Contents
1. Itsuka Dareka wo Ai shita toki (anthem version)
2. Uchuu ga…
3. Ahiru no Kokoro
4. Futari no Musume
5. Awakening (Open your eyes)
6. cocoro
7. HUMANITARIAN
8. so sad so bad
9. Yasashiku sareru to yasashiku nareru hana
11. Nukumori (listen for the love)
12. why do I sing
13. Atatakai Basho
14. Remember the kiss ~World version~ *
15. Inori ni mo nita utsukushii sekai
16. Inochi no Hikari **
17. Arigatou… (from KOKIA 2007) **
(*: European bonus track; **: Japanese bonus track.)
Aigakikoeru, or Listen for the Love, is KOKIA’s first album that has two versions: a Japanese and a European one. The titles have official translations, that I’ll mention below. Keep in mind they’re not exact translations of the songs: for example, Futari no musume means ‘two daughters’, not ’story of two daughters’ when you translate it literally.
The album starts with the track Itsuka Dareka wo Ai shita toki, the anthem version. The title is translated as Someday when you love someone. It starts off with church bells, before the chorus begins. It gives it already an anthem sound, while the song has only started ten seconds ago! KOKIA’s singing is clear as ever, and goes really well with the chorus. I must admit that the first time I heard this version, I didn’t even realize only voices were used! They go that well with KOKIA’s lead. An excellent start of this album, I really like it.
Next is Uchuu ga…, also known as A universe is…. This song is more powerful, especially after a rather soft start. I must say I find this a pity: in the live in France, she started off with a lot of power, and I think that suits the song better than a calm start. That aside, it feels a bit like the rule of the universe, maybe also because of the ‘universe’ in both titles. I start to adore it as KOKIA puts more power in her voice, around after the first 1.5 minutes of the song. Also, I think I hear a harp in the stronger parts of the song. Which I find great, because it shows that the harp isn’t only used for softer songs as sora. I think the more upbeat parts of this song, the refrains for example, attract me the most to this song.
Ahiru no kokoro translates as Hope of an ugly ducklin’, and it’s a pretty cute, maybe odd song. I find it more cute than odd, though. It starts off with percussion and KOKIA making duck sounds, very cute and adding to the atmosphere of the song in my opinion. It’s a quite merry song, sometimes resembling dandelion in my opinion. And sorry, I can’t help loving the duck sounds!
Next is Futari no Musume, or Story of two daughters. This song has a more traditional Japanese sound to it. Honestly, it took me a while to fully appreciate this song, which actually was the case with most songs on this album, at least for me. Eventually, this song managed to get to me. It doesn’t have as much variation as other songs, but it’s charming in its own way due to the calm atmosphere.
Awakening (open your eyes) feels a bit sinister in the beginning, as if there’s a lot of power to come in this song. It still has a calm beginning, however, with only piano and KOKIA. And after one minute, the promised power starts to kick in little by little and more instruments join the song.
cocoro, heart, starts off in an anthem atmosphere, with more chorus than instruments to accompany KOKIA. It also has a traditional feeling to it, though less than futari no musume has. It remains rather calm as well, though it eventually gets stronger than Futari no musume. I must say I used to mix up these two songs because of their similar sounds.
HUMANITARIAN is a lot more upbeat, as the capitals in the title might already suggest. KOKIA’s voice sounds a bit ‘canned’, intentionally I suppose (or my version is REALLY screwed up). There are a lot of other voice sounds used in this, such as laughter and people chatting and a chorus to switch with KOKIA from time to time. A nice change to a rather calm album up until now.
so sad so bad is probably one of my favourites of this album. It starts of as calmly as Awakening (open your eyes), with the same feeling that something is about to happen. And it is, most certainly. After the calm introduction, the song changes atmosphere and becomes quite strong and not to say sinister. The song is almost completely English, though there are a couple of Japanese lines as well. The refrain is dark and strong, both in lyrics as in music. I really like it, even though it took me a while to appreciate the song. It has now become one of my favourites, like said.
Then comes the track with the long title Yasashiku sareru to yasashiku nareru hana, or Flower blooming under tenderness. This is a calmer and less dark song than the previous one. It has something tender to it, like indeed a flower that blooms with tenderness. The song starts really blooming after a very soft beginning, so it does as the title promises.
Next is Nukumori (listen for the love), or Warmth (listen for the love). The part between the braces is the actual title of the album, and it indeed represents the warm and tender atmosphere that surrounds almost all songs of this album. It stays a calm song, but it’s really comforting and sweet. I’d almost call it ‘candy for the ear’, without getting you fat.
Why do I sing is completely English, and it’s more narrative than musical: it’s just KOKIA and the piano, a great combination as we know by now. It comes down to KOKIA wondering why she’s been gifted with her voice, and she eventually concludes she needs to spread the message of love. And that is what she does with this album.
Next is Atatakai Basho, Cosy place. It has a bit more power to it thanks to soft drums during the song, and it gets a lot stronger in the refrain as well than most other songs of the album. It’s, like HUMANITARIAN, a nice change from the overall atmosphere of aigakikoeru.
We’ve now reached the European bonus track: Remember the kiss ~world version~. Basically, it’s just the English version of Remember the kiss, which you might have already guessed from the title. Like I said before, this is one of the songs you can rarely grow tired of. I find it hard to compare it to the original, because putting the language aside, they’re basically the same. I really love it, and it really fits the album.
Both versions have Inori ni mo nita utsukushii sekai, Music like a prayer. (With my little Japanese language, I believe utsukushii sekai means something like ‘beautiful world’, so it’s not a really accurate translation, but oh well.) KOKIA sings the first lines a capella, which sets the standard for another soft and tender song. The ’halleluja’ in the end gives it a nice twist.
Inochi no Hikari would probably translate as light of destiny or something among those lines. It’s the first Japanese bonus track. I think it’s a beautiful song, though there’s nothing like a sudden change of atmosphere like so sad so bad that sets it apart from the other tracks of the album.
Finally, there’s Arigatou… (from KOKIA 2007). It has a whole other intro than the first version, and what struck me the most was the variation in tempo. She accelerates, slows down and then goes back to the original tempo, especially in the refrain. I really like this version, perhaps best of all versions of this song. A nice topping for this album.
Overall, I think aigakikoeru is a nice album, but if you’re not really fond of slower songs, you might find it a tad boring. Most songs, I only started to appreciate after listening them a couple of times, the most clearest example being so sad so bad. So give it some time, and it’ll grow onto you!
