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Baby Loop Code: “Secret (Piano Version)”

Photo by Martha★ on Flickr licensed under Creative Commons

For almost five minutes, Baby Loop Code puts most mainstream J-Pop idols to shame with “Secret (Piano Version.” With only a solitary piano backing her up, the Osaka artist tip-toes her voice around the key strokes. She swings from quiet-as-a-mouse to nearly bubbling over, her singing slowly rising towards some sort of emotional climax before she catches herself and reels it back in. This restraint makes the almost skeletal “Secret” an emotional mystery, Baby Loop Code hiding any explicit feelings under her gorgeous voice. Yet she can’t quite contain herself – right before the five minute mark, her pretty piano playing escalates into an angry mess of key smashing. It’s a small moment of release that makes the proceeding music even better.

Listen here.