Maps of Music

Fantôme (2016)

Where the lyrics of Fantôme take you, and where it was really made.

Released as a single plain edition with no bonus extras, this album about a mother's death still sold over a million copies worldwide.

Key places

Recording at RAK Studios in London (2016)

Recording site RAK Studios — Most tracks were basically recorded in London, and RAK Studios is one of the London studios named for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Metropolis Studios in London (2016)

Recording site Metropolis Studios — Most tracks were basically recorded in London, and Metropolis Studios is one of the London studios named for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Angel Studios in London (2016)

Recording site Angel Recording Studios — Most tracks were basically recorded in London, and Angel Studios is one of the London studios named for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Bunkamura Studio in Tokyo (2016)

Recording site Bunkamura Studios — Some recording for the album took place at Bunkamura Studio in Tokyo, while most tracks were recorded in London. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Sixth Japanese studio album (ninth overall) by Hikaru Utada
• Released September 28, 2016
• Physical release in Japan and digital release worldwide
• Acoustic and stripped-down instrumentation alongside pop, electronic and R&B influences
• Lyrics cover grief, sadness, love and death
• Mostly influenced by the death of the singer's mother, a second marriage and the birth of a son in 2015

Background

• Hiatus announced in August 2010; writing and composing continued with Teruzane Utada and Akira Miyake
• July 2015: birth of a son announced, with a new album said to be in progress during pregnancy
• March 2016: two new digital singles revealed as the return from a five-year hiatus
• Title is the French word Fantôme, meaning illusion or presence
• The album is dedicated to the singer's mother, Fujiko Fujii, who died in 2013

Recording

• July 12, 2016: singer announced that recording was finished
• August 8, 2016: cover and track listing revealed
• First album with Japanese titles for all songs
• Main recording took place in London, with some work at Bunkamura Studio in Tokyo
• Released through Virgin Music and Universal Music Japan
• First release after the 2013 merger of EMI Music Japan with Universal Music Japan

Cover

• Photography by Julien Mignot
• Art direction by Seida Yu

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born January 19, 1983 in New York City to Japanese parents; mother Keiko Fuji was an enka singer, father Teruzane Utada a record producer.
• Began writing songs at age 10 and moved to Tokyo at age 11; performed as Cubic U from 1996.
• Signed with Toshiba-EMI; English debut album Precious (1998) under Cubic U.

Members

• Solo artist, known mononymously as Utada; later performed under the name Hikaru Utada.

Career

• Japanese debut First Love (1999), Japan's best-selling album of all time.
• Distance (2001) sold three million copies in its first week; Deep River (2002) followed.
• Exodus (2004) marked an English-language push in North America under the name Utada.
• Returned to Japan with Ultra Blue (2006) and Heart Station (2008); This Is the One (2009) followed.
• Long hiatus after 2010 Wild Life tour; returned with Fantôme (2016) and Hatsukoi (2018).
• Wrote theme songs for the Kingdom Hearts series, including Face My Fears with Skrillex.
• Bad Mode (2022) was the first bilingual album; Science Fiction (2024) celebrated 25 years since debut.
• Over 40 million records sold; came out as non-binary in 2021.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Unrecorded.mu's Ryo Miyauchi gave the album 70 out of 100, praising the singer's songwriting and vulnerability
• Miyauchi highlighted the tracks Ningyo, Tomodachi and Kōya no Ōkami
• Miyauchi said the sound was similar to the singer's previous albums
• Miyauchi wrote that the album sits with one foot in the past and one pointed toward what comes next

Reappraisal

• encore's Shuji Shimizu described the death and life atmosphere running through the whole album as its biggest feature
• Writers noted the album was a pop record that could be played in everyday life

Records

• Debuted at number one on the weekly Oricon Albums Chart with sales of over 253,000 units
• Topped the US Billboard World Albums chart
• Debuted at number one in Japan, Finland and Slovenia on iTunes Store
• Reached the top ten in the United States, Australia, Canada, Sweden and New Zealand on iTunes
• Album of the Year at the Japan Record Awards
• Grand Prix at the CD Shop Awards
• Sold over a million copies worldwide
• Sold 687,222 physical units in Japan by December 2017 according to Oricon's yearly rankings

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Fantome is the singer's first Japanese-language studio album with no physical singles released
• Before the album, all singles were distributed only through online platforms
• The album's track 9 features the rapper Kohh
• For the live internet broadcast Sanjudai wa Hodo-Hodo, rapper Kohh and DJ Punpee joined the singer as guests
• The singer performed songs from the album on music programs including Music Station

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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