Wednesday 28 December 2011

C81: ALBATROSICKS, ForestPireo, Zero-Shaft, InnocentKey +++

Don't be fooled by the low volume of C81 updates on 電波の世界, it's not about the lack of quality albums coming out, oh not at all. It's all about us being a bit busy and quite frankly, lazy! Still, here are a few must-get albums which are poised to be released during the eighty-first edition of the world's finest otaku event. As usual, some of these CDs can be ordered from stores like とらのあな for a slight premium... while quantities last!

Before we go on, here are the other albums we covered:






Just like this summer's Comiket, ARM contributed less to the mainline IOSYS album in order to focus on the latest ALBATROSICKS album! 『rebirth era』 is the eight album, but it only has three new songs out of six tracks. That's still a better tally than say, 『MERGE THE STRAWBERRY』 but just a heads up as the other three are remixes. At least it feels a bit more focused with upbeat melodies present on most tracks. It's good to hear some new miko songs, as she hasn't been all that active lately.

In a related note, RUSTY GEARS does have a C81 single 「平和バカ二代」 with three new tracks, so that's another way to get your miko fix.



All samples available on website

Forest Pireo may have started pumping out Touhou arrange albums two years after IOSYS did, but that won't stop them from catching up in terms of number of releases! Case in point, they have two new albums for Comiket 81. Although both are excellent, one of these two will be of greater interest to this readership. 『Girl's Festa! 01』 will be their 18th release and even though it's an all-original album, it's still very much in line with their previous efforts.

What's different is that it's packed with cute and powerful songs from well-known composers such as さつき が てんこもり, 未来派, かたほとり and our boy かめりあ. On the mic we have lovely ladies such as めらみぽっぷ, 桃箱, ななひら and kana. Highlights include 「ただいま参上! 電波シスター☆」 from y0c1e and みぃしゃ as well as the explosive cocktail 「ご先祖様は君を見守っている!」 from 未来派 with an explosive ななひら+kana duet! Frankly all songs stand out on this amazing compilation.

If you can't get enough of Touhou arranges, that's ForestPireo's bread & butter so don't worry. 『妹紅 ~mokou the best~』 is a bit more serious in tone (jacket art is a dead giveaway) but still has its share of silly tunes from さつき が てんこもり, y0c1e, ななひら, kana and others. It'd be awesome to see ForestPireo go for an all-denpa album, but until then they include a serviceable amount of them on each of their albums, so it's worth supporting them!




Zero-Shaft is quickly becoming a force to reckon with, releasing quality idol/moe/denpa albums one event after the other. Just a couple months ago, they released 『 まほロリっ!』 to great acclaim, but they're back with a cross album that includes element from their ロリっ! spinoff with their mainline THEiDOLST@GE series.

ZeroShuffle』 features 14 tracks performed by 19 singers and created by 12 composers! There's an equal mix idol/moe so it's like getting 2 albums for the price of 1. Whatta deal! Especially when you're talking vocalists such as ゆきまめ, ななひら, なゆ, 愛空アキハ and way, WAY more. Highly recommended.



All samples on website

Innocent Key is ココ's home circle so that's reason enough to include them on our bi-annual comiket preview. But more and more these days, they've focused on quality denpa songs over boring regular arranges. 『東方スクール』 was the turning point, and now we're getting a denpa hotpot to warm ourselves up for the coming winter.

東方闇鍋』 is chock-full of tasty ココ tracks, deliciously arranged by the likes of yohine and 溝口ゆうま. Other key collaborators include デッドボールP, D.watt, Nimo, めらみぽっぷ, 大瀬良あい and many more. This album is a lot darker than March's school rumble, but still knee-deep in twisted melodies and tongue-in-cheek writing. Highlights include 「Magical Shooting Star!」 and frankly, anything involving ココ's megami koe.





Here's something that'll blow your mind, yet it wasn't completely unexpected. ARM and BeatMario have collaborated in the past, but 『スペシャル俺たち!!!!』 is the apex of those partnerships. Manly, hot-blooded, intrepid... beefcake? (wtf thesaurus.com) All of these synonyms apply. There isn't much to say, we'll let the sampler do the talking. Out of the 10 tracks, 6 are tunes composed by ARM and the other 4 are drama, likely with BGM. This one seems like it could become 2011's best-kept secret!




Looks like おでんぱ☆スタジオ are in a guest vocalist mood! After inviting とろ美 to sing with them this summer, 井上みゆ was invited to participate on their sixth single 『ろりーたプラネット★ミ』. Who's it gonna be next time? This is another dream collaboration to be sure, but their other new song 「なめこのうた」 is nothing to scoff at! The odenpa girls are climbing up the ranks and getting noticed all over the world while composers ひろてー and BB.Lemonade are constantly invited by other circles. Looking forward to a third album in 2012!




Last but certainly not least is the new 天然ジェミニ album 『東方Little Bloom』! We've been fans since their first album, but one of their best moves was to sign up explosive arranger かめりあ for 3 tracks out of 8, including the fantastic PV seen below. He's really a good match for this unit, it's good to see him take on a bigger role. Otherwise, expect more of the same, which is exactly what we're looking for anyway. Some denpa, some high-tension pop, some rock, some eurobeat... actually that's kinda new!


C81: 20th IOSYS album 『東方エレクトリック電波少女』




Another Comiket, another IOSYS album! Believe it or not, 『東方エレクトリック電波少女』 is actually their 20th full album! It's been a wild ride since 2006's 『東方風櫻宴』 but along with his close friends 夕野ヨシミ and D.watt, ARM has been laying down the absolute craziest Touhou arranges for the past 5 years.

This new album has a lot in common with all of their previous 2011 albums (17th, 18th and 19th) both in name and contents. There's a much greater emphasis on silly denpa songs and overall party vibe. They must have figured there're enough circles doing "serious" shit, so they started focusing on fun stuff. Plus, ARM is always refered to as Lord of Denpa whenever he does collaborations with Tano*C and others, so he might as well capitalize on that reputation.

Some of the highlights include the one-and-only ココ as a guest vocalist on 「心奮い立つびしゃびしゃ門天のテーマ」 and uno showing off some mad denpa skills on 「多々良小傘のたたら屋敷」. There's also a typically trademark void song 「kiss me no panty」 which is the closest thing to a Princess Party theme song sequel we'll get. Even minami, who's usually known for his guitar skills, joins the electro-denpa party with 「ミラクルみこたんエクセレントでしょ」. There are a couple of requisite rock/varia/etc tracks which may not be for everyone, but they were composed tongue-in-cheek so they belong on this compilation.

Which track was selected for the traditional album PV? Of course it was an ARM track, but surprisingly it features his own vocals! Not only that, but he channeled his inner child to perform on the epically heroic 「勇者わんわん」!


