Haunting, intimate, and raw, Makoto Furukawa’s “Ibara Rinbukyoku” is a single with fascinating dual charms.
Title: 荊棘輪舞曲 Release date: 22/06/2022 Label: Lantis Genre: Ballad/Orchestral pop/Jazz
Tracklist:
1 - 荊棘輪舞曲 2 - Onlynight Crown (lyrics by Makoto Furukawa) 3 - 薔薇輪舞曲 -Instrumental- 4 - Onlynight Crown -Instrumental-
NOTE: The complete Artist version was reviewed + track 2 of the anime version (Sono Yogaakeru made)
Track by track analysis:
1 – 荊棘輪舞曲 (Ibara Rinbukyoku)
A solemn piano melody and strings soar in this dramatic, empty soundscape.
A cello takes the lead in quite the beautiful yet final way. The stakes are high, there is no room for failure.
During the verses, you can expect for strings to be urgent although everything about this soundscape sounds devoid of life or struggling to remain alive.
The soundscape is really stifling at times, with drama cranking up through the slow beat, the high piano octaves, and, once again, the beautiful work on the strings.
Low cello melodies serve as the bridge from the chorus to the 2nd verse, with violin swells in legato slowly entering the scene.
The chorus brings in a couple of electronica-inspired elements with a simple bassy beat. The beat adds some life to this performance but Makoto Furukawa manages to make it still sound solemn, not letting you forget that behind this beauty is hate and anger.
On the bridge, an imposing choir joins in as all other instruments take their leave. This results in a haunting section within the song.
Furukawa’s vibrato-filled vocals add a lot of drama to this song. He brought legato as well, which he added to the vibrato parts and made sure to lower his tone more than usual in the verses. It is almost like you’re being told a secret.
The focus was on Furukawa not to sound powerful but incredibly dramatic and somber in his performance and he absolutely nailed it.
The vocal direction and mixing are quite interesting in this performance, especially if you start diving into what was done in terms of the soundscape – putting the orchestral elements farther in the soundscape but surrounding you a bit more than just 180 degrees.
Actually, you have drums creeping behind you in the bridge so I can see that the listener is at center stage for this track.
At times, the strings shift from being in front to the back and it feels like you are waltzing to this song.
After all this, you were just waltzing to this song.
The vocals stay with you at all times. You’re sharing a dance with Makoto Furukawa, being told this story for the duration of this song.
When the dance is over you’re left with a sense of emptiness and sadness in you.
Bloody brilliant.
2 – Onlynight Crown (artist version)
The tone changes completely for “Onlynight Crown” which brings mid-tempo classic jazz back to the spotlight.
The sound is elegant, being led by a punchy contrabass in the verses. In the background, syncopated drums add a splash of fun, with brushes making sure that the percussion not only is fun but it is also quite loungy.
At the same time, a jaunty piano melody and brass add another layer of elegance to this song.
The verses are quite playful but the chorus is a whole other thing, standing out for how catchy it is and how tasteful the build-up in tension is.
One thing I absolutely love is the bassline for this song. It is relentless, always making sure everything rides and moves closer to its tempo. This is the element that makes this song have a danceable twist.
Another cool thing and this is more feeling about it, is the saxophone work for this song. Just how classy could it get? Paired up with the trombones, those shine a whole lot. And that solo? Pure Bliss.
The vibe is intimate and exclusive not only because of the instrumental but also because of Furukawa’s performance. His vibrato is at home in this song, complementing the bassline at the same time as it stands out in the middle of the cymbals-heavy instrumental.
Furukawa brought a bit of his charm to this performance, with an interesting breathy twist to his singing, paired up with his warm baritone vocals.
A return to his roots as a solo artist, further upgrading his sound and performance quality.
2 – Sono Yogaakeru made (anime version)
The second b-side track is “Sono Yogaakeru made”, song that brings a ballad sound to the spotlight.
At center stage, Makoto Furukawa’s forlorn vocals are accompanied by a dramatic piano melody and longing strings.
The tone is gentle throughout the song, with a piano and strings being the only instruments leading the way in this track, at least for the first third of the song.
Tension grows and strings swell, taking over from an emotional chorus. Bass and drums join in in the second verses, adding a more “classic rock ballad” touch to this song.
In the bridge, a fancy, jazz-inspired piano melody takes over, sharing the spotlight with the guitar solo that joins in.
As far as the performance goes, Makoto Furukawa puts his technique to the test with head voice, powerful legato and crescendo sections, plus a sweet vibrato. His emotional range shines as well, with him completely owning the stage while making you come close to tears
There is gentleness in his voice, there is love and care and, in a way, nostalgia.
The song conducts itself in a classy and composed way from instrumental to the vocals.
When this song wraps up, a wave of emotions washes away, leaving a bittersweet aftertaste for those that listened to the anime version only of “Ibara Rinbukyoku”.
Final considerations
Makoto Furukawa goes right for the listener’s emotions with “Ibara Rinbukyoku”.
However, it is worth mentioning that the two editions of this single have completely different tones in them.
The anime version is quieter, more emotionally stripped, and focused on the vocals delivering the final blow that will put you in tears.
“Ibara Rinbukyoku” – the song – and “Sono Yogaakeru made ” complete each other with a lot of nostalgia and love going on in them. There is drama, there is fragility, and a gentleness that feels like it is almost too good to be true.
It is rare for Furukawa to perform ballads as a solo artist, much because he doesn’t have much of a higher range to belt those notes that will make chills run down your spine but with his sweet baritone vocals and a renewed control over his vocals (enabling him to bring legato and crescendos to the performance), gave his performance a classic sound. It’s not about power belting but more of the emotions his performance carries. And in that department, Furukawa more than delivers.
The vibe is decadent in the artist version. This is an interesting contrast that is closely tied to the classic jazz sound you find in “Onlynight Crown”.
From the title track to the b-side, the artist version is closest to the sound Furukawa is best known for. The dashes of cymbals, the syncopated drums, and the relentless punchy contrabass create an eerily contradictory vibe to the title track yet still have an intimate sound, something ends up marrying really well with “Ibara Rinbukyoku”.
As far as vocals go, as I said before, Makoto Furukawa brought a lot of control with his natural vibrato, using only what was strictly necessary for the performances to deal a blow to your emotions.
He also made sure to impress with fantastic control over his crescendos and legato, even playing around with head voice at times.
It may not sound like it but Furukawa is pushing his vocals to an interesting place. I’m quite curious to see where these experiments take him in the future.
All in all, “Ibara Rinbukyoku” ended up being a single with a surprisingly rich duality: decadent and intimate in its artist version, and emotional and nostalgic in its anime version.
It is well worth checking both editions out (not just the new songs but the single as a whole) to notice how the b-side tracks in both editions are so strong as to change the mood of the single as a whole. Also, for you to notice how emotionally charged the title track is you can extrapolate almost any emotion from it and have the perfect b-side track to it.
“Ibara Rinbukyoku” is yet another fascinating entry in Makoto Furukawa’s repertoire.
“Ibara Rinbukyoku” is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
“Ibara Rinbukyoku” is available for streaming on Spotify.
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