Review: Hemisphere – Sakamoto Maaya
Artist: 坂本真綾 [Sakamoto Maaya]
Title: ヘミソフィア [Hemisphere]
Catalogue No.: VICL-35358
Tracklist:
1. ヘミソフィア [Hemisphere]
2. 音楽 [Ongaku]
3. ヘミソフィア without maaya [Hemisphere without maaya]
I can’t remember exactly how I discovered Maaya Sakamoto’s Hemisphere, as it was so long ago. This was pre-Youtube, so that immediately rules it out. Back then I was more into eroge than anime so that rules out me watching the anime this is from (RahXephon). The most plausible explanation that comes to mind was a friend was watching the anime and sent me the song as a “Hey, listen to this! Isn’t it awesome?”
I had to agree, it is. Hemisphere sounds like the good kind of anime theme in my eyes – distinct, a rich arrangement and a female voice without the saccharine. For the longest time, I didn’t even know that this was the theme song to an anime because it sounded something way too ethereal to be anime theme. (And yet, here comes the paradox – such an ethereal song would only be composed for an anime a lot of the time.) Yoko Kanno gives me strings, synths and a beautiful arrangement that is deliciously downtempo though uplifting. And Maaya’s voice… Maaya’s voice has a haunting, longing quality to it that suits the atmosphere of the song perfectly.
The b-side Ongaku shows more of that mysterious haunting that Maaya’s voice. The song beings with something akin to a clock winding down and has an eerie, almost enveloping quality to it. And of course, the string arrangements makes me happy. But unlike Hemisphere, Ongaku is less uplifting and more contemplative. It ebbs and flows as a piece of music.
Of course, rounding off the single is the instrumental version of the A-side. Listening to the instrumental without Maaya sounds strange to my ears, like I need Maaya there otherwise the song lacks something completely. It’s still good as an instrumental track, but it doesn’t stand out if it just were.
This single, as a whole is breathtaking. Both songs on it are beautifully crafted and it has left a lasting impression on me. It’s a very unusual single in that respects. I felt the need to review it after finding the single tucked away in my bookshelf and ripping it for my music library. But sometimes, words fail me and all I can recommend sometimes is just to listen.
Review: Prayers (Shinichi Osawa Remix) – Clazziquai Project
Artist: Clazziquai Project
Title: Prayers (Shinichi Osawa Remix)
Catalogue No.: RRCD-85370D1
Tracklist:
01. Prayers
02. Prayers (Shinichi Osawa Remix)
The reason I intentionally stay away from sites like Juno Download, Beatport and Trackitdown is because the moment I get on there, I end up buying more mp3s in the name of looking for music. While this is good for my audio library and my listening pleasure, this is unfortunately not so good on my bank account as it is very easy to overspend on digital download sites without knowing it.
Sometimes you get nice surprises on these sites; for example, a lot of the remixes that were on Ayumi Hamasaki’s ayu-mi-x Gold and Silver are available on Beatport under the “Ayu” moniker (save for the High Contrast remix of No Way To Say, which is a shame.)
On Juno Download on the other hand, one of the surprises I found was a variety of Clazziquai Project releases which was aimed at the DJ/electronic fans market.
To start with, Clazziquai Project is one of those groups that seem to have large amounts of material so it’s hard to know exactly where to start. Until I got this release, the most I knew of Clazziquai Project was the really nice Proposed Flower Wolf from playing DJ Max Technika, so I found that perhaps the releases available on Juno Download would be a good starter guide.
The first track in the release is the song Prayers (original) taken straight from the Love Child of the Century album. I was immediately sold from the moment I heard the first ten seconds of the song, partly due to Horan’s tone and the downtempo feel of this song. I personally love the use of the guitar in this song as that gives the song a very acid jazz feel. It’s a lovely, gentle song that makes good night driving music.
When I first listened to Prayers (Shinichi Osawa Remix) on the other hand, I sat there for the whole 5 minutes of the song and the first thing that came to mind was that Shinichi Osawa just went mad in cutting up the song. He cuts large chunks of the song up and lays a electro house backing behind. Not to mention that I have my suspicions that Mr. Osawa used the template as his remix of Namie Amuro’s What A Feeling as the similarities are quite apparent especially with the way that the vocals are cut – the difference being that Shinichi Osawa tried to make some strange backmasking effect with Prayers. So while not the most original of Shinichi Osawa remixes, I do find this remix to be one of his most enjoyable because I find it utterly amusing.
