Overview
Nirai Kanai, is an Okinawan myth about a magical island off the coast of Okinawa where the gods live. In Okinawa, they believe that the gods come from this island every year to bless their people. This is where MAX drew inspiration for their very own song named after the island. It's a cover of eurobeat vocalist Christine's song "Rain" from the album "Super Eurobeat 168".
MAX announced the release of the single during their 10th anniversary tour in May 2005. Harking back to their beginnings, all the songs selected for the single were based on the Eurobeat style of music. Eurobeat is a style of dance music that originates in Italy. They coined a new term, "Okinawan-Euro" to describe "Nirai Kanai" that takes Eurobeat and combines it with traditional Okinawan flavors. MAX took a major role in the production of this song including writing its lyrics and performing some of the music. Unique to this song is the fact that several lines of the song are not in Japanese, but in their native Okinawan dialect.
The single also includes to b-sides. The first b-side to appear on the single, "Someday" is a cover of eurobeat vocalist Nuage's song "Sunday." The second b-side "Tora Tora Tora 2005" is a self-cover of their first breakout hit. MAX stated that they wanted to rerecord the song because the song had become popular again under a new wave of Para Para dancing. Unlike the original version, each member has solo lines.
Read more about this topic: Nirai Kanai (MAX Song)