M3-2012秋 part 2: Zero-Shaft, なゆ, 33.turbo, 藤原鞠菜 +more!

The M3-2012秋 doujincore group import is over, but that doesn't mean we can't report on newly-announced albums! Many of these should be available on online stores in the near future.

First, let's take a look at an exciting new series from Zero-Shaft! "Princess Vocal Collection" sounds like a follow-up to THEiDOLST@GE, which hasn't seen releases since last year's 「My Voice」. Sure enough, it features recurring vocalists, but this time the delivery is slightly different. Instead of a stand-alone album featuring many singers, Zero-Shaft is giving everyone their own single! Pretty cool and not too hard on the wallet at 500円 each. Vol. 1, 2 and 3 feature 天城あくる, ゆきまめ and なゆ respectively, great way to launch the series! Ideally these would be compiled on one disc in the future, until then we'll look forward to the next volumes! ななひら and 桃箱 please!

Speaking of Our Queen なゆ, make way for her grandiose debut album 「なゆきんぐだむ」! She rounded up a bunch of her friends on vocals (such as ななひら and 彩) and enlisted legendary composers (talking bout 吉田省吾, task, しの and Good Guy きくお!!!) to make sure her loyal subjects talk about this one for years to come. Almost every song is a collaboration of some kind, especially the last one which features all singers together! Although it prominently displays the spectacular jacket artwork, the website currently doesn't offer a crossfade. But you know what... I'm not exactly worried anyway! It's a なゆ　album, I need this in my life!!!

Update 10/27/2012: Samples are up! Intense and high-quality music as expected!

The seventh (already?) 33.turbo mini-album is titled 「Dempa de Dance」 and it launched with a funny PV! This unit has been ramping up production values lately and as a result, this mini-album feels more focused. 500円 gets you 5 new songs and some seriously sweet artwork. Their website has samples for four of the five songs, so check them out!



Honestly, 藤原鞠菜 is pretty awesome and I feel bad for not mentioning her as often as I should have in the past. She started singing 10 years ago, but these days she's mostly known for her IOSYS collaborations, both on Touhou arranges and TV anime OP themes. Cool! She also did some voice work for... Microsoft, in an Internet Explorer 8 PV. Not cool.

Still, what's really relevant to this site's readers is her original albums with none other than TONAKAI sound works! Yes, 磯村カイ of Love Bullets fame. If you miss the GWAVE unit (they haven't released anything in two years) then you'll love Wisteria Magic. You're in for a treat because they've already released 「キミトマホウノヒビキ」, 「SUPER MARINA WORLD」, 「まりテツ！」 and soon *drumroll* 「SUPER MARINA WORLD2」! By the way, you can order all these albums off amazon.jp in case you miss them at M3.



Here's something new and somewhat mysterious! From circle "りょーかとゆかいな仲間たち" comes their (first?) album 「虹色スペクトル」. It's all very fuzzy, but from what I can gather we have 真泉涼夏 on vocals and this dude 虹関数 composed a few songs. Rainbows everywhere! Kenji (Sound;GEAR) also seems like a close collaborator. In any case, this sounds a bit rough around the edges (in a punk rock kind of way) but very exciting nonetheless! Fast songs, smooth songs, passionate vocals and lovely artwork. 300円 for 7 songs is completely outrageous, must GET!

Watch out, here comes しなもんしゅがー☆! I found out about this self-proclaimed denpa singer sometime ago (maybe even last year) but she didn't actually have any music at the time. Back in July 2012 she released her first single 「裏表シンデレラ」 along with samples on her myspace account. This is also rough around the edges, but honestly pretty damn good! These silly tracks kind of remind me of 33.turbo musically with a bit of とろ美's attitude for good measure. This girl seems like she'd drink anyone under the table, anytime. Wouldn't mind hearing more like this!

M3-2011春 round-up: odenpa☆studio, t+pazolite, HolicService

UPDATED 05/01/11: Added three new segments: Wisteria Magic, まめこ and 33.turbo!

ORIGINAL: Just like last fall, this spring edition of M3 is a little light on denpa (and related) contents. However, considering all of the events Japan has had to deal with in the recent past, the output is surprising. Do note that this list will mostly focus on the goods which will be available at M3 on May 1st 2011. As you may or may not know, Touhou-related music is mostly absent from M3; it gets its own convention a week later on May 8th when Reitaisai takes over the Tokyo Big Sight. That said, many albums originally slated for Reitaisai may also be sold at M3. If you wish to purchase any of the following albums, remember that doujincore.com is running an M3 group import until April 24th 12:00 PM (PST).

This time, we're giving our buddies おでんぱ☆スタジオ (odenpa☆studio) top billing! The guys and girls are working so hard and it shows. Each new release contains their finest material and they have shown no signs of slowing down. You also have to appreciate how diligent they are when it comes to releasing new stuff on time. Three new songs and a radio track are included on this fourth single 「ボクとまほうとあいすくりーむ☆」 which introduces a shota theme (but lolis are still an integral part). This time the denpa feeling is through the roof, especially on track #2 which is certainly BB.Lemon's bravest creation so far. As usual, they provide us with samplers of all tracks, so head on over to the new single's website and hear their evolution for yourself.

Our man t+pazolite knows how to please his fans... after summer 2010's terrific 「Honey I Scream!」 and the wacky 「Re;setup」, he's back with the motto "cute+hard=crazzzzyyyy!" That should tell you everything right there, but do go ahead and sample all five of his new tracks from 「cutie breaks EP」, two of which feature the lovely リズナ on vocals. As the name implies, this is a rather short album and it even got its own "sub-label" with the distribution code CHSEP-0001. The guy really shines on his concept albums so this EP might feel a little short in comparison, but it should tide us over until C80 rolls over. The artwork from うちゃコ is sublime and topazo really did a great job with his website this time!

