Miki Matsubara

Miki Matsubara’s Unreleased Song Revived by Tetsuji Hayashi Now Streaming!

The city pop masterpiece "Mayonaka no Door ~ Stay with Me", sung by Miki Matsubara, now has a previously unreleased song titled "SKY RESTAURANT'", which was released on December 5th via digital platforms. This track, with lyrics by Yumi Arai and music by Kunihiko Murai, is well-known as a hit performed by the vocal group Hi-Fi Set. It has also gained recognition overseas as a sampling source. For this release, only the vocal track preserved on multi-tapes stored in a warehouse was used, and a new arrangement was created by city pop maestros Tetsuji Hayashi and Yasuo Otani. Regarding the project, Hayashi commented, “I was entrusted with producing this track from Miki Matsubara’s unreleased recordings. That song turned out to be ‘Sky Restaurant,’ a hit familiar through Hi-Fi Set. I aimed to rebuild the arrangement by stripping away everything except her voice from the original demo recording, which had a distinctly kayōkyoku (Japanese pop) flavor. While working, listening to Miki’s voice and breaths captured by the mic, I felt moments of heartache from the reality that she is no longer with us. However, those emotions gradually transformed into the joy of creating something new. With my foundational arrangement and Yasuo...