Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana

Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana (加爾基 精液 栗ノ花), also known as Kalk Samen Chestnut Flower[2] and Chlorine Semen Chestnut Flower[3], is the third studio album of Japanese singer-songwriter Ringo Sheena, released on February 23, 2003, on Toshiba EMI / Virgin Music. The album's lead single was successful by topping the Oricon charts for the first time.

Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana
加爾基 精液 栗ノ花
Studio album by
Ringo Sheena
ReleasedFebruary 23, 2003 (2003-02-23)
RecordedToshiba EMI 3rd Studio
Studio Terra
Kroneko Studio
Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall
Atami Kajika-sou Waraku-tei (Ryokan (Japanese inn))
GenreArt pop, progressive pop, chamber pop
Length44:44
LabelToshiba EMI
Virgin Music
ProducerBakeneko Killer[1]
(Ringo Sheena & Uni Inoue)
Ringo Sheena chronology
Utaite Myōri: Sono Ichi
(2002)		 Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana
加爾基 精液 栗ノ花
(2003)		 Heisei Fūzoku
(2007)
Singles from Karuki Samen Kuri no Hana
  1. "Stem"
    Released: January 22, 2003

EMI released the album using CCCD at first. Then, the CCCD version was stopped producing, and the CD-DA version was newly released on July 2, 2008. The vinyl record version which is a double album was released on May 27, 2003, and contains the bonus track Fig Flower (映日紅の花, Ichijiku no Hana).

The short film Kaleidoscope: A Short Film (短篇キネマ 百色眼鏡, Tanpen Kinema Hyakuiro Megane) which expresses the world view of the album was put on the market on January 22, 2003 prior to releasing the album.

Background and recording

The album is a follow-up to Ringo Sheena’s successful second album Shōso Strip (2000) and cover album Utaite Myōri: Sono Ichi (2002). The album was due to be entitled Fushigi, Waizatsu, Ekisentorikku (不思議・猥雑・エキセントリック, Wonder, Vulgar, Eccentric) at first.[4] However, Sheena decided to change the title because she overheard the male staff's chats and she thought their story to be interesting. They told that the smell of semen resembled the smell of chlorine, or the smell of the chestnut flowers. She thought that the nuance of word "semen" was beautiful, and adopted it as the title.[5] The 2001 single "Mayonaka Wa Junketsu" (真夜中は純潔, Midnight is pure) was to have been included on this album along with one of the single's b-sides, "Aisaika no Choushoku" (愛妻家の朝食, The breakfast of the devoted husband). However, plans were changed after it was deemed they did not match the album.

It was the first time for Sheena to produce her own album herself.[6] The album was produced in about one year longer than the period of production of the past two albums. Sheena didn’t record a band all at once as had been done in her previous albums, but recorded one instrument at a time using overdubbing and multitracking.[6] She used not only the rock band ensemble but also the various musical instruments such as folk instruments from Japan and other regions, string instruments, wind instruments, percussion instruments, as well as music sequencer and orchestra. In order to reduce budgets, she used her own Macintosh computer and cheap recording equipment, and composed and edited the songs herself using computer software[6][7], while sometimes exchanging the arranged songs with Uni Inoue.[6] She recorded one musical instrument in one room of her house while recording the ensemble parts (string section, etc.) in another room.[6]

Seiji Kameda who had been involved in the production and arrangement of her previous two studio albums did not participate in this work. Instead, Sheena arranged this album with audio engineer Uni Inoue. Toshiyuki Mori orchestrated each of the recorded songs and arranged the whole "Yattsuke Shigoto".

In 2003, musician Takao Tajima of the band Original Love covered the song "Okonomi de" on his tour "Odoru Taiyo" Tour.

Reception

Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana was ranked second in CNN International Asia's list of "the 2000s' most under-appreciated Japanese music of the last decade" on December 22, 2009.[8] Sheena also received a mention in The Guardian as one of Japan's artists who "deserve to be seen and heard in the west" in 2010.[9]

By May 2020, the album was ranked 8th overall by a Japanese artist and ranked 534th overall in the all-time album list on Rate Your Music.[10]

Track listing

All tracks written by Ringo Sheena; all tracks arranged by Sheena and Uni Inoue (credited as "Bakeneko Killer"), except "Rush Job" by Toshiyuki Mori, and "Fig Flower" by Ukigumo.

