"Super Music Maker" (capitalized as SUPER MUSIC MAKER) is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist and songwriter

Ami Suzuki is a Japanese recording artist, DJ, and actress from Zama, Kanagawa, Japan. Having been discovered at the talent TV show ''Asayan'', she was one of the most popular female teen Japanese idol, idols in the late 1990s. However, in 2000, Suzuki fac ...

, for her sixth studio album ''

Dolce Dolce, the Italian word for 'sweet', may refer to: Places *Dolcè, a municipality in Italy *Dolce (Plzeň-South District), a municipality and village in the Czech Republic *Dolce, a village and part of Jesenice (Příbram District) in the Czech ...

'' (2008) and a re-recorded version for her seventh album '' Supreme Show'' (2008). Featuring Japanese record producer and Capsule member

Yasutaka Nakata is a Japanese DJ and music producer. He formed the band Capsule in 1997 with vocalist Toshiko Koshijima and himself as composer and record producer when both were 17. The band debuted in 2001 with the song "Sakura". He is known for being the ...

, the song was released as the lead single and double

a-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

single with " Free Free" from ''Dolce'' on August 22, 2007 through Avex Trax. Nakata had written, produced and arranged both tracks and is her first single to be handled by Nakata following later singles from her album '' Supreme Show'' (2008). Backed by synthesizers and keyboards, "Free Free" incorporates a new genre called "Eropop" with influences of electronic dance, house and disco music. The lyrical interpretation was based on the theme of

erotica Erotica is literature or art that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erotic art may use ...

and freedom. Critical response to "Super Music Maker" was positive; some critics praised the song's composition and highlighted it as a career stand out track. Charting together with "Free Free", the physical single reached number thirty-two on the Japanese Oricon Singles Chart and stayed in there for four weeks. It sold over 10,000 units in Japan, her highest sales rank since 2006 and her last single to reach the limit. To promote "Super Music Maker", she hosted a release party event at

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Recor ...

in Shibuya.

Background and release

"Super Music Maker" was written, produced, composed and arranged by Japanese musician and Capsule member

and is his first featuring single with Suzuki under the alias "Ami Suzuki joins Yasutaka Nakata"; It is her debut single to be handled by Nakata, and was followed by her June 2008 single " One" and September 2008 single " Can't Stop the Disco". It was recorded in early-2007 by Nakata at Avex Studio,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan and was co-distributed by Nakata's label

Contemode Contemode, stylized in all lowercase, was a Japanese record label founded by Yasutaka Nakata in 2003. The label was based in Shibuya, Tokyo and specialized in a variety of music styles including electropop, Shibuya-kei, lounge, dance, and har ...

, owned by Avex and

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

in Japan. After the release of her album '' Connetta'' in 2007, Suzuki visited various night clubs in Japan to perform; her staff, who were present at the time of her performances, noticed her engagement to club music and tried to find a producer who had a background of electronic dance music and eventually contacted Nakata; He accepted an offer to produce two tracks for the album. Regarding the production, she commented that "I want to put out a whole new view of the world". With Suzuki's vocals being processed with

autotune Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances. Auto-T ...

and

vocoder A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''voice'' and ''encoder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation. The vocoder was ...

post-production work, With Suzuki's vocals being processed with

and

post-production work, "Super Music Maker" is a "funky" dance and disco song. "Super Music Maker" is recorded in both

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and features the English lyrics "Super music maker". While composing the track, knowing the single was to be influenced by Erotica, Nakata fused pop music with the theme and made "Eropop".

Release

"Super Music Maker" was released as a double

single with " Free Free" as a digital download and a physical release on August 22, 2007 by Avex, as the lead single by Suzuki's sixth studio album ''

'' (2007). It released in three formats; a stand-alone

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

, a CD and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

bundle, and a digital download. The CD and digital release contains the two singles, an extended edit of "Free Free" and a radio edit of "Super Music Maker". The DVD features a music video of "Free Free", and is registered under

NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...

