16-year old Alyssa Collins never imagined the ancient language she was singing would become an international dance record.

Santa Cruz, CA — Japanese alphabet sounds are quite tongue twisting for most Westerners, but Hiragana Song, a new single CD release by 16-year old Alyssa Collins makes it all come together with a quirky dance beat and a fresh, but richly musical, mix. The young singer teaches the vowels sounds and raps the syllabi in Japanese as educational harmonies soar through creative, sophisticated production.

The youthful vocalist loves Japanese culture and has a wide collection of her own sketches of anime and a few self-portraits ala Japanese maiden. She adds authenticity to the vocal performance in the record, but no feeling is lost by singing simple sounds here; it’s rather oddly the opposite, one begins to feel drawn in and somewhat happy to feel your own feet tapping. This is her first released single, and she’s ecstatic with her record which has created quite a stir in Canada. iTunes added the song to their roster on her birthday, Christmas Day.

“That was the best present I could ever imagine getting for my 16th birthday or for Christmas!” Alyssa exclaims. “To hear my own voice on iTunes was a dream come true!”

Alyssa and her “Hiragana Song” have been the subject of many recent interviews in Canadian papers and radio stations and her song has been played repeatedly, its popularity spreading across Canada. The engineers in the radio station control booth where she was first interviewed called it “the Velcro song,” because it “stuck” to anyone who listened to it. “We kept playing it over and over,” one engineer told Alyssa.

Hiragana Song began when Daniel Bloom, a reporter in Taiwan, sent songwriter Janet Fisher, Santa Cruz, CA, a lyric idea along with a letter regarding his vision of “Hiragana” becoming an internationally enjoyed song. He wrote that he wanted to keep it fresh and young, highly danceable, yet still make it educational. Fisher created a melody and a direction, looked for some reliable production help and then found the right singer.

The Internet was used to send blossoming versions, fresh mixes, and edited ideas back and forth between Alyssa, Fisher, and the other members of the team. Working back and forth via email, Fisher, with co-producers Adam A. Johnson (MN) and Art Munson (CA), built and rebuilt the composition until it became a true record. They decided that iTunes would become their distributor of choice, as housing and shipping physical a single-song disk would create more cost than a single could allow. Bloom had a graphic artist friend, TubbyPaws (UK) create a cover, and Hiragana Song was ready.

“We also chose digital downloading so it could go easily around the world. Once downloaded from iTunes, a CD can be made on one’s own computer, to be enjoyed anywhere,” said Fisher. “It seemed like a perfect choice for everyone, no matter where they might be geographically. No shipping, no handling fees for the listener. Just download, dance, and learn.”

There is a website for the Hiragana Song, with details about the writers and Alyssa Collins. It has some rave reviews already posted, and no doubt more will come along once the song is ready via iTunes. It is of note that co-producer Art Munson, a legendary guitarist for hundreds of household-name musicians, added unique flavors and touches that Fisher felt took the track to an entire new level above the normal dance track.

“A lot of people who are legendary are not still creating legendary performances today — Art Munson definitely is creating at that level, and it shows on this record. The freshness that Adam A. Johnson brought to the direction of the tone and tracks kept the song exactly in energy and form as to the vision. And Alyssa just plain sold it on every level, and kept it a serious song, never hamming it up to a novelty level. I am so happy to work with all of them!”

“When Danny first brought me the idea, it took him a year of bugging me until I finally finished the melody and produce the record. Now I’m really, really glad he did, because the feeling of getting a gem is really the reason you work at it, that’s the reward,” grins Fisher.

Hiragana song may be accessed on iTunes by linking to:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=202040888&id=202040881&s=143441

A sample of the song, more factoids about the creation of and participants in the Hiragana Song can be found at:
www.goodnightkiss.com/hiragana.html

Other press links:
Ottawa Sun, Showbiz, 29 January 2007
“Going global as easy as Japanese ABCs for teen”
http://www.ottawasun.com/Showbiz/Music/2007/01/29/3473532-sun.html

Le Droit, Front page Arts, 27 January 2007
“D’Ottawa à iTunes… en japonais”
Available as .pdf

CBC Radio Canada, 20 January 2007:
“La voix de Alyssa Collins, 16 ans est diffusée sur i-tune, depuis décember 2006. Elle nous raconte son histoire.”
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/Radio/divines.shtml (look under “Entrevues” on the right side for the audio link)

Express Ottawa, Front page,13 January 2007:
“Une Ottavienne diffusée en japonais sur i-Tunes”
http://www.expressottawa.ca/article-65015-Une-Ottavienne-diffusee-en-japonais-sur-iTunes.html

There will obviously more coming from Alyssa and her Hiragana Song.

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