Tuesday 13 December 2011

C81: 『プチリズムふぉお///』 4D 萌え song album from ポヤッチオ


What's hotter than 2D love? 4D love of course, a scientific fact かたほとり and his chibi-loli-moe-loving friends quickly realized and acted upon. Or maybe their past three プチリズム albums did very well with fans of the genre and they just decided to go with a fourth volume. Just maybe. After all, the first album was also re-issued for M3-2011秋, which says a lot about the serie's rising popularity. In case you have no idea what the hype is all about, check out this crossfade video for 『プチリズムふぉお///』.


Track Title Vocals Composer
01 異星人と恋愛 めらみぽっぷ きくお
02 ナナプラス+ ななひら 狐夢想
03 そうだ、ピクニックに行こう 愛原圭織 かたほとり
04 とっとこPARADE 桃箱 すみじゅん
05 えくすとりーむ・もふもふ ココ ちょむP
06 恥ずかし乙女と恋のユメ なゆ しの
07 青春ただいま進行中! ゆきまめ かたほとり
08 くまくんはコットンで出来ている kana さつき が てんこもり
09 メイドの星からランデブー Nimo かたほとり
10 Cookin'CookieS ななひら れれれP

As you can tell from the tracklist, many recurring artists are back on board, which is excellent news for fans of the series. Something that did seem to have changed is the overall BPM. One could argue that the previous compilation was a bit more laid-back, focusing on the melodies and moe themes. The C81 album however kicks in really strong with a powerful track from good guy きくお, who better damn get back together with 白石なごむ for a 2012 album.

The second track follows the same rhythm but has an interesting backstory. Composer 狐夢想 originally came up with the song 「ナナプラス+」 in May 2011 as a 春歌ナナ (ななひら UTAU) niconico upload. Well, this time we'll be getting the real deal! How often does this happen? It's as if Fujita Saki started singing a bunch of Hatsune Miku songs.

You can sample the remaining tracks for yourself, but suffice to say we're in for a hell of a ride. As far as we're concerned, this is one of the highest quality moe lineups ever assembled. From top billing ココ, ななひら to our pet favourites なゆ and ゆきまめ, everyone's here! Make sure you let these boys & girls know how much you appreciate their lovely compositions and beautiful voices... BUY THIS ALBUM!

Sunday 11 December 2011

Twitter Cluster: Best of November 2011

Other than a really awesome "Best Album" from MOSAIC.WAV and lots & lots of Dark Souls being played worldwide, not much happened in November 2011. That's OK, artists need to recover from the post-M3 slump and focus on their pre-Comiket frenzy. Which, by the way, we plan on covering as best as we can! Check out the "Denpa Watchlist" for upcoming releases and of course, follow us on twitter @denpanosekai!



November 1st 2011
  • Check out the grand and gorgeous sushi-styled box for the limited edition of 「ねぇきいて? 宇宙を救うのは、きっとお寿司…ではなく、でんぱ組.inc!」. Also details on the special items included: CD, DVD, deargirl book, photo holder, pen light, hand towel, and pin badge!

November 5th 2011
  • Official PV for new MOSAIC.WAV song 「eclipse 」 Seems like mi~ko and kayapi are going for a more mature sound?!?

November 11th 2011
  • New 大野まりな (Ohno Maria) album commemorating 25 years in the business! 12/21/11 release for 「まりなりなぁV3!~precious stories~」. Her last CD 「まりなりなぁ」 was back in 2005! Wow! Total 14 tracks, several repeat songs, but we are happy for anything we can get after so long!

November 13th 2011

Saturday 3 December 2011

The Unboxening: 「AKIBA-POP√RECOLLECTION」 Limited Edition from MOSAIC.WAV


Last time MOSAIC.WAV sent me something, it was the "Extravagantly Extra-Equipped" limited edition of their most recent album 「吟遊Planet☆AKIBA-POP」. I had a video camera back then so I had a little fun and cooked up an unboxening video, where I shocked some of you with my thick Canadian accent. Now the other day I just received the limited edition of their "Best Album" 「AKIBA-POP√RECOLLECTION」 but I didn't have access to a video camera today, so stills will have to do. Check out what's included! (click any picture for full size)

Saturday 19 November 2011

Don't be afraid to download this free Youkai Denpa compilation


True otaku nerds will balk at the notion that the "best things in life are free", insisting that they can only be purchased at Comiket, M3 and various gaming stores in Akihabara. So how are we supposed to handle a brand new FREE denpa compilation album? What's more, one that offers original songs based on various Youkai, legendary creatures and apparitions deeply rooted in Japanese mythology? Regain your composure, don't call Ghostbusters and head to the official 「きゅん×2カーニバル 百萌夜行」 website to download your free copy now.

As its first official release, STUDIO1COURS published this compilation in physical format for the occasion of M3-2011秋, but just recently made the whole thing available online. The package comes with 10 individual illustration cards that also double as lyric sheets, one for each song. Online, you can click each illustration card to reveal an MP3 player and lyrics. In total, 31 artists (vocalists, illustrators, and composers) were involved in this project.

This is ART my friends.

This compilation includes composers and vocalists with different levels of skill and experience. Many of them seem to be making their debut here, which is actually endearing in many ways. A fair number of tracks seem to be highly influenced by denpa giants MOSAIC.WAV, particularly the opening 「化けちゃう☆にゃん♪」 which is ridiculously cute and sounds rather professional (both 天城あくる and タキモトショウ have impressive pedigrees). 「こんっと☆ナインテイル」 sounds so adorable and was composed by 2P_Yu who's buds with なゆ. Additionally, 「Princess of envy」 almost brings a miko+ARM combo to mind, so IOSYS fans should check it out.

A number of songs are pretty rough and gritty, which is also a good thing and pretty much expected from a compilation about supernatural monsters. 「はちゃめちゃあうんずせんせーしょん」 hits like a ton of bricks with its sharp transitions and unpredictable melodies. Definitely a denpa song! It was composed by こたつ, who's partly (if not completely?) in charge of STUDIO1COURS. If you want more of his raw tunes and vicious percussions, you should check out his other project The Azai Sisters. Track #4 「内田百閒の件」 is another heavy-hitter, as it oscillates between graceful and grotesque from one verse to the other.

The finale is 「テレビ子哀歌」 which combines traditional Japanese music and wild denpa in a rather humourous but nostalgic manner (lyrics are about "big ass CRT" televisions going away due to the digital switchover). Overall this compilation comes highly recommended, especially considering the quality and diversity at hand. The fact that it's free is just icing on the cake (I would have easily paid 1500yen for this). Thanks again to こたつ and STUDIO1COURS for making it happen, hopefully this won't be the last we hear from them!