No.TitleLength
1."Religion" (宗教 Shūkyō)5:08
2."Doppelganger" (ドッペルゲンガー Dopperugengā)3:46
3."Camouflage" (迷彩 Meisai)3:44
4."Please Take Care" (おだいじに Odaiji ni)3:01
5."Rush Job" (やっつけ仕事 Yattsuke Shigoto)5:08
6."Stem" (茎 Kuki)3:50
7."Worrying Unnecessarily" (とりこし苦労 Torikoshi Kurō)2:36
8."As You Wish" (おこのみで Okonomi de)5:45
9."Consciously" (意識 Ishiki)2:45
10."Poltergeists" (ポルターガイスト Porutāgaisuto)3:41
11."Funeral" (葬列 Sōretsu)5:12
Total length:44:44
Vinyl edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Fig Flower" (映日紅の花 Ichijiku no Hana)4:32
Total length:49:16

Credits and personnel
  • All English translation and pronunciation guidance: Robbie Clark

Track 1 and 11

Track 2 and 10

  • Kuri no Hana Kaoru Orchestra:[11] orchestral music
  • Yuichiro Goto: conductor
  • Ringo Sheena: vocal
  • Uni Inoue: Mellotron, electric bass guitars

Track 3 and 9

Track 4 and 8

  • Kotaro Saito: cello
  • Junko Minobe: viola
  • Youkan Mizue: the whole wind instrument (including conch shell)
  • Yumi Ōta: the voice of the announcement
  • Uni Inoue: electric bass guitars, electric guitars, electronic drum
  • Ringo Sheena: vocal, prepared piano, acoustic piano, Erhu (二胡, Chinese instrument with two strings)

Track 5

  • Ōoku Kinen Orchestra:[13] orchestral music
  • Yuichiro Goto: conductor
  • Toshiyuki Mori: piano, all works
  • Ringo Sheena: vocal, koto (Ikuta style), distortion koto (her own way), pipe organ
  • Ukigumo: vacuum cleaner (her elder brother Shiina Junpei's wife's possessions)

Track 6

  • Josei-jōi Kinen Orchestra:[14] string section
  • Chieko Kinpara party: string quintet
  • Kanako Tsuruta: drums
  • Uni Inoue: electric bass guitar
  • Ringo Sheena: vocal, koto (Ikuta style), piano

Track 7

Track 12

  • Ringo Sheena: vocal
  • Ukigumo: acoustic guitars
  • Uni Inoue: bass

Notes and references
  1. Bakeneko Killer (化猫キラー, Goblin-cat Killer) is a producing team formed Ringo Sheena and Uni Inoue.
  2. ALBUM: Kalk Samen Chestnut Flower / SHEENA RINGO on Ringo's official website
  3. 加爾基 is ateji for カルキ
  4. In an interview that was played in the special program for the album by Space Shower TV, Sheena revealed that "Kalk" was "Wonder", "Semen" was "Vulgar" and "Chestnut Flower" was "Eccentric".
  5. "椎名林檎が宇多田と合体！？" [Ringo Sheena united with Utada!?]. Yomiuri Shimbun. Feb 21, 2003. Archived from the original on February 21, 2003. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  6. Ringo Sheena (February 27, 2003). "インタビューファイル" (Interview). Interviewed by Kanako Hayakawa. Tower Records bounce magazine. Archived from the original on April 29, 2003. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  7. Atsushi Shikano (March 2010). "東京事変、金メダル超えのニューアルバム『スポーツ』を語る". MUSICA (in Japanese). FACT. 35: 18–22. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  8. "The 00s' most underappreciated Japanese music – CNN". Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  9. Nieman, Teresa (March 25, 2010). "Why Japanese pop matters". The Guardian. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  10. "Top album charts by artists from Japan - Rate Your Music". Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  11. Kuri no Hana Kaoru Orchestra (栗ノ花薫オーケストラ, The fragrance of the chestnut flowers Orchestra)
  12. Himitsu Butai (秘密部隊, Secret Corps)
  13. Ooku Memorial Orchestra (大奥記念オーケストラ, Ōoku Kinen Orchestra)
  14. Joseijōi Kinen Orchestra (女性上位記念オーケストラ, female dominance Memorial Orchestra)
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