Singer Salyu and Takeshi Kobayashi record new single as Lily Chou-Chou

by Chris MaGee

One of our favorite films here at the J-Film Pow-Wow has got to be Shunji Iwai's 2001 coming-of-age drama "All About Lily Chou-Chou". It's a film that has a hell of a lot going for it - compelling drama, some heartbreaking performances, some of the most beautiful digital cinematography ever to be captured and of course we can't forget the music. Without the work of composer Takeshi Kobayashi and singer Salyu (above) as the fictional pop star Lily Chou-Chou (and Erik Satie and Claude Debussy) the film just wouldn't be the miracle it is. The original music that Kobayashi and Salyu recorded for the film became so popular with its fans that the two released a Lily Chou-Chou album titled "Kokyuu", but for the past 9 years no new music under the Lily Chou-Chou moniker has been released. That though is about to change.

It was reported this week on Tokyograph that Kobayashi, Salyu and guitarist Yukio Nagoshi are reuniting as Lily Chou-Chou and have recorded a new single which will hit stores in Japan on December 8th to be followed up by a live performance in Tokyo on the 15th. The trio has set up a new official website and have released a teaser sampling of their new single on YouTube. Check it out below.