Aruku Around
Encyclopedia
is Japanese band Sakanaction
's second physical single, released on released on January 13, 2010. It was used in commercials for outdoor sports brand Kissmark from late December, 2009.
"Native Dancer" by Rei Harakami
. The limited edition of the single features a bonus track, ""Fish Alive Chapter 2" 1 Sequence by 3 Songs: Sakanaquarium 2009 @ Sapporo (Native Dancer, Sen to Rei, Adventure)." It is a sequel to the band's digital download live EP "Fish Alive" 20min., 1 Sequence by 6 Songs Sakanaquarium 2009 @ Sapporo, released in mid 2009. The track features three more songs from the same live concert that the EP's live recordings originated from. The band vocalist's Ichirō Yamaguchi stated that he did not feel the release of the single was for purely commercial reasons to promote Kikuuiki, but instead that the band wanted to produce the product conceptually.
The song was originally released as a digital download on the 6th of January as a single track, a week before the wide release. Recochoku had a monopoly on full-length cellphone downloads, and iTunes
on PC downloads.
The lyrics describe somebody walking alone somewhere, "waiting for a new night," and not understanding what they are searching for. The chorus makes the statement that everyone is currently "walking about in the undulation," and that we should forget our tiredness, search for the meaning that will end this, and to start walking again. The lyrics were originally intended to be a series of haiku
. Yamaguchi felt that he had to write something autobiographic for the song's lyrics, as it did not feel right to have this type of song with something that was not based in reality. He realised it had been a year and a half since the band had moved to Tokyo
for their third album Shinshiro
, and wrote about making the decision to consider Tokyo his home. He considered "Aruku Around" a regular Sakanaction song, and described it as something "many people will find easy to get." He considers "Aruku Around" to be the central axis to the album Kikuuiki, and the lyrics the most important facet of the song. Because of this, the lyrics are the central focus of both the single's cover artwork and the music video.
The B-side "Spoon to Ase" was created as something resembling Sakanaction's folk/electro roots. The lyrics describe the process of giving up smoking. Despite this, the band originally did not have a guitar sound when the band were in Hokkaido, as was something made possible after they started to use Pro Tools
software. The song was created to specifically contrast with "Aruku Around"'s sound, and also created as a song that had an arrangement that contrasted with its lyrics. Yamaguchi considers it his personal leading track to the single, as opposed to "Aruku Around."
. The theme for the image thought up by the band members was "psychedelic in the style of Japanese literature," reminiscent of avant garde artist Shūji Terayama
. The cover depicts a psychedelically coloured woman with the song's lyrics instead of her face, reminiscent of 1980s pop-art.
That the cover featured lyrics on the cover, this caused many copyright issues. Therefore, the versions shown online at official sites and music retailers feature a copyright notice apologising for the lack of lyrics, instead of the actual lyrics. These versions were labelled as "dummy jackets."
There were three different covers for the single: limited and regular edition covers, as well as a cover released exclusively with the digital download version of the single. The digital cover artwork was dubbed the by the band, and is the regular version of the jacket but seen at a different angle.
in Tokyo, plus an outside terrace, using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II
video camera.
It features Yamaguchi walking with a constant camera shot. He begins outside at nighttime, walking while eating an apple. He then pushes aside metal bars towards the camera that show some of the lyrics of the song. He then enters the Makuhari Messe corridor, and encounters different white symbols on sticks. These symbols are shown at different angles, and at one crucial point they merge together to create a phrase from the lyrics. The crucial point is both when Yamaguchi walks past them in the video, and when the lyrics are sung in the song. Other than the different angle lyrics, several other ways, such as bassist Ami Kusakari holding up a flip book
and a laptop showing a pre-recorded clip of Yamaguchi jumping in the hallway with the lyrics appearing, white symbols falling into a fish tank and lyrics scrolling over a conveyor belt
. The video is interspersed with three brief scenes of band members performing on their instruments. The video ends with Yamaguchi walking outside to the terrace again, taking a bite of his apple.
After Seki realised the entire song was based around certain phrases in Japanese, he thought it would be a good music video to utilise the technique of having objects only comprehendable from one angle, something he had been interested in for a while. Sakanaction members entrusted Seki with all of the decisions in the creative process, though added several ideas to the process themselves. An initial idea was to have the entire lyrics on panels, however this was scrapped for practical reasons. Vocalist Ichirō Yamaguchi suggested the dark setting of the video. Seki believed that for the one angle technique to have its full effect, the video had to be taken in one shot.
The video was posted to Youtube
on the official Victor Entertainment
Youtube account in December, 2009. As of June 2010, the video has been viewed over 1,410,000 times. The video was chosen as the Space Shower network music video channel VMC's Video of the Month for January 2010, and was featured in the WOWOW
music program Hits Seeker in January 2010.
A special music video was created by Tokyo FM
radio station School of Lock!. It features a succession of School of Lock! listener submitted cellphone recordings, as these people walk from one side of the screen to the other and do an activity.
's physical single charts, song debuted at No. 3 in its first week, selling just over 13,000 copies. It spent a further three weeks in the top 50, and a further two more in the top 100. In its time in the top 100 other than its first two weeks, it sold an average of 1,700 copies per week. The single spent a further five weeks between No. 100 and No. 200, selling a total of 27,000 copies in its total charting time of 11 weeks.
On Billboard
' s Japan Hot 100
chart, the single peaked at No. 2 in January 2010. It initially charted for two weeks in December 2010 at No. 67 and No. 45, based on airplay alone. Closer to the single's release it began charting again, peaking at No. 6 based on solely airplay. After a further week in the top 10 at No. 7, the single slowly fell down the charts, and stopped ranking in March 2010. It received minor airplay again with the album's release. The song's airplay was mirrored on Billboard' s Adult Contemporary Airplay chart. It charted lowly once in December, followed with two more weeks in January, peaking at No. 9. It charted for a total of five weeks.
The song did not fare as well on the RIAJ's weekly full-length cellphone download chart
. In its first week, it peaked at No. 38, and charted between there and No. 50 for three further weeks, ending its run at No. 68. After the album's release, the song charted for two further weeks, one at No. 56 and the other at No. 61.
Sakanaction
are a Japanese rock band from Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Their music is a mix of alternative rock, electronic, pop, and New Wave styles, and is thus difficult to classify under one category...
's second physical single, released on released on January 13, 2010. It was used in commercials for outdoor sports brand Kissmark from late December, 2009.
Single
The physical single release features three main songs: the leading track, a B-side "Spoon to Ase," and a remix of the leading track from ShinshiroShinshiro (album)
Shinshiro is Japanese rock group Sakanaction's third album and was released on January 21, 2009. It includes the songs Sen To Rei and Ame from their maxi single, "Sentorei." The album contains a different version of the song Ame that was not released on the single, entitled, Ame. It also contains...
"Native Dancer" by Rei Harakami
Rei Harakami
was a Kyoto-based electronic musician from Hiroshima, Japan. He composed and mixed on two Roland SC-88Pro sound generators, at times supplemented by the Roland SK-88Pro keyboard model. He suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage on the 27th July 2011.Rei released his debut album in 1998 on Sublime Records...
. The limited edition of the single features a bonus track, ""Fish Alive Chapter 2" 1 Sequence by 3 Songs: Sakanaquarium 2009 @ Sapporo (Native Dancer, Sen to Rei, Adventure)." It is a sequel to the band's digital download live EP "Fish Alive" 20min., 1 Sequence by 6 Songs Sakanaquarium 2009 @ Sapporo, released in mid 2009. The track features three more songs from the same live concert that the EP's live recordings originated from. The band vocalist's Ichirō Yamaguchi stated that he did not feel the release of the single was for purely commercial reasons to promote Kikuuiki, but instead that the band wanted to produce the product conceptually.
The song was originally released as a digital download on the 6th of January as a single track, a week before the wide release. Recochoku had a monopoly on full-length cellphone downloads, and iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
on PC downloads.
Writing and inspiration
The song is an electronic rock song, inspired by 1980s dance music. It was created by the band as a song that would appeal to a wide audience and to create a signature song for the band, that would sum up what the band was like to people who had not heard of Sakanaction before. The song's title is a pun on the word aruku (to walk) which features heavily in the song's lyrics, and the English phrase "A Look Around."The lyrics describe somebody walking alone somewhere, "waiting for a new night," and not understanding what they are searching for. The chorus makes the statement that everyone is currently "walking about in the undulation," and that we should forget our tiredness, search for the meaning that will end this, and to start walking again. The lyrics were originally intended to be a series of haiku
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
. Yamaguchi felt that he had to write something autobiographic for the song's lyrics, as it did not feel right to have this type of song with something that was not based in reality. He realised it had been a year and a half since the band had moved to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
for their third album Shinshiro
Shinshiro (album)
Shinshiro is Japanese rock group Sakanaction's third album and was released on January 21, 2009. It includes the songs Sen To Rei and Ame from their maxi single, "Sentorei." The album contains a different version of the song Ame that was not released on the single, entitled, Ame. It also contains...
