)
A4. “Sora wo Tobetara [If I Could Fly]” (3:40)
A5. “Kaze no Organ [Wind Organ]” (3:20)
B1. “Iidasenakute [Unable to Say It]” (3:52)
B2. “4:00 A.M.” (5:34)
B3. “Totsuzen no Okurimono [Sudden Gift]” (5:02)
B4. “Umi to Shosen [The Sea and the Boy]” (3:22)
B5. “Akogare [Longing]” (5:53)

Ohnuki made Mignonne for RVC with producer Eiji Ogura, director Ken-ichi Makimura, recording director Shigeki Miyata, and a two-arranger plan shared by Ichizo Seo and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Masatoshi Ikeda and Masaharu Nakano handled the art direction, and Kohei Onishi photographed the sleeve.

RVC issued “Jajaumamusume [Tomboy]” (b/w “Umi to Shosen [The Sea and the Boy]”) as a 7-inch on September 21, 1978, the same day as the album.

Romantique (1980)

Taeko Ohnuki released her fourth solo album, Romantique, on July 21, 1980, on RCA/RVC.

Ohnuki wrote all ten songs and split the album between two arrangement camps. Ryuichi Sakamoto handles “CARNAVAL,” “Decade Night,” “Ame no Yoake [Dawn in the Rain],” “Wakaki Hi no Bōrō [Lookout of Youth],” “BOHEMIAN,” and “Atarashii Shirts [New Shirt]” with Rhodes, Prophet 5, Hammond organ, and programmed detail around Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi. Kazuhiko Kato takes the remaining side with Nobuyuki Shimizu’s string writing, acoustic piano, classical guitar, mandolin, and broader vocal group textures.

“CARNAVAL” turns Tokyo nightlife into an empty carnival, and “Decade Night” drives that urban refusal deeper. “Ame no Yoake [Dawn in the Rain]” and “Atarashii Shirts [New Shirt]” hinge on one-scene writing about rupture and aftermath. “Hatenaki Ryōjō [Endless Journey]” follows a girl across European cities, “Futari [Two People]” casts an exile story, and “Shinkirō no Machi [Mirage City]” reopens a Sugar Babe song as a marker between the first phase and the new one.

A1. “CARNAVAL” (4:47)
A2. “Decade Night” (3:45)
A3. “Ame no Yoake [Dawn in the Rain]” (4:33)
A4. “Wakaki Hi no Bōrō [Lookout of Youth]” (3:55)
A5. “BOHEMIAN” (4:09)
B1. “Hatenaki Ryōjō [Endless Journey]” (4:44)
B2. “Futari [Two People]” (3:48)
B3. “Keibetsu [Contempt]” (3:40)
B4. “Atarashii Shirts [New Shirt]” (4:02)
B5. “Shinkirō no Machi [Mirage City]” (2:48)

The original LP sequence and timings are as above.

Ohnuki cut Romantique for RCA/RVC with producer Ken-ichi Makimura, director Shigeki Miyata, recording engineer Yasuo Sato, and remix work shared by Sato with Sakamoto on the first three tracks.

Yukimasa Okumura handled the art direction and design, and Masayoshi Sukita photographed the jacket and lyric-sheet front. The obi positioned the album as Ohnuki’s arrival point and called out the backing support from Sakamoto, Hosono, Omura, Takahashi, and Kato.

RCA/RVC issued “CARNAVAL” (b/w “Ame no Yoake [Dawn in the Rain]”) as a 7-inch on August 21, 1980.

On January 21, 1981, “Futari [Two People]” appeared as a 7-inch with the non-LP “Ai ni Sukuwaretai [Saved by Love]” on the flip. Romantique reached No. 72 on Oricon.

Aventure (1981)

Taeko Ohnuki released her fifth studio album, Aventure, on May 21, 1981, on RCA/RVC.

Ohnuki writes Aventure as a bright, outward-facing song set built on synthetic color, clipped rhythm, and concise vocal phrasing. Ryuichi Sakamoto shapes much of the record with Prophet 5, Rhodes, acoustic piano, and Arp lines around Yukihiro Takahashi’s drums and Yuji Nakamura’s bass, while Kenji Omura, Nobuyuki Shimizu, Norio Maeda, and Kazuhiko Kato divide the remaining arrangements into smaller stylistic blocks that give each side a different surface. Ohnuki framed the album around the idea of adventure itself, treating lost risk and forward motion as the record’s central theme.

