"Tamashii Revolution"
Artwork for the digital release of "Tamashii Revolution"
Song by Superfly
from the album Mind Travel
ReleasedJune 18, 2010 (2010-06-18)
GenreJ-pop, rock
Length3:45
LabelWarner Music Japan
Songwriter(s)Shiho Ochi
Producer(s)Kōichi Tsutaya
Music video
"Tamashii Revolution" at YouTube

"Tamashii Revolution" (タマシイレボリューション, Tamashii Reboryūshon, "Soul Revolution") is a song by Japanese band Superfly. It was used as the theme song of the NHK broadcast of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, played during relay clips and highlight shows.[1] It was released as a digital download in Japan on June 18, 2010,[2] and was later included on Superfly's single and cover album release "Wildflower" & Cover Songs: Complete Best 'Track 3' in September 2010.[3] An extended version of the song appears on Superfly's third studio album Mind Travel.

Writing and inspiration

The song is an upbeat pop-rock song, arranged with a mix of a 1960s-inspired band arrangement and a brass band backing. The lyrics are written in second person, addressing somebody and trying to encourage them. Metaphors, such as facing monsters or "going to an unknown world" are used. The song also mentions that "(the songwriter does not) care about adversity, I'm the strongest when changing."[4]

"Tamashii Revolution" was created right before the cut-off date for the soccer theme song's submission, after Superfly vocalist Shiho Ochi and her recording members were not satisfied with any of the other songs they had tried. It was built around a pre-existing chorus lyrical phrase that Ochi had. Originally the songs Superfly were creating had a sparse guitar arrangement, but when they were told that the world cup was taking place in South Africa, the songs had added percussion and a fuller arrangement.[5]

The song was written by Ochi, who wanted to create a "reassuring song able to cheer on all the players".[4] This is the second song solely composed by Ochi in Superfly's discography, after "Last Love Song" from Superfly's self-titled debut album in 2008. She described the writing process as being very difficult. Ochi wanted to "lift (the soccer fans') good feelings and tension" when they watched the soccer matches, however found it hard to write a song that the soccer players themselves would not hear.[6] Furthermore, the song had to be much more upbeat than songs Superfly was used to writing. Ochi reasoned that a soccer player's pitch was much like a band's stage, so used her feelings about the stage as inspiration for the song.[6]

Promotion

The bulk of promotion for the song was its use during NHK's broadcast of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The song was widely used in relays during soccer matches, especially matches featuring Japan and the final trophy matches. It was also used widely throughout NHK shows that discussed the World Cup, such as highlight shows.[4]

The song was performed on television at Music Station on June 17,[7] Music Japan, on June 27, 2010,[8] and at Bokura no Ongaku in collaboration with Saki Aibu, on August 3, 1010.[9] Superfly also performed the song at summer festivals, such as at the Fuji Rock Festival on July 30,[10] J-Wave Live 2000+10 on August 14[11] and Super Dry the Live, on August 28.[12] The song was also performed at Odaiba Gasshūkoku, a Fuji Television event performed to 7,000 people and streamed live on August 31.[13]

Music videos

Superfly in the Tōru Nomura-directed short music video.
Superfly in the Saitō Wataru-directed music video.

Two music videos were produced for the song, one directed by Tōru Nomura (dubbed the "Short Version") used in promotions for the song's release as a digital single in June 2010,[14] and another directed by Saitō Wataru, used in promotions due to its appearances in "Wildflower" & Cover Songs: Complete Best 'Track 3' in September 2010.[15]

The short version, as its name suggests, is only accompanied by a two-minute edit of the song. It features Superfly and several bands in a recording studio, as they perform a recording of the song together. Much of the video features close-ups, and non-steady camera work. The close-ups feature such things as the band members' instruments, and recording materials such as the sheet music or the recording machinery. The bulk of shots centre around vocalist Shiho Ochi as she performs the song in front of a music stand, with headphones. In some scenes of the video, individual shots are frozen and replaced with versions featuring washed out colours, and occasionally writing (such as the word passion (パッション, passhon)) while Ochi sings the words in the lyrics. The performance is interspersed with shots of Ochi working on the post-production of the recording in the booth, or on a laptop.

The regular-length version features Superfly performing the song with a band in an old Western-style stone building, overgrown with creeping vines. This version features a lot of added animation and distorted images, featuring black-and-white flames and bubbles. The art style features many grainy distortions in the style of a printed comic, and many patterns based on newsprint. Much of the animation focuses of images of soccer balls, which fly out of the television set in the room where the band plays, and out of the building's windows. Occasionally, the animations are only additions to the scenes, while other times the entire shots have been animated. At certain points, Ochi and her back-up band are represented as cartoons, and in others, Ochi performs the song with people in gorilla suits.

Critical reception

CDJournal reviewers called the song a "funky" and "up tempo pop song", and noted how exhilarating and exciting the song was. They praised the song's bold chorus, as well as its samba-flavoured sensual beats and bold horn arrangement. The reviewers called it the "ultimate positive song", that naturally makes you want to dance.[16][17][18]

Track listings

"Tamashii Revolution" digital download
No.TitleLyricsMusicArranger(s)Length
1."Tamashii Revolution"Shiho OchiShiho OchiKōichi Tsutaya3:46
Total length:3:46
"Wildflower" single
No.TitleLyricsMusicArranger(s)Length
1."Wildflower"S. OchiKōichi TaboK. Tsutaya, K. Tabo4:26
2."Tamashii Revolution"S. OchiS. OchiK. Tsutaya3:46
3."Free Planet"S. OchiK. TaboK. Tsutaya, K. Tabo3:23
4."Roll Over the Rainbow"S. Ochi, JamK. TaboK. Tsutaya, K. Tabo4:53
Total length:16:26

Personnel

Personnel details were sourced from the liner notes booklet of Mind Travel.[19]

  • Mikio Hirama – electric guitar
  • Hiroshi "Matsukichi" Matsubara – drums, percussion
  • Yōichi Murata – trombone
  • Shiho Ochi – lead and background vocals, cowbell
  • Masahiko Sugasaka – trumpet
  • Masakuni Takeno – alto sax
  • Takeshi Taneda – bass
  • Kōichi Tsutaya – piano, programming
  • Takuo Yamamoto – tenor sax
  • Yoshiyuki Yatsuhashi – electric guitar
  • Hitoshi Yokoyama – trumpet

Chart rankings

Chart Peak
position
Billboard Japan Hot 100[20] 5
Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay[21] 2
RIAJ Digital Track Chart Top 100[22] 4
RIAJ Digital Track Chart yearly top 100[23] 64

Certifications

Chart Amount
RIAJ digital downloads[24] 2× Platinum (500,000+)

Release history

Region Date Format
Japan June 16, 2010[25] Ringtone
June 18, 2010[2] PC digital download, Cellphone full-length download

References

  1. ↑ "18:10～「MUSIC JAPAN」出演決定！" (in Japanese). Warner Music Japan. June 16, 2010. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "2010NHKサッカーテーマソング「タマシイレボリューション」6/18(金)～各配信サイトにて着うたフル(R)＆PC配信(iTunes Store他）スタート！" (in Japanese). Warner Music Japan. June 17, 2010. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Superfly、最新シングルは新曲＆洋楽カバーの全19曲" (in Japanese). Barks. July 15, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 "2010NHKサッカーテーマ". NHK. 2010. Archived from the original on August 23, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  5. ↑ Tomoko Imai (August 20, 2010). "Superflyナタリー初登場！濃厚シングル＆カバー集を解剖". Natalie. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Superflyインタビュー". Yahoo! Music Japan. August 31, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  7. ↑ "主演者ラインアップ2011/06/17". TV Asahi. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  8. ↑ "6月27日(日) 18:10～「MUSIC JAPAN」出演決定！" (in Japanese). Warner Music Japan. June 17, 2010. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Superfly「僕らの音楽」2週ジャック！TMGE名曲カバー挑戦" (in Japanese). Natalie. August 25, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Superfly、初のFUJI ROCK GREEN STAGEのトップ・バッターで出演！" (in Japanese). Excite. August 2, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  11. ↑ 平井堅、1万人ライブイベントで圧巻パフォーマンス 西野カナ、ミリヤら初出場 (in Japanese). Oricon. August 16, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  12. ↑ "SUPER DRY THE LIVE 夏フェス特集2010" (in Japanese). Excite. 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Superfly「めざましライブ」最後を飾る熱狂ステージ" (in Japanese). Excite. September 1, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Superfly 楽曲名 タマシイレボリューション (Short Ver.)". Space Shower (in Japanese). Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  15. ↑ "Superfly 楽曲名 タマシイレボリューション)". Space Shower (in Japanese). Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  16. ↑ "Superfly / Wildflower&Cover Songs:Complete Best'TRACK 3' [デジパック仕様] [3CD] [限定]" (in Japanese). CDJournal. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Superfly / Mind Travel [デジパック仕様] [CD+DVD] [限定]" (in Japanese). CDJournal. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Superfly / Superfly BEST [デジパック仕様] [2CD]" (in Japanese). CDJournal. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  19. ↑ Mind Travel (Media notes) (in Japanese). Superfly. Tokyo, Japan: Victor Music Japan. 2011.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ↑ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard Japan. July 5, 2010. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  21. ↑ "Adult Contemporary Airplay". Billboard Japan. July 5, 2010. Archived from the original on May 19, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  22. ↑ "レコード協会調べ2010年06月16日～2010年06月22日＜略称：レコ協チャート（「着うたフル(R)」）＞" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. June 25, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  23. ↑ "レコード協会調べ 2009年12月16日～2010年12月14日「着うたフル(R)」 2010年有料音楽配信「年間チャート」（通称：レコ協チャート）" [Record Association Analysis: December 16, 2009—December 14, 2010 Full-length Cellphone Download 2010 paid digital sales "Yearly Chart" (Abbreviated: RIAJ Chart)] (PDF). RIAJ. December 20, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  24. ↑ レコード協会調べ 4月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: April Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  25. ↑ "新曲「タマシイレボリューション」着うた(R)配信中！！" (in Japanese). Warner Music Japan. June 17, 2010. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
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