Don’t Let Me Go
Iwashita Keisuke Sardine
“Don’t Let Me Go『離してはいけない』” was released in September 1996 and is Keisuke Iwashita’s only self-produced CD. Production began in April and took about three months to complete. All lyrics, composition, arrangement, performance, singing, recording, editing, and cover illustrations were done by myself. My partner gave me appropriate advice during the recording, so I credited her with “directions.” At the time, I didn’t have a computer, so I asked Kojima Recording in Yoyogi to do the mastering and printing. I ordered 500 sheets and 5 cardboard boxes. I priced it at 2,000 yen, but only about 200 copies were sold. Afterwards, I handed them out to people (I still have about 100 copies left in my closet).
The following is a quote from Kazuhiko Yukikawa, which was published in the “Independent Edition”of “Music Magazine January 1997 (pages 266–267).”
“Don’t Let Me Go”is a CD containing seven songs, mostly played and sung on the piano. It has a smooth flow similar to the quiet songs of Elton John, Todd Rundgren, and Pete Townshend, an oozing pop sensibility, and a heartrending voice and melody that remain in your heart.
A lyric poem that takes a bird’s-eye view of the personal sphere.
1. Wait at Z bridge
This is a representative song by Iwashita Keisuke.
Many people have described the lyrics as “literary.” I’m not sure what “literature” is, so I’m perplexed by this criticism. I think it probably means “not popular” or “introspective.”
Mr. Yang covered this song. I remember watching him sing at a Livehouse in Shimokitazawa, and Mr. Nakashi, who was sitting next to me, muttering “What a long song.” He probably thought it was a boring song.
I read a lot of books. At that time, I went to the library and read five books a week.
2. Upside down world
It may seem meaningful, but the lyrics are actually about a time when I took my child to an amusement park and rode on a roller coaster that I didn’t want to ride. Contrary to my dejected mood, my child was squealing with delight and begging to go on it again.
For a long time, I didn’t like this depressing song, but recently I’ve come to think that it’s not so bad. Such a restrained, no-nonsense arrangement is rare in my repertoire.
3. In the crowd
When I was a businessman, I was a workaholic, and most of the month I was on business trips all over the country. This song is about the frustration I felt at that time. Someone once pointed out to me that the subject of the lyrics was unclear. Now that I think about it, that is certainly true, but the structure is that another me is watching me as my ego collapses. The same goes for the previous song, and all the lyrics on “Don’t Let Me Go” are easier to understand if you interpret them as me observing myself.
Minimalistic guitar refrain is a partner’s idea. I thought I was trying to sound like Marvin Gaye, but I was once told that the melody was refreshing, like James Taylor. It really is a matter of personal preference.
4. As fate would have it
There’s not much to add to this E flat ballad. I used some overly complicated chords, but I tried to make it “(like a hymn)dignified.”
My partner was by my side and gave me suggestions from time to time. She made it a rule not to use rhythm machines, and was also strict about how I used the guitar. She told me to insert it at key points and use it to support the song. She was also the one who suggested adding two harmony voices to the interlude of this song. I often get compliments on the guitar playing on this album, and I owe it all to my wife.
5. Restless person
I have an old friend who is a professional guitarist. Whenever he gave me a demo tape of my work, he would criticize it by saying, “It’s an arrangement that sounds like a picture drawn with crayons.” However, when he heard this song, he called me right away and told me how happy he was, “You can play piano so well, Keisuke! I couldn’t help but shout out yeah! after the solo.” Well, it’s because of these encouraging experiences that it’s hard to quit music.
I think the defining feature of this arrangement is the bass playing rather than the piano. The whole album is “the bass sings well.”
6. Cigarette at night
It’s a song about when a couple has a fight (lol).
It’s a song about a common scene where one person runs out of the house after an argument, comes back, it’s awkward for a while, but then they go back to their normal lives. It may be a song for the common people. But I think there are actually surprisingly few songs for the common people. It wasn’t something I intended to write. A friend who likes this song said that the slide guitar playing “sounds like an ambulance siren.”
In this way, music seems to have some kind of effect on the hearts of those who listen to it. Even though I didn’t have a clear image in mind during the process of making it.
7. Hug
In 1996, I retired from my job at a musical instrument manufacturer in Hamamatsu and my family moved to Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. During the day while recording, I left my daughter at a home daycare center. she was only one year old at the time, cried every time I left her there. Ten years later, the rundown apartment in Kotobukicho where me and my family lived was forced to move out due to the construction of a tower apartment building. By that time my daughter was a teenager.
Every time I listen to “Hug,” I remember those days.
Come to think of it, in this song I’m hitting an empty cold medicine bottle with a triangular beater (metal rod). It was used when playing the guitar in a slide style in the previous song, “cigarette at night,” but right after the song ended, the medicine bottle shattered into pieces. It was a small incident during the recording, but I remember such trivial incidents well.
I have a request. When you listen to “Don’t Let Me Go,” please listen to the entire 7 songs, 30 minutes, from beginning to end. Lou Reed once said, “I want you to listen to this album like reading a book.” It may be presumptuous, but I feel the same way. Please listen to it without skipping any parts.
鰯 (Sardine) 2024/07/15
