Details on 5th MOSAIC.WAV album「吟遊Planet☆AKIBA-POP」

[Update March 2nd 2011] The store is now open for international orders! Get your "Extravagantly Extra-Equipped" Edition NOW!

[original story] Since there has been so much activity from smaller and newer players in the World of Denpa, we haven't been covering MOSAIC.WAV as much for the past couple months. Don't get us wrong: King Kayamori and Queen mi~ko still reign over the Kingdom of Akiba-Pop and we are still their loyal, ever-loving subjects. Very soon, March 9th 2011 to be precise, they will release their long-promoted fifth album 「吟遊Planet☆AKIBA-POP」(Ginyu Planet☆AKIBA-POP), which we first heard about nearly a year ago. There were some delays and a couple pretty cool singles in between, but this time it's for real. Here's the tracklist:

1. Thing！ Think！ Ting！ (new)
2. 印度 a 主義 (インド　ア　イズム) (new)
3. もののあはれ (new)
4. おいしい魔法のサシスセソ (mp3)
5. NAOKO-THUNDER VERNIER II　～幼女期の終わり～ (mp3)
6. きみにおねがい！セキュリティ (mp3) (youtube)
7. たべごろ☆1/2ふるーつ (mp3) (youtube)
8. 悠久想春歌 (new)
9. 脳・内・再・醒～ecphoric dance～ (mp3) (youtube)
10. Next Stage！ ⇒ "Hyperluminal" (new)
11. パペピプPOLIDAY (new)
12. 天体上∇吟遊サテライト (new)
13. FLY-ALONE (mp3) (nicovideo)

There are a number of interesting facts to note from this tracklist alone. First, you'll notice there are SEVEN new songs on this new album, which is far more generous than the 2-3 new tracks we usually get on a new album. On the other hand, they haven't composed that many eroge songs since 2009's 「Superluminal Ж AKIBA-POP」, so they did need to create more new songs to pad out this record. Second, you'll also notice that none of the new songs have samples, clearly they want to keep them as surprises (good on them).

Their selection of "old" songs is really interesting. First of all, #4 「おいしい魔法のサシスセソ」 finally gets a full-length release, four years after its initial release in early 2007. Written by big-bro 小池雅也, this is a ridiculously hyper-active song that brings back the feeling of their first three albums. In fact it might even sound out of place on here (especially for new fans), but you certainly won't hear me complain. #5 is the absolutely brutal 「NAOKO-THUNDER VERNIER II」 which mi~ko told me was a bit of a Gradius homage. I uploaded an English translation video back in December 2008, but unfortunately Youtube pulled the plug on the denpanosekai account last year and I don't have a backup of that video... such a shame.

#6 is the downright hilarious "semen-security" song. That youtube video is censored but still NSFW... and totally worth seeing! As for the song itself, you can find complete impressions on November 2008 report. Yet another tune that totally deserved a full version. #7 and #8 are the OP and ED theme songs to 2008's Musumaker, which we also extensively covered when the single was released at C74. Both tracks are a bit on the soft side but since the single is all but out of press, fans will appreciate the opportunity to revisit these songs.

The last of the "old" songs is just six months old. 「脳・内・再・醒～ecphoric dance～」 came out in September 2010, on a single which included two more songs that likely won't be featured anywhere else. Speaking of which, there's at least one game song which still hasn't been featured on an album. We're talking about 「オコサマオトナナオサナナナ」 which came out in November 2008, almost at the same time as that "semen-security" song. It was an interesting song that featured mi~ko doing three different voices, but somehow it didn't make the cut. Too bad!

Ginyu Planet AKIBA-POP [Limited Edition]

Ginyu Planet AKIBA-POP [Regular Edition]

So now you're completely sold, hyped, hooked and you can't wait to drop some mad cash to acquire this piece of denpa history, right? You're in luck, CDJapan has both the regular (34$) and limited (40$) editions for sale. Better act fast on that limited edition however, it's sure to sell out in no time. What's included in the limited edition? Aside from the long case and different artwork (both on disc and cover), there's also a packed-in light novel, titled 「吟遊サテライト」. But wait, there's more!

REAL fans will want to order the ultra-limited "gorgeous edition" set which includes:

• 「吟遊Planet☆AKIBA-POP」picture CD
• LP picture disc vinyl record
• LP-sized premium poster
• 24bit/96kHz HQM WAV data disc (DVD-ROM)
• A4-sized special booklet (w/ interviews)
• PSP decals
• 「世界の果てで愛ましょう」alternate cover
• 「吟遊サテライト」light-novel
• two cellphone straps

Wow... a MOSAIC.WAV LP record! How about that! That booklet is equally interesting, as it is said to contain interviews, photography and unique illustrations. The data disc has ultra-high quality versions of all new tracks, while the vinyl holds all six "old" songs. Extremely interesting... but can you afford the 6,800円 asking price? If so, head on over to the official MOSAIC.WAV eSTORE and order away. Since they don't ship outside Japan, just use dv8cag.com and tell them denpanosekai.com sent you!

As a final bit of related information, the second MOSAIC.WAV live tour will hit Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo in April 2011. Head over to the official site for ticket information!

Japan Firsthand: Comiket 79 Part 2 - Photo Journal

Most blogs stick to publishing pictures of amateur cosplayers. That's cool and all, but since everyone and their mom/dog has got that part covered, we decided to go after the "pro" cosplayers. Plus we were having a lot of fun in the business section and ran into a bunch of awesome people such as Toromi and doreCHU, so we just stuck by that area for most of our "free" time. All pictures by CRIMExTHINK (click for larger resolution).

Warning!! Tons of BIIIIG pictures after the jump.

Japan Firsthand: Comiket 79 Part 1 - Rants & Reviews

So, Comiket 79. That happened. Click images for larger resolution. CDs from left-to-right, top-to-bottom:

Row 1

• ココ 「ココボクMUSICPARTY」: 11 brand new songs featuring the hyperactive ココ, no way in hell I was gonna pass this up! I actually picked it up at とらのあな, which had it on sale one day before it was released at Comiket. The Innocent Key website has samples for each song. さつきがてんこもり is one of the guest composers, therefore it's a must-buy! Lots of denpa and wacky pop. ココ goes waaaay over-the-top with her voice on this one... and we finally get official confirmation that ココ＝ボク.
  
• t+pazolite 「RESetup;」: I picked this up from とぱぞ himself and just had to tell him that I loooove his songs, especially when リズナ is involved. Although this new CD only has her singing three songs, it's an absolute rager. There's no doubt about it, this guy has a gift when it comes to fucked up hardcore-denpa music (not to mention he's probably the only one out there). I also got to see him perform live at the MegaPeer event, where he tore shit up in front of about 25 screaming fans. Intense!!!
• ヒゲドライバー 「3UP」: This didn't actually come out at C79, but it was released in late November 2010 so it's still very new. While checking out the booth babes in the business area, I spotted this dude walking around with an Higedriver sign. Since I love his unique brand of Chiptune Rock (and wasn't aware about a third CD) I had to ask what was up. An interesting Engrish conversation ensued with the president of LOiD Records, who was thrilled to learn that a gaijin knew about his label and the release of 「コスモドライバー∞ＵＰ」.
  
• ALBATROSICKS 「MERGE THE STRAWBERRY!」: I own all of the ALBATROSICKS albums released so far, so I felt like I had to get this one too. It includes 5 remixed tunes from each of their five previous albums, as well as a bonus track which features a seemingly drunk MIKO screaming her ass off. Speaking of which, I'm pretty sure she handed me the CD herself but she wasn't all dolled up I couldn't really tell. She did have a similar voice. Quim was there too, unfortunately his attempt at making an English joke failed hard (sorry dude). This is a decent CD for the price, especially for the REDALiCE and DJ Command remixes. The others are kind of boring though.
  
• とろ美 「とろみ仕立て」: YAYYYYY I MET TOROMI. Mandi was right, she is incredibly small in person. She was dressed up as とろ弁天, her Ryohoji character. It was definitely cool to see in person, especially since I didn't have time to visit the shrine. She was very excited to meet me and I made sure to thank her for her years of lovely denpa music. This new album is by far her best, not to mention it has two tracks composed by ARM! This brings their total collaborations to four (in 2010 alone). The artwork is fantastic and I still can't believe she does everything herself. What a girl!
  