Holic Service is BACK, BABY!!! Although the new album's titled「ニヒリズム！」(nihilism), don't be fooled. The theme is "Party X MoeDenpa X Parade" and it certainly comes true on the explosive tracks #2 and #4, sung by Chia (never heard of, GREAT DEBUT!) and なゆ (love this girl, nice choice!) respectively. Queen Gumi makes a couple appearances as a duet with さてぃっち. KuKuDoDo is certainly in top form and although this isn't exactly the proper follow-up to his delightful "Energy Reimen" series, we'll definitely take this! If you aren't familiar with KuKuDoDo or Holic Service... why? This article will get you up to speed, and this one covers pretty much the entire Birdtune catalog, on which KuKuDoDo frequently appears.

Another hard-working circle is Zero-Shaft. They've been plowing away at their own IDOLM@STER-inspired series iDOLST@GE for sometime and gave us「FirstSt@ge」at last year's M3. This year, they mix things up a bit with TWO new albums. The first one is the anisong cover album 「COVERST@GE」 that sounds fantastic and can be sampled here. Of course, the lovely ココ is one of the many featured singers but まめこ is also quite the moe generator.

As cool as anisong cover albums can be, they have another release which should be really high on this site's readers shopping list. For a mere 500 yen, they're offering 「ちびロリっ！」, a chibimoeloli album which has all of their singers doing their cutest voices. The first track alone should convince you: it has ななひら and the aforementioned まめこ as a duo! ひなうさ also appears as a singer and BBレモン of odenpa/melo9 fame is even a guest composer! WOW! If that wasn't enough, customers will also receive a FREE copy of 「おんなのこすいーつ」 as a bonus item!

We might not have written about 藤原鞠菜 that much over the years, but perhaps it is time we start giving her more attention. While she started her career in the early 2000s singing for the game industry, "Marinya" has mostly been associated to IOSYS as of late. Highlights include 2009's hilarious 「Club Ibuki in Break All」 and also the recent 「Daydream Syndrome」 anime single, which was performed live at the 2011 MegaPeer event (greatly pleasing this writer).

But Marinya is also capable of producing her own stuff under the circle Wisteria Magic, as evidenced by the stealthily-announced 「キミトマホウノヒビキ」 mini-album. Surprisingly, this one doesn't involve IOSYS at all: in fact it was fully composed by our good buddy 磯村カイ (ISOMURA Kai) of TONAKAI sound works! Yes, the Team Love Bullets dude who used to wish he would be a game programmer, but now writes music for some of the finest Japanese women.

Listen to this new album... do it!!! Reminds you of anything? That's right, it's strikingly similar to the Team Love Bullets of olde. Let's not turn this into a TLB discussion, but let's just say it's very refreshing to hear Kai go back to the more frivolous sound that made him a household name in the first place. As for Marinya, there's no denying she's extremely comfortable singing over this kind of soundtrack and it enhances her versatility. It's pretty cool they opted to go for a full 6 tracks as opposed to one of those annoying singles. There's a very good balance of hot-blooded and adorable songs! Hoping for more in the future!

We love 2-dimension for their quality albums and we love まめこ for her ambrosial voice, so it's pretty cool to see both of them work together on her debut album「Jewel」. Although this is not a denpa album at all (more like powerful rock meets glitter pop), it's still worth a quick mention on this site. After all, the main composer Kenji has been involved in many of ForestPireo's albums, as well as on the first 天然ジェミニ album, so he's definitely relevant to our interests. As for まめこ AKA SugarBunny*, well we've praised her on many occasions, but suffice to say that she is one of the hottest ZeroShaft girls, as well as the lovely うさ子 in the one-off Valentine's Day unit "チョコっと★ましゅまるん".

Last but certainly not least on this list is 33.turbo's latest effort, a mini-album with four brand new original songs going by the name 「ホイップライフ」. What's always been cool about 33.turbo is that the circle member have never dropped the "denpa style" qualifier and that scores major points with this site. The first two tracks are balls-to-the-wall fast with delectable vocals. The third seems to be a statement on the post-earthquake shopping panic, not unlike Hyadain's own contribution. Although 「愛の買占め」 sounds sad, it's pretty cool to see small doujin circles using music to make a point, in their own way. What does the fourth track sound like? Nobody knows! Buy the CD to find out more!

New Team LOVE BULLETS album 「タイアッパーズ!」

Although it's been about a year and a half since 「Love BulletsⅢ」, the last proper Team LOVE BULLETS album, they are far from dead. It's true that their published output this year was limited to two meager songs, but things are about to change. GWAVE just announced that a full-length album will come out on December 24th 2010, featuring a whopping 12 tracks... and possibly more!

「LOVE BULLETS×タイアッパーズ!」 (tie-uppers) is a collection of their most recent tie-up songs, none of which were released on the three previous mini-albums. In fact, some of these songs are slated to appear on games that haven't even been released!! How often does that happen? Here's the list of announced tracks:

PSP game ｢オレは少女漫画家｣ (Giza10)

• 全世界待望！純愛ロマンス
• 君に花束 空に恋話

PC game ｢少交女｣ (たぬきそふと)

• 小さな恋

PC game ｢GreenStrawberry｣ (Loversoul)

• Strawberry Cute!
• GreenStrawberry (creepy real-life version)
• 夕焼けに染まる緑

PC game ｢はぴさま｣ (SugarPot)

• Oh My Goddess!!
• 閃光天使ウルトラローズ

PC game ｢フレーミングサマー｣ (WAVESTAR)

• 33℃

PC game ｢EllePrieR｣ (Etoiles)

• かけら、さがして

PC game 「このままじゃ姉とセックスしてしまう！？ -あれ、弟よ、いま中でださなかった？-」 (OLE-M)

• 人魚姫Whisper Voice

This CD does seem to be missing the delightful 「ドキドキお姉さん A to Z」, although that song was probably made exclusively for the M3 single. And of course, since 井上みゆ didn't sing 「ラジカル☆キッス！！イノベーション」, this tasty little morsel doesn't constitute a LoveBullets song. Still, for 30$ this is quite the packed album; considering prior LxB albums had 5-6 tracks at the most.

In related GWAVE news, the company has announced the first of its two 2010 compilation albums 「GWAVE2010 1st Grace」, also slated for release on December 24th. A quick glance reveals choice cuts from U, 榊原ゆい), NANA, Rita and plenty more. Speaking of U, here's a fantastic video featuring UNDER17 and Funta (U's non-eroge band) together on stage for a popotan event in 2003. WTF... is that crowd seated? Time for some motherfucking stage dives!!

