[English Translation]
Nao Yoshioka "Rising"
Interview & text by Tsuyoshi Hayashi
When Nao Yoshioka told people that she wanted to sing soul music overseas in English, people responded, “You’re joking, right?” They didn’t take her seriously. However, Nao Yoshioka is already standing on the international stage after completing her new release, “Rising”, which comes a year and a half after her debut album. Her first major label debut edition is different from her previous release, “The Light”, in that it focuses on original songs rather than on covers. She has surpassed the dimension of simply ‘singing’ and is aiming further ahead with this release.
Yoshioka says, “Before, I was feeling ‘recognize me!’ in fear. But after releasing “The Light”, I gained confidence and am able to say, ‘Please listen!’ with this release. I think that writing my own lyrics allowed me to convey my message directly. Anyway, it’s refreshing this time”.
Yoshioka has gone major, but her home is still at SWEET SOUL RECORDS, where she debuted under. Like with her previous release, she took advantage of the contacts she made through the neo soul-based label. This album was produced by Yoshioka’s soul mates that she has performed with live, including Hiroyuki Matsuda who produced “Awake”. “Rising” was recorded in four cities in three countries, including Tokyo. She apparently struggled mentally and environmentally overseas. In particular, she took advantage of the adverse conditions in Rotterdam, Holland, and self-produced “Joy”. She says of the song, “I made it because I wanted to sing a balled in 6/8 time signature.” Naoki Yamanouchi, SWEET SOUL’s executive producer, produced the go-go-beat-based “Forget about It”. Yoshioka, who always performs a song by Aretha Franklin at her shows, also covered a Shirma Rouse production of “Rock Steady” while in Holland.
“Aretha’s singing is so free that she makes other people’s songs her own. I wanted to convey my own color too. I added a cool riff that I would do live to this cover version.”
Yoshioka said her recording session with St. Louis’ Brian Owens was ‘really fun’. That fun can be heard in the opening JB x Motown inspired funk track, “Love Is the Answer”. Brian pulls out Nao’s blues sensibility over a gospel-based, retro-soul manner in tracks such as I’m No Angel” in which she sings [I have ugly parts as well], or in “Nobody” that features the Nashville prodigy, Mike Hicks.
“Brian’s direction poured life into the song. The song was so lively, that it almost felt like a different song after the recording. He helped me overcome my limits. Even though I wanted to sing blues, I could never write it, so he gave me hints. I like the feeling of being serious in a joking manner, like in “Evil Gal Blues” (made famous by Dinah Washington). Of course, it
For Yoshioka, who is looking to expand globally, her collaboration with R&B master Gordon Chambers (NY session) has gotten her one step closer to her dream. “Dreams”, “I Need You”, and the track “Rise” included only in the Tower Records exclusive discs are all ballads with that beautiful delicateness that is very much like Gordon.
“Gordon brought out a part of me that I didn’t have. He would say, ‘You can use a softer voice’. I’d never sung that softly before. But it explodes at the end of the song. He knows “how the song should be” in his head, and I felt I was walking on that map. I realized his vision after the song was done.”
Nao will be releasing her previous album in the US from the distinguished neo-soul label, Purpose Records, but she doesn't want to be a rarity like ‘the Japanese artist that sings soul’. She wants to break new ground in J-Pop and perform globally on the same terms.
“This album is my determination that this time, I want to start shining and share my dreams with others through my music. I will struggle and grow, but I would be happy if people can look at me and joke that somebody strange has come about (laughs).”
This album is beautiful like a scene from a movie, yet exudes anarchy in the production. It is dazzling to see Nao Yoshioka relentlessly moving straight forward.