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Twitter Cluster: Best of October 2011

Oops! Sorry about the 2-week delay, and welcome to the second installment in our monthly Twitter Cluster post! For who-what-when behind this (and more awesome denpa news), make sure you check out the September 2011 entry. Of course, make sure you follow us on twitter @denpanosekai!



October 3rd 2011

October 6th 2011

October 8th 2011
  • New Touhou Denpa album 「ぱらのいあぱらどくちゅ」 from PARANOIA PARADOX! So many great singers including @sakurafumi and @metcochan!
  • HOT! Catch the ちぃむdmp☆ girls and some of their closest collaborators on 「物語乙女」, a radio/drama/music CD! Out at M3 10/30
  • Today's Tune: Since she's always losing her cellphone, @momobakobako wrote a song about it! ないないない ないないない なーいないな!
  • Holy crap, RAMM ain't messing around. 6 track Maxi "Freedom" out 12/21 Let's get @nomico_honey on these future songs!
  • 初音ミク fans this one's for you! @cametek is releasing a new CD 「mikUbiquity」 at M3-2011秋! Check out this great sampler!
  • The lovely @nanahira and @KokoroNet sing on 「ReFact Anthem」from LiLA'c Records, out at 東方紅楼夢7 (10/16) Powerful stuff!
  • More @nanahira? Ja! Catch her singing in a "grown-up" voice on 「moment -passing pleasures girls-」 out at 東方紅楼夢7 (10/16)
  • Dear @nayunow, your "Touhou Puyo" cover is AWESOME! Please sing on more albums OK? We love you!

Sunday 13 November 2011

10 days left until MOSAIC.WAV releases their best-of album 「AKIBA-POP√RECOLLECTION」


Are you feeling that post-M3 slump? Too much high-calorie denpa goodies will do that to your body. Well MOSAIC.WAV are about to wake us up big time, with the release of their first "best album" 「AKIBA-POP√RECOLLECTION」 due out November 23rd 2011 on Geneon Universal. This new collection will span material from the past 8 years, celebrating all of the eras equally. But if you already own all previous MOSAIC.WAV albums and singles, don't despair. Actually, you would be getting this best-of album either way, but the legendary AKIBA-POP duo are including 6 new songs, bringing the total to 28 tracks over 2 CDs for ¥3,300 (regular edition).

But wait! Preorder the limited edition at ¥4,725 and receive a reprint of the original MOSAIC.WAV single 「Magical Hacker☆くるくるリスク」, where it all started! み~こ did say this single had a special place in her heart, so it only makes sense to include the whole thing. The LE also includes a commemorative booklet (see this behind-the-scenes photoshoot report) and comes inside a wonderful collectible packaging. Here is the tracklist:

DISC-1 元気side / Delightful Deep Dempa-song
  1. We Love “AKIBA-POP"!!
  2. 奶小的姑娘(ない しゃお だ くーにゃん)
  3. Love Cheat!
  4. ようこそ!ヒミツの雀バラや!?
  5. めがねでねっ!
  6. 最強○×計画
  7. ガチャガチャきゅ~と・ふぃぎゅ@メイト
  8. ガチャガチャへるつ・ふぃぎゅ@ラジオ
  9. ぱんちゅありー
  10. 洗脳・搾取・虎の巻
  11. SPACE! WAVE! AKIBA-POP!!
  12. ✿ヨメ修業・Air Darlin' (New song)
  13. とどけ!イン・にゃあ・はーと(New song)
  14. Mon-ju☆Brains(New song)

DISC-2 電気side / Electric Emotional Engineering
  1. Magical Hacker ☆ くるくるリスク-Album Version-
  2. 電気の恋人 /* I am Programmer's Song */
  3. キミは何テラバイト?
  4. 魅惑のツンデロイド
  5. 百合星人ナオコサン
  6. 百合星式おゆうぎうた
  7. ギリギリ科学少女ふぉるしぃ
  8. ***にできるかな
  9. 片道きゃっちぼーる
  10. LOCAL JESUS
  11. AKIBA-POP the Future
  12. エクリプス eclipse(New song)(Video)
  13. 時空間超越 √ ライブラリィ(New song)(Video)
  14. Flyer(New song)
Notice that the two new videos were produced for the Electric Emotional Engineering disc, so it'll be interesting to compare with the new denpa songs! You have to admit that 「エクリプス eclipse」 sounds pretty mature, although not uncharacteristically so when compared to their other newer songs. However 「時空間超越 √ ライブラリィ」 just SCREAMS classic MOSAIC.WAV sound, no two ways about that! Here are the videos.



エクリプス eclipse



時空間超越 √ ライブラリィ

Sunday 6 November 2011

Dive into the future with でんぱ組.inc and their newest PV


Last time we checked in with the でんぱ組.inc girls, they were promoting the release of their July single 「ピコッピクッピカッて恋してよ」. We also found out they were the subject of an extensive art project conducted by collective Saizen00. But this was all in preparation of a much larger event: by the end of 2011, the denpa starlets will shine their brightest yet!

でんぱ組.inc fans must add three big events to their calendar:
  • November 16 2011: New single 「Future Diver」 which is a dream team collaboration featuring 畑亜貴 (lyrics), 小池雅也-兄い (composer) and crazy mofo 前山田健一 aka Hyadain (arranger)
  • December 14 2011: First full-length album 「ねぇきいて?宇宙を救うのは、きっとお寿司・・・ではなく、でんぱ組.inc!」 which includes 8 tracks total.
  • December 25 2011: First "one-man" X-mas concert, also final 跡部みぅ performance as she "graduates" from the quintet and the group continues as a quartet into 2012.
That last one is a pretty sad event, but these things never happen without a reason! On the other hand, a brand new album is quite the reason to celebrate for でんぱ組.inc fans. To hype things up, behold the splendid full-size video for 「Future Diver」!


The upcoming November single is pretty straight-forward, containing the title song in three different forms (regular, live mix and off-vocal). Doesn't seem like it includes the PV, but it is priced at ¥700. However, the December album is a much wilder beast: it comes in not one, not two, but THREE different versions.

The regular edition is priced at 2400円. Then the limited edition is 2800円 and also includes a DVD with the above video and some extra footage, as well as a trading card. Finally, the ULTRA-limited edition is priced at a steep 10000円 but includes a DearGirl photobook, a binder for trading cards, a notepad, a pen light, a hand towel and a pin badge! It comes delightfully packaged in the sushi box pictured on right.

Source: natalie.mu

Monday 24 October 2011

M3-2011秋: Zero-Shaft's 「My Voice」 and 「 まほロリっ!」

Just six months ago, hard-working douijn circle Zero-Shaft gave us two great albums in 「COVERST@GE」 and 「ちびロリっ!」. The former was a pretty cool anisong cover album, but the latter was a delightful collection of ロリ-style songs performed by some of our favourite singers out there (talking about ココ, ななひら, 桃箱 and more!) Better yet, both were listed at a ridiculously low 500¥. Well guess what, they're at it again!