M3-2010春 電波ソング round-up

The spring edition of M3-2010 is just around the corner (May 5th), so here are some of the upcoming denpa-related albums worth checking out. Note that I've probably overlooked a bunch of them, so feel free to throw in your comments. As always, M3 runs a solid news page that gets pretty busy once the event approaches.

The first item on our shopping list is certainly the most curious one: it's a MOSAIC.WAV arrange album!!! At first I was like Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ but then I was like （￣へ￣）. See, 「もざいくりこーだーvol.1」 features 8 MOSAIC.WAV songs played... on recorders. In fact, various flutes were used and they're all described in the opening minute of this sampler video. Do you like what you hear? I may end up buying this to support my fellow fans, but I'm just not that enticed by the results. But whether or not flute is your thing, you can't deny that the folks in the とらふえ circle are extremely talented, as this is actually their fourth album. Furthermore, the jacket artwork by Candy5 is pretty damn cool and this thing is just 600 yen!


Remember unMOMENT? Yeah, I miss them too. They had a ton of potential, but just drifted off into nothingness after the release of their one and only album 「萌魂 ～moe spirit～」 in 2006. オカザキシュン (OKAZAKI Shun) and 新堂真弓 (SHINDOU Mayumi) were backed on guitar by none other than 小池雅也 (KOIKE Masaya, aka big brother) and collaborated with MOSAIC.WAV among others. Both songstresses are still active but Okazaki is pretty much dedicated to BGM composition with 4-EVER. This brings us to Shindou and her brand new compilation album 「新堂真弓 AKIBA SOUND BEST」. While available for public consumption on May 21st, 100 copies will be sold at M3 (presumably a limited edition). The CD features a whopping 17 tracks, with her most popular song 「SHE SEE LOVE」 appropriately starting it all. Samples and commentary available on Candypop's website. Denpa fans: this is a must-buy!


I love me some 桜ふみ (SAKURA Fumi) and so will you once you get acquainted with her music. As cute and innocent as she may seem, some of her songs have been used for hardcore R-18 OVA titles such as 「RAPE! RAPE! RAPE!」. So yah, raep is bad, but the song is great. Her M3 CD does not include that one song though, it features some far lighter material that definitely fits under the 萌え umbrella. The three tracks are 「booster」, 「LOVE MOTION+POTION」 and 「Kiss~Kiss~Kiss」; the full cover art can be seen here. I couldn't find samplers for the first two songs, however 「booster」 can be downloaded from C:DRIVE (note that Toromi also has an ED track up for grabs). You can also check out her latest song 「cherish」 to get a better idea of her style.

Toromi usually has something for M3, and this time is no different. Her own offering is still being worked on, However, Pneuma Records has recently confirmed that she will be contributing two songs to their latest compilation CD 「ましん・ぽっぷVol:2- We Are Pneuma -」. According to mandichan, the first one (track #2) was previously featured on another compilation, but the second one (track #5) may be a new song because I can't find any info. Not gonna comment on the lyrical contents, because it is a little odd from this cultural perspective. Then again I just wrote about a rape OVA. Either way, I'll update this paragraph later once Toromi published info on her new release, but I'm expecting a new single.


Ever heard of doubleeleven UpperCut before? That's OK, neither had I until today, but they started in November 2009 and this will be their first release. Prepare to be blown away, especially if you're a fan of SHORT CIRCUIT and ave;new projecto (and why wouldn't you be?) because this is clearly what they're going for. The unit proudly describes itself as "high speed denpa" and is actually a sub-division of the doubleeleven undercurrent circle. Its members are 山下航生 (producer) and akari (vocals), with seemingly no prior experience.

Still, deUC (that's how they want to be abbreviated) already has 6 songs and judging by the streaming sampler, this is some high quality stuff that is a cut above the rest. Their artwork is highly professional, which leads me to believe that they are in fact associated to softhouse-seal, the eroge company which ordered all 6 of these theme songs in the first place. If you wanna see some kooky English lyrics, head over to the latest game's homepage for a few laughs. Isn't one game a month quite the turnover? Not that I'm complaining! Keep your eyes on doubleeleven UpperCut, the latest denpa sensation!

vivid'sB is another "new" circle, in the sense that I've only found out about them recently. But it's not like their main singer and apparent head honcho 西沢はぐみ has been around forever either as she released her very first album in late 2009. The album can be sampled in full on their website (no direct link, sorry), but you can also check out some of her previous work. Now the above song 「combination somebody！」, in all of its Dragon Quest lookalike glory, will obviously not be up for sale at M3 as it was just made public on April 22nd 2010. However, they will most likely repress some copies of the first CD and now's the chance to get your hands on it. Oh wouldn't you know, 柏木るざりん (Loser Kashiwagi) was a guest composer on track #7 「しゅこしゅこぼーん」, no wonder it's ultra-funky! Don't know the man??? And you call yourselves denpa fans... for shame.


And now for the BEST NEW CIRCLE NAME OF THE YEAR DECADE, introducing...... ODENPA STUDIO!!!! Yes, not joking one bit. First DenpaGumi, now おでんぱ☆スタジオ. They have so many good things going on that I don't know where to begin. Well, the awesome name, that's out of the way. Now if you head on over to their website, you'll notice that the illustrations they use are very sharp. They have their own domain name too, this says a lot. But the best aspect and not the least, is the quality of their music. The sampler MP3 for their M3 album is sort of tucked away on the main page. Then if you scroll down a bit, you'll notice there's another sampler for a C77 album that was "rejected" but was still sold at the graphic artist's own booth with an appropriate cover art.

Anyway, the name says it all, but the music ain't lying either. In their own words, this is "360 degree radiation moe-denpa" music. Too bad the website is very low on information, as most of the sections are incomplete. I can't even tell you who does what, other than this sounds too professional to be the work of a newly-formed circle. They do appear to feature two distinct vocalists. The fact that they have nearly a dozen tracks is also very suspicious... in a good way! Look forward to more details as I acquire this album.


