We’ve been accustomed to relating art to the physical, automatically assimilating it with painting, sculpture, or drawing. In reality, art could be expressed in countless ways and mediums, even a beautiful melody is capable of perfectly transmitting its message without the need to physically have it. This is the case with the song I’ll be decomposing: “Flower Dance” by DJ Okawari.
Okawari is a Japanese DJ who has been present in the music scene since 2008 and has released 7 full albums. He’s a rather “mysterious” subject, as he’s not very present to the public eye or through the media. He’s recognized for his unique approach to society through music, emphasizing nature above anything in all his albums.
His biggest hit yet, “Flower Dance,” is the fifth track from his third album Kaleidoscope (2011). This track is played in an A♭ minor key where the piano takes the lead, a key element in Okawari’s songs. In its first few seconds, it starts off with a very calm melody, almost as if it were telling us a story. Later, “Flower Dance” builds up and takes a drastic turn from what we heard in the intro, perhaps even making us question if it’s even the same song we started listening to seconds ago. Even with these changes, “Flower Dance” produces a pleasant vibe to the ear, better described as magical; able to transport you to a forest where you are dancing among the flowers in a matter of seconds.
“Flower Dance” welcomes us with a mysterious dialogue between a female and a male. In fact, it’s the only trace of words throughout the entire song. Interestingly, this dialogue was taken from the movie Assignment Outer Space (1960). The woman talks about the importance and purpose of flowers, considered “diasporas” in the film, almost as if, rather than educating the male about flowers, she was selling an idea. Then the man’s answer is somewhat ignorant since he refuses to call them by their correct term and continues to refer to them as “mere flowers.” The woman begins to ignore him and reaffirms that she is not selling them. In the end, the man offers to make a deal with the woman, leaving the receiver in total doubt of what will happen in the future.
More than being “just a melody,” “Flower Dance” holds a more cultural value since it’s a traditional dance practiced in both Cambodia and Vietnam. In Cambodia, it symbolizes the movement of flowers in the lake and how they are able to dance, while inviting us to dance with them. On the other hand, in Vietnam it is known as “dâng hoa” and is practiced in cultural or religious events. It takes its inspiration from nature, imitating the movements of animals and flowers. In addition, it’s accompanied by elements in which the flowers are found, specifically the lotus flower, the official Vietnamese traditional flower.
As a designer myself, aesthetics and following a theme is something I highly appreciate. Taking a better look at Okawari’s discography, we’re able to notice some sort of correlation between his album covers. All focused on the composer’s theme: nature. These were created by a Japanese graphic artist who goes by the pseudonym Marumiyan, who coincidentally also shares the same interest in nature as Okawari. In each of them we can see a woman, possibly representing Mother Earth, surrounded by a diversity of flora, fauna, among other elements found in nature. In addition, the color palette used through all of them is mostly made up of primary colors, allowing the audience to picture this nature focus more clearly.
After years of listening to this song almost on a daily basis, I’d never been able to decipher the context behind it. Little did I know that not only did it have a rich melody, but it’s also historically rich. Okawari urges us to enjoy and take care of our precious nature above all. On the other hand, with the mysterious context of “Flower Dance,” he encourages us to look beyond what’s presented to us and learn about others. Perhaps Okawari couldn’t have been very skilled in other mediums, but that was not an obstacle for him to communicate his message. In just four and a half minutes, Okawari managed to express something in a way that no one had managed to do before, using his own art, music.