lecca - 烈火 15 February 2005
Reggae has had a subtle but steady influence on Japanese music since arguably 1980. Through the decades it has affected a number of artists and gone through various fusions of genres, as it has with lecca—who never seems to capitalize her name for whatever reason. People generally agree her debut was in 2006 when she released the EP Dreamer under a sub-label of Avex Trax. They are one of the biggest labels so it makes sense why Dreamer is oft-regarded as lecca’s breakthrough debut.One year earlier, however, lecca released the semi-eponymous 烈火 pronounced ‘rekka’ under the indie label ALPHA Enterprise. Her music has always fallen into the reggae-R&B category, but the amount of emphasis given to each changes from album to album. lecca’s only indie album maintains a decent balance between the two, leaning slightly more towards reggae when compared against her early work at Avex Trax. But a more significant difference on this album is the absence of any seriously pop-influenced music, both in terms of composition and lyrics. lecca’s later albums like おたくgirlsの宴, City Caravan, etc., incorporate more pop and dance elements while never abandoning her reggae-R&B style. But lecca’s indie album omits those elements, not entirely, but substantially more than the albums that would follow.Note: Two songs feature PANG, another Japanese reggae artist who was already prominent in 2005. This began the start of lecca’s collaborations with other artists that has been consistent feature throughout her discography.