“Koibitotachi no Ashita [Lovers’ Tomorrow]” opens with Sakamoto’s Prophet 5 and a Tatsuro Yamashita chorus chart that places Mariya Takeuchi and EPO in the backing stack. “Samba de mar” shifts to Shimizu and Kato with samba whistle and programmed percussion. “Chance” cuts in with Omura’s own arrangement, while “Grand Prix” and “La mer, le ciel” hand the keyboard chair to Norio Maeda and pivot toward a more orchestral small-group polish. “Bleecker Street no Seishun [Youth on Bleecker Street]” returns Shimizu and Kato to the board before “Saigo no Hizuke [The Last Date]” closes with Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono, and Takahashi.

A1. “Koibitotachi no Ashita [Lovers’ Tomorrow]” (4:06)
A2. “Samba de mar” (4:09)
A3. “Ai no Yukue [Where Love Goes]” (3:40)
A4. “Aventurier” (4:43)
A5. “Terminee” (3:21)

B1. “Chance” (4:20)
B2. “Grand Prix” (3:41)
B3. “La mer, le ciel” (3:43)
B4. “Bleecker Street no Seishun [Youth on Bleecker Street]” (3:41)
B5. “Saigo no Hizuke [The Last Date]” (3:27)

Ohnuki made Aventure for RCA/RVC with producers Ken-ichi Makimura and Shigeki Miyata. Yasuo Sato engineered the album.

Yukimasa Okumura handled the art direction. Hiromi Kanai and Tomohiro Itami prepared the design, and Masayoshi Sukita photographed the sleeve.

RCA/RVC issued “Koibitotachi no Ashita [Lovers’ Tomorrow]” (b/w “Ai no Yukue [Where Love Goes]”) as a 7-inch on June 5, 1981. RCA/RVC also issued “Chance” (b/w “Totsuzen no Okurimono [Sudden Gift]”) as a 7-inch in 1981.

Cliché (1982)

Taeko Ohnuki released her sixth studio album, Cliché, on September 21, 1982, on RCA/RVC.

Ohnuki divides Cliché into two arrangement worlds. Ryuichi Sakamoto takes the first half with close drum-machine pulse, spare keyboard figures, and tight guitar placement from Kenji Omura, then Jean Musy takes the second half toward a Paris-made sequence with broader keyboard voicings, strings, and a more overtly cinematic line. The album became Ohnuki’s first overseas recording project, and it completed the European run that began with Romantique and Aventure.

“Kuro no Claire [Claire in Black]” and “Shikisai Toshi [Chromatic City]” compress the Sakamoto side into hard outlines, dry drums, and narrow melodic turns. “Peter Rabbit to Watashi [Peter Rabbit and I]” keeps that same reduced surface, while “LABYRINTH” extends it into a darker interior passage. Musy’s side opens with “Kaze no Michi [Path of Wind]” and “Hikari no Carnival [Carnival of Light],” then carries the Paris session through “Tsumujikaze [Whirlwind],” “Omoide [Memory],” “Natsuiro no Fuku [Summer-Colored Clothes],” and a reprise of “Kuro no Claire.” Ohnuki titled the album after the French word cliché, using it in the sense of familiar musical language that could yield new value through reuse.

A1. “Kuro no Claire [Claire in Black]” (4:59)
A2. “Shikisai Toshi [Chromatic City]” (3:35)
A3. “Peter Rabbit to Watashi [Peter Rabbit and I]” (3:11)
A4. “LABYRINTH” (4:36)
A5. “Kaze no Michi [Path of Wind]” (3:32)

B1. “Hikari no Carnival [Carnival of Light]” (3:17)
B2. “Tsumujikaze [Whirlwind]” (3:10)
B3. “Omoide [Memory]” (3:43)
B4. “Natsuiro no Fuku [Summer-Colored Clothes]” (3:10)
B5. “Kuro no Claire (reprise)” (3:09)

Ohnuki recorded Cliché at Hitokuchizaka Studio and Delphine Studio in Paris with producers Shigeki Miyata and Ohnuki. The Sakamoto side stays in the Japanese sessions, and the Musy side comes from the Paris dates.

