When I Remember This Life (feat. Ann Sally)

This is a pre-release single from the newly recorded Ghibli song cover compilation "Café Après-midi Meets Studio Ghibli," featuring 12 super-talented artists and themed around "afternoon coffee-like happiness," supervised and curated by Toru Hashimoto (SUBURBIA), with artwork by Jiro Fujita (FJD) and mastering by Calm!

This Ghibli song is a cover of Kazumi Nikaido's "Inochi no Kioku," the theme song from Isao Takahata's 2013 film "The Tale of Princess Kaguya." This collaboration brings together Yoshiharu Takeda, a rising composer/keyboardist whose soothing and excellent music blends chillout, jazz, ambient, Balearic, and world music, earning him widespread praise from numerous artists and listeners, and Ann Sally, a wonderful singer-songwriter whose comforting and healing voice has been widely listened to since her debut in 2001. Their perfect match is evident in this cover. A slow jazz arrangement, woven with relaxed brush drumming and a warm bass, gently envelops a melody overflowing with compassion and tenderness. The pedal steel and handpan, occasionally heard in the distance, create a paradise-like sound, and Ann Sally's voice, straight and pure with unadulterated clarity, feels like an angel descending upon that paradise. Her vocal style, which carefully sings each word, conveys the message embedded in the original without reservation, resulting in a superb, universally appealing cover.