33.turbo (pronounced mimi turbo) is yet another new denpa circle! Right now they have an M3-2010 booth, but their blog hasn't been updated since last year, so we can only assume that they're gonna have their first CD up for sale once again. 5 crazy tracks for 400 yen, I'm not complaining! Sample them for yourself, personally I'm slightly reminded of Melo9 and Toromi, so this is great! Their most recent post does mention something about the next release featuring multiple collaborations, we'll have to wait and see if they update the blog in time for May 5th.

Rapid-fire M3 news

• IOSYS has a Touhou brass band arrange album (produced by ARM) and a programYMG drama CD.
  
• Melo9 said they would have a new album for M3, but so far no news on their blog. At the very least they should have copies of their Valentine's Day CD.
  
• GWAVE have uploaded the second MP3 from Team Love Bullets' upcoming single. They also have a Chuable Soft compilation up for grabs.
• Siestail are not promising anything, but they are working on a full vocal album featuring Rizuna! If this is anything like their KERO album, this could be huge!!!!
  
• DystopiaGround (Nao's doujin circle) will have a new 2-track single, no samplers or credits yet.
• 夢月まりあ (aka maria-tan) will be selling her first mini-album 「CRAY04」 which includes four tracks listed here. No samples, but she has a million YouTube videos where you can check out her many guerrilla lives. This self-declared otaku has been known to bust out some crazy denpa songs, so this could be an interesting CD.
  
• ひげいち。うぇぶ sounds like an interesting circle in theory, but sound samples are nowhere to be found. The two main members are apparently totally crazy about denpa. They already have two albums and will release a third at M3-2010春. The fact that they have album themes and track topics seems to indicate that these are in fact drama CDs.
• Although they have an M3 booth, nothing new from Birdtune. They're probably still pushing 「すいーつぱれっと」, as they should. In related news, みりん☆ seems pleased to be featured on the 電波の世界 ~ 2009 sampler. She is working on a third album and will be playing some new songs at her upcoming concert this weekend.
  

Team Love♥Bullets still has nine lives, meows out new tunes

There hasn't been a single Love♥Bullets article since their third mini-album came out in July 2009, so one could think that the pair has gone amiss. The truth is that ISOMURA Kai and INOUE Miyu did work together in November 2009 on the song 「NATIVE HEART」, alternate OP for the game 「嘘デレ！」, however that wasn't under the Love♥Bullets banner. Then there's 「人魚姫 Whisper Voice」, OP for the hardcore eroge 「このままじゃ、姉とSEXしてしまう！？」, which is totally a LB song but wasn't heavily promoted. And let's not forget about their wicked denpa song 「O.SHI.E.TE トゥルー☆はぁと」 which still isn't available on disc and led me to speculate that a fourth mini-album was coming by late 2009.

Well, GWAVE recently announced its DreamParty and M3 goods (May 3rd and 5th respectively), which includes the duo's first official single! Kinda odd to be releasing a single after three successful mini-albums, but that's that. The untitled single contains two tracks as well as instrumentals and is a tie-up to the Green Strawberry eroge from LoverSoul.

1. ドキドキお姉さん A to Z (MP3)
   
2. Strawberry Cute! (MP3)
   

Good news/bad news is that 「Strawberry Cute!」 (the song) will be part of a future compilation disc (which all but confirms a fourth LB mini-album), but the first track is exclusive to this single... which in turn is exclusive to these two events. Oh, did you know that they actually have a website? It's a little outdated, but it offers interesting insight (presumably from TONAKAI) behind the lyrics, motivation and general inspiration that went into creating their songs.

Denpa no Sekai 2009 Sampler

Aaaaah 2009, year or the intergalactic denpa revolution. How I miss those simple days. But thanks to the power of the internets, the past is forevermore preserved in the form of tube-traveling bits and bytes which will transcend time and space, even as we return to the ashes from which we were born. Thus... I present to you the official Denpa no Sekai 2009 sampler!

Yes, I realize 720p HD is overkill for what is essentially a glorified mixtape, but that's just how I roll. Note that I purposely imposed a limit of one song per circle/singer. If you're a regular 'round these parts, you shouldn't be a stranger to any of those songs. Otherwise, if you're new to the genre or you're trying to "explain" it to one of 'em outsiders, then why not let the music work its magic?

Oh and we're not done with 2009, oh no we're not. While the above video was definitely NOT a top 10 chart, the following list certainly is. On 「電波ソング大賞」, Japanese internet users voted on the best denpa songs of the year and the tally came in on February 1st 2010. Of course these poll results are largely unscientific, but nearly 700 internet users can't be wrong (although over 9000 votes would be preferable).

1. 「Princess Party」 by IOSYS
   
2. 「だっこしてぎゅっ！～汝、隣の枕(よめ)を愛せ」 by 民安ともえ
3. 「ネガティブゼロ・パラダイス」 by 有栖川みや美
4. 「妄想網　Ж　Superluminal」 by MOSAIC.WAV
   
5. 「弟は白骨化していた」 by 本多真梨子
   
6. 「カメリア！ ～Dangerous Camellia Vacation～」 by IOSYS
   
7. 「おとこの娘のトビラ」 by MOSAIC.WAV
   
8. 「生意気☆いちごミルクDAYO！！」 by ave;new projecto
   
9. 「†メタウサ姫～黒ゆかり王国ミサ～†」 by ゆかり姫
10. 「fickle」 by KOTOKO
    

Pretty solid list! Although I can't pick favourites between my children, I'd say mine would look similar, minus the (*OPINION ALERT!*) needlessly metal ones. We end today's entry with the last ARM/momiji collaboration song of 2009, 「えぐりて☆」 from the C77 album "ROKKENJIMA in LOVE". Don't let ARM's quirky composition and Momiji's totally cute voice fool you, this song might as well be the spiritual successor to the Dokuro-chan OP.

Don't dodge this hail of Love Bullets samples

Team Love Bullets' third opus 「にゃんこライダー」 (Kitty Rider) hit the streets yesterday, July 31st 2009. Now chances are, unless you live in Japan, you weren't able to walk into your local record store and pick it up in person. I share your pain, but there's no need to resort to wrist slashing just yet. Consider crying yourself to sleep to the tune of this lovely set of sample MP3s that was recently made public on GWAVE's website. Four out of the seven tracks are represented in short version, but you can also check out the original version of 「シスターまじっく！」, which is featured on this new album as a remix. Here's the final tracklist, with links to individual samples.