That's right, Zero-Shaft are bringing two brand new full-length albums to M3-2011秋 and they're pricing them at 500¥ once again. First, let's take a look at 「My Voice」 which is the fourth entry in their THEiDOLST@GE series (the first one was downloadable). As the name implies, this is an idol-genre album with 9 original compositions that are usually a bit more "serious" in tone. However you still have extremely cute songs involving singers such as りこ。 and 愛原圭織. Most songs are individual efforts, but there is a pretty interesting quartet on track #8 「レンアイREVERSE」. The above PV gives a clear indication of just how exceptional this album should turn out to be.



While THEiDOLST@GE is clearly Zero-Shaft's flagship brand, their ロリっ! spin-off is clearly doing pretty well! The second installment is titled 「 まほロリっ!」 and is a 魔法少女-inspired album. Now here are some pretty mind-blowing facts about this album: a mere 500¥ will get you 14 tracks featuring 19 different vocalists! As if that wasn't unbelievable enough, we're talking about quality vocalists such as ななひら、なゆ、kana、ゆきまめ、ひななた、mega and many, MANY more! All of them got quality illustrations which range from lovely to kinky! This also includes SD characters from 大山チロル who also sings and regularly contributes artwork for ちぃむdmp☆ (what a talented lass). Let's not forget about the brave composers who wrote the songs, including しの、遥風 啓司、Yu and BBレモネード (from おでんぱ of course).

The bottom-line here is you're looking at 23 tracks for 1000¥ with 24 of the net's hottest singers, not to mention a great variety of earnest and downright silly music from up-and-coming composers. This thing's a no-brainer, get both! Those who buy the two albums at M3 will earn themselves unlimited praise from Zero-Shaft, as well as this cool reversible poster. Did we mention that 「 まほロリっ!」 ships in a white DVD case? WHITE! Sweet plastic ambrosia.

Sunday 16 October 2011

M3-2011秋: Second でんぱ☆スタジオ album 「ぴこみこ☆」


The Fall edition of M3-2011 is around the corner and as expected, a non-Touhou music event means a new おでんぱ☆スタジオ release! This time though, they're c-c-c-combo breaking their string of 4 single releases and going with a second album! 「ぴこみこ☆」 will have 5 new songs as well as the requisite でぱらじ segment. As if that wasn't exciting enough, how are we supposed to handle this news: とろ美 is doing guest vocals! Talk about a dream collaboration, check out a 1:50 sampler of the opening track:


Signature BB・Lemonade composition if there ever was one! Of course the とろ巫女ちゃん vocals are a perfect match for this song. As was the case in the past, the rest of the album will not necessarily reflect the "shrine maiden" theme set forth in the opening song. Note that a crossfade was not yet posted as of this article, however おでんぱ themselves just this morning previewed the album on their ニコニコ channel. It should be a matter of days, if not hours, before one's available for general consumption. Here is the full tracklist:
  1. ぴこみこ@オンライン~おでんぱ神社へようこそ~
  2. うれしょん゚・*:.。
  3. ぽにっとふぁいやー☆
  4. Girl Friend
  5. けもみみDANCE!~もーっちゅ!りみっくCHU☆~
  6. でぱらじ☆ふぃふす (radio show feat. とろ美)
What else, what else? The first 50 fans (although this may have been increased to 100?) to "preorder" the album will score a tin pin! Of course you'll need to pick up the album from the denpa unit itself at the M3 event in Tokyo on October 30th... or have someone pick it up for you! Otherwise, the new album (sans pin) should be available from fine stores such as あきばお~こく and とらのあな, just keep refreshing those links until it's up for grabs!

Monday 10 October 2011

PARANOIA PARADOX goes 電波 with 「ぱらのいあぱらどくちゅ」



Doujin circle PARANOIA PARADOX is usually known for its trance/electro/serious business "Re" Touhou arrange series, including titles such as 「RE;FLECTOR」, 「Re:alize」 and 「Re:sonance」. That's pretty cool, but dig in just a bit deeper and you'll uncover some interesting facts. First, 桜ふみ (SAKURA Fumi) is actually the lead vocalist for this circle! Recently she's popped up on a couple of KuKuDoDo compositions, so that's a good start. Next, a quick look at head producer いたちま also reveals a long history of Vocaloid compositions, including the occasional denpa song. So there's definitely a lot more than meets the eye with this circle.

However, for the release of their 6th album 『ぱらのいあぱらどくちゅ』, they are taking a page from circles such as HolicService/InnocentKey/Birdtune and will release a full-on denpa/moe album! This 180 degree turn also brings about a grand total of 10 guests, not the least of which is メトロポリちゃんV making her grand Touhou vocal debut! Yes, you read that right. Metro-motherfucking-Pori-chan, full-time nurse, goddess of underground trains, born in 1941. Don't say you don't know who she is, or she'll fucking beat the crap out of you!

Regardless of your opinion of this shock-jock-idol, her performance on 「てゐのデート大決戦脳内戦略会議室!!」 is flawless. From the short sample posted, she comes off joyous and ecstatic. It's a wonder this is her debut doujin song after being a part of the underground scene for such a long time. Has she performed various denpa songs under a different moniker or is she really just that good?!? Let's hope for more collaborations in the future!

The other songs on the sampler are just as catchy. Regular PP vocalist 桜ふみ takes care of the third track 「たぬきにおまかせ☆」 (the first being a splendid instrumental introduction). Her unique and commanding voice radiates maturity and experience... gotta love her vibrato! Never gets old OR annoying! Track 4 「Blooming moon」 is a heart-warming 萌え ditty from 佳織みちる , who also writes her own lyrics.

Yet another highlight of this new album is 「うぇるかむ・とぅざ・なずーりんりんらんど」 sung expertly by 愛空アキハ. Y'all know her from her various Conagusuri hits such as 「チルミルチルノ」 and 「カパネットにとり」 of course. Once again she demonstrates her passion for the genre and delivers an intense performance. This is followed right away with another high-tension track 「アリアケ幻想」, this time from 田川まゆみ. The album ends lightly with another cute little moe song 「猫娘☆ぱらだい☆CHU♪」

As with all of their past releases, PARANOIA PARADOX have turned to 雪月佳 for the album artwork. The interesting connection here is that 雪月佳 also provided the illustration for the recent ななひら UTAU album 『なないずむ!』. Just one more element in making sure this becomes a memorable Touhou Denpa albums... since most of them are, so it's a tough crowd! The album comes out October 17th during the 7th 東方紅楼夢 event, but you can also preorder from Akibaoo.

