In 2001, Akiko signed with Universal Jazz.
After she had gained highest praises at International Jazz Meeting in New York,
she recorded her debut album in Paris. Legendary French Producer, Henri Renaud, produced this album. Her debut album "Girl Talk" was selected as Swing Journal's Gold Disc (Seal of Approval) and ranked at 1 of Jazz Chart in Original Confidence (Japanese Bill Board). Right after the debut, akiko made success with her debut concerts in 4 major cities (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka). And in October, she performed at Blue Note Tokyo with her trio. As the result of these aggressive activities, she won New Star Award of 2001, Swing Journal Jazz Disc Award.
In 2002, Akiko released her 2nd album "Hip Pop Bop" which features 2 songs produced by UK's pop unit, Swing Out Sister. The album also ranked at 1 of Jazz Chart in Original Confidence. In summer, she appeared with her own trio at several jazz festivals in Japan and captured more than 30,000 audiences.
In 2003, Akiko released her 3rd album "akiko's holiday" which was recorded in New York. She picked up 12 jazz standards sung by legendary singer, Billie Holiday. On several tunes, she sang modern way in R&B/Hip Hop touch, with several guests like Roy Hargrove. This album was selected as Swing Journal's Gold Disc (Seal of Approval).
In October (of 2003), Akiko was awarded "Defining Beauty Award" by world-famous cosmetic company "ESTÉE LAUDER". Right after receiving the award, she released her 4th album "Mood Swings". Tatsuo Sunaga, A Japanese famous DJ produced this album. With this album, Akiko has started to appeal to not only jazz fans but also young audience as "The coolest jazz singer in Japan". As the result, she won Jazz Vocal Award of 2003, Swing Journal Jazz Disc Award.
In 2004, Akiko collaborated with Tatsuo Sunaga again and released her 5th album "Mood Indigo". This album was awarded ADLIB magazine’s 2004 Best National Club/Dance Disc Award. In September, she performed at Tai-chung Jazz Festival in Taiwan and captured more than 6,000 audiences.
In June 2005, Akiko released her first live album “Simply Blue” which was recorded at jazz club, Motion Blue Yokohama. In November, She released a new studio album produced by Yasuharu Konishi (ex. Pizzicato Five) titled “Little Miss Jazz & Jive Goes Around the World!” which focused on her musical roots; jive music. In connection with “Little Miss…”, she produced a jive compilation CD titled “akiko presents Rockin’ Doo Wop, Jump & Jive.”
In April 2006, Akiko released her first best album “Collage.” In July, she made Blue Note tour (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka), and the live performance in Osaka was released as digital album on iTunes Store.
Akiko’s 2007 started in Brazil, for the recording of her new album “Vida” with her co-producer, GIRA MUNDO. The album was supported by famous Brazilian musicians incl. Marcos Suzao and Art Lindsey, which was released in April. She made a Japan tour with this album and also performed at major pop festivals incl. Fuji Rock Festival. Also, during this period, her past albums were released in Korea that she visited Korea for both promotion and performing at jazz festival.
In the end of same year (2007), akiko released her first Christmas album “a white album” which was produced by Yasuharu Konishi. Simultaneously, her second jive compilation “akiko presents Rockin’ Doo Wop, Jump & Jive Vol. 2” was released targeting for the party seasons.
In 2008, after the successful Billboard Live/Blue Note tour in spring, akiko started to work on two albums simultaneously in studio, by self-producing her albums. Concepts for these albums were to express “What’s Jazz?” from two different points of view. “What’s Jazz? -STYLE-” released in October expressed her love to good old acoustic jazz, whereas “What’s Jazz? -SPIRIT-” released in November was to express her vision as the music should always reflect the trend, collaborating with track makers of club music field incl. Yukihiro Fukutomi and Hajime Yoshizawa.
In June 2009, Akiko released her new album “HIT PARADE” which was a tribute to LONDON NITE, the legendary rock DJ event in Tokyo, where she largely spent her times as a teenager. Having Kensho Onuki, who was the organizer of LONDON NITE as her supervisor, akiko picked various pop/rock hit tunes of 60’s-90’s which were ‘LONDON NITE classics’ and collaborated with LONDON NITE DJs/producers for each track creation
In summer of 2009, Akiko visited Oslo, Norway to make her new album with the producer/keyboardist and also the owner of Jazzland label, Bugge Wesseltoft. During her stay in Norway, she performed with Bugge at PUNKT, one of the most cutting-edge music festivals in Norway. The album is scheduled to be released in early December
Akiko has also collaborated for various artists incl. Haime Yoshizawa, STUDIO APARTMENT, Yukihiro Fukutomi, arvin homa aya, Yuji Ohno, [re:jazz], just to name a few. Akiko is one of the few vocalists whose total creation are paid attention; not only her music but also the album covers and her own fashion.
