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