Sunday 2 October 2011

Twitter Cluster: Best of September 2011

For better or for worse, our twitter account @denpanosekai has taken over this site for bleeding-edge denpa news delivery. Various factors are at play, but suffice to say those who use both Blogger and Twitter will agree the latter has a much snappier interface than the former. It's also pretty cool to connect with various Japanese artists, who never cease to be amazed some lowly foreigners would have any interest in their godly music. Finally, Mandi is behind a fair amount of the twitter posts while I, "denpanosekai" am in charge of blog stories, so it's a good way to share the workload.

That said, as an engineer I don't really trust twitter's ability to save messages forever and I don't appreciate how "old" tweets quickly get buried under new ones. For posterity, we will now be archiving tweets on a monthly basis. Although we have a very nice amount of twitter readers (let's go for 500!) this blog still drives a heck of a lot of traffic thanks to search engines (lots and lots of folks searching for denpa music torrents... and other weird things). At the very least, this will force us to have at least one post per month!

Note: format may change from month to month until we figure out a good way to do this.



September 3rd 2011

September 5th 2011

September 8th 2011

September 9th 2011

Sunday 11 September 2011

Seventh Holic Service album 『二度づけ禁止塾!』 out today


A mere month ago, we were reporting on Birdtune's long-awaited return to form with the release of their new C80 album 『東方ピコピコ祭り』. Well Lord KuKuDoDo hasn't forgotten about his other label Holic Service either, although no one could predict the wait would be so short! Introducing 『二度づけ禁止塾!』, the seventh touhou denpa arrange album in a long line of acclaimed releases. Unlike pre-2011 Holic Service albums which saw guest composers such as 未来派 and t+pazolite, this one is 100% arranged by KuKuDoDo... the man is on fire! Here's the crossfade sampler and tracklist.

TrackTitleVocalsOriginal
01答え)マリアリ ←正解 小宮真央恋色マスタースパーク
02Bad DENPA Apple!!(実在する団体名とは一切関係ありません)実谷ななBad Apple!!
03片翼のアドベントチルノレンGumiおてんば恋娘
04この曲はβ時代の提供でお送りしました。小岩井ゆづきサニーミルクの紅霧変異
05あの日見た巫女の名前を僕たちはまだ知らない。桜ふみ神々が恋した幻想郷
06東方新奇(どうして僕はゆとりになってしまったんだろう でも君が選んだのはTAOの道)Gumiリジットパラダイス
07幽谷ラップ!おはよーごじゃいます!Chia門前の妖怪小娘

Quite a lot of interesting facts on this tracklist, so let's get down to it. You'll notice most of the songs have really long titles, there's definitely a lot of humor involved. The first track features 小宮真央 doing vocals in a range that's slightly surprising for such a light-hearted song, but still very fitting. Then we have 実谷なな doing "Bad DENPA Apple!!" with her trademark range, over a dark yet groovy arrange that stands its own in a sea of remakes. Next is a brutal re-imagining of おてんば恋娘 that features heavily distorted guitar and powerful drums, something which isn't traditionally associated with KuKuDoDo! Definitely an experimental track that ends up sounding pretty good, not to mention Gumi made sure to go with an appropriate singing pitch.

Track 4 goes back to wild denpa style with 小岩井ゆづき going crazy over an equally insane remix. Definitely seems like a highlight of the album based on the short sampler! But then 桜ふみ kicks in with her splendid voice. You can easily tell this girl has lots and lots of experience in the 'biz, it's good to see her and KuKuDoDo seem to be on good terms! Gumi then gets another slower track, although this one feels a lot deeper and upbeat than you'd expect. Finally, Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia brings the album to an end with a wacky rap on what feels like the most turbo-charged denpa anthem of the album. Great way to wrap up this party!


Another point of interest is the superb cover designed by 朱シオ, which features Cirno going commando with a mere ice shard conveniently getting in the way of a full pantyless upskirt... from a distance it definitely looks like... something else. Definitely going to attract lots of attention! This is a good thing!!! Overall this is definitely a worthy Holic Service album and it's good to see that KuKuDoDo manages to try new things while understanding exactly what his fans expect from him. It's not part of the "エネルギー冷麺" series, which sorely needs a revival after 2 years... but we're keeping our fingers crossed for C81!

For now, you can purchase 『二度づけ禁止塾!』 from the following websites (we recommend www.dv8cag.com for international shipping)

  1. Akibaoo
  2. Toranoana
  3. D-STAGE

Friday 2 September 2011

First major album for さつき が てんこもり 「ニコ生モラルハザード」


Our good buddy さつき が てんこもり (Satsuki ga Tenkomori) had a big hit on his hands when he wrote one the of ED themes for last years's blockbuster anime 「俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない」. In our exclusive interview, he revealed he had plans for more major endeavours in the future. The proverbial cat came out of the bag a couple weeks ago when his first major album was announced for release by Dwango Music Entertainment!

ニコ生モラルハザード」 is set for September 7th 2011 and will include 10 tracks (all originals, some Nico favourites). If you've been following Satsuki for the past couple years, then you should know exactly what to expect. His distinct style can be described as hyperactive electro-pop with buzzing bass and groovy rhythm patterns. This album raises the bar with refined production and attention to details. The "denpa" moniker definitely fits the bill but if you won't take our word for it, publisher Dwango calls him a "電波系アーティスト" (denpa-kei artist).



As you likely noticed, all songs feature female vocals. Although he is a skilled vocaloid "manipulator", Satsuki's songs really come to life when sung by genuine, lovely 3D ladies. Normally he would team up with ななひら, kana or many other doujin vocalists, but this time Dwango paired him up with three equally proficient Niconico users. First we have the "bad girl" Hamar, who is actually a big fan of old Squaresoft games. She has a bit of a rougher voice, but can pull off some cute tones.

Next is ゆづか姫, who dresses as a maid and just loves those Bull Terriers (Don Cherry's dog Blue). More cute stuff from her, with a bit of a bossy attitude since she's a tutor. Last but not least is みかりん* who is 200% cute and delivers splendid upbeat performances. Their complete profiles can be found on the official website, so make sure you get to know them!

Additionally, take a look at this promotional video featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes footage! There's even a sneak peek at the "photo set" which will be included with first press copies. Looks like everyone had a great time recording this album!