As this costs £2.60 to buy the entire release in 320kbs MP3, I’d say that it was one starting point for anybody wanting to know more about Clazziquai Project. Not to mention hey, it’s Shinichi Osawa. Which means that you’re guaranteed on the quality of the remix, even if it is a bit whacked out.
Review: PSI-missing – Kawada Mami
Artist: Mami Kawada
Title: PSI-missing
Catalogue No.: GNCV-0009
Tracklist:
01. PSI-missing
02. 雨 [Ame]
03. PSI-missing (Instrumental)
04. 雨 (Instrumental) [Ame (Instrumental)]
My love for Mami Kawada’s eyeshadow on the cover art aside – PSI-missing is one of those songs I am not entirely sure why I like. I shouldn’t like it in all respects – it is completely unfulfilling as a song as it is… not as catchy or memorable as Mami’s earlier releases. (The only lines I can remember the melody of is “touzen no kurushimi o unmei ga sasou” and “sezoku made”) Mami sounds flat and the melody doesn’t really resolve itself as strongly as it could be, so it falls flat even if it starts alright.
As for what it sounds like, it sounds like the bastard child of radiance and Hishoku no Sora, arguably Mami Kawada’s two best singles.
That is probably the reason why I like it, ahaha. The use of distortion is reminiscent of KOTOKO’s Suppuration -core-, which gives Mami a darker sounding voice contrasting with the chorus which doesn’t have as many effect filters on it and eventually the distortion is almost non existent towards the end of the song. The effect of altering Mami’s voice quality becomes understandable after watching the PV for PSI-missing, which is included in this edition of the single.
Demonic Mami calls upon Goddess Mami (who is very reminiscent of MELL, though I can’t put my finger on exactly why – maybe it’s the hair. Or the fact that Mami looks… so much more mature than I remember.) and the use of filtering on Mami’s voice fits what she’s doing in the PV. Ohoho, so they did try to be clever.
So, how do I feel about PSI-missing? It’s enjoyable to listen to, but not really memorable. 
Which is a shame. I do love the drums in this song. I couldn’t help but me won over by the entire package – which admittedly in the absence of, might have made me dismiss this song. I do have a soft place in my heart for I’ve Sound’s darker trance songs though.
As for Ame, the b-side… sadly forgettable. Even from the opening, it is just very bland and very flat. A half-hearted pop ballad, if you will. I can’t actually say much about it, because I nod off while listening to the song because I get bored listening to it.
So, is this single on it’s own worth buying? Well, in my honest opinion, not really. (Watch me eat my words as I come back from Japan with this single in my collection, but that’s because I’m obsessed with collecting CD singles.) Admittedly while I do like PSI-missing, for the casual I’ve fan it’s probably worth just waiting for Mami’s next album (which will have this track in it) to come out so you get more value for your money.
Review: PLASTIC – Aira Mitsuki. The Deconstruction of Plastic and The Tragedy of Aira Mitsuki.
For the purposes of this review, I shall only be reviewing the CD only version of this release. Many thanks to Selryam for providing with the album in the first place.
Artist: Aira Mitsuki
Title: PLASTIC
Catalogue No: VUZD-1/VUZD-2/VUCD-60005
Tracklist:
01. ロボットハニー [Robot Honey]
02. Summeeeeeeeer set (feat. AYUSE KOZUE)
03. ニーハイガール [Knee High Girl]
04. BAD trip (feat. Terukado)
05. CHANGE MY WILL
06. HiGH SD スニーカー [HiGH SD Sneaker]
07. distant STARS
08. プラスティックドール [Plastic Doll]
09. サプリ [Sapuri]
10. 夏飴 (feat. □□□) [Natsu Ame (feat Kuchiroro)]
11. Time is (feat.shigeo (SBK/the samos))
12. サヨナラ TECHNOPOLiS [Sayonara TECHNOPOLiS]
13. BARBiE BARBiE
14. Re:†
PLASTIC was quite an anticipated release, considering the amount of promotion to buy! buy! buy! Two limited editions – one with a DVD, one with a remix disc and a regular CD edition. High profile guests such as Ayuse Kozue, Kuchiroro, Shigeo from SBK. Remixers such as 80kidz and Yuki Saito from HiGE. Lots of help from lots of friends. But Aira, inevitably is the star of the show. I hoped that this release would give me an Aira release I can invariably proclaim “This is awesome, with no technical gripes!”
The earliest draft of this review had me writing out track by track reviews and I noticed that I was repeating myself in regards to the mastering of this album. Messy. Distorted. Overcompressed. Not clear. Headache inducing. I scrapped it and went for this.
