TOPSTAR (Japanese Version, 2025) Single digital oleh White Shoes & The Couples Company

Tepat di tanggal 7 Mei 2025, White Shoes & The Couples Company. Bekerja sama dengan Big Romantic Records merilis lagu “Topstar” dengan versi lirik bahasa Jepang. Lirik asli yang ditulis oleh Sari ( Aprilia Apsari) kemudian diolah dalam bahasa Jepang oleh Yoko Takebe. Yoko sendiri bukanlah orang yang asing bagi White Shoes & The Couples Company. Karena sudah sering bertemu di belakang layar dan saling mengapresiasi karya satu sama lain. Mereka sering bertemu dan bercengkrama dalam acara-acara seputar seni dan budaya di Jakarta. Namun baru kali ini WSATCC dan Yoko Takebe benar-benar bisa resmi berjodoh untuk bekerja sama.

foto dok. proses rekaman di Studio Syaelendra oleh Jin Panji

Membutuhkan waktu sekitar tiga hari untuk Yoko menggarap lirik Topstar versi bahasa Jepang, beliau meracik kosa kata bahasa Jepang yang populer dalam lagu-lagu retro Jepang di tahun 1970-1980-an, selaras dengan style penulisan lirik lagu Indonesia yang biasa ditulis oleh White Shoes & The Couples Company.

Tidak jauh berbeda dengan Indonesia, kompleksitas karakteristik gaya bahasa Jepang memiliki kelaziman di masing-masing zaman. (ss)

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Yoko juga berprofesi sebagai penulis buku, “Tabi no yubisaahi kaiwacho Indonesia-go” yang kini sudah terjual lebih dari 120ribu eksemplar. Yoko saat ini bekerja sebagai feelancer, khususnya untuk proyek-proyek yang berkaitan dengan Jepang dan Indonesia.

Big Romantics Records adalah label musik yang didirikan oleh “Romantic Studio” (Tokyo/Taipei), booking agency yang memperkenalkan musik Asia yang dinamis tanpa batasan antara major dan indie.

Credits: Topstar (Japanese version, 2025)
Song & Lyric: Aprilia Apsari. Arrangement: White Shoes &The Couples Company. Japanese translation: Yoko Takebe. Recorded by Dik at Syaelendra Studio, Jakarta, and by Ricky Surya Virgana at Vakansi STUDIO in 2025. Mixed by Jonathan Pardede at Studio Masak Suara, Jakarta in 2025. Mastering by Ano Stevano di Sembunyi Studio. Aprilia Apsari (vocals), Rio Farabi (guitar acoustic), Saleh Husein (electric guitar, backing vocal),Ricky Surya Virgana (bass, synthesizer, backing vocal), Apri Mela Prawidiyanti (keyboards, backing vocal), John Navid (drums). Japanese Announcer: Yoko Takebe. Digital release cover graphic design by Aprilia Apsari, photography by Ary Sendy.

English

NEW RELEASE:
TOPSTAR (Japanese Version, 2025) Single track by White Shoes & The Couples Company

On May 7, 2025, White Shoes & The Couples Company, in collaboration with *Big Romantic Records, released the song “Topstar” with a Japanese lyric version. The original Indonesian lyrics written by Sari (Aprilia Apsari) were then adapted into Japanese by *Yoko Takebe. Yoko-san herself is not a stranger to White Shoes & The Couples Company. Because they have often met behind the scenes and appreciated each other’s work, they frequently meet and chat at art and culture events in Jakarta. However, this is the first time WSATCC and Yoko Takebe have officially come together to collaborate.

It took Yoko about three days to work on the Japanese version of the Topstar lyrics, using Japanese vocabulary popular in Japanese retro songs from the 1970s-1980s, in line with the lyric writing style of Indonesian songs typically written by White Shoes & The Couples Company. Not much different from Indonesia, the complexity of the characteristics of the Japanese language style has its own norms in each era. (ss)

*Yoko Takebe, born in Tokyo, has been living in Jakarta since the early 90s.The author of the book “Tabi no yubisaahi kaiwacho Indonesia-go,” which has now sold more than 120,000 copies.Yoko is very fluent in Indonesian, and she really enjoys watching music, art, and cultural performances.Yoko is currently working as a freelancer, particularly on projects related to Japan and Indonesia.

*Big Romantics Records is a music label founded by “Romantic Studio” (Tokyo/Taipei), a booking agency that introduces dynamic Asian music without boundaries between major and indie.

Topstar (Japanese version, 2025)
Song & Lyric: Aprilia Apsari. Arrangement: White Shoes &The Couples Company. Japanese translation: Yoko Takebe. Recorded by Dik at Syaelendra Studio, Jakarta, and by Ricky Surya Virgana at Vakansi STUDIO in 2025. Mixed by Jonathan Pardede at Studio Masak Suara, Jakarta in 2025. Aprilia Apsari (vocals), Rio Farabi (guitar acoustic), Saleh Husein (electric guitar, backing vocal),Ricky Surya Virgana (bass, synthesizer, backing vocal), Apri Mela Prawidiyanti (keyboards, backing vocal), John Navid (drums). Japanese Announcer: Yoko Takebe.