01. にゃんこライダー
02. 天華御免-TENKA・GOMEN-
03. どめすてぃっく・LOVE・まじっく REMIX ver
04. ねこ☆まっしぐら
05. かくも、青春とは美しい
06. アイリス-Iris-
07. にゃん×3 Love Bullets

The samples bode well, considering that the second album had a bit of a drop in the intensity department (but still very creative). The title track 「にゃんこライダー」 is clearly modeled after 「ドラゴンガール」 which was one of LOVE BULLET 2's highlights. Very... "asian" in its execution, for lack of a better word. In fact, I wouldn't dare use the term "recycled assets", but I guess I just did. More of the same is just what the doctor ordered in this case anyway. 「アイリス-Iris-」 may sound redundant, but pushes the R&B aspect to the next level for the budding duo. Maybe this song would have been better suited for a standard GWAVE album, but it is certainly more uplifting than, say, 「CALL MY NAME」. 「ねこ☆まっしぐら」 on the other hand, totally belongs on this album. It's as cheerful as they get, still not up to the intensity level previously set by 「1×8 ラブ・バレット」, but that's one hard song to top. 「天華御免-TENKA・GOMEN-」 would be your standard fare techno-pop if it wasn't for Miyu's passionate screams (ideas, get them) and TONAKAI様's eclectic arrangements.

Speaking of the big guy, we had a chat the other day about the state of Denpa in Japan. Serious business stuff, which will probably open the door to a second interview in the future, but one thing at a time. Basically I was just relaying to him that most Love Bullets reviews I've read usually enjoy pointing out that this is "much better than denpa". Which I really find strange, considering that GWAVE themselves are partially marketing this series as denpa. TONAKAI's answer to this problem certainly brought in some relief. He says that "many Japanese listeners don't really know what is and isn't denpa" and that more often than not, it is used to generate buzz around an article.

According to him, Love Bullet's producer KATO describes denpa as something that "accomplishes entertainment". Language barriers aside, I'm sure you get his point. Denpa can and should be used to describe a piece of music that gets people to talk about it, by the sole account of its eccentricity. Either way, he expects the pejorative use of the term to completely vanish in the coming years, much like the resurgence of "otaku" and "moe" as commonly-accepted terminology. Hell, I was told the other day that even Haruko Momoi, who was said to staunchly oppose the label, is starting to warm up to it. Remember my editorial "In defense of Denpa"? I strongly expected to have to write a follow-up, but it's been a year and a half and nothing's popped up. Haters be damned, denpa is here to stay.

LOVE BULLETS Reloaded for Third Offensive

Unbelievable, but true. The dynamic LOVE BULLETS duo (磯村カイ and 井上みゆ) will release yet another mini-album on July 31st 2009, their third in eight months. This was only recently announced by their label GWAVE, but the artwork is already out and their banner campaign is in full swing. Once again, Yuzu Soft artists こぶいち and むりりん reprise their roles in drawing the cute LOVE BULLETS mascots, which are still nameless it seems! And you guessed it, FAMISHIN is also going to contribute a track as a guest producer, to everyone's delight.

The six tracks have more or less been confirmed by GWAVE already, with full details and short versions to follow in the weeks to come. They are, however, tossing all sorts of genres in a blender with this one: Denpa, AgeAge (that's a new one to me, but it basically means Get up! Get up!), Moe R&B and Japan-Techno-Pops. Oh well, they can call it whatever they want, we know it's gonna turn out great either way. One of the confirmed songs is particularly interesting, namely a Special Remix of last year's Sister Magic OP theme. It was already pretty damn good, so it'll be interesting to see how TONAKAI can mix it up. Don't look for the ChiChi Ninja theme song here though, that'll be on GWAVE's 2008 Second Experience, coming out June 26th.

Remember the Angel Magister commercial that popped up about a month ago? Mana just put out the standalone opening demo movie, so check out a 2-minute preview of a song that will most likely be on the fourth LOVE BULLETS album later this year...

New LoveBullets OP 「O.SHI.E.TEトゥルー☆はぁと」

Someone at mana really likes denpa theme songs and who could blame them, really? Their first product, 2007's 萌ドラ "moe drama" CD series School Hearts used fripSide's boisterous 「HAPPYジェネレーション」 as an opener to each disc. Then in late 2008, they awoke I've Sound from their Short Circuit slumber and reunited the powerful "KOTOKO to KAORI" duo; the result was 「Crash Course ～恋の特別レッスン～」 for the game メアメアメア. Now their third title ANGEL MAGISTER is coming out on July 24th and lookie here -- they commissioned team LoveBullets to compose the opening track!

Titled 「O.SHI.E.TEトゥルー☆はぁと」, this is certainly one of the most turbulent tunes the pair has released so far. One could say that there are some distinct ARM/IOSYS similarities in there, but Miyu-san's voice is unmistakable. In our interview, Isomura-sensei said that if everything goes as planned, a third volume of their LoveBullets series should see the day. Don't forget that they have another unreleased song in 「シスターまじっく！」, so they've got at least two tracks figured out so far.

Speaking of team LoveBullets, the opening video to LOVERSOUL's 「姫さまはプリンセス」 came out a short while ago. It features the song "CALL MY NAME", the full version of which is the fourth track on GWAVE Super Feature's vol.13 「LOVE BULLETS II」. The smooth song is definitely a bit of a departure for the normally-hyperactive duo, but as the previous video showed, they've yet to neglect the genre that made them popular in the first place.

Exclusive team Love Bullets (井上みゆ/磯村カイ) interview

By now, you should be very familiar with GWAVE's latest pet project, the LOVE BULLETS series, which prominently features 井上みゆ (INOUE miyu) as the lead singer. What about those crazy sounds behind her lovely voice? Save for a few guest collaborations, 磯村カイ (ISOMURA kai), the second half of Team Love Bullets, is the musical mastermind behind it all. Join us as we sit down for a virtual cup of coffee with Japan's latest (or sole?) "moe R&B" duo.