, and wrote about making the decision to consider Tokyo his home. He considered "Aruku Around" a regular Sakanaction song, and described it as something "many people will find easy to get." He considers "Aruku Around" to be the central axis to the album Kikuuiki, and the lyrics the most important facet of the song. Because of this, the lyrics are the central focus of both the single's cover artwork and the music video.
The B-side "Spoon to Ase" was created as something resembling Sakanaction's folk/electro roots. The lyrics describe the process of giving up smoking. Despite this, the band originally did not have a guitar sound when the band were in Hokkaido, as was something made possible after they started to use Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
software. The song was created to specifically contrast with "Aruku Around"'s sound, and also created as a song that had an arrangement that contrasted with its lyrics. Yamaguchi considers it his personal leading track to the single, as opposed to "Aruku Around."
Cover artwork
The covers were made by design team Hatos, who have worked with Sakanaction since their second album Night FishingNIGHT FISHING (album)
Night Fishing is the 2008 second album of Sakanaction, and follow up to Go to the Future. It contains 10 tracks.-Information:When asked about the approach Sakanaction took to this album, vocalist Ichirō Yamaguchi stated:...
. The theme for the image thought up by the band members was "psychedelic in the style of Japanese literature," reminiscent of avant garde artist Shūji Terayama
Shuji Terayama
was an avant-garde Japanese poet, dramatist, writer, film director, and photographer. According to many critics and supporters, he was one of the most productive and provocative creative artists to come out of Japan. He was born December 10, 1935, the only son of Hachiro and Hatsu Terayama in...
. The cover depicts a psychedelically coloured woman with the song's lyrics instead of her face, reminiscent of 1980s pop-art.
That the cover featured lyrics on the cover, this caused many copyright issues. Therefore, the versions shown online at official sites and music retailers feature a copyright notice apologising for the lack of lyrics, instead of the actual lyrics. These versions were labelled as "dummy jackets."
There were three different covers for the single: limited and regular edition covers, as well as a cover released exclusively with the digital download version of the single. The digital cover artwork was dubbed the by the band, and is the regular version of the jacket but seen at a different angle.
Music video
The music video was shot by director Kazuaki Seki, with artist visuals, organisation, production and styling by Hisashi "Momo" Kitazawa. It was shot in a corridor at the Makuhari MesseMakuhari Messe
is a Japanese convention center outside Tokyo, located in the Mihama-ku ward of Chiba city, in the northwest corner of Chiba prefecture. Designed by Fumihiko Maki, it is easily accessible by Tokyo's commuter rail system. Makuhari is the name of the area, and Messe is a German word meaning "trade...
in Tokyo, plus an outside terrace, using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
The Canon EOS 5D Mark II is a 21.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS digital single-lens reflex camera made by Canon. It succeeds the EOS 5D and was announced on September 17, 2008.-Improvements compared to original EOS 5D:...
video camera.
It features Yamaguchi walking with a constant camera shot. He begins outside at nighttime, walking while eating an apple. He then pushes aside metal bars towards the camera that show some of the lyrics of the song. He then enters the Makuhari Messe corridor, and encounters different white symbols on sticks. These symbols are shown at different angles, and at one crucial point they merge together to create a phrase from the lyrics. The crucial point is both when Yamaguchi walks past them in the video, and when the lyrics are sung in the song. Other than the different angle lyrics, several other ways, such as bassist Ami Kusakari holding up a flip book
Flip book
A flip book or flick book is a book with a series of pictures that vary gradually from one page to the next, so that when the pages are turned rapidly, the pictures appear to animate by simulating motion or some other change. Flip books are often illustrated books for children, but may also be...
and a laptop showing a pre-recorded clip of Yamaguchi jumping in the hallway with the lyrics appearing, white symbols falling into a fish tank and lyrics scrolling over a conveyor belt
Conveyor belt
A conveyor belt consists of two or more pulleys, with a continuous loop of material - the conveyor belt - that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt forward. The powered pulley is called the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley...