Hence the title of this review: The Deconstruction of Plastic and The Tragedy of Aira Mitsuki.
Review: Everything Needs Love – Mondo Grosso feat. BoA
Since I spent a reasonable amount of time bitching about how Shinichi Osawa isn’t Mondo Grosso anymore, I thought I’d review what is one of my favourite Mondo Grosso singles. Plus, I’m sure people need something other than the slew of Japanese hardcore release information I’ve been putting out (but to be fair, there aren’t any other blogs that do it really)
Artist: Mondo Grosso feat. BoA
Title: Everything Needs Love
Catalogue: AICL-1397
Tracklisting:
01. Everything Needs Love
02. Everything Needs Love (Piano-pella)
03. Everything Needs Dub
04. Everything Needs Love (Instrumental)
I’m not sure what it is about this single that I like so much. Perhaps it’s the clever orchestration that’s gone into this, the real instruments provided by string maestro Tatsuya Murayama (If the strings in a track aren’t done by Chieko Kinbara, then it’s most likely goign to be Tatsuya Murayama) and the skillful piano provided by Mr. Ryota Nozaki aka Jazztronik. Maybe it’s the build up from a piano solo to a full on house track with those vocals by BoA which makes me forget the majority of her output is compositionally bland.
It is very hard to ignore the power of using real instruments. I’ve gotten to the point in which my training in music analysis means that I can recognise the difference between tracks that use real instruments for instrumentation and fake ones. Everything Needs LOVE is organic, there is no other word for it other than organic. Even the drums felt organic, the track is wonderfully mastered and as a result Everything Needs Love is so pleasingly uplifting that I can’t help but feel something as BoA holds that word, that word which describes my attitude to the track – love.
The Piano-pella version substitutes the drums and takes out the bass leaving the listener effectively with a ballad/acoustic type version of the song. It’s a gentler listening to experience that’s more laid back and chilled. BoA’s soaring vocals seem slightly out of place in this version as it uses the same vocal track across the entire single. It would have been good if she re-recorded them or Shinichi Osawa took out the higher frequencies (oh wait, no, that would just make her sound flat, okay, re-recording it is) just so that it sounds a bit more toned down and it gets together a little bit more easily.
The third track on the single is the one I have to say is a bit boring. There are very few dub remixes that I enjoy and sadly I don’t enjoy this one. BoA’s vocals are cut up to just a few snippets here and there and the sweeping electrohouse swooshes just get on my nerves. I admit I do like the drums on this but that’s probably the only enjoyable thing about it. It’s just boring and not a very musically interesting track. It’s amazing what extra minute can do because it just seems so much more protracted and a pain to listen to. Admittedly it is the only DJ friendly track on there AND the pun Everything Needs Dub is kinda funny.
To round off this single, you have as always – the instrumental version of the title track. It’s good for a listen if you want to hear the ongoings of the track without BoA in your ear how everything needs love. It’ll make you appreciate how good Mondo Grosso is.
I’m not entirely sure what rating to give this. I love this song so much that I want the vinyl of the song so in respects if you have money to spare then the Physical Copy of the single is good nugget to keep in your collection.
Review: BAD trip – Aira Mitsuki
For 200 yen, people who can access the Japanese iTunes store can buy this song. A modification of the PLASTIC cover completes the deal with the title of the song emblazoned on the right and it seems like this track is being released in advance to whet peoples appetites for the full album.
(Because I do not like low quality images, there will be no images of the BAD trip album cover. Have an alternate image instead of Aira Mitsuki found in a compromising lesbian position with a mannequin in a toilet.)
Aira Mitsuki wrote on her mixi account that BAD trip was influenced by fidget house. And I can safely say with that in mind that this song’s title is pretty much descriptive of what the track is – a BAD trip.
I would say the problem with BAD trip is that Aira Mitsuki’s vocals pretty much ruin what is an interesting electrohouse track. It’s very clear that Terukado is being experimental with his music and drawing upon different influences (Fidget house artist Hervé’s influence can be heard in this track, but it is firmly rooted in it’s electropop sensibilities). If this track were instrumental, I would find myself liking it more.
Aira Mitsuki’s vocals are just processed really badly. Yes, the rip I have is from imeem and while it may lose bass and some of the treble as these mp3 rips tend to go – Aira Mitsuki’s vocals have been through side chain compression and the vocals were processed in such a bad manner in general that the track is a headache to listen to. I believe that to make this track better Aira’s vocals should not be in it and I would have preferred it if Terukado released this track himself as an instrumental. It seems as if Aira’s voice was pretty much a last minute addition to the track and really, it really is Terukado doing the beep count fantastic and showing off his mad skillz.
