Singer, Datotsu no Blues from Shinjuku Scorpioza, 1968-1970

Singer, Datotsu no Blues from Shinjuku Scorpioza, 1968-1970

Maki Asakawa's "Yoru ga akara mita" was released as a single on July 1, 1969, on the Toshiba Ongaku Kogyo Express label. The title track was an actual recording made at the Scorpio Theater in Shinjuku, and the coupling song was "The Seagull," with lyrics by Shuji Terayama. The Scorpioza was set up in the basement of the Art Theater Shinjuku Bunka, and in December 1968, three consecutive nights of performances at 10 p.m. were held as an experiment. The progression of the performance, interspersed with readings and monologues directed by Shuji Terayama, transformed singing into an evening ritual, and its reputation spread through the Golden Gai and bars, crystallizing into a record. With his low, smoky voice and restrained accompaniment, he depicted the image of a departure on the first train, creating a world where escape and rebirth coexist. In 1970, the first album, "The World of Maki Asakawa," was released, opening with another take, and its composition, a mixture of live a
nd studio recordings, contained Scorpio's enthusiasm. The difference between the single and the album showed that Asakawa was a singer who reconstructed her songs for each occasion, and it also served as a background for the subsequent reevaluation of the first release in the edited version. Listening to "Yoru ga Akarashi" is an experience of re-measuring the weight of one's own morning through the night air of Shinjuku, a sensation that continues to resonate vividly even now, more than half a century later.