Saturday 29 December 2012

C83: Zero-Shaft, おでんぱ☆スタジオ, 第二生徒会室, 木下いちご

Unless something major is announced, this will likely be our final C83 coverage, as well as last post of the year! Wish we could have promoted Birdtune's new nanano album, but KuKuDoDo is always so last-minute when it comes to web updates. Make sure to follow us on twitter for tons of bite-sized newsflash, but you can also check out clix's shopping list for a second opinion.



Zero-Shaft's new Princess Vocal Collection series launched just this past October 2012, but it must be off to a good start since they're adding two new entries this C83! The fourth volume features りこ。 while the fifth is all about 大山チロル. りこ。 (don't drop the dot!) is a regular Zero-Shaft vocalist who's also a part of Plissh and has been making the rounds lately, including two notable appearances on Holic Service's C82 album.

大山チロル on the other hand has been on a couple Zero-Shaft albums, but is mostly known for her roles on KATIMOTTY drama albums alongside the ちぃむdmp☆ girls (whom she often provides illustrations for). She also happens to have impressive adult game work sheet. Truly multi-talented! Both albums include an original song, a drama track and a cover song (「オハヨウ」 and 「ルーレット☆ルーレット」 respectively).



おロリ... I mean おでんぱ☆スタジオ is back with an eighth single 「おでんぱ☆幼女合唱」. The theme is loli (what else?) but this time with a bit of a holy spin. Guest vocalist 安倍ようこ is back for a second tour of duty, this time as part of the Loli Choir Girls on the first track 「ぐろりあ♪」 Ave Lolia! The second track 「ロリロリ詐欺にご用心!」 has slap bass, piano and a nice fast pace overall. ひろて~ and ベイビー・レモネード keep upgrading their skills song after song, this single is a great example too!



Gotta admit that 「Sweet Girl Avenue」 really took me by surprise! Circle's name is 第二生徒会室 and main composer/producer is あーたん, two names you probably haven't heard of until today. In fact, あーたん and main vocalist 彩 have released a few singles since late 2011, but this album compiles some of these older songs, along with a few new ones and a nice J-Core remix from K_Pst. But guess what? なゆ makes a surprise appearance on 「はっぴぃ☆らぶみぃ☆えぶりでぃ♪」 which seals the deal as far as I'm concerned. For a debut album, it sure scores a lot of points thanks to its great pace, cute vocals and colourful art. Keep going like this!



I recently found out about 木下いちご when I came across her impressive rendition of Lady ななひら's 「爆発!ラブパニック」, after which I began stalking following her every move. 「MoonLight Parade」 is a great debut single, featuring 2 new original tracks including the aptly titled 「いちご電波」. She seems to be actively soliciting voice work, so I wouldn't be surprised to see her pop up on a couple albums at the next M3 and Comiket events.

Something else worth keeping an eye on is CHUCHUろりぷりんせす, a unit she formed with her friend 柘紅実. At this point it's not clear if this is a fully musical project or if some sort of game is involved, nor do they provide any kind of release date. One thing for sure if they definitely got the characters and cute artwork figured out. We'll just have to wait and see!

Friday 28 December 2012

C83: First MilliRobo.beta mini-album 『ミニロボベータ!』


MilliRobo.beta is a rather new unit featuring マリネ on vocals and 園山モル (aka 盛るP) as composer. They'll be releasing their first mini-album 「ミニロボベータ!」 at Comiket 83, but in fact they've been together since early 2011. At least three of these songs have already been released online, including 「家想要塞メルヘン」 featured below and 「恋人サンディは明後日笑う」 which was featured on beatlogic's splendid (and deeply underrated) C80 album 「シュミックトリガ! -New wave of A-POP-」.