The sleeve shifts away from the monochrome image of the prior two albums and adopts a more colorful presentation at Ohnuki’s request. Kohei Onishi photographed the cover, and the LP and cassette used different jacket photos.

RCA/RVC issued “Kuro no Claire [Claire in Black]” (b/w “Aventurier”) as a 7-inch on October 21, 1981. The song later became one of Ohnuki’s signature titles and also served in a Hitachi Maxell commercial campaign.

RCA/RVC issued “Peter Rabbit to Watashi [Peter Rabbit and I]” (b/w “Hikari no Carnival [Carnival of Light]”) as a 7-inch on September 21, 1982. Cliché reached No. 15 on Oricon.

Signifie (1983)

Taeko Ohnuki released her seventh studio album, Signifie, on October 21, 1983, on Dear Heart/RVC.

Ohnuki narrows the record around programmed rhythm, sharp-edged keyboard writing, and a lighter vocal touch set against a more synthetic bed than the prior albums. Ryuichi Sakamoto leads the largest share with keyboards, MC-4 programming, Linn and Simmons drum textures, and occasional vibraphone, while Nobuyuki Shimizu and Keiichi Suzuki take separate pockets with their own instrument clusters. Kenji Omura, Chuei Yoshikawa, Tatsuo Hayashi, Motoya Hamaguchi, and a rotating sax section keep the album tied to live players even when the arrangements pivot toward machines.

“Natsu ni Koisuru Onnatachi [Women Who Fall in Love in Summer]” carries full-band support and later served as the theme for the TBS drama of the same title. “Genwaku [Fascination]” returns a song Ohnuki had earlier given to Ruiko Kurahashi. “SIGNE [Sign]” and “PATIO [Courtyard]” reduce the language further, and the album places three instrumentals across the sequence with “Lucrezia,” “Anya,” and “el Tourmanier [Rainbow God].” The title comes from the French linguistic term signifié, and the album’s concept treated her earlier musical path as something to reexamine and define again.

A1. “Natsu ni Koisuru Onnatachi [Women Who Fall in Love in Summer]” (4:41)
A2. “Genwaku [Fascination]” (4:56)
A3. “SIGNE [Sign]” (4:12)
A4. “PATIO [Courtyard]” (3:49)
A5. “Lucrezia” (1:41) — instrumental

B1. “Teddy Bear” (3:48)
B2. “RECIPE [Recipe]” (3:30)
B3. “Anya” (2:04) — instrumental
B4. “SIESTA [Nap]” (4:05)
B5. “el Tourmanier [Rainbow God]” (3:15) — instrumental

Ohnuki recorded and mixed Signifie at Onkio Haus with producers Ohnuki and Shigeki Miyata. JVC Cutting Center in Aoyama handled the mastering stage.

Masatoshi Toda handled the art direction.

Dear Heart/RVC issued “Natsu ni Koisuru Onnatachi [Women Who Fall in Love in Summer]” (b/w “RECIPE [Recipe]”) as a 7-inch on August 5, 1983. The single reached No. 51 on Oricon, and Signifie reached No. 6, her highest album placement to that point.

Bande originale de “カイエ” sortie du 5 juin 1984 (OST / original video, 1984)

On June 5, 1984, Dear Heart/RVC released カイエ (Cahier), Taeko Ohnuki’s eighth studio album and the soundtrack to the same-year original video of the same name. The title cahier is French for a notebook, and the printed French line at the bottom of the sleeve gives the album its full release inscription.

The video was shot in Paris in April 1984 and directed by Munesuke Sekiya. It does not follow a narrative plot; it assembles clips built around the album’s music, folds in monochrome views of daily Paris life, and places Pierre Barouh inside the footage as part of the film’s visual company. The finished program expands beyond the LP by repeating “Cahier (I)” and inserting “Genwaku [Fascination],” “Kuro no Claire [Claire in Black],” and “Natsuiro no Fuku [Summer-Colored Clothes]” from adjacent releases.

Ohnuki wrote the full score and split the arrangements across four distinct hands. Jean Musy carries the Paris side of the project with the title cue, “Amour levant — Wakaki Hi no Bōrō [Rising Love — Lookout of Youth],” “La Strada,” “Ame no Yoake [Dawn in the Rain],” and “Natsu ni Koisuru Onnatachi [Women Who Fall in Love in Summer].” Ryuichi Sakamoto takes “Cahier (II)” and the pre-release single “Uchū Mitsuketa [I Found the Cosmos],” Yasuaki Shimizu arranges the instrumental “Rinbu [Round Dance],” and Nobuyuki Shimizu handles “La courant de mecontentment [Undercurrent of Discontent].” The opening “Cahier (I)” begins with Ohnuki’s unaccompanied voice, “Amour levant” rewrites “Wakaki Hi no Bōrō” with French lyrics by Pierre Barouh, and side two closes with two instrumental recastings of earlier songs.

The original LP runs as follows.
A1. “Cahier (I)” (2:01)
A2. “Amour levant — Wakaki Hi no Bōrō [Rising Love — Lookout of Youth]” (3:46)
A3. “Rinbu [Round Dance]” (3:02)
A4. “La courant de mecontentment [Undercurrent of Discontent]” (4:17)
A5. “Cahier (II)” (2:24)
B1. “Uchū Mitsuketa [I Found the Cosmos]” (3:43)
B2. “La Strada” (4:48)
B3. “Ame no Yoake [Dawn in the Rain]” (4:18)
B4. “Natsu ni Koisuru Onnatachi [Women Who Fall in Love in Summer]” (4:57)

Ohnuki recorded Cahier in Japan and France with co-producer Shigeki Miyata. The session book places Bernard Paganotti, Sauver Mallia, Pierre-Alain Dahan, Jean-Paul Batailley, Noel Micleri, Paul Slade, Kenji Omura, Tsuyoshi Kon, EPO, and Tetsu Nakamura across the album’s rotating ensembles. Painter Kae Teshima supplied the cover illustration. Dear Heart/RVC issued “Uchū Mitsuketa [I Found the Cosmos]” ahead of the album on May 21, 1984, with “Metropolitan Museum” on the flip, and the LP reached No. 31 on Oricon.

copine. (1985)

Taeko Ohnuki released her ninth studio album, copine., on June 21, 1985, on Dear Heart/MIDI.

Ohnuki wrote all ten songs. Ryuichi Sakamoto and Nobuyuki Shimizu divide most of the album between programmed parts and live ensemble detail, while the New York tracks pull Don Grolnick, Will Lee, Omar Hakim, Steve Ferrone, Hugh McCracken, Mino Cinelu, Randy Brecker, and Michael Brecker into the sessions. Ohnuki’s vocal line sits close to the surface, and the record ties synth parts to acoustic piano, horns, strings, and small rhythm-unit shifts with tighter balance than the earlier European cycle.

“Les aventures de TINTIN” sets Sakamoto’s all-instrument chart against Kenji Omura’s guitar and Kouki Ito’s bass. “Vegetable” keeps Sakamoto at the center again, with Nobuyuki Shimizu on guitar, Motoya Hamaguchi on percussion, and the Kato Joe Group on strings. “Haru no Arashi [Spring Storm]” and “Amico, sei felice?” bring in Grolnick, Lee, and Hakim, with Brecker brass on the latter. “Siena” and “Shiawase na Otokotachie [To Happy Men]” turn to Shimizu-led programmed settings, while “Nobe [Field]” reduces the album to Sakamoto alone under Ohnuki’s backing line.

A1. “Les aventures de TINTIN” (4:36)
A2. “Vegetable” (4:15)
A3. “Haru no Arashi [Spring Storm]” (4:01)
A4. “Siena” (4:23)
A5. “Amico, sei felice?” (4:08)

B1. “OUT OF AFRICA” (3:23)
B2. “Leave me alone” (4:44)
B3. “Jacques-Henri Lartigue” (3:12)
B4. “Shiawase na Otokotachie [To Happy Men]” (4:49)
B5. “Nobe [Field]” (2:46)

Ohnuki recorded copine. in Japan and New York with co-producer Shigeki Miyata. “Vegetable” and “Siena” came from the Japanese dates; the remaining tracks came from a New York stay that lasted about two weeks, with roughly one week devoted to recording.

Harumi Yamaguchi drew the sleeve profile. The French title uses the feminine noun for a friend or companion.

Dear Heart/MIDI issued “Vegetable” (b/w “Siena”) as a 7-inch on February 5, 1985. Shiseido used the A-side for its 1985 spring campaign, and copine. reached No. 23 on Oricon.

Comin’ Soon (1986)

Taeko Ohnuki released her tenth studio album, Comin’ Soon, on March 21, 1986, on Dear Heart/MIDI.

Ohnuki built Comin’ Soon around music that children and adults could hear together. Nobuyuki Shimizu handles much of the LP with acoustic piano, xylophone, glockenspiel, oboe, brass, strings, and computer programming, while Ryuichi Sakamoto takes the shorter machine-led pockets and Satoshi Kadokura supplies a warmer acoustic cluster on “MOMO” and “Mori no Christmas [Forest Christmas].” The album also folds earlier pieces into the sequence, including “Peter Rabbit to Watashi [Peter Rabbit and I],” “Metropolitan Museum,” a self-cover of “Zazie dans le métro,” and a return engagement for “Les aventures de TINTIN.”

“Alice” opens the record with Shimizu at piano, guitar, tuned percussion, and drum programming under a large horn-and-string chart. “Peter Rabbit to Watashi [Peter Rabbit and I]” and “Teddy Bear” place Sakamoto with Omura in compact keyboard-and-guitar settings. “Metropolitan Museum” keeps its structure spare around Shimizu’s all-instrument arrangement and Hiroyuki Saka’s oboe. “MOMO” and “Mori no Christmas [Forest Christmas]” bring in Kadokura, with fretless bass, electric violin, woodwinds, and strings. “Checker Kun” turns to Omura with Saeko Suzuki’s Fairlight support, and “Comin’ Soon ‘SMALL DAYS IN A BIG WORLD’” closes on Chris Mosdell’s text after a poem by Mio Hani.

Ohnuki wrote the music throughout. Lyrics are hers except where noted.

A1. “Alice” (5:43)
A2. “Peter Rabbit to Watashi [Peter Rabbit and I]” (3:11)
A3. “Robot March” (3:48) — Yuya Furukawa, Taeko Ohnuki
A4. “Metropolitan Museum” (2:18)
A5. “MOMO” (3:40) — Yoko Hayama, Taeko Ohnuki

B1. “Teddy Bear” (4:05)
B2. “Checker Kun” (3:57) — Michio Akiyama, Taeko Ohnuki
B3. “Zazie dans le métro” (3:17)
B4. “Les aventures de TINTIN” (4:36)
B5. “Comin’ Soon ‘SMALL DAYS IN A BIG WORLD’” (4:18) — Chris Mosdell, Taeko Ohnuki; based on a poem by Mio Hani

Ohnuki produced Comin’ Soon, and she shared that role with Shigeki Miyata on tracks 2, 3, 4, 7, and 10. The original LP and cassette carried ten tracks, while the same-day CD added “Mori no Christmas [Forest Christmas]” and “Otenki Iihi [A Fine Day].”

The first LP came with an LP-sized picture book titled Ai yori Kawaii “Osanagokoro Spectacle”. Comin’ Soon reached No. 26 on the Oricon LP chart and No. 21 on the Oricon CD chart.

RCA/RVC issued “Peter Rabbit to Watashi [Peter Rabbit and I]” (b/w “Hikari no Carnival [Carnival of Light]”) on September 21, 1982, and Ohnuki later pulled it into Comin’ Soon. RCA/RVC followed on May 21, 1984, with “Cosmos Mitsuketa [I Found Cosmos]” (b/w “Metropolitan Museum”), whose B-side had already run on Minna no Uta in April and May 1984. MIDI also circulated the promo 7-inch “Mori no Christmas [Forest Christmas]” (b/w “Tenshi no Orgel [Angel’s Music Box]”) in 1985; the A-side later appeared only on the CD edition of the album.

アフリカ動物パズル (1986 soundtrack)

Taeko Ohnuki released the soundtrack アフリカ動物パズル for general sale on June 30, 1986, on Dear Heart/MIDI.

Ohnuki wrote eleven of the thirteen pieces and limited her own singing to four tracks. Akira Senju shapes the main theme, “Gosui [Nap],” “Sougen [Grassland],” and the ending theme; Saeko Suzuki handles the Fairlight-led “Otenki Iihi [A Fine Day]”; Kenji Omura takes the two sung pieces “Niji wo Tsukamu Otoko [The Man Who Catches Rainbows]” and “Hadashi no Lonesome Cowboy [Barefoot Lonesome Cowboy]”; Yuji Nomi and Mitsuru Sawamura each supply one outside composition. Ohnuki wrote the score after a 1984 trip to Kenya with director Mio Hani and aimed for music that would sit naturally in open landscape.

“Main Theme” opens the record as an instrumental overture. “Otenki Iihi [A Fine Day]” places Ohnuki’s voice over Suzuki’s Fairlight chart and whistle detail. “Doubutsu Puzzle [Animal Puzzle]” belongs to Nomi and Oshare TV, while “Another Kind” brings in Mich Live with alto sax, piano, guitars, bass, and two drum chairs. Omura handles both vocal numbers under his own all-instrument setups, Koji Ueno takes “Cameleon [Chameleon],” Hiroki Inui takes “Thorn Tree no Uta [Song of the Thorn Tree],” and the closing “Toritachi no Asa—Lion no Propose [Morning of the Birds—The Lion’s Proposal]” uses eagle-wall cries recorded in Kenya.

Music is Ohnuki’s throughout except where noted. Mio Hani wrote the lyrics for the four sung tracks.

A1. “Main Theme” (2:22)
A2. “Otenki Iihi [A Fine Day]” (3:20) — Mio Hani, Taeko Ohnuki
A3. “Doubutsu Puzzle [Animal Puzzle]” (4:16) — Yuji Nomi
A4. “Niji wo Tsukamu Otoko [The Man Who Catches Rainbows]” (2:53) — Mio Hani, Taeko Ohnuki
A5. “Mizobe [Waterside]” (4:20)
A6. “Gosui [Nap]” (2:11)

B1. “Sougen [Grassland]” (2:33)
B2. “Another Kind” (4:12) — Mitsuru Sawamura
B3. “Hadashi no Lonesome Cowboy [Barefoot Lonesome Cowboy]” (3:31) — Mio Hani, Taeko Ohnuki
B4. “Cameleon [Chameleon]” (2:27)
B5. “Thorn Tree no Uta [Song of the Thorn Tree]” (2:55) — Mio Hani, Taeko Ohnuki
B6. “Ending Theme” (2:23)
B7. “Toritachi no Asa—Lion no Propose [Morning of the Birds—The Lion’s Proposal]” (4:22)

Ohnuki recorded アフリカ動物パズル at Onkio Haus Studio, Hitokuchizaka Studio, and Studio “A.” Dear Heart/MIDI first issued it as a mail-order LP in 1985, then moved it to cassette and CD on June 30, 1986.

Susumu Hani drew the jacket illustration. The album served a film directed by Mio Hani, and four of its arrangements marked Akira Senju’s formal debut on record.

アフリカ動物パズル reached No. 33 on Oricon.

A Slice of Life (1987)

Taeko Ohnuki released her twelfth studio album, A Slice of Life, on October 5, 1987, on Dear Heart/MIDI.

Ohnuki writes the album around short song forms, close vocal placement, and a lighter synthetic surface than the chamber-led work that surrounded it. Kenji Omura handles four tracks with guitar-forward pop settings, Hiroshi Sato takes “Ningyo to Suifu [Mermaid and Sailor],” Yasuaki Shimizu shapes the sax-led center and “Mon Oncle [My Uncle],” Jean Musy takes two stripped keyboard pieces, and Hubu Musy closes the album with the French adaptation. Yukihiro Takahashi, Haruomi Hosono, Ray Ohara, Bobby Watson, EPO, and Takeshi Kobayashi fill out the changing rhythm and vocal support across the sequence.

