Kanako Yamamoto started young in the field of music, going from a 5-year-old classical Guzheng (a traditional Chinese plucked zither similar in basic structure to a steel guitar) player, even winning a national title at age 11, to a virtuoso and singer-songwriter based in London, England. Her music is reportedly influenced by the folk and ambient genres, the sounds of Brazil, and the common idiosyncrasies of the Guzheng’s repertoire; the latter detail shines brilliantly through the single submitted to us, titled “With You”. The track is described as a “nostalgic, dreamy soundscape that blends nylon and acoustic guitars with a soft drum machine groove and mellotron [synth] textures”. An ascending ostinato in eighth notes carries over fuzzy ambient synth chords, providing a rich and textured foundation for Yamamoto’s vocals.
Yamamoto’s lyrics focus on the transcendent connection between lovers. The notes for this submission mention her aim for the “melancholy yet hopeful”, drifting “between memory and longing” and invoking the common scenes of a long-distance relationship–particularly “late-night calls and hotel rooms”. It brings me back to when my marriage was nothing more than one such relationship, when the most honest feelings between my husband and me were confessed on booze-laden breath after taking advantage of open bars in whatever resort the other could barely afford to book. Something true of the most life-changing love is that it feels like both of you speak a language unknown to anyone else; somehow, new meanings are given to words that had been defined in stone your entire life. Somehow, sights you’d seen your entire life suddenly take on more vibrant colors, the animated moving much more excitedly, and the inanimate seeming sturdy as bedrock. It’s ethereal, intoxicating, so much like a dream. Yamamoto’s lyrics speak of this sensation while her composition guides the listener by the hand through such a magical feeling.
We spoke for hours
before we met
I knew your voice like
the back of my hand
(…)
I’d rather let go
of all I have
‘cuz my dreams have more colors
with you, with you, with you
Yamamoto’s vocal layering here works to otherworldly ends, leaving one feeling as if they’d been enraptured by sirensong and left to float among the sparkling synth flourishes scattered around like stars in the twilight skies. During the chorus, the guitar switches from carrying on that ostinato to carrying the chord progression onward with folksy strum patterns. Yamamoto’s ear for voicing allows for every instrument featured in her work to have its chance to show off in a solo, similar in the most basic of principles to the “structure” of spur-of-the-moment jam sessions or jazz performances. Even the drum machine, albeit for a brief and hushed moment, gets its time in the forefront during the first transition from chorus back to verse.
We lost the hours
where we lay
In the old hotel rooms
across the bay
Again, Yamamoto highlights the transient and quiet moments of joy in the time when star-crossed lovers cross the country to enjoy each other’s company. There’s mention of a life with the singer’s love to be “a fantasy”, and admittedly, this too is common in long-distance romance (from my experience). While words are exchanged back and forth between both parties of marriage and domestic life free of technical difficulties, of having to spend thousands of dollars to be in each others’ arms, there is as well an understanding on some level—particularly in younger couples—that much of this is wishful thinking that may very well never be realized, all entirely dependent on how the relationship goes and for how long. Some are stuck waiting with each other at arm’s length, particularly if one or both parties are waiting specifically for the other shoe to drop.
In a way, those with such a tendency to await the worst possible outcomes tend to find themselves the most easily addicted to such a dreamlike love. The decision by Yamamoto to make the sound of this faraway love both lovely and melancholy, especially, makes me feel as though this was precisely her aim, to capture the essence of long-distance romance in those who have been hurt deeply before. As the second chorus plays out, the Guzheng-esque runs reprise, each note echoing in the ear like a whispered “I love you, too”.
The submission’s notes indicate that this song was made for playlists, primarily those exploring “love, loss, and reflection”. I posit that this undersells Kanako Yamamoto’s talent as a singer-songwriter. Yes, “With You” can be called “easy listening” for its warm, airy, gentle production. Yes, one can even hear the influences that drive Yamamoto, should the ear be trained to catch them. This does not mean, in my opinion, that this should be lost within a sea of other works connected only by vague hints of a shared theme. Perhaps this will show just how much of a geek I am, but I’d say this song would be much more appropriately used in an animatic music video for one’s favorite fictional pairing, or perhaps played for a married couple’s first dance.
It is not uncommon for solo artists in the DIY scene to handle every instrument on their tracks, nor uncommon for said artists to be truly skilled with said instruments. It is nevertheless commendable when an artist undertakes the entire labor of composition, performance, and production on their own and delivers something so strikingly charming when all is said and done. With a sound like a lullaby hummed on a rainy day by the love of your life when the both of you would rather let centuries pass in each others’ arms than so much as move a muscle, Kanako Yamamoto’s “With You” is the perfect track to slip into like a spell of nostalgia for the days where chatrooms and private messages felt so much like tin cans connected by a miles-and-miles-long string. The song is currently available for streaming on YouTube Music.
Written by Alexei Lee
