Ayumi Hamasaki (浜崎 あゆみ) is without a doubt, Japan’s biggest pop star of the past 15 years.
Ayumi Hamasaki released her 13th studio album last month (“Party Queen”).
With 13 albums since 1998’s “A Song for xx”, 3 EPs, over 50 singles, countless compilation and remix albums, live videos, over 52 million units sold and counting, Ayumi Hamasaki has become the highest-selling Japanese solo artist of all time and has earned the title of “Empress of Pop”.
Musical style and collaborators
Ayumi Hamasaki’s musical style is a combination of electropop-rock, guitar-heavy power-pop and ballads. It has gotten somewhat “harder” over the years and often features epic production...
"Naughty Dreams" started with a lyric from David B. The lyric naturally invited a sexy pop-dance feel, and that’s what I tried to do with the music.
My original treatment of the song was a bit “eighties” and not up to the standards of today’s pop-dance music productions. So we brought in my friend Viceroy to update the production. Viceroy also came up with a new interesting chord at the end of the choruses and suggested that we double up the bridge.
The result is still a bit “eighties”, but rather than “stuck in…” it’s now more of an “homage to…”
Overall I’m very pleased with the song, which could equally work for a female singer.
At night when I go to sleep I creep into bed under my silk sheets I close my eyes so don’t you wake me up It gets so hot, I can’t get enough I can’t get enough of…
Chorus:
Naughty dreams Naughty dreams Doin’ all kinds of dirty things – dirty things Feel the heat Feel the steam Deep inside my naughty dreams Naughty dreams Naughty dreams Doin’ all kinds of dirty things – dirty things Feel the heat Feel the steam Deep inside my naughty dreams
Hot hands all over my body Deepest pleasures take over completely It’s so crazy, so freaky, so hot Don’t want it to stop. I can’t get enough Can’t get enough of…
Chorus:
Naughty Dreams…
Bridge:
Fireworks goin’ off around me Exploding with sexuality No self-control, I feel so free Fantasies become reality
The drums being a rhythmic – as opposed to a melodic – instrument, songwriting is not a natural progression for drummers. But drummers can be multi-instrumentalists and well-rounded musicians, and do cross over, sometimes to outstanding results.
As a songwriter who started with drums as a teenager, then learned to play basic parts on the keyboard – just so I could play the melodies I was hearing in my head – the following drummer-songwriters have made particularly strong impressions on me:
