Welcome to the jazz lounge, for a memorable performance in “TENBIN” that puts Jin Ogasawara’s technique and skills as a singer to the test.
Title: 天秤 Release date: 05/05/2022 Label: Beyond The Music/MAGES. Genre: Jazz
Tracklist:
1 - 天秤
Track analysis:
1 – 天秤
“TENBIN” brings a completely different variation of Jin Ogasawara’s recently groovy sound to the spotlight.
A needle touches the vinyl and off you go exploring the jazzy piano melodies, playful bassy drums, and a punchy bassline – this one is a treat for bass lovers as it goes really low.
The verses have a comfortable mid-tempo, exploring that through a simple, ample sound in which the jazzy piano is the star, painting an elegant soundscape for Jin Ogasawara to make the best of.
When you get the chorus, the beat intensifies, starting to hit hard on the snare and the piano is an absolute treat with its jolly melodies as Ogasawara does most of the work fleshing out this groovy and energetic tune.
While there are no massive changes in tone or even in the composition in the 2nd half of the song, there are subtle changes in the way the dynamic between the bass and piano, it is worth mentioning that you have an electric bass playing most of the song, in the bridge, a contrabass takes over.
And as soon as that contrabass is on stage, syncopating its way through the song, you notice just how smooth the jazz sound in this song is.
I was not expecting that smooth intermission – going full-on jazz – so to find the contrabass here, and with Jin Ogasawara never missing a beat on the vocal end, is a big treat.
It is quite interesting and, in a way, fascinating, that Jin Ogasawara has this much control and melodic edge to his singing tone.
While in “DandeLION” there were still some traces of his trademark raspy – and edgy – high notes, in this song Ogasawara sounds like someone else.
He fully focused on his mid-tones – and kept his singing in those even as he rose on the scale -, bringing along a really clean falsetto and a certain elegance with his smooth vibrato.
Something that is also not as commonly found in Ogasawara’s performances is a lot of energy.
In this song, however, there is no shortage of energy coming from him, with his performance in the verses being quite entertaining while going off in the chorus, cranking up the speed in a way that you can’t get enough of.
“TENBIN” is unlike anything else in Jin Ogasawara’s repertoire, counting with an elegant sound, fun, and classy performance, adding a well-needed layer of maturity to his solo career.
“TENBIN” is available for streaming on Spotify.
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