Root Blog

Mariah – うたかたの日々 (Utakata No Hibi)

Mariah
うたかたの日々 (Utakata No Hibi)
Better Days 2LP, 1983

Brilliant Japanese fourth-world pop, sung in Armenian and Japanese. My 320 rip w/scans and lyric translation.

check 2015 reissue here.

  1. ryan on November 6th, 2010

    was some of this featured on the fairlights, etc. mix months back? because if so, i’m going to love this. thanks, i think.

  2. Spencer on November 6th, 2010

    yeah there’s one track on that, plus tracks from a bunch of the people involved…really this album was the impetus for that mix. a taste:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRgLhEGEetc

  3. øשlqæda on November 6th, 2010

    supersweet! thank you spencer

  4. Palmer on November 9th, 2010

    Many thanks – this has been a great listen.

    Speaking of people involved, wondering if you also have a rip of the Seigen Ono “Seigen” LP from which you used “Mallets” for the “Fairlights…” mix. I’d love to hear the whole record.

  5. Espen on November 12th, 2010

    Top notch! Thank you Spencer.
    Also I want to say thank you for the great Rootmix you did, Fairlights, Mallets and Bamboo. Heavy rotation!

  6. ryan on November 13th, 2010

    seconding palmer’s request and espen’s gratitude!

  7. Nate on November 14th, 2010

    This is fantastic. Thanks so much! I come back to your mix quite often, this is bonus now. Track 3 is so good.

  8. Greg on November 17th, 2010

    Awesome! Been looking for this for a while. Thanks so much!

  9. Joseph Marcure on November 18th, 2010

    thanks, never heard of this before… very much looking forward to it.

  10. Spencer on November 18th, 2010

    i’ll try to rip “Seigen” when i have a chance. except for one snoozy smooth jazz song it’s a great LP…also it’s worth noting that Seigen Ono recorded/produced this Mariah album, among other things…

  11. r s e on November 19th, 2010

    the source sounded great and yet i have to say this 320k sounds so good – i am enjoying this record –
    thank you!

  12. cletus_buckley on November 20th, 2010

    Big big thanks, Ive been also looking for this along time. So far its not disappointing. “Shinzo No Tobira” is indeed one of my favourite songs ever.
    Oh just so you know the running order is name right but numbered wrong ie what is named “01 そこから・・・・” is right but it’s numbered as 6 or something.
    Tracklist in English character are

    A1 Soko Kara… 5:20
    A2 Shisen 3:06
    B1 Hana Ga Saitara 8:05
    C1 Fujiyu No Nezumi 4:30
    C2 Sora Ni Mau Maboroshi 5:15
    D3 Shinzo No Tobira 4:40
    D4 Shonen 5:03
    via Discogs

  13. morgan on December 9th, 2010

    Thank you! This has been in heavy heavy rotation… I grabbed this a few weeks ago and just had to come back to say thanks!!

  14. Andy on December 15th, 2010

    Same comment as Morgan. This is fucking tight. Reminds of a more playful Phew. Excellent, excellent rip, as well. Commendable. Thanks!

  15. […] This record, Utakata No Hibi, from Japan’s Mariah is proof that you definitely can’t judge a book by its cover. I’m not even sure what I thought this would sound like after looking at the cover. Maybe some traditional Japanese folk songs? I don’t know….but this record, which was released in 1983 and later re-released in 2003 is really really good. It’s mostly 80′s-tinged, instrumental new wave, and very fitting for its time. This record is also a hot commodity for collectors, often fetching upwards of $150 for an original vinyl pressing. I stumbled on this record over at the always-awesome Root Blog. […]

  16. Sid on May 22nd, 2011

    Wonderful record!
    Many Thanks!

    A little request :)
    Pecker – Pecker Power (LP 1980 Better days)

  17. Julie on January 10th, 2012

    Thank you so much for posting this! Its unfortunate that it is such a rare and expensive record to find nowadays. Such gorgeous sounds!!

  18. ANOTHER MARIAH | popcorn plays on January 28th, 2012

    […] Spencer posted this exquisite album on the Root Strata blog, and in the six months since it’s become one of the most-played […]

  19. Dan on February 19th, 2013

    stoked on this

  20. Jeff on April 29th, 2013

    I love this album, but I was just wondering, how did you find this?

  21. Lucas Ventura on September 11th, 2013

    So glad you posted this, it’s a real gem! We’re actually working out a cover of Shinzo No Tobira, it’s such a wonderful song.

  22. RussellChap on June 20th, 2014

    Excellent stuff thanks for the post, I love the glassy synths and rigid funky beats. Great pan global fourth world melange.

  23. melissabrandt on June 20th, 2014

    thank you so much for uploading this.

  24. Kiddicarus on June 25th, 2014

    wow man, thanks a lot.

    g

  25. Jenny on March 15th, 2015

    this is fantastic, thank you! it’s a total gem.

  26. berlin on June 20th, 2017

    Say hello from 20th, June 2017

Comment