ACT 「Do love me!」 live video & pictures, new radio show

We gave ACT (Ayu from IOSYS, Coda from COOL&CREATE and t+pazolite from C.H.S) a bit of a belated introduction in December 2010, two months after they released their debut mini-album 「A.C.T」. Then they went quiet until IOSYS announced ACT would perform at quim's X-Mas party on December 25th 2010. Missed the event didn't you? The good doctors felt our collective pain so they uploaded this video to provide some relief.

Pretty sweet right? But doesn't it look as though this crowd wasn't completely into it? Well, that's the impression they are giving me, after having witnessed ACT perform unannounced at the MegaPeer event on January 8th 2010. Instead of a couple dozen folks cheering the sound unit, it was a couple hundred rabid fans screaming out the entire lyrics from start to finish. They performed 「Do love me!」once again and definitely blew everyone away with their imposing stage presence. Pics or it didn't happen, I know!

shit was off the hook

あゆ pulled a number of ridiculous moves

t+pazolite singing, how often does that happen?

Oh, and if you're into wicked long podcasts by your favourite artists, then surely this 61 minute-long ACT radio show will tickle your fancy. This got me thinking: from the get-go, ACT always seemed more like a side-project than a full-time band. Judging by the crowd's reaction at both events, the CD must have sold very well. And as much as t+pazolite feat. リズナ feels like a gift from above, he works great with あゆ as well. All this to say that I wasn't expecting much more than a lone CD from this collaboration, but now it seems that 2011 could hold some surprises from them. Could a full-length album be in the works?

Exclusive interview with Stein Gar Coo

Stein Gar Coo is an interesting circle, in many more ways than just a curious name. Although their first album 「stein gar coo」(November 2008) wasn't billed as 電波系, it's not like it's too far off the mark. The focus was on "yandere-rock" and they delivered admirably, especially with (the ridiculously long-titled) 「一方的な感情は理想的な結末を導くのか？」 which features twisted guitar licks and tormented vocals, both male and female. Then you have 「めざせ！モテカワスリム」 which is borderline moe-song, even though that was probably unintentional. "Cute girl" vocals will do that!

They followed this up with a hilarious superhero-squadron CD 「読瓜戦隊ハラレンジャー」 (August 2009) which included OP and ED theme songs as well as 50 minutes of voice drama comedy! In fact you can sample the hot-blooded opening theme and the entire first story with this illustrated video. Denpa fans probably only started paying attention to Stein Gar Coo with the release of their third album 「sweetCHU kiss」 (October 2010) which featured three brand new original tunes. As if that wasn't enough, they even got BB Lemonade on board (おでんぱ☆スタジオ and Melo9) to inject some denpa expertise into these songs, giving them a familiar and comforting sonority in the process.

Currently, the Stein Gar Coo members are working on their fourth project 「いらない子ゲーム」, which will be a visual novel! For more info, please refer to their website as well as official blog.


- Please introduce the doujin circle Stein Gar Coo and its members.

Our circle "したいがぁるくぅ" features three main members. We have two singers: "kick" (female) and "椎夜" (male). "めがね" (male) plays the guitar. Of course, we are always open to cooperation and frequently recruit collaborators when making new work.

Japan Firsthand: Bullet Soul and Phantom Breaker impressions

On January 8th 2011 at the Ginza Pasela Resort in Tokyo, 5pb. Games held a showcase where reporters and gamers could try near-final builds of their two upcoming games: Phantom Breaker and Bullet Soul. The former is a fighter and the latter is a shooter; neither of which try to reinvent their respective genres. In fact, one could even assume that 5pb. Games are going right for Arcana Heart and Cave fans, because there are so many similarities going on. Nevertheless, both games do bring their own flavours to the table and may even surprise the most jaded gamers out there.

All pictures by CRIMExTHINK (click them for larger resolution)

Jienotsu says: You better click "read more" or I'm gonna beat you up!