User:IanTEB/Baka no Uta

Baka no Uta (ばかのうた) is the debut studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter and musician Gen Hoshino.

Background
Though he grew up in a greengrocer home, Gen Hoshino's father played jazz piano as a hobby and his mother had previously aimed to be a jazz vocalist. He noted that the house was always "lined" with jazz records, and that music was constantly playing. While not a big fan of jazz, Hoshino would pick up his father's guitar in middle school as the instrument was popular among his classmates. In high school, his friends would ask him to compose music to lyrics they had wrote, which Hoshino found satisfying. He recorded himself singing the songs of high-pitched artists such as the band Unicorn but recalled feeling discouraged when listening to his recordings, believing the voice style did not fit him.

In 2000, Hoshino formed the band Sakerock and served as the frontman, playing guitar and also marimba. Though Hoshino wanted to sing, he never expressed this and, as he had no friends who were singers either, the band became instrumental. The band independently released their debut album Yuta in 2003, before signing to indie label Kakubarhythm with their 2005 album Life Cycle. Sakerock would break into the Oricon Albums Chart with Songs of Instrumental (2006), which peaked at number 40, and the following Honyarara (2008) reached 32. In addition to his activities with Sakerock, Hoshino worked as an actor and, musically, began composing songs for stage plays and held acoustic live peformances. In 2005, he released a self-produced CD-R album titled Baka no Uta, his first solo release. Partnering with photographer Taro Hirano, he released the CD and photo booklet Barabara in 2007, containing acoustic-peformed songs.

Whilst finding peforming with Sakerock rewarding and fun, around the time Hoshino was to turn 30, he felt he couldn't ignore his wish to sing and would need to act while still within his 20s. Coincidentally, Hoshino was around the same time approached by the label Daisyworld – owned by Yellow Magic Orchestra's Haruomi Hosono – asking if he was interesting in making an official solo debut. Hoshino accepted, beginning production of his debut solo studio album Baka no Uta, the same title as his 2005 CD-R album.

Production and music
Hoshino wrote and produced all tracks on Baka no Uta himself, and performed on vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, marimba, mandolin, banjo, glockenspiel, and toy piano. Two members of Sakerock – acoustic and electric bassist Suga Dairo and drummer Daichi Ito – as well as former member, pianist and organ player Takuji Nomura, provided instrumentation on the album, with Ren Takada featuring as a guest performer on pedal steel and resonator guitar. The album was recorded by Naoyuki Uchida at three locations in Tokyo: Freedom Studio, Thinksync Integral, and Sound DALI Studio. Mastering was handled by Mikazu Tanaka at Bernie Grundman Mastering. The track listing of Baka no Uta contains 15 songs, including two instrumentals. Some tracks are taken from the 2005 CD-R of the same name and the 2007 CD booklet Barabara, and two are lyrical covers of Sakerock songs. Hoshino described the album as "only one-third old material", with everything else being new.

The songs on Baka no Uta have themes of everyday life. Mayumi Tsuchida of Bounce magazine noted one song on the album as about an oldman who suddenly collapsed and died, and another as about a child who was never born, whereas Mio at Tower Records Japan wrote that the album contains tracks focusing on everyday topics such as departure, scattering, teacup sets, and kids growing up. Musically, Tsuchida described the album as performed in a "nostalgic-like band sound".

The album's opening track "Barabara" (ばらばら), the title track to Hoshino's 2007 booklet, was also the first song recorded on the album. Hoshino described it as one of the album's "dark" songs. Aging was noted by critics as a theme on the album, present in songs such as the second track "Goo" (グー), the fourth "Chawan" (茶碗), and the seventh "Rōfūfu" (老夫婦).

Personnel
Credits adapted from the CD album liner notes and Daisyworld.
 * Gen Hoshino – songwriter, producer, vocals, acoustic guitar, marimba, mandolin, banjo, glockenspiel, toy piano, handclapping; all instruments (#5, #11)
 * Haruomi Hosono – co-composer (#13)
 * Daichi Ito – drums, handclapping
 * Suga Dairo – acoustic bass, electric bass, handclapping
 * Takuji Nomura – piano, organ, handclapping
 * Ren Takada – pedal steel guitar, resonator guitar
 * Santa Yamagishi – handclapping
 * Azusa Akahori – handclapping
 * Eiichi Higashi – handclapping, record manufacturing director
 * Naoyuki Uchida – recording
 * Mikazu Tanaka – mastering