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Kaori | 
 enlarge | Artist: Eri Sugai
Label: Pacific Moon [Alleg]
Category: Music
Buy New: $18.98
Rating:  4 reviews
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 678477005127
EAN: 0678477005127
ASIN: B0007X9U6K
Release Date: April 12, 2005
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 10 to 13 days
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| Tracks:
| • | Voyage To Asia | | • | Iroha Song | | • | Breath Of Earth | | • | Teinsagu Nu Hana | | • | Silence | | • | Etenraku | | • | Eternal Prayer | | • | Ancient City | | • | Kunino Sazuchi | | • | Fragrance | | • | Voyage To Asia/A Cappella Version |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Eri Sugai has been called the Japanese Enya, but in the intervening five years since her last CD, Mai, Sugai has clearly been listening to a lot of Adiemus and Miriam Stockley as well. In fact, "Voyage to Asia" sounds more like a voyage to Adiemus, with its stacked choirs and glossolia incantations. But deeper listening to Kaori reveals, once again, a singer of frighteningly wide vocal and stylistic range. Tracks like "Iroha" swoon in celestial choirs while koto glissandos and shakuhachi melodies ripple through the deep choirs. Her tribal take on "Breath of Life" again recalls Adiemus, but there's no denying the distinctly Asian tone of her singing or accompaniment. Produced by Kazumu Yoshioka, the label president and one of the guiding forces behind the studio project Uttara-Kuru, Kaori is a deft mix of tradition and technology. Several artists from the Pacific Moon roster provide her backing, including erhu player Jia Peng Fang and koto player Mizuyo Komiya. The hyper-layered production can detract from the purity of Sugai's voice and melodies, and Kaori has enough moments of sickly sweet expanse that can be hard to down in one sitting. But when Sugai sings a multitracked, a capella song like "Silence," or a spare chant on "Etenraku," she sounds descended from the heavens. --John Diliberto
Album Description
From the majestic voyage in the opening track to ancient "story songs" and the transcendent sounds of the gamelan and didgeridoo, Eri Sugai weaves aesthetic sounds of harmony. As instruments from various nations celebrate sound, Sugai's voice throbs and dances, running between the waves to weave a taperstry of its own. An unlimited expression of the human voice, 'Kaori' is a gift delivered from the heavenly skies.
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| Customer Reviews:
Wonderful sounds February 8, 2007
R. Lauzon (Grand Rapids, MI USA)
One of the few albums where all the music is good. The term "japanese Enya" is very apt. If you like Enya, you'll like this as well.
Something new for your ears to enjoy June 2, 2005
Gregory K. Frost (Seattle, WA USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
From top to bottom this is a wonderful album. I can say that my favorite tracks are "Silence," "Ancient City," and "Fragrance," but that's misleading. Like any great album, the tracks work together to produce a cohesive, engaging whole that flows so smoothly you're surprised when it's over. Kaori starts with the lively "Voyage to Asia" and progresses through creative interpretations of many traditional Japanese songs, reaching its emotional center of gravity in "Fragrance." The singing and playing are exemplary throughout the work. Really, I can't say enough good things about this album. Give it a listen. I think you will like it.
I love this so much, I have to have 2 copies. April 26, 2005
Geoff Hall (Borehamwood, UK)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Why, you may ask? It's simple, one gets played at home, the other travels with me, in the diskman or in the car - just like Eri's previous album MAI. If I go anywhere, ERI's music goes too.
I bought KAORI last year when it first came out in Japan. It cost me much more than the second copy I bought, but it was worth it. Now, at last, KAORI (it means Frangrance) is available to the masses and is a very special album.
People think that Eri Sugai is the Japanese Enya and there are some similarities between the two ladies. However, don't be misled by that comparison. There are reminders of Enya (and Adiemus, too), but whilst Enya's music has that wonderful western feel to it, ERI's has an oriental taste to it which you've probably never heard before.
On this album, she is vibrant, particularly in the first 3 tracks, before slowing to a more sombre, thoughhtful mood. I particularly like the 4th track, "Teinsagu Nu Hana", which is an Okinawan Folk Song! It's a song my Japanese wife knows well and when she says she loves ERIs version, I take note! It is just a sensational track and a celebration in how to layer the voice over and over again (it's like you're hearing a choir). However, all eleven tracks are beautiful and they add up to a perfect album, where the voice is the most effective instrument and shines through with beauty and grace. The sheer brilliance of this album is in the diversity of the music - anthemic, hymn-like, soothing, invigorating and joyous, whilst being full of inventiveness and sophistication - and a stunning follow-up to MAI.
To agree with what another reviewer has suggested, there's nothing like this elsewhere in the world.
Everyone should have a copy of this album. Remember the name - ERI SUGAI. She should be a superstar! It's not too late to make her one. In my book, she already is.
An Incredible Musical Experience April 25, 2005
Keith D. Baer (Charleston, SC USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Having thoroughly enjoyed Eri Sugai's earlier contributions, Mai and Air (under the name of Stella Mirus), I eagerly looked forward to Kaori. I was not disappointed - I was totally awed!! It is probably the most beautiful single CD that I have ever listened to. Some reviewers have referred to her as the "Japanese Enya" and the Editorial here compared her to Adiemus. These are fair observations, but they miss the point. Eri has brought vocal layering and the use of an invented language to new heights. And all with with an etheral Oriental ambience. I have heard no music on this side of the globe that even comes close to comparison. I look forward to far more from this exquisetly talented lady.
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