photos courtesy chie morimoto
It’s hard to discuss Japanese pop music (J-pop) without inducing yawns or eye-rolls. But there are several acts that demand recognition and one of those is the long-standing vocalist Yumi Matsutoya, better known as Yumin. The commercially successful artist has just released her 37th album with some fantastic cover art by art director Chie Morimoto (previously).
Each letter is its own stage set, meticulously hand-crafted and then photographed with Yumin interacting with them. After each shoot by photographer Leslie Kee, Yumin changed into a new costume created by stylist Hisashi Kitazawa. Working around the clock, the all-star photo shoot took an entire 24 hours, says Morimoto. The result is a series of brilliant typographic ecosystems.
Yumi Matsutoya with Chie Morimoto
Not that she needs it but Yumin is currently experiencing somewhat of a revival as one of her old songs “hikoki-gumo” was unearthed by the team at Ghibli and featured in Hayao Miyazaki’s latest (and last) film “The Wind Rises.” This new album – a mash-up of old hits – includes this song. Coincidentally, Chie Morimoto has also created all the posters and visuals for the upcoming Documentary on Hayao Miyazaki.
Source: chie morimoto