Here is the final tracklist. All songs were composed by Satsuki, but tracks 5 and 6 were co-arranged with y0c1e and かめりあ respectively (very cool inclusion). Each girl gets to sing three songs, with the tenth being a group collaboration!
  1. わこつ de 曼荼羅ビア ~小学生になりたい~ 【みかりん*】
  2. Romance of rose 【Hamar】
  3. UniUni♥SunSun 【ゆづか姫】
  4. 団体一名True my voice! 【みかりん*】
  5. 魔法変身!顔面ランドスケープ 【Hamar】
  6. 契約と首輪、絶対の服従。 【ゆづか姫】
  7. 男の娘メモラブル 【みかりん*】
  8. ネトゲ廃人シュプレヒコール 【Hamar】
  9. お断りします 【ゆづか姫】
  10. レッツら破壊工作 【生娘モラルハザード】
Wanna support さつき が てんこもり and this site at the same time? Buy your copy through the following link. They might still have some first press copies if you act fast enough!

Nico Nama Moral Hazard / HAMER/Yuzuka Hime/Mikarin* feat. Satsuki ga Tenkomori
HAMER/Yuzuka Hime/Mikarin* feat. Satsuki ga Tenkomori

Tuesday 16 August 2011

C80: IOSYS, Albatrosicks, Forest Pireo, Innocent Key +more!

Try as we may, we just couldn't write the following previews in time for C80, choosing instead to focus on the brand new hotness that you just had to know about. That's not to say this "best of the rest" list isn't worth your time, hell no. Anything that gets mentioned on this website is gold! *ahem* Besides, any of these CDs can be ordered from stores like とらのあな for a slight premium... while quantities last! Before we go on, here are the albums we previously covered:







Did you really think IOSYS wouldn't have their 18th Touhou album launching at C80? Course not, that's their bread & butter. Are you surprised that it's a fairly even mix of denpa, pop, rock and drama? Well, even under the motto "no denpa, no life" they strayed a bit... gotta keep everyone happy. However, who out there expected that one day we'd find とろ美, REDALiCE and ビートまり on the same album? Well now, that is a nice surprise! Credit must be given to IOSYS for always finding a way to set themselves apart one way or another.

The first three tracks from 『東方プレシャス流星少女』 deserve a closer look. The album opens strong with とろ美 singing hilarious 夕野ヨシミ lyrics over a turbo-charged punk-as-fuck anthem from minami. We knew Toromi could be versatile, but this is just beyond expectations! This trio should seriously consider spawning a new unit. Next we have ARM and ビートまり teaming up for a brutal hot-blooded Byakuren parody (see video below). Actually the dream pair has worked together in the past but this high-profile, "marquee" kind of song is generating quite a lot of buzz!



Our third examination sees REDALiCE serve up one of his classic hardcore concoctions with a long and slow buildup towards an explosive climax. TANO*C and IOSYS are definitely not strangers, nor is this REDALiCE's first IOSYS track (notably "Taboo Tears You Up"). It's just really nice to have these three artists on the same disc. Most of the other tracks also make for fantastic ear candy, but we'll leave that exercise to the reader. There's a strong chance you'll get the same feeling listening to this album that you did listening to 2007's 『東方萃翠酒酔』 and that means a lot to some fans!





Despite all these hot guests, notice someone conspicuously absent from the latest IOSYS album? That's right, miko didn't participate because she was so god damn busy preparing for a new ALBATROSICKS album! 『AERAS』 marks the seventh effort from the longest-running IOSYS offshoot. As always, it consists of sweet glittering picopico pop with Dr.ARM's ever-present denpa style deeply permeating all tracks. The mood swings on this new one are quite extreme, going from melancholy to ecstasy in the blink of an eye. No doubt about it, the supergroup hasn't lost its mojo... now where is the flash movie for this album?!



All samples available on website
Believe it or not, Forest Pireo is now offering its 14th album. The impressive part is they only started in June 2008... so that's an average of 4.666 albums a year! That's one of the advantages doujin circles get from cooperating with various freelance composers, they can pump a lot more things out the door and keep the fans hooked until the next big event. And when some of your regular collaborators include さつきがてんこもり, kana, ななひら and ココ... we sure won't complain about this high turnover rate!

Sing Summer Song」 can be fully analyzed just by looking at its title. It's happy-snappy and makes you want to go out for a pleasant walk under the sun, by the river (preferably accompanied by ななひら). Of course this being a Touhou arrange album, different folks will get different levels of enjoyment from different songs, but there's no denying that this site's readers will most likely get a kick out of tracks 1, 5, 6 (未来派!!!) and 7. That's a good 40% right there, and the rest is absolutely nothing to scoff at. There are some prime performances by まめこ, めらみぽっぷ and 実谷なな, the latter two can also be heard on the latest Birdtune CD 『東方ピコピコ祭り』.



All samples available on website
We quite enjoyed Innocent Key's 例大祭8 album 『東方スクール』 since it had a high concentration of denpa songs and some of the best ココ performances to this day. Their C80 album 『東方スクール』 is a bit more in keeping with their regular style, which is to say high-tension pop, some softer stuff and even a bit of prog rock thanks to デッドボールP. For you see, Innocent Key is giving the Touhou girls an Idol CD, so they must test their various skills! The album's PV is based on the the song 「東方プロデューサー ~ミセパンアイドル大作戦~」 and features 5 vocals: めらみぽっぷ, 大瀬良あい, Nimo, ココ, 梨本悠里 and 岩杉夏!




Our last recommendation would be 「Sweet Blue」 from そよかぜのおと with some pretty cool 萌え-esque songs from ななひら, ひななた and a great song from がきコ whom we think has a bright future!

That's it for our C80 coverage. There's still a bunch of other albums in our "denpa watchlist" and we're pretty sure we missed out on a couple ones! Otherwise there are a couple of REALLY exciting albums coming out in September, stay tuned for coverage on new albums from さつきがてんこもり and U!

Thursday 11 August 2011

C80: Celebrate KuKuDoDo with Birdtune's 『東方ピコピコ祭り』


It's been 1.5 years since the last Touhou arrange release from Birdtune and frankly, we were getting a little worried. Although the circle is relatively young having started in 2008, they've built an impressive legacy of fantastic albums (both original and touhou arrange) and frequent live appearances. But they've lost a bit of steam since their main vocalist みりん☆ "graduated" (read: hasn't done much since) shortly after the release of her May 2010 album 『アタラセカイ』. Since Birdtune is highly-regarded by denpa fans worldwide thanks to multiple creative albums, it would have been a shame for them to bite the dust so suddenly.

No way... do you think Lord KuKuDoDo would give up this easily? Enter their new in-house vocalist: nanano. Not much is known about the mysterious new singer, other than a couple posts on her blog and a hell of a debut! Actually she was also on HolicService's 『ニヒリズム!」 in May 2011 but let's not mix things up. She is officially attached to Birdtune and as you can see from the tracklist below, she's also very much in charge of lyrics. Otherwise she's also taking care of the new website and hopefully she'll be keeping KuKuDoDo's ass in gear to make sure he focuses on creating more albums!