GWAVE has recently turned LOVE BULLETS into a series, with the release of a second volume in March 2009. Was this the plan all along, or was it due to strong fan appreciation? Should we expect a third volume too?

磯村カイ: You are right, it was prompted by strong fan reaction to the first album. I don't want to jinx it, but chances are good that a third volume could follow suit. Especially if fan reaction to the second volume is as strong as it was for the first one.

井上みゆ: Personally, I am just so happy to hear that people are enjoying our songs and that we got the opportunity to make another Love Bullets album. I like to call our genre "Moe R&B", it really represents the kind of music I want to sing. Plus I think that the jacket illustrations are totally cute!

How have fans reacted to 「1×8 ラブ・バレット」? It seems to me like it would be your most recognizable song to this day. After all, that’s what the new GWAVE series is named after.

磯村カイ: On a personal level, this song means a lot to me! It marks the beginning of my collaboration with 井上みゆ. As soon as it was published, the reaction was very good so we decided to continue working together. For this opportunity, I am very thankful; therefore this song holds a special meaning for myself. The song has been described as "full of energy" by yourself and many Japanese fans, so this greatly pleases me as this was my original intention. Listening to this song helps me forget about sad feelings and annoying real life situations. If it has the same effect for other people, then I am honored!

井上みゆ: It does seem like this is a very popular song with the fans! After this, we worked together on 「モノモノ☆ダンスフィーバー」 which cemented our team spirit! It was featured on GWAVE vol. 10. My producer prior to team Love Bullets was GWAVE's 加藤義治 (KATOU Yoshiharu), who is now responsible for planning and producing our new releases, so I am very grateful to him.


Have you ever visited North America? Did you know there were team Love Bullets fans outside of Japan?

磯 村カイ: I did travel to the United States once, but that was a long time ago. Way before denpa was even considered as a genre, actually. To tell you the truth, I had no idea this kind of music was starting to become popular outside of Japan, until I started talking to you by email!

井上みゆ: Actually I once lived in Illinois! But I too had no idea that we had some international fans. This makes me feel privileged, I hope everyone will enjoy our new songs.

Mr. Isomura, please tell us about TONAKAI sound works and the services you provide.

磯村カイ: Certainly! Since 2004, we are in the business of providing original theme songs, background music (BGM) and sound effects for anyone who needs them, which is mostly video game companies these days. As it stands, TONAKAI sound works has only one full-time employee; that would be myself! But of course I work with various vocalists, such as Miyu-san and collaborate with other sound units such as MOSAIC.WAV. For a complete list of our past projects, please visit the official TONAKAI website.


When game companies contact you for themes or BGM, what is the process like? Do they impose certain restrictions that limit your creativity?

磯村カイ: As much as possible, there is a constant flow of discussion between myself and the company which requested the work. My goal is obviously to make sure that they are satisfied with the final product. Of course, I need to adjust my lyrics and overall mood of the compositions to suit the game's genre, which goes back to my initial point: a wide-open channel of communication is essential. This can be a little frustrating but I prefer to see it as a challenge! To tell you the truth, this has yet to worry me so far.


Do you travel a lot to meet the other artists you are involved with? After all you are based in Osaka.

磯村カイ: Correct, I do travel at least 3 times per year to Tokyo... I love that city so much! This is mostly for recording vocals and meeting people. I do enjoy traveling a lot, since I find it very relaxing and it can be good for creativity! The rest of the work is accomplished inside my home studio. Once in a while, Miyu-san will come and meet me in Osaka.


What artists, producers, singers or game soundtracks have influenced your compositions and vocal performances?

磯村カイ: My musical influence comes from a variety of sources. Some of the artists include Cornelius, Kraftwerk, YMO, Paul Simon, R.E.M., 小西康陽 (PizzicatoV) and 鈴木惣一郎 (World Standard). Of course, I grew up listening to Japanese anime music like many people in my field. That is probably the main source of inspiration for my current music.

井上みゆ: I love a lot of American soul and R&B artists such as the classic Stevie Wonder. Rodney Jerkins is a great producer. I also like Destiny's Child, Ashanti, Aaliyah, En Vogue and everything from Morning Musume.

Recently there have been a lot of DENPA PARTY events in Tokyo. It seems to me like your music would fit in just right with the crowd there. How about a LOVE BULLETS live event?

磯村カイ: I actually haven't performed live yet, nor do I have any plans to do so in the near future. I have heard of DENPA PARTY but I don't know too many details about them. On the other hand, a LOVE BULLETS live concert isn't such a bad idea. We'll see how fans react to the second volume first, but that is definitely a possibility!


The TONAKAI website also has some online games (in English no less!). When you were growing up, what kind of job did you think you would do later?

磯村カイ: I'll be honest, I had multiple dream jobs in mind when I was a kid! One of them was definitely to become a game programmer. Somehow I turned out as a musician instead, but I am still working in the game industry. Flash production is a great hobby of mine, I find it very interesting and rewarding. That said, I am considering producing a full Flash game in the future, so please look for that!

井上みゆ: I always knew I would become a singer someday! From the start, I've had nothing but respect for the established voice actors and narrators, so I practiced a lot whenever I could. It seems like most respected voice actors started off as narrators, so I thought I should try that method! My first published song was 「夢見る乙女達☆」 from UNiSONSHIFT in 2003. I am also interested in the aspect of voice work production in general. You could say that singing is both my hobby and my job, but I sometimes prefer to think of myself as a narrator, telling many stories through songs. I also like to reconstruct songs on my own... but since there are no deadlines, I'm not getting a lot done!


Thanks for your time! Good luck with Team Love Bullets!

井上みゆ: Thank you so much for supporting team Love Bullets and doing this interview! It's a very gratifying feeling to know that people outside of Japan are looking forward to our songs m( _ _ )m Hope we can talk again in the future☆

磯村カイ: You're welcome! Actually is I who should thank you for this interview. Having just finished up the second volume of LOVE BULLETS, I can say with confidence that this is some of my best work yet. I hope people all over the world will appreciate this new album!

