The duo of Hiiragi are back with their fifth CD single for 2011 titled “Unnei no Haru no Kaze”. Overall, it’s a pretty solid single with three delightful tracks featuring cool vocals and music. Recommended for those who want a touch of Japanese modern folk style and J-Pop.
GROUP: Hiiragi
CD SINGLE: Unnei no Haru no Kaze
LABEL: Sony Music Japan, Inc.
CATALOG #: SRCL-7567
DURATION: 16:19
RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2011
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Hiiragi is a Japanese folk duo from Hokkaidou featuring Chiaki (vocals and guitar) and Erika (chorus and guitar).
Back in 2000, Erika, Chiaki and Chiaki’s sister Manami (a former member of the group who played harp and harmonica) were good friends in high school and the three would form a group and perform near Sapporo’s Hokkaido Bank headquarters on the street. The group would win a Roland Band Paradise audience award in 2001 and would do their first live. In 2003, Manami left the group and in 2003, the duo would perform in Tokyo and would continue to do street performances.
Hiiragi would eventually receive a record deal with Sony Music Records and release their first single “Mizu” and in 2010, the duo would release a total of four singles and an album.
In March 2011, the duo released their fifth single “Unnei no Haru no Kaze” (Spring Winds of Fate). The title track features a good poppish upbeat track and both Erika and Chiaki compliment each other’s vocals with Chiaki singing with a more lower tone and Erika with a higher tone for the chorus. But the overall track is upbeat.
The coupling track “Sunny” features a mellow acoustic guitar track which transitions to a more rock sound towards the final half of the song. A pretty awesome coupling song and another solid track on this single.
The final track is titled “Push Button” and features the duo laughing and having fun while playing their acoustic guitar and then performing the song and then giggling right after the song is done. It’s actually a song that showcases the duo solely on vocals and them playing acoustic guitar.
As for the CD insert, you have a tri-fold with the lyrics and production credits.
Overall, I really enjoy the music of “Hiiragi”. It’s not Japanese folk in a traditional sense but more of a modern J-Pop touch. Their music is quite pleasant to listen to and both members are able to compliment each other during their vocals and they can definitely play the guitar. I definitely look forward to hearing more of Hiiragi.
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