We do come to a bit of a paradox though, as dance music is firmly rooted in using short vocal hooks and vocal songs don’t really make the best dance music in some instances (just look at the majority of vocal trance, for god’s sake. A lot of it is shit and uses some really horrible vocalists.) However, Aira Mitsuki’s voice is the selling point with these albums because she is the artist being sold so Terukado has the paradox of using as much of Aira’s voice as he can but still keep it respectable enough dance music so that Aira isn’t written off as more pop than dance. All things considered though, he didn’t do a bad job but he didn’t do a spectacular one either.
Terukado put his name on to this explicitly but one can’t help but wonder whether he used the same project and template that he used for Saori@destiny’s EZ DO DANCE cover for Aira’s BAD trip, albeit with a bit more originality for Aira. A handful of the synth loops and sounds found on BAD trip are easily found in Saori’s cover of the TRF classic. That tinge of recycling is understandable considering Terukado does have a lot of producing to do on his plate.
As for what this means in regards to Aira’s upcoming album PLASTIC… I am still very interested in buying her album. I just hope the rest of it is better produced.
Truth be told, at least Terukado and Aira Mitsuki are being experimental and more creative in their music compared to Nakata Yasutaka playing it safe with Perfume. Even if they don’t get it right all the time.
(For an alternate take, see Selryam’s review at What is DISCO?)
Review: Weiss Flugel – Yousei Teikoku
Why has it taken me forever to get interested in Yousei Teikoku? Why have I not heard of this group before? Why were they hiding?!
Oh, it’s because up to a certain point, I found their releases to be lacklustre (mostly due to the production value). But they have definitely stepped up their game for their 3 month singles campaign. I think I’ll do them in reverse order, so here we have Weiss Flugel.
Artist: 妖精帝國 [Yousei Teikoku]
Title: Weiβ Flügel [Weiss Flugel]
Catalogue: LACM-4529
Tracklisting:
01. Weiβ Flügel [Weiss Flugel]
02. 機械少女幻想 [Kikan Shoujo Musou]
03. Weiβ Flügel [Weiss Flugel] (instrumental)
04. 機械少女幻想 [Kikan Shoujo Musou] (instrumental)
If you know no German, Weiss Flugel means “White Wing” and that’s enough indication that it’s a midtempo-ish song with a strong guitar and violin backing. Good on you Takaha Tachibana.
Actually no, it isn’t. The title track Weiss Flugel is a midtempo track that I’d imagine as the ending theme of an anime or a drama. But what’s really to look out for here is Yui’s voice. It’s got a really aethereal quality to it, which I think is grounded by the instrumentation. It’s very majestic.
The second track on the single is 機械少女幻想 [Kikan Shoujo Musou] which is a hard hitting rock track with a really strong beat. One of the first things that I noticed about this song was the kick and how it stands out so much. I have a feeling if anybody wanted to bootleg this song, a strong gabba kick would work well with this song.
Anyway, wishes for a bootleg aside, I really like Kikan Shoujo Musou. It’s really got some industrial influences and for some reason, I find it very German. Not surprising, since I’ve always found that if ALI PROJECT take their inspiration from the French, then Yousei Teikoku get theirs from the German.
A particular favourite in Kikan Shoujo Musou is the autotuned, linear phase filtered Yui saying “Phase, phase” and “face, face” or “Phase, Phase” and “Fake, fake” on the choruses. Really adds to the “mechanical girl” aspect of this track. Very nice.
Aside from these two tracks, you have the two instrumentals. Which is pretty typical for a single like this considering it’s released by Lantis, of all people.
Verdict:
Ignore
Digital Copy
Physical Copy
While I am a big fan of buying CDs and would buy this single in a heartbeat, unless you find these songs to be up your vein (which it might not be! I know someone who completely hates the b-side even though I love it.) then you just might be better off sticking to a digital copy of this single. In all fairness, both of these tracks may show up on a future Yousei Teikoku album.
Album Review: LIA – enigmatic LIA3 -worldwide collection-
This review is an extension of my review that I originally posted on Discogs for this CD.