. The video is interspersed with three brief scenes of band members performing on their instruments. The video ends with Yamaguchi walking outside to the terrace again, taking a bite of his apple.
After Seki realised the entire song was based around certain phrases in Japanese, he thought it would be a good music video to utilise the technique of having objects only comprehendable from one angle, something he had been interested in for a while. Sakanaction members entrusted Seki with all of the decisions in the creative process, though added several ideas to the process themselves. An initial idea was to have the entire lyrics on panels, however this was scrapped for practical reasons. Vocalist Ichirō Yamaguchi suggested the dark setting of the video. Seki believed that for the one angle technique to have its full effect, the video had to be taken in one shot.
The video was posted to Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
on the official Victor Entertainment
Victor Entertainment
is a subsidiary of Japan Victor Company that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It was formerly known as...
Youtube account in December, 2009. As of June 2010, the video has been viewed over 1,410,000 times. The video was chosen as the Space Shower network music video channel VMC's Video of the Month for January 2010, and was featured in the WOWOW
WOWOW
WOWOW was the first private satellite broadcasting and pay TV station in Japan. It has its headquarters on the 21st floor of the Akasaka Park Building in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo...
music program Hits Seeker in January 2010.
A special music video was created by Tokyo FM
Tokyo FM
Tokyo FM Broadcasting Co., Ltd. is a radio station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the flagship station of the Japan FM Network .-Program:*Countdown Station** DHC Countdown jp** cosmo Pops Best 10...
radio station School of Lock!. It features a succession of School of Lock! listener submitted cellphone recordings, as these people walk from one side of the screen to the other and do an activity.
Chart ranking
On OriconOricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
's physical single charts, song debuted at No. 3 in its first week, selling just over 13,000 copies. It spent a further three weeks in the top 50, and a further two more in the top 100. In its time in the top 100 other than its first two weeks, it sold an average of 1,700 copies per week. The single spent a further five weeks between No. 100 and No. 200, selling a total of 27,000 copies in its total charting time of 11 weeks.
On Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Japan Hot 100
The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com ....
chart, the single peaked at No. 2 in January 2010. It initially charted for two weeks in December 2010 at No. 67 and No. 45, based on airplay alone. Closer to the single's release it began charting again, peaking at No. 6 based on solely airplay. After a further week in the top 10 at No. 7, the single slowly fell down the charts, and stopped ranking in March 2010. It received minor airplay again with the album's release. The song's airplay was mirrored on Billboard
The song did not fare as well on the RIAJ's weekly full-length cellphone download chart
RIAJ Digital Track Chart
The is chart ranks the best selling digital singles in Japan, provided by the Recording Industry Association of Japan since April 2009. The chart measures cellphone downloads ....
. In its first week, it peaked at No. 38, and charted between there and No. 50 for three further weeks, ending its run at No. 68. After the album's release, the song charted for two further weeks, one at No. 56 and the other at No. 61.
Critical reception
CDJournal gave the single its star of approval, reserved only for what they consider the most quality releases. They described the song as "A killer tune, where the pleasure of a moment and restraint live together." Music critic Kenji Sasaki from Skream! thought positively of the song, saying that it "filled him with both pain and excitement." He praised the song for its blend of "soft electronica sound with '80s taste synths and an aggressive band sound," along with its "peculiar lyrics that reassuringly move you forward." He described Spoon to Ase as a song having a "strangely wonderful feeling" caused by the song's "acoustic sound and mysterious backing track." He thought Rei Harakami's remix of "Native Dancer" as being "beauty and weirdness screwed together, opposing each other together, but manage to blend with (vocalist) Yamaguchi's words." As a whole, he thought this single "maintained high definition with a balance of comprehensibility and manicness."Track listing
Chart rankings
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
4 |
| Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay | 9 |
| Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... daily singles |
2 |
| Oricon weekly singles | 3 |
| RIAJ Digital Track Chart RIAJ Digital Track Chart The is chart ranks the best selling digital singles in Japan, provided by the Recording Industry Association of Japan since April 2009. The chart measures cellphone downloads .... Top 100 |
38 |
Reported sales
| Chart | Amount |
|---|---|
| Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... physical sales |
27,000 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | Ringtone | |
| Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
||
| CD single CD single A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s... |