Official Website: http://www.universal-music.co.jp/jazz/j_jazz/akiko/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/akikojazz
I Miss You
Akiko Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That feeling I remember It was as good as can be
I haven`t seen you for a while I wonder if you are well
What`s going on in your mind? I really would like to see
I try to think but it won`t do It`s taking time to get near
Some things are hard to explain I wonder can I tell you?
We haven`t been talking much It doesn`t mean I don`t care
Should I just call you to say I`m falling and I miss you
Ooh, wish I was with you in my dreams
And I`m praying to be by your side and suddenly you`ll slip away
Ooh, easy as flowing down the stream
Do you know that? Will you understand me? What is it that makes me wait so long?
Sometimes do you think of me as much as I think fo you?
I`d like to know when you dream Am I there? Do you miss me?
I know you can`t share life with me and I don`t know what to do
But if you walk right through my door You`ll see that i miss you
"In my heart
I want you to know that I miss you"
"-" x10
In this song, Akiko expresses her longing for a past lover. She mentions that it's been a while since they've been together, and she wonders how they're doing and what they're thinking. Akiko reminisces about how the relationship made her feel, describing it as real, and the experience was as good as it could be. However, now that they're apart, Akiko finds it challenging to get closer to her ex-lover, and some things are hard to explain. She's still concerned about her ex's well-being, even though they haven't had much communication lately.
Akiko continues to reveal her feelings and asks whether her ex ever thinks of her as much as she thinks of them. She wonders if they dream about each other and if they miss each other as she does. But, she also acknowledges that she knows they can't share life together anymore, and she doesn't know what to do about it. Regardless, if her ex-lover shows up at her door, they would see that she misses them.
The song uses powerful imagery, such as "easy as flowing down the stream," to express how effortless it was to be with her ex-lover in the past, but now things appear to have changed. The lyrics showcase the complexity of relationships and how hard it can be to move on from someone you once loved. Akiko's voice sounds both mournful and hopeful, making this song a powerful representation of lost love.
Line by Line Meaning
A couple seasons passed me by since you made me feel so real
It's been a while since I felt a connection with someone as strong as I did with you
That feeling I remember It was as good as can be
I look back on the feeling I had with you as one of the best feelings I've ever had
I haven`t seen you for a while I wonder if you are well
It's been a long time since I've been able to check in on you and I hope you're doing okay
What`s going on in your mind? I really would like to see
I miss being able to talk to you and understand what's on your mind
I try to think but it won`t do It`s taking time to get near
I've been trying to find a way to reach out to you, but it's been difficult and taking time
Some things are hard to explain I wonder can I tell you?
I've been struggling to find the words to express how I feel, and I'm not sure if I can actually tell you
We haven`t been talking much It doesn`t mean I don`t care
Even though we haven't been speaking as often, know that I still care about you deeply
Should I just call you to say I`m falling and I miss you
I'm considering reaching out to you and telling you how much I miss you
Ooh, wish I was with you in my dreams
I often dream about being with you and wish it could be a reality
And I`m praying to be by your side and suddenly you`ll slip away
I'm hoping that someday we can be together again, but I also worry that it might not be possible
Ooh, easy as flowing down the stream
I wish things could be as easy as the flow of a stream, but unfortunately they're not
Do you know that? Will you understand me? What is it that makes me wait so long?
I wonder if you know how deeply I feel about you and if you'll be able to understand where I'm coming from. I don't know why I've waited so long to tell you how I feel.
Sometimes do you think of me as much as I think fo you?
I wonder if you think about me as much as I think about you
I`d like to know when you dream Am I there? Do you miss me?
I think about whether or not you dream about me and if you miss me like I miss you
I know you can`t share life with me and I don`t know what to do
I know we can't be together, and I'm struggling with how to deal with that
But if you walk right through my door You`ll see that i miss you
If you were to come back into my life, you would see just how much I miss you
"In my heart
In my heart
I want you to know that I miss you"
I want you to know that I miss you
Contributed by Logan L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.