Artist: LIA
Title: enigmatic LIA3 -worldwide collection-
Catalogue No: PCCG-90031
Tracklisting:
Disc 1:
01 sky-high (Inverse & Orbit1 Remix)
02 The World (ORIGINAL MIX)
03 時を刻む唄 [Toki wo Kizamu Uta] (JAKAZiD Remix)
04 Crystal World (teranoid Remix)
05 new moon (Al Storm Remix)
06 Believe 〜from Vivaldi’s “Winter”〜 (JAKAZiD Remix)
07 TORCH (Spy47 Remix)
08 pure rain (ORIGINAL MIX)
09 SANDSTORM (Fracus Remix)
10 The Never Ending Love (DJ Shimamura’s XTC Mix)
11 月童 [Tsuki Warabe] (Reese Remix)
12 Saya’s Song (Nu Foundation Remix)
13 Fly high again… (ORIGINAL MIX)Disc 2:
01 君をのせて 〜from 天空の城ラピュタ〜 [Kimi wo Nosete ~from Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa~] (REDALiCE Remix)
02 I’m feeling (源屋 [Minamotoya] Remix)
03 FILIATION (DJ-Technetium Remix)
04 You Are… (Betwixt & Between Remix)
05 I’m wondering (源屋 [Minamotoya] Remix)
06 Light In the Air (Thanatos Remix)
07 SAYONARA (REDALiCE Remix)
08 Saya’s Song (REDALiCE Remix)
-Special Bonus Trax-
09 DJ Sharpnel – 鳥の詩・torino-uta (the speed freak’s noise rave remix)
10 LIA’s (a cappella) Track
Lia and her staff have really outdone themselves with enigmatic LIA 3. It features a lot of stellar remixes of songs from her previous albums (mostly from her latest one, new moon) done in a completely different electronic dance style.
The first disc boasts artists from around the world (”Remixers from 7 different countries!” as the promotional material boasted, a fair amount of them handpicked by JAKAZiD himself. JAKAZiD is one of my favourite artists and for a very good reason, I can’t even begin to imagine how he had to deal with all these artists.)
Album Review: ravex – trax
Welcome to the first post ever of The New Eccentric Girl where I attempt to bring you into my musical world… because I think it’s interesting and I find some interesting stuff that doesn’t get talked about enough.
Anyway, I thought I’d kickstart this blog with a review of the album which contains the song in which this blog gets its name from.
Lets start with the artist. Most of this description was cannibalized from the original entry I wrote for the livejournal J-tek community Stereo Night.
If you haven’t heard of ravex, it’s basically a unit made of Fantastic Plastic Machine’s Tomoyuki Tanaka, Mondo Grosso’s Shinichi Osawa and m-flo’s Taku Takahashi. Tagged with the line that the music they made was “21st Century J-Pop”, ravex is a unit to celebrate the 20th anniversary of avex trax and the 80th anniversary of Tezuka World. You know, Astro Boy. Marvelous Melmo. Kimba the White Lion, Princess Knight. Osamu Tezuka’s Star System and more make an appearance in the 20 minute special “ravex in Tezuka World” which was such a throwback to my childhood.
Their roster of vocalists is basically every single BIG artist on avex trax and its associated sublabels. Amuro Namie, Tohoshinki, LISA from m-flo, Tsuchiya Anna, BoA, Chisa from GIRL NEXT DOOR, Maki Goto, trf, Verbal from m-flo, Monkey Majik, Ando Yuko and DJ OZMA.
Star power aside, the music is electrohouse fused with J-pop and made with the whole spectrum of electronic dance fans in mind so it’s got something to appease hardcore electronic music meant to be played in clubs fans to people who like pop in general.
I think the whole concept of this project is key to understanding how this album is supposed to work.
Artist: ravex
Title: trax
Catalogue No: AVCD-23790/B | AVCD-23791
Tracklisting:
01. I RAVE U (Original)
02. ROCK U feat. 安室奈美恵 [Amuro Namie]
03. Just the Two of Us feat. 東方神起 [Tohoshinki]
04. HOUSE NATION feat. LISA
05. Bangalicious feat. 土屋アンナ [Tsuchiya Anna]
06. Believe in LOVE feat. BoA
07. NEWエキセントリックガール [New Eccentric Girl] feat. 千紗 [Chisa] (GIRL NEXT DOOR)
08. Golden LUV feat. MAKI GOTO
09. V.I.P.P. (Very Important Party People) feat. TRF & VERBAL(m-flo)
10. 1 more night feat. MONKEY MAJIK
11. 悪い子みつけた。 [Waruiko Mitsuketa.] feat. 安藤裕子 [Ando Yuko]
12. I RAVE U feat. DJ OZMA
