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is the fourth
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by Japanese singer
Shizuka Kudo , known by her maiden name , is a Japanese singer, actress and former idol, born in Hamura, Tokyo, Japan. She was a member of Onyanko Club between May 1986 and September 1987 and went on to have a successful solo career with 11 number-one hits. ...
. It was released on October 4, 1989, through
Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affiliate ...
. It is a
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
inspired by the
music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
from
Finnish Karelia Karelia ( fi, Karjala) is a historical province of Finland which Finland partly ceded to the Soviet Union after the Winter War of 1939–40. The Finnish Karelians include the present-day inhabitants of North and South Karelia and the still-surv ...
. The album was entirely recorded in Finland and features the
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (in Finnish: ; in Swedish: ; literal English translation: Helsinki City Orchestra; commonly abbreviated as HPO) is an orchestra based in Helsinki, Finland. Founded in 1882 by Robert Kajanus, the Philharmonic ...
as well as a choir group from the
University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...
. Despite being composed and produced by
Tsugutoshi Gotō is a Japanese songwriter, bassist and music producer. Gotō broke into the Japanese music industry playing bass on tour for artists like Sadistic Mika Band, Bread & Butter and Shiro Kishibe. He went on to write and produce songs for other artist ...
, ''Karelia'' lacks any trace of the signature rock style of Gotō's other compositions. The record features lyrics penned by
Taeko Onuki is a Japanese singer and songwriter. She is influential in the city pop genre. Early life and career Taeko Onuki was born in Suginami Ward, Tokyo, in 1953. Her father was Kenichiro Onuki, a member of the Japanese Special Attack Units durin ...
and also includes the first song written by Kudo herself, under the pseudonym Aeri. While in Finland, Kudo created
oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...
s inspired by the people and landscapes, which were incorporated into the design of the album's packaging. ''Karelia'' was re-issued in APO-CD format on December 1, 1993.


Commercial performance

''Karelia'' debuted at number two on the
Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon Albu ...
, with 131,000 units sold in its first week. It stayed at number two the following week, selling 65,000 copies. It slid to number three on its third charting week, with 33,000 copies sold. It fell to number five next, logging sales of 23,000 copies. The album held onto the top ten one last week, charting at number eight and selling 14,000 copies. It ranked at number seventeen on its sixth charting week, before dropping out of the top twenty the following week. ''Karelia'' charted in the top 100 for nine straight weeks, selling a reported total of 293,000 copies during its run. It was ranked number 39 on the year-end Oricon Albums Chart for the year 1989.


Track listing


Charts


Certification


Release history


References

{{Authority control 1989 albums Concept albums Shizuka Kudo albums Pony Canyon albums