Conflict resolution through chichi ninja revolution

Is a neighboring country terrorizing your citizens with rocket attacks, countless air strikes and illegal territory occupation? Call the chichi ninja revolution squad who will solve all of your problems with their unique all-natural techniques. Just make sure you don't let The Zohan get too close to them...

The song used in the video is 「悲しみパトリオットGirl」, a 井上みゆ performance of a TONAKAI composition. The game came out during last year's C75 (so late December 2008) but the song has yet to emerge in full version form. Since this is far more of a serious composition than what we'd expect from team Love Bullets, it will probably make it on the unannounced-but-inferable "2008 2nd Experience" GWAVE compilation due out June 2009, rather than on a third LoveBullets album.

By the way, LOVE BULLETS II came out yesterday in Japan. Even though it's been covered to death on this blog, stay tuned for two more articles to wrap things up!

Love Bullets II & ULTRA☆U2: Full tracklists, samples and special guests

GWAVE are about to deliver a solid knockout punch to the denpa and moe song scene this March 27th when they release two brand new albums that should become instant classics. U's reputation already speaks for itself as she has constantly released quality albums over the past 5 years, but team Love Bullet's popular new series has taken everyone by surprise, especially considering the short 3 months gap between the two volumes.

ULTRA☆U2, as the name suggests, is U's second proper album, but don't forget about her multiple singles, the FrontWing compilation album which clocks in at a massive 48:30 or her 2005 debut "mini-album" Ultra：U that weighs a respectable 31:48. This follow-up is being billed by GWAVE as the "revival of a series", so there's bound to be more U music that follows this release. As is the case with 99% of her previous albums, she composes all of her songs and writes all the lyrics. Now that's dedication!

The big news (or sad news if you are one of his detractors) is that sire 小池雅也 (KOIKE Masaya) has contributed quite a few guitar solos and accompaniements to the album, giving a deeper significance to the "revival" theme previously discussed, as he originally gave her guitar lessons back when she started composing songs. All that's left is for him to act as her "band master" when she finally pulls her first live concert... which will come out on region-free DVD of course... *le sigh*

KOIKE-aniki contributed solos to tracks 2, 3 and 7 and completely remixed track #5, so look forward to that! Click the links for short version MP3s, but note that the love-go-round sample is NOT the remixed one!

◇ULTRA☆U2◆◆
1. GO GO☆ら～びゅ
2. i save your place!
3. 恋のサイエンス
4. Hi-Fi day
5. love-go-round すぺしゃるばーじょん(REMIX)
6. 情熱よFly away
7. コトノハ ～my leaf of words～

Team LoveBullets consists of 井上みゆ (INOUE Miyu) on vocals and 磯村カイ (ISOMURA Kai) on everything else. The first album was reviewed here recently, so no need to redo the introduction. With the full tracklist release comes two new downloadable songs, namely the energy-packed "Dragon Girl" and the (unfortunately) slow "Call my name", which has this blogger slightly disappointed, no matter how fitting the theme song may be given the game it was written for.

Kai-san did say on his blog that they were shooting for more variety on this new album, looks like this is what he was talking about. "Dragon Girl" on the other hand, should deliver exactly what fans of the first album were hungry for. As expected, Famishin makes a return as a guest composer, but they're not specifying which track(s) he wrote. Here's the track listing as well as short version download links. Hopefully one of these songs will get a PV like 「マジカワ」 did.

◇Love BulletsⅡ◆◆
1. Reload your love-bullets!
2. ドラゴンガール
3. ハイテンション・デート
4. Call my name
5. PrincessSweets
6. ぼくらはねがう ねがいのかぎり
7. Like a cosmic heart
8. Love BulletsⅡ

Weekly denpa news: IOSYS, GWAVE, MOSAIC.WAV

Happy Hockey day in Canada! I'm certain everyone is busy partying their ass off by slapping pucks left and right, so no time for massive reviews or articles this week. Instead I'll just dump some of the news I've been holding on to for the past little while. Let's briefly begin with IOSYS's newest eroge theme: Princess Party! From what little I can gather, this is being billed as an IOSYS group effort, although ARM's signature sound work is everywhere to be found and the singing credits mostly go to AYU, who also sang both of the Penguin Musume ED themes.

Back to GWAVE who were the subject of last week's extensive feature. They have released the tentative artwork for the upcoming 「LOVE BULLETS II」 album, which is now set for a March 27th 2009 release. In addition, two new track titles have been revealed, namely #2 "Dragon Girl " and #3 "High Tension Date". Famishin has also been confirmed as a returning guest composer.

mi~ko recently worked on a new eroge which comes out on February 27th. 「ふわりコンプレックス」 (or fuwacon for short) is GIGA's most recent maid training simulator. Although there are some very interesting characters such as Hatsune Miku cosplayer Tenka, MI-KO (she insists that we use her voice actress nickname to differentiate from her MOSAIC.WAV activities) is stuck with a far more conventional role. Still, hornballs can check out samples of her work as 沖田つかさ (OKITA Tsukasa) in both regular and "H" action on the profile page.

Also note that the game's opening theme 【ふれあ☆こんぷれっくす】, sung by 水樹奈々 (MIZUKI Nana) and composed by recent Elements Garden's 中山真斗 is slightly on the denpa tip and definitely worth your time. In fact this may be one of the first denpa-oriented tracks the studio has ever cranked out, as they are mostly known for their My-HIME, Chrono Crusade and D.C. Da Capo themes among many others. On the other hand, the veteran Nana is no stranger to wacky eroge opening songs. To tell you the truth, the song vaguely reminds me of some of SHORT CIRCUIT II's rock-ish tracks. Pro-tip! If the song has a ☆ in its title... it's probably worth checking out.

Final link dump of the day: If you enjoyed DJ Shimamura's MOSAIC.WAV trance remix on the brilliant 「Ultimate A-Style2」 compilation, then you'll love his newest eroge OP 「ワタシハアナタノモノ」 or "I'm yours" in plain old English. Well more like "I am your object", but that's besides the point. This is for ClockUp's newest game 「麗辱の館 ～淫縁五姉妹汁姦記～」, which in turn roughly translates to "House of Beautiful Disgrace: 5 Lewd Sisters' Fateful Raunchy Rape Chronicles". God I love translating this shit! As usual, short version and demo movie can be obtained from the game's download page.

