Fuyü-Kükan = 浮遊空間

浮遊空間 ("Floating Space," stylized on the front cover as "Fuyü-Kükan") is the third studio album by Tomoko Aran, originally released on 28 May 1983. An eclectic and experimental work, the album failed to chart on its original release, though it did gain attention for the cutting-edge CGI on the front cover. From the mid-2010's, the songs "Midnight Pretenders" and "I'm In Love" have become two of the most popular songs in the internet-driven reappraisal of late-Shōwa era Japanese music. The former was also extensively sampled in The Weeknd's 2022 hit single "Out Of Time" - leading to Aran's first chart success in over 20 countries and massive worldwide interest in the original song and album.
Track 4, "ジ・レ・ン・マ (25才の憂鬱)" has two released versions: a mid-tempo, subdued ~3:09 version; and a fast-tempo, energetic ~3:33 version. Originally suspected to be a rejected B-side or post-release artistic change, the 2022 SACD liner notes revealed the fast-tempo version was the original recording produced for the album. Its stereo bass drums were flagged as too difficult to cut to LP in 1983, so the mid-tempo version was hastily recorded and added as a replacement. Subsequent releases have alternated between versions:
- The 1988 (and near-identical 1994 budget reissue) CD place the fast-tempo version on track 4, with no bonus tracks.
- The 2018 remaster and all single-LP vinyl reissues to date restore the mid-tempo version to track 4; the 2018 CD appends the fast-tempo version as a bonus track.
- The 2022 "DSD restoration" (as released to digital and hybrid SACD) include the fast-tempo version as track 4, with the mid-tempo version as the bonus track.
- The 2026 2-LP 45 RPM reissue finally places the fast-tempo version in the intended sequence, with the mid-tempo version appended as a bonus track. This marked the vinyl debut of the recording.