Kavkanize

Kavkanize

A woman with straight dark hair with crow feathers in her hair.

Standard CD edition and digital download versions' cover
Studio album by Kavka Shishido
Released September 4, 2013 (2013-09-04)
(see release history)
Recorded 2012-2013
Genre Rock, pop
Length 1:02:43
Language Japanese
Label Imperial Records
Kavka Shishido chronology
Kavkanize
(2013)		 K5
(2015)
Alternative cover
A black crow wearing a human wig.
Limited CD/DVD and deluxe editions' cover
Singles from Kavkanize
  1. "Day Dream Rider"
    Released: May 16, 2012
  2. "Aisuru Kakugo"
    Released: September 19, 2012
  3. "Music"
    Released: February 20, 2013
  4. "Kiken na Futari"
    Released: May 22, 2013
  5. "Wagamama" / "Miss. Miss Me"
    Released: January 29, 2014
  6. "Dame Kashira?"
    Released: July 2, 2014

Kavkanize (カフカナイズ Kafukanaizu) is the debut studio album by Japanese drummer and singer Kavka Shishido, released on September 9, 2013.[1]

Background and development

Shishido had been working as a musician since 2004, when she debuted as a drummer in the band The News as their third drummer.[2] In 2005, Shishido started collaborating with The High-Lows' drummer Kenji Ohshima and Uverworld producer Satoru Hiraide, and made a band called Eddy12 together.[3][4][5][6] During this period, Shishido started to perform in her signature style, performing the drums and singing simultaneously.[7] While in Eddy12, Shishido was scouted by a record company for her to debut as a solo musician.[8] She was scouted before she started performing the drums as part of her act, but added them back in during discussions for how to set her apart from other musicians.[8] She left The News in 2009,[2] however continued to work with her Eddy12 bandmates who act as producers.[8] She debuted under Imperial Records with the digital single "Day Dream Rider" in May 2012.

Writing and production

Album production for the songs not found on singles began in mid June, and lasted until the end of July.[9] The album was created in collaboration with Satoru Hiraide and Kenji Ohshima. Shishido served as the primary lyricist for the project. The album's title, Kavkanize is a portmanteau of "Kavka" and "organize", because she and her staff felt as if they had organized an amusement park in making the album.[10]

Shishido wanted to use one B-side from each of her singles, as she felt that she had not released any throwaway songs.[10] The first song to be decided to added to the album was the pop-rock "Love Corrida", which was recorded so that Shishido could expand her musical range.[10] "Love Corrida" served as the basis for inspiration for the rest of the songs recorded for the album.[9] The lyrics of the song were written together with singer and DJ Silva, who Shishido met through a friend. The pair wrote the song by email. "Futatsu no Taiyō" was written by Akiko Noma, formerly of the band GO!GO!7188, who was a contact of Ohshima's.[10] Several songs were much older, such as "Gunjō" which was from before her debut.[10] "Engine", "Shinkaigyo" and "Tobenai Tori" were all songs that Shishido had performed at live concerts, however "Tobenai Tori" was completely rewritten and retitled for the album.[9]

"The Outsiders" is the first song sung entirely in English by Shishido, even though she does not consider herself an English speaker.[9] When creating the song, producer Ohshima was inspired to add a rap section. The director who introduced Silva to Shishido knew rapper Dohzi-T, who agreed to appear as he thought rapping on top of a rock sound would be interesting as he'd never done something like that before.[9]

Album jacket

The standard edition cover depicts Shishido with crow feathers in her hair, while the limited edition version features a crow with a long, black wig in the style of Shishido's hair. The pictures were shot by photographer Itaru Hirama, and the photo shoot was intended as a self-introduction, due to Shishido being associated with crows.[11]

Promotion and release

The song "Kiken na Futari" was used as the opening theme song for the drama Doubles: Futari no Keiji, while "Day Dream Rider" was used as the ending theme song for the TV Tokyo variety show Fes Iwao.[12] Prior to the release of the album, a video was released for the song "Love Corrida", which served as the leading promotional track on the album. It was released as a preceding download on August 7, 2013.

In February 2014, Shishido held her first Japanese tour, after releasing her next single "Wagamama" / "Miss. Miss Me".[13] In July, Shishido released the digital single "Dame Kashira?". The song's visuals featured a very different image of Shishido, showing her in a more girly style, while the musiv video featured her dancing.[14]

In September, it was announced that Shishido had switched labels to the newly created Justa Music, a sub-label of Avex Group, and would star in the second series of Erika Sawajiri fashion drama First Class.[15] Her first release under the label was the song "Don't Be Love" featuring veteran singer-songwriter Kazuyoshi Saito, and will be used as the theme song of the 2015 Fuji Television drama Isha-tachi no Ren'ai Jijō.[16] This song also serves as the leading track from K5, a special extended play where Shishido collaborated with five different musicians, released in June 2015.[17]

Imperial Records announced that Kavkanize would be re-released in July 2015, compiling the singles released after Kavkanize, as well as all of Shishido's Imperial-era music videos.[18]

Critical reception

CDJournal reviewers praised the album as elegant, and felt even though she was most talked about for her visual aspects, her "deep flavoured" vocals and "rhythmic numbers" deserved praise.[12] For the album's singles, they gave "Aisuru Kakugo" a star for high recommendation, calling it "impacting, first degree burn glam rock". They felt that "Music"'s lyrics were "numbing", and the melody "frantic", and that her "rock older sister" dress and singing style fitted "Kiken na Futari" perfectly.[19][20][21]

Sayako Oku of Skream! noted the variety found on the album compared to her exclusively rock sound before the release, such as the "party tunes" "Love Corrida" and "Hyaku-nen Beer", and praised her vocals and drumming.[22]

Track listing

No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Day Dream Rider" (デイドリームライダー Dei Dorīmu Raidā)Kavka ShishidoSatoru Hiraide 3:38
2. "Love Corrida" (ラヴコリーダ Ravu Korīda)Shishido, SilvaHiraide 4:16
3. "Kiken na Futari" (キケンなふたり, "Dangerous Us")ShishidoKenji Ohshima (music), Shogo Ohnishi (arrangement) 3:14
4. "Engine" (エンジン Enjin)ShishidoHiraide 4:11
5. "Shinkaigyo" (シンカイギョ, "Deep Sea Fish")ShishidoOhshima 5:03
6. "Muteki no Rock Star" (無敵のロックスター, "Invincible Rock Star")ShishidoOhshima 2:57
7. "Makenai Game" (負けないゲーム, "Unlosing Game")ShishidoHiraide 3:59
8. "Futatsu no Taiyō" (2つの太陽, "Two Suns")Akiko NomaOhshima (music and arrangement), Yūji Morimoto (arrangement) 3:35
9. "Gunjō" (群青, "Ultramarine")ShishidoOhshima (music and arrangement), Morimoto (arrangement) 5:03
10. "Countdown" (カウントダウン Kauntodaun)ShishidoOhshima 3:48
11. "Aisuru Kakugo" (愛する覚悟, "Ready to Love")ShishidoHiraide 3:10
12. "Hyaku-nen Beer" (100年ビール, "100 Years of Beer")ShishidoHiraide 3:45
13. "Tobenai Tori" (飛ベナイ鳥, "Flightless Bird")ShishidoHiraide 4:00
14. "The Outsiders" (featuring Dohzi-T)Shishido, Dohzi-TOhshima (music and arrangement), Morimoto (arrangement) 3:40
15. "Tsuki no Kagayakikata" (月の輝きかた, "The Way the Moon Shines")ShishidoHiraide 4:23
16. "Music"  ShishidoHiraide 3:40
Total length:
 1:02:43
Deluxe Edition bonus tracks
No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
17. "Wagamama" (我が儘, "Selfishness")Shishido, NomaOhshima 4:30
18. "Miss. Miss Me" (Miss.ミスミー)ShishidoOhshima 3:54
19. "Dame Kashira?" (ダメかしら？, "Is It Bad?")ShishidoHiraide 3:38
Total length:
 1:14:45

