alan - Gunjou no Tani

Gunjou no Tani (Ultramarine Valley) is the first single alan released in 2009, as well the last one to promote the album Voice of EARTH. On this CD, you'll find two versions of the title song.

This exquisite ballad was composed by talented singer Cocco. It starts softly, with gentle vocals which are accompanied only by cimbalom and classical guitar. After a while, the tempo becomes faster, and the aforementioned instruments are joined by string instruments and drums. When alan starts singing the refrain, she charms listeners with her unusual voice, which sometimes brings to mind the sound of an erhu. This is probably because of her unique voice technique called the Tibetan wail.

The second song on the CD is an acoustic version of Gunjou no Tani. It's much softer than the normal version. It relaxes the listener, but touches the heart at the same time. In this composition, you can hear the mentioned erhu, and because of that the listener has chance to really understand alan's incredible vocal abilities.

On this single you can also find the instrumental counterparts of both versions and the beautiful video clip, recorded in the Chinese province Sichuan, alan's homeland.

It's worth mentioning that Gunjou no Tani is dedicated to the victims of the biggest earthquake to hit China in many years. The earthquake took happened on August 30th, 2008, and Sichuan province was badly affected. The tragedy took almost 70 thousand lives, and more than 400 thousand were wounded. 18 thousand people disappeared, and millions lost their homes.

In essence, Gunjou no Tani is extraordinary - one of a kind. The really touching ballad, which allows the listener to sail away to a peaceful land, conquered hearts around the world. The song also shows that alan is an unusual vocalist with a fresh sound in the J-pop scene, and she deserves the attention of a wider audience.