Which brings us to 『東方ピコピコ祭り』, a full-on KuKuDoDo effort! His sharp, unique and refreshing style can be found on every single track, which almost turns this into a concept album compared to the previous compilations. As expected, there's a large percentage of straight-up denpa and ピコピコ songs, which this author would like to think is due to a personal request during our last meeting (hah!) Of course KuKuDoDo's requisite NewWave touch can be felt everywhere, since he's such a big fan of early eighties Synth Pop bands... but we already discussed all of his influences in the past!

Here's the awesome crossfade video, followed by the album tracklist. Feel free to download the MP3 as well. Please note that all instrumental tracks are included on the CD! A second promo video for the song 「小町ちゃんの超すごい三途の川ツアー」 (featuring nanano on vocals) should be uploaded just after Comiket 80.


Track Title Vocals Arranger Lyrics Original
01 もうパソコンしかいらない人の歌 小岩井ゆづき KuKuDoDo nanano もう歌しか聞こえない ~ Flower Mix
02 小町ちゃんの超すごい三途の川ツアー nanano KuKuDoDo nanano 彼岸帰航 ~ Riverside View
03 残っているほうの記憶の話 めらみぽっぷ KuKuDoDo KuKuDoDo 六十年目の東方裁判 ~ Fate of Sixty Years
04 秋葉原での日常 実谷なな KuKuDoDo Gumi 春色小径 ~ Colorful Path
05 魂魄妖夢のみょんみょん異変バスターズ☆ 小宮真央 KuKuDoDo Gumi 東方妖々夢 ~ Ancient Temple
06 食物どっきゅんアレルギー 桜ふみ KuKuDoDo nanano 幽霊楽団 ~ Phantom Ensemble
07 楽しいブラッディ夏祭り!! nanano KuKuDoDo nanano お宇佐さまの素い幡

How awesome is 桜ふみ singing on a Birdtune album eh? This collaboration is likely due to KuKuDoDo having composed a song on her second album 『』 back in October 2010. You might have heard 小岩井ゆづき on some of 2-Dimension's CDs, but still... WOW give us MORE! 小宮真央 is also a great fit for any Birdtune/Holic Service album, always good to hear her sweet little voice. Too bad Gumi didn't get to sing, although she did write some cool lyrics (especially 「秋葉原での日常」) Of course all the girls performed admirably but overall, we're extremely excited about nanano joining Birdtune and can't wait to see what's next!

C80: ユウノウミ, beatlogic & 天然ジェミニ have かめりあ in common

Although some of his songs were briefly mentioned in the past, consider this article a proper introduction to the work of かめりあ (aka cametek). He seems to have been active for a couple of years, with two 初音ミク albums self-produced within the past 10 months. The first one 『ハニージンジャーエール』 came out in late 2010, while 『TRIPPERS』 was released recently in May 2011. Sampling both albums as well as his nicovideo and soundcloud accounts should convince you of his various skills: drum and bass, dubstep, techno, trance, 8bit and even eurobeat!

But of course... this guy can also do denpa songs! He's pretty tight with our good buddy さつきがてんこもり, in fact they're collaborating on the debut major album 『ニコ生モラルハザード』 (more on that after C80). Earlier this year, the pair also tag-teamed the song 「恋色マジカルフライト」 on ForestPireo's 『Party Poche』. Finally, he's had multiple tracks on most of the fine CDs from Guunone Sounds. Now as luck would have it, cametek is featured on four Comiket 80 albums that we were already planning to cover and since his contributions are such standout tracks, he definitely earned today's spotlight!


First off, we have the ridiculously awesome 『シュミックトリガ! -New wave of A-POP-』 from the brand new circle beatlogic. What a great way to kick it into high gear right out of the gate! Tons of big cannons shooting loosely on this one, just check out this tracklist!
  1. 寝ル娘は育つ / MAX VEGETABLE
  2. 続々☆熱中症っ! / ボークP(azuma)
  3. 夏休みYummy / さつき が てんこもり
  4. 48 / デッドボールP
  5. ソーサラー98 ~ The end of the known story / ぶっちぎりP
  6. MoFmOf Days! / かめりあ
  7. 通称!デンパリ娘 / cello
  8. 恋人サンディは明後日笑う / 盛るP
  9. マスシス / ふなむし
  10. HOME MADE HERO / Phasma
That's right, Satsuki's on here, DeadballP too. And even if the other names aren't as familiar to you (yet), just give them a shot! This is a surprisingly high-quality 初音ミク/電波ソング/A-POP compilation that honestly feels long overdue, unless you count 『HeartsNative』 by MOSAIC.WAV. Difference here is that this is still within the doujin realm and some of these songs are batshit insane! The ぶっちぎりP and cello tracks in particular... man!
Next up is 『俺のチルノがこんなに天才なわけがない』 from ユウノウミ, also known as 夕野ヨシミ, aka the in-house IOSYS lyrical mistress (of doom). This is her fifth Touhou arrange album and much like the previous ones, there's a good mix of bonkers and softer songs (if you're into that). We're big fans of 未来派 and he's been on this series since the second album, so it's always good to get our fix. But the big news here is the fabulous opening track 「恋のパーフェクト微分方程式」 composed by かめりあ and performed by 山本椛 (momiji). It sounds like something ARM would come up with and that's probably the biggest compliment for an up-and-coming denpa composer these days. There's also a bit of eurobeat flavour which makes this track even more interesting.



天然ジェミニ is yet another IOSYS offshoot but we've covered them countless times in the past, so you know they're good! This time, they have two brand new albums for C80 and guess what? かめりあ is on both of them! Actually, he has two contributions on the "primary" release 『東方オールナイト幻想郷』 including opening track duties once again. He did work with them on 『東方マジカル☆コミカル』 so that explains his presence. Another repeat composer is Irus who brings in a harder edge, but he once worked with ななひら so he gets our eternal support!

What sets 『東方多目的多世界』 apart is that it's a 神波千尋-only album. Part of what makes 天然ジェミニ special is the constant exchange between the two girls and their frequent guests, yet this actually works better than you'd expect. Once again there's a good mix of denpa, rock, jazz and pop, so there's absolutely no reason fans of the duo would pass up this solo effort!

This concludes today's spotlight on かめりあ! These tracks are pretty impressive and definitely catchy, so we'll be keeping an eye on his future endeavours. We do have one more big article lined up before C80 hits this weekend so stay tuned! Remember to check out our Twitter feed @denpanosekai for the absolute bleeding edge news reports!

Monday 8 August 2011

C80: Double your t+pazolite dose with C.H.S and ACT injections


For the past couple years, C.H.S (t+pazolite's circle) was pretty diligent in releasing new material at events like Comiket and even M3, so it wasn't a big surprise when 「Samplejunk」 was announced for  C80! In fact, we were kinda anticipating something new coming out, so here we are with the 10th official release in a long line of really cool and mostly fucked up albums.

