50/50 & other rare tracks
Iwashita Keisuke Sardine
“50/50,” an 8-song collection produced by Sardine in 1989, is a collection of eight songs that fully demonstrates Iwashita’s abilities as a piano player. It also features thick choruses created by overdubbing alone.
For this release, we added a total of four songs: one instrumental that I presented in a composition class while I was in Music college, two rehearsals during live performances, and one early version of “Awakening from a Dream.”
The simultaneous recording of the vocals and piano sometimes has a rough appearance and there are mistakes, but the realism of the documentary is unmatched. Please enjoy.
1. Sunday Driver
I left my hometown for work in 1989, and at that time I created a collection of songs to say goodbye to my youth. The concept was to arrange the songs with equal parts piano and vocals, but I ended up using a rhythm machine (TR707) from the very first song. But I couldn’t think of any other song to open the album.
The lyrics “You’re crazy about Mickey Rourke” give a sense of the era. But I think the piano touch, reminiscent of Al Kooper, isn’t bad. Tarbo and Miss Matsubara, who were in the studio (now defunct Studio SHEEP in Suizenji) during the recording, joined me on chorus. It has a swamp rock feel.
2. Transfer Student
I’ve never transferred schools, but I always felt left out when I was a student. I had a hard time fitting in with the group. The lyrics describe how that works.
Most people who write this down comment that it’s Take Five. It’s true that it’s in 5/4 time, but I was more influenced by “I hope I get it,” the opening line of the musical film “A Chorus Line,” than by Dave Brubeck.
By the way, when I perform live, I always start with “Transfer Student.” I’m addicted to it, so it has the effect of turning around people who aren’t interested.
3. Emily is a playgirl
The structure of “School Days.” I’ve never actually been at the mercy of a free-spirited girl. But it was fun to imagine a romantic comedy. I’m happiest when I create sparkling three-minute pop songs. For example, I asked the engineer to make the middle eight part sound like a school broadcast.
When I went around handing out cassette tapes, I remember the bassist Mr. Shimizu was impressed and said, “I can’t believe you come up with titles like that.” I ended up not being able to tell him that I borrowed the Japanese title from Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play.”
4. Diving
I’m not sure where this distinctive refrain came from. I think I was playing the piano while half asleep. I was feeling like I was playing the guitar.
Mr. Hanashiro, who mixed the song, said he likes it because it reminds him of his hometown, Okinawa. It was also his idea to insert the sound effects of waves at the end, which adds color to the piano accompaniment that can sometimes get boring.
It may sound like I’m blowing my own trumpet, but the image of “Find the woman clutching the burnt sand” is striking. I think it’s music that evokes images.
5. Who is in the ocean?
It is about the excessive deification of women that is typical of adolescence. He worships an older woman whom he admires, but he is also afraid that the idol he created himself may be destroyed. In fact, the original title is included in one line of the lyrics, but from a modern perspective, it has been changed to a title inspired by a short manga comic by Yumiko Oshima.
In the live performance, a school friend played violin in the middle section, which develops with impressionistic modulations, but he was unable to participate in the recording. Perhaps due to a desire to move away from rock, continental tones permeate the entire piece.
6. 24Blues
I didn’t have a driver’s license until I was about 24 years old. So I had to take the bus or the train wherever I went. There were few services in regional cities, and the last one was early. Waiting alone in a deserted waiting room, I felt increasingly lonely. At times like these, I couldn’t get the girl I loved out of my head. I sing about the sad wish that she was by my side.
I used the organ in the studio. It’s not a Hammond, it’s a KORG. But there was a Leslie speaker, so I was able to play in a pretty good atmosphere. “Too much between us” ? Yes, that’s right. But the distance between them never closed.
By the way, I was a smoker until I was 50. Please be aware that cigarettes appear frequently in the lyrics. This song is also quite “smoky”, isn’t it?
7. Maybe the first time
I went to a music college. This song is the kind of stereotypical pop song that a local college student would write. The melody is cheerful, but the lyrics are cynical. Men who are not used to interacting with women tend to blame the other person. Even his honest habit of saying “This is the first time I’ve ever experienced something like this” is irritating. So the narrator of this song, who is a projection of me, is whispering to the guest (the same duo as “Sunday Driver”) “That’s terrible.” Of course, the song takes its cue from The Rolling Stones’ “Last Time.”
8. Awakening from a dream
This song boldly takes on the appearance of gospel. However, like the majority of Japanese people, I have little concept of a GOD so there is no religious overtone to it. It’s like a declaration of resolve to my spouse, and I even sang it at my own wedding.
I recorded all the choruses myself, but I don’t remember how many times I layered them. I didn’t plan it much, just added harmonies as I felt them.
Sometimes I find it boring, but this may be one of my masterpieces.
These were the eight songs from 1989's “50/50.”
9. Sunset Hill (Instrumental)
This is a piece I performed in a composition class at the music college I attended. My instructor’s comment was, “It’s pop music.” My classmate, Nakahara, played the flute perfectly, almost on sight.
10. Transfer Student (Live rehearsal)
As mentioned above, “Transfer Student” was an important part of me live repertoire. I played the piano faster and harder than I did in rehearsals. When I perform live, my inward aggression is exposed. I’m surprisingly punkish. If I had quietly sung ballads, I would have been well booked, but it seemed like every venue had a hard time dealing with me.
11. Wait at Z bridge (Live rehearsal)
When I released my self-produced album “Don’t Let Me Go” in 1996, a man told me to my face that “Z Bridge is no good.” It may have been true that it lacked impact as the first song on the album.
So I invited him to a live performance. His evaluation changed to “good.” I guess it’s the type of song that really shines in a live performance. The vocals and the piano (especially the left hand) mesh perfectly together.
12. Awakening from a dream (early version)
I actually prefer this early take, recorded on my parents’ upright piano, even though the sound quality is rougher. It’s less heavy and boring to listen to than the “50/50” version, which was played on a grand piano.
A follow-up story:
I sent one of the cassette tapes I made to a musician I met at the recording studio, Hiroshi Takano. Then, a year later, I received a certificate in the mail, saying that the tape had won the “Demo Tape Grand Prize” in a segment on a FM broadcast personality by Mr. Takano. I was so happy. This was the only time I have ever received an award for my musical activities.
In other words, “50/50” is the only glorious record of Iwashita Keisuke Sardine. 鰯 (Sardine) 2024/05/27