GWAVE now dual-wielding weapons of mass denpastruction

For nearly 5 years, U (composer pseudonym: ユウ) has been GWAVE's go-to girl for all of their denpa song productions. Originally under Koike-sensei's guidance, she has evolved into an omnipotent artist that not only delivered a full set of stable releases but has constantly strove to push her creations to the next level. After all, she does compose, arrange and perform the majority of her songs. Her admittedly unique voice certainly repels or enchants (leaving no one indifferent in the end), but only covetous hypocrites would deny her musical talents and dedication to the genre. Furthermore, ever since her 2002 debut 「スイートレガシー」, she has remained loyal to her initial employer which in turn led to a strong GWAVExFrontWing relationship that still flourishes to this day. As a reminder, 2008 saw the release of 「U☆MYSTAR -Frontwing Complete BEST!!!」, compiling close to 50 minutes of U's most popular eroge themes for the well-respected eroge studio.

On March 27 2009, GWAVE will publish 「ULTRA☆U2」, a 7-track album that so far includes the C75-exclusive「GWAVE 5th Anniversary Festa! 」 single and the song 「GO GO☆ら～びゅ」, but a complete tracklist is set to be released in the coming days. This new album is hailed by GWAVE as the proper follow-up to 2005's fan-favourite 「Ultra:U」, so odds are that the remaining 4 tracks are new songs composed for the occasion. Their official statement reads something like "A taste of the old! An evolution in soundwork! The glamorous first album now becomes part of a series!" Frantic description theirs, exclamation marks mine, excitement shared by all. For now, you can check out a short version of "love-go-round", which is set to become track #2 once the album drops in exactly one month and a half.



Despite U's commitment to making GWAVE a recognized name in the small (but expanding) world of denpa, the publisher has gone on ahead and added a second string to its 萌えの辞儀 (bow of moe). Enter 井上みゆ (INOUE Miyu) and her most recent solo effort 「Love Bullets」, a C75-released denpa album which is being promoted as the first in a series... since volume 2 is already coming out sometime in 2009!!!

Inoue-san's discography includes collaborations with multiple musicians; doreCHU's ave;new project first comes to mind and she also sang with the sweet とろ美... but lately she has been in a pretty solid relationship with someone in particular. Save for a lone exception (track #5 "Tsubasa-Drawing" was written by Famishin), the music on this album comes from 磯村カイ of TONAKAI sound works, a prolific composer who has also contributed two MOSAIC.WAV compositions in the not-so-distant past. Together they form Team LoveBullets, but TONAKAI will probably get its own entry in the future, so we'll leave it at that for now. As far as I can tell, their first collaboration only dates back to September 2008's 「モノモノ☆ダンス Feaver」 [major sic!] so they must have hit it off pretty well given this brand new series that is soon to become two-strong. Let's give the first album a quick review while we're at it.

1. マジカワ: 井上みゆ actually possesses a very versatile vocal range (she can rock the hell out) that can definitely be compared to Haruko Momoi's. In fact, this entire song is very reminiscent of UNDER17's work, what with the constant guitar strumming over a pounding beat and plenty of FUWA-FUWA sing alongs. This is not a bad little song, but they actually get much better than this, so it's not the best pick for an opening track.
   
   
2. ばーん☆まいらぶ: Funky song that incorporates the same intense guitar strumming previously heard, but on top of a much more ardent beat, resulting in a "high tension" song that also has a couple of interesting hooks. Inoue complements the instrumental section with a strong performance, obviously pouring her heart into the delivery. Somehow this song reminds me of the Wild Arms RPG series...
   
   
3. 1×8 ラブ・バレット(REMIX): Now THIS is where it's motherfucking at! I fell in love with the original back when it appeared on 「2007 2nd Drivers」, but the added insanity and extended intro make this remix the definitive version of one of the most hyperactive denpa tracks ever composed. There's a feeling of PURE VIOLENCE when Miyu-san screams zukyun-kyun and all of the other backup vocals. Kai-san provides an extensive instrumental section that was meticulously crafted and is poised to become a denpa classic. It already is for me, but I urge non-believers to give it a try...
   
   
4. リフレイン: Now for something a little more laid-back, we have Team LoveBullet doing a mysterious song that could make a good opening theme for an anime series like Cowboy Bebop. Somehow there's something very S.F. or cyberpunk about this song. Decent track that does overstay its welcome by about a minute or so.
   
   
5. ツバサ・ドローイング: Although GWAVE says this was composed by Famishin, the song is very much in line with what Kai normally writes, so the transition is lost on the oblivious listener (this is a good thing). This is more of a "moe song" than straight up denpa, especially when the small drama part kicks in. The sweet acoustic guitar plays a big part in giving it a warm feel, but ultimately it's Inoue's strong womanly voice that makes for an interesting composition.
   
   
6. 世界の中心でLOVEをかたるアタシ: This is a new song that was clearly modeled after the highly successful 1×8 ラブ・バレット, with its swift tempo, mildly distorted electric guitar and recurring Famicom-esque arpeggios. There's a part near the end where Miyu screams ridiculously fast, adding to the surreal feel of this song and album. Really good stuff that hopefully sets the pace for things to come!
   
   
7. Track07: Just a small ending jingle that's already done playing by the time you're finished reading this sentence.
   

If this review has piqued your interest, then by all means check out a sampler package that GWAVE gracefully put together. There's even a crazy PV for マジカワ that plays over a full version of the song. I have to commend GWAVE for giving 井上みゆ and 磯村カイ the chance to further explore the extents of their musical compatibility. They're a match made in heaven for true denpa fans! Right now the only information available on the second volume is that its cover should be released in mid-February (that's today...) and it will feature 6 brand new tracks, the first of which is titled "Call My Name", OP to LoverSoul's 「2姫さまはプリンセス」 ADV set to be released this year. Keep an eye on this page for the short version!

But although it wasn't specifically announced on GWAVE's page, chances are the new 「シスターまじっく！」 eroge opening theme will also be included, which is yet another solid 井上みゆ performance of a strong 磯村カイ composition. The opening video was just released yesterday so feast your eyes on this!