Region 2. An exclusive

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

was released in Japan by Japanese distribution label Rhythmic Republic on August 29, releasing extended version of "Free Free" and the original "Super Music Maker". Both songs were co-copyrighted and published through the

Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers The , often referred to as JASRAC, is a Japanese copyright collection society. It was founded in 1939 as a nonprofit organization, and is the largest musical copyright administration society in Japan. Overview JASRAC's main business activity ...

. The cover sleeve was photographed by Japanese director Takashiro Akihisa, who directed the music video for "Free Free". The DVD and CD have to separate covers; the first has Suzuki bending over and the latter with Suzuki kneeling down, all in front of club lights in a pink mini-dress. According to an editor for website ''Sanspo'', they compared the artwork to the covers by Japanese recording artist

Koda Kumi , known professionally as , is a Japanese singer from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs. After debuting with the single " Take Back" in December 2000, Koda gained fame in March 2003 when the songs from her seventh single, " Real Emot ...

and commended the shoot for being "sexy". The sleeve was placed at the back of the jewelcase and an outtake was used as the booklet for the CD.

Reception

"Super Music Maker" received positive reviews from selected music critics and reviews. CDJournal.com was positive towards "Super Music Maker", as they commended the "childish charm" and "super funky" composition of the track. On the Ami Suzuki artist page on the Japanese

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

site, "Free Free/Super Music Maker" was listed as a "masterpiece" collection from Suzuki's discography. An editorial review on the website commended Nakata's collaboration as a "charm" and commended the packaging for her "great sense of fashion". An editorial review on the Japanese Amazon.co.jp website commended the collaboration and felt the musical approach was "exciting". Japanese online retail store Technique gave the song a positive review, labelling it catchy and dreamy. Charting together as a single, "Free Free/Super Music Maker" entered and peaked at thirty-two on the Japanese Oricon Singles Chart on September 3, 2007 with over 5,900 units sold; It is her highest entry since her 2006 single " Like a Love?" and remained her highest up until her 2008 single " One" at seventeen. Falling outside of the top fifty in its second week, "Free Free" stayed in the top 100 charts for four weeks, her longest charting single since "Like a Love?" with five weeks and eventually tied in with future singles "One" and September 2008 single " Can't Stop the Disco". It was her first top forty single inside of the 2007 era and sold over 10,000 units; this is her highest selling single since "Like a Love?" with 16,000 units and her final single to reach over the 10,000 sale limit. According to her sales profile on

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in ...

, "Free Free" and "Super Music Maker" are ranked at number twenty-one respectively.

Promotion and other usage

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was shot for the single. In 2008, while Suzuki was recording her studio album ''Supreme Show'', Nakata re-arranged the composition of "Super Music Maker" and she re-recorded the song as a b-side to her single " Can't Stop the Disco". This version was then featured on ''Supreme Show'' the following year in November 2008. She performed the song in 2008 on her launch event for her single "One".

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Free Free/Super Music Maker". *CD Single and digital download #"Free Free" — 5:08 #"Super Music Maker" — 7:25 #"Free Free" (Extended edit) — 7:34 #"Super Music Maker" (Radio edit) — 5:05 *CD and DVD bundle #"Free Free" — 5:08 #"Super Music Maker" — 7:25 #"Free Free" (Extended edit) — 7:34 #"Super Music Maker" (Radio edit) — 5:05 #"Free Free" (music video) *7" Vinyl #"Free Free" (Extended edit) — 7:34 #"Super Music Maker" — 7:25 *Album version digital download #"Free Free" (Radio edit) — 5:08

Personnel

;Management *Recorded by Nakata at Avex Studio,

, Japan *Mixed by Nakata at Avex Studio, Tokyo, Japan *Avex Trax management for Suzuki; Contemode management for Nakata. ;Personnel *Ami Suzuki – vocals, background vocals *Yasutaka Nakata – songwriting, composition, production, arrangement, management *Takashiro Akihisa - music video director Credits adapted from the promotional CD single.

Charts

Release history

Notes

References

External links

"Free Free / Super Music Maker"
at Ami Suzuki's official website, powered by Avex Trax Japan. {{Ami Suzuki 2007 singles Ami Suzuki songs Songs written by Yasutaka Nakata Song recordings produced by Yasutaka Nakata 2007 songs Avex Trax singles