As usual, this is a Touhou arrange album that doesn't really sound like one, unless you are a diehard fan of the original soundtrack and can pinpoint every little nuanced similitude. The rest of us will just blissfully listen to the album, especially due to quality vocal appearances from リズナ, ランコ (豚乙女) and Ayu/Coda (ACT) . At this point we're kinda hoping the next album will be a full-vocal follow-up to C78's brilliant 「Honey I Scream!」but in the meantime this'll do nicely!



And now for something which, in theory, would be a lot like t+pazolite's "regular" stuff but ended up sounding a bit differently. When we introduced ACT back in December 2010, it seemed obvious that his fans would automatically jump ship and follow him, Coda and Ayu on this new adventure. As good as their new album 「First Aid Navigation」 does sound, it's a lot softer and slower than we expected! Topazo's unique style is still heavily palpable, but this won't be for everyone...

The album features eight brand new tracks, including an intro and outro which the trio performs by itself. Then we have three tracks where patients come in with their problems, which in turn generates three "examination" collaboration tracks. At least, that's what the concept feels like. One of these patients is the lovely ゆきまめ, which is definitely an highlight of the album! Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how well this album resonates with the ACT fans. If you enjoyed brutalizing your ears with 「5分でわかるこれまでのACT」 then you might have to wait until their next offering to get your fix...

Sunday 7 August 2011

C80: Count on doubleeleven UpperCut releasing a new album


Make no mistake, it was clear as crystal that doubleeleven UpperCut (deUC) were going to release a third album at C80. After all, they're releasing new songs on a monthly basis and not a single one of them went unpublished so far. But you could also deduct quite a while ago that their next album would be called either 『NUMBERS!! -Do you like Upper Cut?? 3!!-』 or "MATH101 for sex-deprived otaku NEETs". Let's just say they went with the sensible option.

You see, the second album had "colour" for a theme, and all songs were titled accordingly. Yes, there was a yellow song, but luckily nothing of the brown variety, thank Based God. All songs released since then have included numbers in their titles so that kind of gave away the theme sometime ago. Still, we're not sure how the last two song titles qualify. Maybe the first one is some sort of far-fetched binary joke but 「boys, be "stand up"!」 is anyone's guess! Oh! Maybe it's a reference to random seeds. Here's said tracklist, complete with NSFW links to the games they're from:

Tr01. 十戒! ~草食系男子、反逆の狼煙~
Tr02. 百・鬼・夜・行 ~道を違えた妖の恋物語~
Tr03. ズット一緒ニ ~病的恋愛中毒症候群~
Tr04. セブンス・ヘブン ~英雄好色冒険譚~
Tr05. two of us ~姉さん、それは事件です~
Tr06. love me, Mr.Insert
Tr07. boys, be "stand up"!!


If you want to pick up the CD and meet 山下航生 (composer) and akari (singer) in person, just go to Comiket 80 at table イ-18b. Speaking from experience, they are thrilled to meet their fans and even speak a bit of English!

Wednesday 3 August 2011

C80: New MOSAIC.WAV single 「Hな国の教育事情」 ups the H


MOSAIC.WAV songs have long been associated to erotic OP movies, but now they're about to break the fourth wall by basing their upcoming C80-exclusive single around the H word itself. Of course the lyrics found on 「Hな国の教育事情」 are quite cute, actually none of their songs ever contained subject matters as "offensive" as the videos they were accompanying. Well, there's always that "semen security" song (eyebrow-raising to say the least), but that's the exception rather than the norm...

Regardless, anything new MOSAIC.WAV is cause for celebration! Other than the rather enchanting H-driven title song, there's also some fairly traditional stuff that will definitely please long-time fans. Thematically and melodically, 「量子コンピュータガール」 feels like it was plucked straight out of 2006's Space Akiba-Pop, augmented with Kayapi's modern production values. 「Cry for the moon」 on the other hand... may seem like a soft little ditty if you go by the title, but don't be fooled! It's actually one of their most aggressive compositions in a while, as it shares a lot more in common with their うじゅ songs than, say, (the very respectable) GAMER'S ACTRESS.

This is turning out to be one of the nicest surprises of C80 so far... make sure you check out these new songs!

Monday 1 August 2011

C80: Second ちぃむdmp☆ album 「電波LOVE~でんぱあいす~」


A mere 8 months ago during C79, budding niconico starlets 桃箱 and 愛原圭織 united as ちぃむdmp☆ and their gift to the world was 「電波っぽいのっ!」, a 12-track debut CD that took the world of denpa by storm. The album was impeccable and easily earned a spot on our coveted 2010 Denpa Sampler, not to mention lifelong coverage and unlimited adulation. Swanky!

Regardless of past achievements, the girls are restless in their quest for excellence and so here we are with a brand new follow-up album titled 「電波LOVE~でんぱあいす~」. Most of the original staff returns, with a couple new names to spin things around. Our buddy さつきがてんこもり was tasked with creating the opening song and he certainly brought the goods to port! Behold, the PV for 「電波LOVE~でんぱあいす~」!!! (Choreography: 旦那D)


As if this summer couldn't get any hotter, whew! All eleven tracks can be sampled on the official website, so make sure to check them out. Lots of fast and powerful love songs, denpa-style! If you can't pick it up at C80 (and won't consider JSAS), there's always Toranoana through a courier. Act fast... the first album sold out rather quickly and won't be reprinted!

Saturday 23 July 2011

C80: Lolimoe all-stars assemble for 『プチリズムさん!』


Third time's a charm? WRONG. In this case, all of the プチリズム albums have been exceptional and circle ポヤッチオ (overlord かたほとり) is looking to keep the winning streak alive. We've reported on the fantastic second volume 『プチリズムCHU』 late last year, but unfortunately the first one saw a very limited release and can't be purchased anymore. But what's so hot about this compilation series? A quick look at the artists featured on the third volume 『プチリズムさん!』should answer that question right away!

VOCAL
愛原圭織
鹿乃
ココ
転少女
内緒妹
ななひら
ひなうさ
桃箱
ゆきまめ

MUSIC
かたほとり
きくお
さつき が てんこもり
nana(sevencolors)
まぞっぷ
U-ske
ラマーズP



Is this a star-studded lineup or what? A crossfade demo was just released, so sink your teeth into THIS:


Want MOAR do ya? Producer U-Ske himself uploaded a full version of his fantastic contribution 「あいろにーっ!」 which features 愛原圭織 on vocals. Shiny!


In related mind-blowing news, かたほとり announced that his circle will share the table 東Z-24ab with ちぃむdmp... who will be selling their new album! More details to come. Oh and ななひら will be there too, lovingly giving you CDs as you purchase them with a drooling face! Don't creep her out now!!!