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64-y.o. Singer Shows That Enka Is Still Cool With A Cover of the Evangelion Theme
posted on by Bamboo Dong
Enka, a musical genre that takes its roots and inspirations from 19th century Japanese traditional music but was reinvigorated in the 1960s, has a bad rap amongst the younger generation for being out-of-date and a little cheesy. That's not to say it's disappeared—enka artists continue to place on Oricon charts every so often, and it's even experienced a bit of a resurgence with the hipster crowd.
One enka artist, however, is hoping to reach a new audience with a traditional take on a perennial anime classic—"Cruel Angel's Thesis" from Neon Genesis Evangelion, which continues to top karaoke song charts even now.
Her name is Aki Yashiro, a household name for many older Japanese music fans. Since her debut in 1971, she's appeared in the Kōhaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle) 23 times, and has breached the Oricon Top 10 several times. She's one of many artists who are featured on the upcoming Enka no Chikara Premium album, a compilation of J-Pop covers performed by enka artists.
You can get a taste of the track in this spotlight video below, along with comments from Yashiro, who says, "I hope that young people will listen to this... Not bad, huh?":
The track, along with the other tracks on the album, can be previewed on Amazon.
[Via RocketNews24]