Chart rankings

Charts (2013) Peak
position
Japan Oricon weekly albums[23] 31

Sales and certifications

Chart Amount
Oricon physical sales[24] 6,000

Release history

Region Date Format Distributing Label Catalogue codes
Japan September 4, 2013[1] CD, CD/DVD, digital download Imperial Records TECI-1369, TECI-1368
September 21, 2013[25] Rental CD TECI-1369
July 22, 2015[18] Deluxe Edition TECI-1462

References

  1. 1 2 "カフカナイズ ［CD+DVD］＜初回限定盤＞" (in Japanese). Tower Records. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Member" (in Japanese). ING Label. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  3. ↑ "僕たちの夏" [Our Summer] (in Japanese). Shimokitazawa Garage. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  4. ↑ "eddy12のBLOG" [eddy12's Blog] (in Japanese). Yuna Shishido. Archived from the original on January 8, 2008. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Eddy12" (in Japanese). Kenji Ohshima. June 7, 2008. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Kavka Shishido" (in Japanese). Daizo. September 19, 2012. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  7. ↑ "シシド・カフカ、ブレーク中！レギュラー３本に" [Kavka Shishido breaking! Now a regular in three programs] (in Japanese). Sankei Sports. April 3, 2013. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 "美しきドラマー、シシド・カフカがQetic初登場！ 2ndシングル「music」に渦巻く混沌と、ミュージシャンとしての野望を語る" [Beautiful drummer Kavka Shishido's first appearance at Qetic! The swirling chaos of her second single Music, and her ambitions as a musician]. Kohei Ueno (in Japanese). Qetic. May 15, 2012. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Sayako Oki (2013). "INTERVIEW シシド・カフカ 2013年09月号掲載" (in Japanese). Skream. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Kohei Ueno (August 29, 2014). "シシド・カフカ待望の1stアルバムはまるでアミューズメント・パーク！？ 遊びゴコロたっぷりの16曲に秘められたエピソードを紐解く。" (in Japanese). Qetic. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  11. ↑ Kavkanize (Media notes) (in Japanese). Kavka Shishido. Tokyo, Japan: Imperial Records. 2013.
  12. 1 2 "シシド・カフカ / カフカナイズ" (in Japanese). CD Journal. 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  13. ↑ "シシド・カフカ4thシングルは両A面、4都市ワンマンも決定" [Kavka Shishido's 4th single is a double A-side, plus a four city one man tour announced] (in Japanese). Natalie. December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  14. ↑ "シシド・カフカ、配信限定シングル『ダメかしら？』のMV＆新ビジュアルを公開". Rockin' On Japan. June 25, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  15. ↑ "シシド・カフカ、avexの新セクション『JUSTA MUSIC』に移籍決定！女優デビューも！" [Kavka Shishido moving to new Avex sub-label Justa Music! Also debuting as an actress!] (in Japanese). mFound. September 30, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  16. ↑ "シシド・カフカ feat. 斉藤和義が斎藤工主演木10ドラマ主題歌に" (in Japanese). Natalie. March 24, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  17. ↑ "シシド・カフカ新作CDはコラボ集、KenKenとタッグ" (in Japanese). Natalie. April 23, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  18. 1 2 "シシド・カフカ1stアルバム「カフカナイズ」シングル曲＆MV集加え再発" (in Japanese). Natalie. June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  19. ↑ "SHISHIDO KAVKA / 愛する覚悟" (in Japanese). CD Journal. 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  20. ↑ "シシド・カフカ / music" (in Japanese). CD Journal. 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  21. ↑ "シシド・カフカ / キケンなふたり" (in Japanese). CD Journal. 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  22. ↑ Sayako Oku (2013). "DISC REVIEW シシド・カフカ『カフカナイズ』" (in Japanese). Skream!. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  23. ↑ "シシド・カフカのリリース一覧" [List of Kavka Shishido's Releases]. Oricon. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  24. ↑ "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree']. Oricon. Retrieved September 5, 2014. (subscription required (help)).
  25. ↑ "カフカナイズ" (in Japanese). Tsutaya. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
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