“Anata ni Nita Hito [Someone Like You],” “Mou Ichido Twist [Twist Once More],” and “Snapshot” keep Omura and Sato in tight pop settings with Takahashi at the kit. “Koibito Tachi no Jikoku [Time of the Lovers]” shifts to Shimizu’s tenor sax and Hosono’s bass, while “HYMNS” and “Kodachi no Nakano Hibi [Days in the Grove]” reduce the sound to Jean Musy’s keyboards. “Mon Oncle [My Uncle]” takes its cue from Jacques Tati’s film Mon Oncle, and “Kare to Kanojo no Sonnet [His and Her Sonnet]” adapts the French song that Ohnuki had already recast into Japanese lyric form that same year.

A1. “Anata ni Nita Hito [Someone Like You]” (4:17)
A2. “Mou Ichido Twist [Twist Once More]” (3:05)
A3. “Ningyo to Suifu [Mermaid and Sailor]” (4:05)
A4. “Snapshot” (3:30)
A5. “Koibito Tachi no Jikoku [Time of the Lovers]” (3:59)
B1. “Gobanme no Kisetsu [The Fifth Season]” (4:04)
B2. “HYMNS” (3:48)
B3. “Kodachi no Nakano Hibi [Days in the Grove]” (4:02)
B4. “Mon Oncle [My Uncle]” (3:08)
B5. “Kare to Kanojo no Sonnet [His and Her Sonnet]” (3:48) — music by C. Cohen, Romano Musumarra, and R. Wargniel; Japanese lyrics by Taeko Ohnuki.

Ohnuki recorded A Slice of Life across Tokyo and Paris dates with co-producer Shigeki Miyata. The sessions used ALFA Studio A, Delphine Studio in Paris, Atelier J. Musy, CBS/Sony Roppongi Studio, Onkio Haus, Hitokuchizaka Studio, Victor Studio, and Avaco Creative Studios, with Yasuhiko Terada and Didier Lizé credited on the recording and mix side.

Kohei Onishi photographed the sleeve.

Dear Heart issued “Koibito Tachi no Jikoku [Time of the Lovers]” (b/w “Hadashi no Lonesome Cowboy [Barefoot Lonesome Cowboy]”) as a 7-inch on February 11, 1987. Its single arrangement paired Kazuhiko Kato with Yasuaki Shimizu and added Shimizu’s string writing. A Slice of Life reached No. 20 on the Oricon LP chart and No. 16 on the Oricon CD chart.

Purissima (1988)

Taeko Ohnuki released her thirteenth studio album, Purissima, on September 21, 1988, on Dear Heart/MIDI.

Ohnuki built Purissima around acoustic instruments, chamber writing, and a broader orchestral surface than the prior album. Marty Paich opens and returns on the title theme with full arranged charts, Patrick Williams handles “Monochrome & Colours” and “Good Luck! Chiisana Show Window [Good Luck! Little Show Window],” Febian Reza Pane shapes the piano-led core, and Toshihiro Nakanishi supplies both compositions and arrangements on the album’s most string-centered tracks. Nathan East, Jeff Porcaro, Vinnie Colaiuta, Alan Pasqua, Lisa Ono, Akiko Yano, Nobuya Sugawa, Hajime Mizoguchi, and Wakana Tatezumi appear across a session grid that stays largely acoustic even when it widens toward studio orchestra.

“Tema Purissima” enters with Paich’s conducted chart. “Monochrome & Colours” narrows to piano, bass, drums, and tenor sax, while “Cavaliere Servente” and “Voce é Bossanova” pivot toward smaller chamber and bossa settings with Pane at the piano. “Koibito Towa… [As for Lovers…],” “Rain Dance,” and “Tsuki no Kizahashi [Moon Stairway]” draw music from Nakanishi, and “Aru Hareta Hi [One Sunny Day]” reduces the album to Ohnuki with Akiko Yano at acoustic piano. The title uses the Italian superlative form for purity.

A1. “Tema Purissima” (3:55)
A2. “Monochrome & Colours” (4:11)
A3. “Cavaliere Servente” (3:56)
A4. “Voce é Bossanova” (3:27)
A5. “Koibito Towa… [As for Lovers…]” (4:08) — music by Toshihiro Nakanishi
B1. “Rain Dance” (3:28) — music by Toshihiro Nakanishi
B2. “Good Luck! Chiisana Show Window [Good Luck! Little Show Window]” (4:16)
B3. “Aru Hareta Hi [One Sunny Day]” (4:30)
B4. “Tema Purissima (Cool Sax Version)” (3:17)
B5. “Tsuki no Kizahashi [Moon Stairway]” (5:09) — music by Toshihiro Nakanishi.