So it took them two years to put out these 5 songs on disc, but Rome wasn't built in a day. This is outstanding high-quality denpa that is both charmingly aggressive and strangely comfortable. These songs are bound to surprise you at every turn and twist, yet fans of MOSAIC.WAV should feel right at home with this album. On the other hand, this is a bit more chaotic and experimental than most of what's being released these days, so make sure you hit that crossfade with an open mind if you're new in town.

If anything, it's just refreshing to see 盛るP back in business after nearly a year and a half of silence. His first album 『ミクウェーブ!』 (which I'm still trying to get my hands on) was released in June 2011 and his blog hadn't been updated since. I'm also quite fond of 初音ミク artists "crossing" the gap and going with real female vocals, this feels like an evolution to me and others I've discussed this subject with. Hopefully this debut mini-album gets decent support from fans of the genre, because I'd love to see what they can do with a full album!

Sunday 23 December 2012

C83: First 塩りんご single 「こい☆まほ ~恋する魔法少女~」



It's always exciting to receive new albums from existing artists we know and love, but there's nothing like the thrill to discover new ones and being able to support them from the start! Introducing 塩りんご who will be releasing her first single 『こい☆まほ ~恋する魔法少女~』 at Comiket 83 on December 31st 2012. The main inspiration for this budding idol is good ol' "two-dimensional magical girls". Certainly the three available samples give off a joyful vibe, with 「ここわんこU・ω・U」 being particularly heartful. Here's the title track, but make sure to listen to the others!




Things get really interesting when you start digging up a bit more dirt about 塩りんご and her composer 茶柱工房. First of all, she has been performing with the ももいろクローバー copy unit めろめろクローバー for some time (but I'm not sure if she quit to focus on her own career). That's already a telltale sign that this girl knows what's up. She's the "yellow" cutie with pigtails and you can find quite a few live performances online. So, she can also dance quite well and she's not afraid of a crowd! She also has a strong fashion sense, having started her own clothing company ウサギノリンゴ in 2010.

As for 茶柱工房, prior to this single he composed an original "club sound" album 『Be Happy!!』 which was released at M3-2012秋. It sounds like something that would be recommended for fans of t+pazolite and P*Light (honestly I'd like to get my hands on it myself). "Tindharia" almost feels like it belongs in a Cave STG! It's always cool to see hardcore producers bridging the gap with denpa/idol artists, for those of us who prefer a bit more bite with their music.

Clearly this is a strong duo and I'll be supporting them by purchasing the first single! It's not clear if they're after commercial or doujin activities primarily, but I wouldn't hate seeing her sing on a Zero-Shaft album or something like that down the line. On the other hand, this first single is being distributed at the おでんぱ☆スタジオ C83 booth, and she has been performing at 電波はっ☆キュン so it's pretty obvious which fanbase they're after. Let's just hope this isn't the first and last time we hear about 塩りんご!

Friday 21 December 2012

C83: First SHAKING PINK album 「しぇいきんぐ!」


SHAKING PINK caused major vibrations back in August 2012 with their first single, so a new album four months later is bound to wobble the doujin world with some serious tremors. Introducing 「しぇいきんぐ!」, the hottest must-get C83 item which we'll remember fondly for years to come. Our Goddesses ナナ, ココ and モモ are back with their intentions to invade hearts and brains worldwide through mischivious and infectious songs, with help from talented composers and skilled lyricists. Here's the tracklist and credits:

  1. らららら☆ラブなミステリー
    Vocals: ココ&ナナ&モモ, Lyrics/Composer: y0c1e
  2. なんでやねん!(voice drama)
  3. 早速ですがSHAKING PINKはインベーダーだったようです
    Vocals: ココ&ナナ&モモ, Lyrics/Composer: かめりあ
  4. 絶対的!夢はSUPERアイドル
    Vocals: ナナ, Lyrics: 海兎, Composer: すみじゅん
  5. 恋のレスキュー出動なう!!
    Vocals: ココ&モモ, Lyrics: kani, Composer: U-ji aka 霊長類P
  6. 合法ロリ二名から告白されたのでどっちか嫁にする
    Vocals: ココ&ナナ, Lyrics/Composer: きくお
  7. 恋はももいろ
    Vocals: モモ, Lyrics: ひろて~, Composer: ベイビー・レモネード
  8. おひめさまだっこしてネ♪しぇいぴみっくす
    Vocals: ココ&ナナ&モモ, Lyrics/Composer: かたほとり
  9. うるさ~い!!(voice drama)
  10. おとな記念日
    Vocals: ココ, Lyrics/Composer: かたほとり
  11. ストロベリィ☆イグニッション
    Vocals: ナナ&モモ, Lyrics: 後方一気, Composer: task
  12. Honey Bunny My Love
    Vocals: ココ&ナナ&モモ, Lyrics: 海兎, Composer: nana(sevencolors)

Quite a few things to note: y0c1e got the first track and pumped out an appropriately sparkling tune to prepare listeners to an aural experience. His buddy Child Prodigy かめりあ goes second; we've heard this one earlier this year, but it still sounds fresh and crispy! See below for a related PV. Then ナナ goes it alone with long-time collaborator すみじゅん; this eurobeat flavoured song might bring in a couple of HALOZY fans! U-ji aka 霊長類P is a prolific VOCALOID composer whose creations also sound great when performed by ココ&モモ.

Good Guy きくお comes next with his distinctive shiny style and just enough drum'n'bass to send your body in a fizzy. You'll then instantly recognize ベイビー・レモネード with his unmistakable groove, this time with extra backbeat. Pretty cool to see him and his buddy ひろて~ making the rounds. Master かたほとり strikes twice with his heavy Megadrive bass, flashy synths and peppy beats. task and nana(sevencolors) gracefully end the album with similar pop-flavoured tracks to cool things down.



The two "voice dramas" are just icing on the cake and will surely contain hilarious scenes over some sweet BGM. The saying "too much of a good thing" doesn't apply here. This is pure musical chocolate for us to gorge on, the only side-effect being that other albums will sound quite bland in comparison. In fact, this one will be very, very hard to top. Can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for SHAKING PINK... ナナ, ココ and モモ lovers, unite!

Tuesday 18 December 2012

C83: ななひら second mini-album 「KEMOLOVE♥」


Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the C83 circus! First out of the gates is none other than Lady Nanahira with her second self-produced mini-album 「KEMOLOVE♥」 out on December 31st 2012 (the first one being C82's voice-bending 「ななみっくす!-nanamix-」) This time we are getting five brand new denpa・pop songs full of lovely human vocals, including a very special guest performance by sweet ココ.

Most ななひら CDs have a somewhat wide range of topics, but what's interesting here is that this one is focusing on a very specific theme: Kemono love. Dogs, cats, rabbits and even pandas, bring on the furries she says. The whole character creation vibe reminds me of MOSAIC.WAV, this is actually a pretty geeky record. Those lucky enough to pick up the CD at Comiket will also receive a nice freebie.

The first thing you'll notice when you hold 「KEMOLOVE♥」 in your hands is the lovely cover art by みずは (Megacycle13) but once you flip it over, prepare to be blown away by a quality composer lineup. We're talking Psalm Dreamer 華飯, Old-Timer 雪月ありす, Golden Boy 吉田省吾, Master かたほとり and Child Prodigy かめりあ. Quite the crew... 5 quality tracks for 500円! Fans of ななひら and cute animals, don't miss out!

Sunday 9 December 2012

Spotlight on emamouse, mysterious denpa rodent


There's something about エママ... that I can't quite explain. Emamouse's music is some of the noisiest denpa out there, yet it remains somewhat accessible. These twisted tunes can be terrifying or adorable, depending on how you approach them or how you feel on a given day. One of the key aspects of denpa is unpredictability, and the heavy use of non-sequitur here certainly fits the profile. Here are some of my favourite ones, along with select illustrations. For more info on emamouse: