, known professionally as , is a Japanese singer-songwriter and book author. After starting her songwriting career in the late 1970s, she had released nine albums and eight singles for Warner Pioneer and CBS/Sony from 1981 to 1990. She returned to public attention in the 2010s amidst the rise of city pop to popularity.
Biography Tomoko Aran was born on 14 January 1958 in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture. During her youth, while listening to The Beatles, Elton John, and Cliff Richard, she gained an interest in music and songwriting. She made her songwriting debut when she was 19, and some of her work included music performed by Naomi Akimoto, B.B.Queens, B'z, Toshio Furukawa, Junko Mihara, Yoko Minamino, Tetsurō Oda, Takako Ōta, Kiyotaka Sugiyama, and Tube, as well as her own music.
In 1981, Aran released her first album, Shinkei Suijaku, as well as her first single "Kanashiki Vaudevillian". She went on to release eight more albums; her third one, Fuyū Kūkan (1983), was reportedly only known at the time it was released for using computer-generated imagery on its album cover. Akihiko Takeda said that her vocals, particularly in Fuyū Kūkan, "are an impressive mix of techno and dance pop". Another interesting aspect of Fuyū Kūkan is the covert art : it has been made with a supercomputer.
The Chūō Kōron said that "women living in the spotlight" was a recurring theme in her work. She was a founding member of the band , and she was part of their 2006 reunion. She worked with the company Being, Inc.
Outside of music, Aran also worked as a media personality, including as a host of , as well as in the radio shows Holiday Pops Inn, Mach Music Flight, and Aran Tomoko no Sabishigariya no Omocha Bako. She once wrote a short story collection named , published in June 1985; a children's book named , published by in April 1999; and an essay book named , published by Kobunsha in June 2003.
Although she reportedly received widespread recognition for her songwriting career, none of her musical releases were hits at first. However, she returned to public attention in the 2010s amidst the rise of city pop to popularity, with both the Manila Bulletin and Robert Moran of The Age considering her an icon in the genre, and her music appeared in several city pop music compilations. Two of the songs from Fuyū Kūkan, "Midnight Pretenders" and "I'm in Love", received a vinyl single release on 29 September 2021, and Fuyū Kūkan received a Super Audio CD re-release on 23 February 2022. Her song "Midnight Pretenders" was sampled on the Weeknd's 2022 song "Out of Time".
Discography Albums Title Year Details Peak chart positions Sales Ref. JPN 1981 Released: July 1981 Label: Warner Pioneer — — 1982 Released: 1982 Label: Warner Pioneer — — 1983 Released: 1983 Label: Warner Pioneer — — More Relax 1984 Released: 1984 Label: Warner Pioneer — — 1985 Released: 1985 Label: Warner Pioneer — — Last Good-bye 1986 Released: 1986 Label: Warner Pioneer — — Mind Games(stylized in all-caps) 1987 Released: 1987 Label: Warner Pioneer — — 1988 Released: 21 November 1988 Label: CBS/Sony — — Sunny Side Memories(stylized in all-caps) 1990 Released: 21 April 1990 Label: CBS/Sony — —
Singles Title Year Details Peak chart positions Sales Ref. JPN 1981 Released: 1981 Label: Warner Pioneer — — 1983 Released: 1983 Label: Warner Pioneer — — 1984 Released: 1984 Label: Warner Pioneer — — 1985 Released: 1985 Label: Warner Pioneer — — "Till The End Of The World/Rain" 1986 Released: 1986 Label: Warner Pioneer — — "Wait Forever/One And Only" 1988 Released: 1988 Label: CBS/Sony — — 1989 Released: 1989 Label: CBS/Sony — — 1990 Released: 1 February 1990 Label: CBS/Sony — — "Midnight Pretenders/I'm in Love" 2021 Released: 29 September 2021 Label: Warner Music Japan — —
Songwriting credits "Let's Go Seishun" (1980, theme song of ) by Junko and Cheer Leader "" (1980) by Junko Mihara "Drum" (1981) by Junko Mihara "Lonely Chaser" (1984, Chō Kōsoku Galvion opening theme) by Riyuko Tanaka "Memory Lullaby" (1984, Chō Kōsoku Galvion ending theme) by Riyuko Tanaka "" (1986) by Tube "" (1987) by Tube "Nothing To Change" (1988) by B'z "Private Panic" (1989, Magical Chinese Girl Paipai! insert song) by Natsuki Ozawa "Yume Ippai" (1990, Chibi Maruko-chan theme song) by
References
External links
Tomoko Aran's Blog Site