Ulysses Sung by Eiko Shimamiya
“Ulysses Once you see it you will be happy Ulysses If you see it happiness will escape Ulysses Eternity only for those who have seen eternity
I went away from this suffering.”
Eiko Shimamiya is one of those JPop artists who I would LOVE to hear more music from. She is BEYOND underrated. Her sound and talent is extremely unique; Each song sounds very “Earthy”, and it is justified with the lyrics correlated to it. Elements are very predominant in her style of music, as well as electric pop that is sometimes used. Similar to Ayumi Hamasaki, Eiko was another favorite of mine that I listened to every song from every album she has produced. Eiko started out in a production group called “I’ve Sound”, a group that produces songs with various JPop artists for visual novels and some anime. She eventually left the group throughout her success especially when she suffered from Thyroid Cancer in the beginning of her “Perfect World” album tour back in 2010. The tour was canceled and she has not had concerts since then. However, she became cancer free the following year and seems to be very well off today! I am so happy she is alive and kicking! Since 2011 Eiko came out with new music and an album called “Exchange” back in 2014. I’ve yet to listen to it but I couldn’t find it at the time when I tried to look for it. Nonetheless she is a legacy that should be acknowledged, and here I am to do so!
First Listen: If you recall an anime called “Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni” which translates to “When Cicadas Cry”, you should be familiar with the multiple theme songs she had for the anime. I saw a thumbnail of a green haired anime character from a YouTube video back in 2007 which I thought was what I was looking for at the time, but ended up accidentally being introduced to the twins Mion and Shion from Higurashi. What a distraction that was. Curiosity peaked within me to start watching Higurashi. The music video for the opening theme song that’s also the same name of the anime, “Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni” is so incredibly dark and addicting, you really can’t get enough of it. Fun fact: Eiko’s outfit that was worn in the music video was also used for the cover of her album “O”. In the end, Higurashi turned out to be one of my favorite animes, AND I gained another favorite JPop artist to binge listen to.
Best Album: “Hikari Nadeshiko” I believe is her best album. The consistent feeling like traveling back in time never fails me; I reminisce on friendships, situations, middle school, high school- it’s never ending. It’s like I’m exploring the world of my past whenever I listen to this album, which I’m still debating if that’s a good or bad thing. How beautiful sounding these songs are can take you on a ride to a faraway land; sounds of the rainforest, jungle, deserts: foreign sounds. Eiko really hit the nail on the head for translating “earth” sounds into music, and for that I truly find that remarkable.
Best Song: Truth be told, for the longest time my favorite song by Eiko Shimamiya was “All Alone” (which you can listen here) from her album “Hikari Nadeshiko”. Literally on my iTunes I’ve played that song over 500 times in a decade- and it literally is the most played song on my ITunes. However, because I did listen to it SO much, I don’t play the song as much anymore. Almost as if I’m not as interested like I used to. This doesn’t mean it’s a bad song at all though! So far from it being terrible. It is literally one of THE best songs I’ve ever heard. The problem is, the song is about heartbreak;
“Please leave me alone, you’re not here anymore- you said you love my smile but yet you’ve made me cry so much”
The song is literally about a break up.
At this point in my life I’ve been listening to more uplifting life music; it’s almost dead to me to reflect on the past regarding certain “love” that’s failed me. Like almost agonizing. I feel like everyone would relate to this song though. Now to the point I was making, my favorite Eiko Shimamiya song is “Ulysses" from her “Ulysses EP” album. And, No, not like the president. One of the main definition of what a Ulysses is is derived from the word Odysseus, like the story that was a requirement for me to read in English class in middle school. According to Wikipedia here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_pact a “Ulysses Pact” was a term influenced from the Odysseus story where a “free decision to make oneself bind to the future” but is used for psychiatric reasons AKA mental health. So meaning, it is a mere reflection of yourself but predominantly mental health for the worse that “defines” you. This also could be an influence of medication intake depending on the severity of your mental health. It is certain in the Odysseus story that the Ulysses Pact was made to protect Odysseus’s men whereas Odysseus was to listen to the Sirens out of curiosity knowing that he could go insane from their singing voices, which initially could have driven himself to death if his plan failed. He demanded his men to have beeswax in their ears to avoid the sounds of the Sirens for their own safety. Upon encounter with the Sirens, Odysseus’s men listened to his requests and tied him up in the boat to avoid death. His men ended up deafened as the wax started to soften in their ears, but the end result was that the Sirens were escapable and that Odysseus’s growing insanity eventually withered after passing through the Sirens. This song is ironic because it’s hypocritical to what we desire for our own peace of mind. Paradise may not always bring happiness. Finding a safe haven may not equate to a successful future. The decisions you make in life are endless, but it takes so much will power to find what you’re looking for. This song always hits me in the gut nostalgically and mentally. It gets me motivated to build my life up for the better. My mental health over the years have progressed so much for the better since my toxic upbringing. Unfortunately there are no exact English translation anywhere online for this song, except for Google Translate to translate the Japanese text of the lyrics. However it does translate somewhat decently to understand what the song is about. From start to finish the lyrics talk about how traveling, that seems like forever, is a way to search for what you seek. Aka Life. Everything that I have described in this review ties together what the song is about.
Here is my portrait of Eiko Shimamiya, which also can be found on my Instagram
Until next time~ Tomo
