“Nighttime” is one of the fourteen tracks on the album Ordinary Landscape from Re:plus (stage name for Hiroaki Watanabe, a Japanese pianist, trackmaker, and sound producer).
Let’s talk about the track. The first ten seconds open with a semi-intricate beat. Staccato and cut piano melody enters over the next twenty seconds; after that, though, the piano becomes legato (smoothed out) while the beat continues. Female vocals enter and become a staple of the song for the remaining three and a half minutes. The song has intriguing and mystical lyrics;
So I’ll be a fleeting sound, a lightray out on the water…
And I’ll know his secret name, and tell him about the nighttime.
So I’ll be a fleeting sound, a lightray out on the water…
And I’ll know his secret name, and tell him about the nighttime.
(Ooh, sweet family…)
(Ooh, sweet family…)
The gentle accent pulls you in…
With secrets that I know were true.
The gentle accent pulls you in,
With secrets that I know were true…-MetroLyrics
At 47 BPM (by my manual estimation), the combination of beat, rhythm, and lush piano melody, and mystical vocals is airy and telling of some allegory. “Nighttime” is just one of several songs on Ordinary Landscape that fit this description. This track in particular feels introspective and offers a solemn yet caring mood.
Much of this album is hard to describe, so it is best to give it a listen and let me know what you think! You can hear a snippet of “Nighttime” at the top of this post, or find the complete album on Spotify. What do you think about this track?
Happy listening,
~Griff
