Circus (Chiaki Kuriyama album)

Circus
A woman with her head inside of a bird cage, surrounded by circus paraphernalia.
Studio album by Chiaki Kuriyama
Released March 16, 2011
(see release history)
Recorded 2010–2011
Genre Rock, pop
Length 42:53
Language Japanese, English
Label Defstar Records
Singles from Circus
  1. "Kanōsei Girl"
    Released: November 17, 2010
  2. "Cold Finger Girl"
    Released: January 26, 2011
  3. "Oishii Kisetsu / Ketteiteki Sanpunkan"
    Released: March 2, 2011
  4. "Tsukiyo no Shōzō"
    Released: November 23, 2011

Circus (stylised as CIRCUS) is the album by Japanese musician and actress Chiaki Kuriyama, which was released on March 16, 2011. Kuriyama collaborated with famous Japanese and overseas rock musicians to create the album. In January 2012, the album was re-released as a deluxe edition, featuring the single "Tsukiyo no Shōzō" and its B-side "Seishun no Matataki""[1]

Background and development

Kuriyama made her musical debut in early 2010, with the single "Ryūsei no Namida" that was used as the theme song for the anime Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. Her next two singles were also used for anime: "Kanōsei Girl" (2010) was used as the third opening theme song for Yorinuki Gintama-san and "Cold Finger Girl" as the opening theme song for Level E.

After "Ryūsei no Namida", Kuriyama wanted to collaborate with many of her favourite musicians. She was asked by her musical director to draw up a list of her favourite musicians, and her staff asked them if they wanted to write music for Kuriyama. All of the musicians on the list accepted.[2][3] From her second single, "Kanōsei Girl", Kuriyama began collaborating with famous rock musicians on her singles. "Kanōsei Girl" was produced by Tomoyasu Hotei, while "Cold Finger Girl" was produced by Kenichi Asai, and "Oishii Kisetsu" / "Ketteiteki Sanpunkan" by Ringo Sheena.

Writing and production

Guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei collaborated with Kuriyama on her second single, "Kanōsei Girl."

In addition to the single songs, all the tracks on the album were produced by famous rock musicians. "Roulette de Kuchizuke o" was written by Takuro Sugawara and Yoshimitsu Taki of the band 9mm Parabellum Bullet, "Mirai no Hikari" by Does member Wataru Ujihara and Ryō Eguchi of Stereo Fabrication of Youth fame. "Shinkai" was written by Atsushi Sakurai and Hidehiko Hoshino from the band Buck-Tick, "Gokoku Hōjō Rock" was written and produced by Theatre Brook vocalist Taiji Satō and "New Moon Day" by Tōru Hidaka, former member of Beat Crusaders and Monobright. Two songs were written by overseas rock musicians: "Kuchi ni Shita Love" was produced by Australian band Jet members Chris Cester and Mark Wilson, and "Ladies & Gentlemen" by Third Eye Blind members Stephan Jenkins and Kryz Reid. Both songs featured lyrics by Junji Ishiwatari, a member of the band Supercar and a famous producer.[4]

Hidaka was inspired by "Kanōsei Girl" to write a glam rock song for Kuiryama. Ujihara was asked to make a song for Kuriyama in the "fast-paced style" of the songs he writes for Does.[5]

"Tsukiyo no Shōzō" and "Seishun no Matataki" were recorded after the album's release, when Kuriyama was feeling more confident as a vocalist. She felt that adding these to songs to the deluxe edition the album more balance.[6]

The album title refers to the great variety of songs found on the album.[3]

Critical reception

Kazuhiro "Scao" Ikeda of EMTG praised the album, feeling as if Kuriyama was being an actress, taking on the roles set for her by each musician. He praised "Roulette de Kuchizuke o" for its "thudding, edgy sound" and thrilling 1970s pop-style dramaticness. He described "Oishii Kisetsu" as "bewitching and cute", and praised "Ketteiteki Sanpunkan"'s "noisy and suspicious atmosphere", and found "Kanōsei Girl"'s "sprinting and rising feelings...liberating".[7] CDJournal reviewers believed the album was "edgy and personal", and praised Kuriyama for having a natural vocal sense.[8]

Commercial reception

The album debuted at number 19 on Oricon's weekly album charts, and remained in the top 300 for five weeks. When the album was re-released in 2012, it reached number 86, and charted for another two weeks. Cumulatively, the album has sold 12,000 copies.[9]

Track listing

Standard edition
No. TitleWriter(s)Arranger Length
1. "Roulette de Kuchizuke o" (ルーレットでくちづけを Rūretto de Kuchizuke o, "Roulette Kiss")Takuro Sugawara, Yoshimitsu Taki9mm Parabellum Bullet 3:08
2. "Cold Finger Girl" (コールドフィンガーガール Kōrudofingāgāru)Kenichi AsaiPontiacs 3:08
3. "Oishii Kisetsu"  Ringo SheenaR. Sheena 4:12
4. "Mirai no Hikari" (ミライノ・ヒカリ "Future Light")Wataru UjiharaRyō Eguchi 3:42
5. "Ketteiteki Sanpunkan"  R. SheenaR. Sheena 3:00
6. "Kuchi ni Shita Love" (口にしたLOVE "Love in My Mouth")Junji Ishiwatari, Chris Cester, Mark WilsonC. Cester, M. Wilson 2:40
7. "Shinkai" (深海 "Deep Seas")Atsushi Sakurai, Hidehiko HoshinoH. Hoshino 4:20
8. "Kanōsei Girl" (可能性ガール Kanōsei Gāru, "Girl with Potential")J. Ishiwatari, Tomoyasu HoteiT. Hotei 4:40
9. "Gokoku Hōjō Rock" (五穀豊穣ROCK, "Great Harvest Rock")Taiji SatōT. Satō 5:58
10. "Ladies & Gentlemen"  J. Ishiwatari, Stephan Jenkins, Kryz ReidS. Jenkins, K. Reid 3:18
11. "New Moon Day"  Tōru HidakaT. Hidaka 4:00
Total length:
 42:53
Deluxe edition
No. TitleWriter(s)Arranger Length
1. "Roulette de Kuchizuke o"  T. Sugawara, Y. Taki9mm Parabellum Bullet 3:08
2. "Tsukiyo no Shōzō"  R. SheenaR. Sheena 3:49
3. "Kuchi ni Shita Love"  J. Ishiwatari, C. Cester, M. WilsonC. Cester, M. Wilson 2:40
4. "Seishun no Matataki"  R. SheenaR. Sheena 4:30
5. "Oishii Kisetsu"  R. SheenaR. Sheena 4:12
6. "Cold Finger Girl"  K. AsaiPontiacs 3:08
7. "Mirai no Hikari"  W. UjiharaR. Eguchi 3:42
8. "Ketteiteki Sanpunkan"  R. SheenaR. Sheena 3:00
9. "Shinkai"  A. Sakurai, H. HoshinoH. Hoshino 4:20
10. "Kanōsei Girl"  J. Ishiwatari, T. HoteiT. Hotei 4:40
11. "Gokoku Hōjō Rock"  T. SatōT. Satō 5:58
12. "Ladies & Gentlemen"  J. Ishiwatari, S. Jenkins, K. ReidS. Jenkins, K. Reid 3:18
13. "New Moon Day"  T. HidakaT. Hidaka 4:00
Total length:
 51:12

Chart rankings

Charts (2011) Peak
position
Japan Oricon weekly albums[10] 19

Sales and certifications

Chart Amount
Oricon physical sales[9] 12,000

Release history

Region Date Format Distributing Label Catalogue codes
Japan March 16, 2011[11] CD, CD/DVD, digital download Sony Music DFCL-1761~2, DFCL-1763
April 2, 2011[12] Rental CD
Taiwan May 6, 2011[13] CD 88697857832
Hong Kong May 27, 2011[14]
Japan January 11, 2012[1] Deluxe CD, deluxe CD/DVD, deluxe digital download DFCL-1825, DFCL-1826~7
January 28, 2012[15] Deluxe rental CD

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "CIRCUS [通常盤]" (in Japanese). Tsutaya. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  2. ↑ Tomonori Nagasawa (March 16, 2011). 栗山千明 スペシャル・インタビュー (in Japanese). We Rock City. Archived from the original on March 18, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "FLOWER OF WOMEN feat. 栗山千明". Rolling Stone Japan. February 1, 2012. Archived from the original on May 22, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  4. ↑ "栗山千明 アルバムに海外の大物も 彼女は「人間打ち上げ花火みたいな子」" [Chiaki Kuriyama: album features great musicians from overseas, too. She is a "human skyrocket girl"]. Hot Express. March 1, 2011. Archived from the original on May 22, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  5. ↑ "栗山千明 1stアルバムに椎名林檎、浅井健一ら10組が参加！" [Chiaki Kuriyama: 1st album has 10 collaborators, including Ringo Sheena and Kenichi Asai!]. Hot Express. February 4, 2011. Archived from the original on May 22, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  6. ↑ "【インタビュー】シンガーとして成長を続ける栗山千明" [[Interview] Chiaki Kuriyama, growing as a singer.]. Flying Postman. January 20, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  7. ↑ Kazuhiro "Scao" Ikeda (March 17, 2011). "レビュー" (in Japanese). EMTG. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  8. ↑ "ミニ・レビュー". CDJournal. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree']. Oricon. Retrieved April 14, 2014. (subscription required (help)).
  10. ↑ 「ＣＩＲＣＵＳ」 栗山千明 (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  11. ↑ "CIRCUS [通常盤]" (in Japanese). Tsutaya. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  12. ↑ ＣＩＲＣＵＳ／栗山千明（ＣＨｉＡＫｉ　ＫＵＲｉＹＡＭＡ） (in Japanese). Tsutaya. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  13. ↑ 栗山千明/ 綺栗馬戲團 (in Chinese). G-Music. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  14. ↑ "栗山千明 KURIYAMA CHIAKI - CIRCUS" (in Chinese). HMV Hong Kong. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  15. ↑ ＣＩＲＣＵＳ　Ｄｅｌｕｘｅ　Ｅｄｉｔｉｏｎ／栗山千明（ＣＨｉＡＫｉ　ＫＵＲｉＹＡＭＡ） (in Japanese). Tsutaya. Retrieved May 22, 2014.