Ohnuki recorded Purissima with co-producer Shigeki Miyata. The sessions used Hitokuchizaka Studio, Onkio Haus, Victor Aoyama Studio, Goldrush Studio, and Evergreen Studios, then moved to Hitokuchizaka, Evergreen, and The Village Recorder for mixing. Hideaki Kohno, Kinji Yoshino, Jerry Napier, John Richards, and Masayoshi Okawa handled the recording side, and Napier, Richards, and Okawa handled the mixes.

Noboru Morikawa photographed the sleeve, and Kohichi Yoshida with Masashi Nakayama handled the visual design.

Purissima reached No. 13 on Oricon.

New Moon (1990)

Taeko Ohnuki released her fourteenth studio album, New Moon, on September 21, 1990, on MIDI.

Ohnuki and Takeshi Kobayashi center the album on programmed keyboards, clean digital edges, and live players placed inside a controlled studio grid. Kobayashi arranges the main body of the record and keeps the harmonic language unified across nearly the full sequence, while Hirokazu Ogura, Kenji Omura, Yoshiyuki Sahashi, Yasuaki Shimizu, Jun Aoyama, Haruomi Hosono, Hajime Mizoguchi, Toshihiro Nakanishi, and Asuka Kaneko widen selected tracks with guitar, saxophone, strings, harmonica, and percussion. The result ties synthetic design to live detail with tighter internal continuity than the late-1980s albums.

“Oyogu Hito [The Swimming Person]” opens with a sparse keyboard-led setup, and “CALL MY HEART” adds dual guitars, Jun Aoyama’s drums, and electric violin. “Rakuen wo Hanarete [Away from Paradise]” turns Yasuaki Shimizu’s tenor sax into the lead color, “Kaze no Fuku Machi -Hello New Days- [The Windy Town -Hello New Days-]” places Hosono’s bass and Nobuo Yagi’s harmonica under the keyboard bed, and “Hana Saku Koroni [When Flowers Bloom]” widens the center with Mizoguchi’s strings plus Ogura’s bouzouki and charango. “Chikyu Family -The Wind Of My Heart- [Earth Family -The Wind Of My Heart-]” was written for the television program Chikyu Family, and the CD closes with “Hana Hiraku Yume [Dream in Bloom],” a short Marty Paich-arranged bonus cut used in a Nomura Group commercial.

1. “Oyogu Hito [The Swimming Person]” (5:03)
2. “CALL MY HEART” (3:58) — words by Taeko Ohnuki and Takeshi Kobayashi
3. “WE ARE ONE CIRCLE” (4:30)
4. “Rakuen wo Hanarete [Away from Paradise]” (4:58)
5. “Kaze no Fuku Machi -Hello New Days- [The Windy Town -Hello New Days-]” (4:58)
6. “MY BRAVERY” (4:32)
7. “Hana Saku Koroni [When Flowers Bloom]” (4:22)
8. “Mizu no Ue no Ichinichi -A Day on the Water- [One Day on the Water]” (5:03)
9. “LITTLE HOPE” (3:05)
10. “Chikyu Family -The Wind Of My Heart- [Earth Family -The Wind of My Heart-]” (4:05)
11. “Hana Hiraku Yume [Dream in Bloom]” (1:44) — CD bonus track; arranged by Marty Paich.

Ohnuki recorded New Moon with co-producer Takeshi Kobayashi at Victor Studio and Onkio Haus Studio 1. Kunihiko Imai and Masayoshi Okawa handled the recording, Imai mixed tracks 1 through 10, Shigeru Takise mixed track 11, and Masao Nakazato mastered the album.

MIDI issued “Oyogu Hito [The Swimming Person]” (b/w “MY BRAVERY”) as an 8cm CD single on June 21, 1990. The A-side also served as an insert song on Ohnuki’s Tokyo FM program Kasou Nettai, and the B-side was used in a Mitsui Life corporate commercial. New Moon reached No. 43 on Oricon.

Discography: