ウマウマ８ might as well be a sampler for 電波トランス２

We've already covered EXIT's first 「DENPA TRANCE」 album and made the point that while it was an excellent compilation, it really is nothing more than an alternate "best of" from their B-list 「ウマウマ」 series. Most of the songs on UMA UMA could be mistaken for actual denpa songs, but some are particularly worthy of the moniker.

The eight UMA UMA album came out on June 2nd 2010, so here are the songs which are likely candidates for the next DENPA TRANCE selection. Click the "from" links to access the original tunes on youtube (most in animated OP/ED form). Should you wish to purchase the first DENPA TRANCE album, or any of EXIT's albums, make sure you do it through CD Japan. They recently started offering FedEx! By the way, there's a 「萌えJ-POP」 album coming out on August 18!

6. キッチンはマイステージ
Judas feat. R. Cena
from: クッキンアイドルアイ!マイ!まいん!


Holy loli macaroni, the original tune was already a little bundle of joy, but this Judas remix spices things right up. R. Cena serves her best imitation of 11-year old 福原遥 and succeeds admirably. Everybody knows the best way to a guy's heart is through his stomach, so "Kitchen Idol" is a very respectable career choice at such a young age.


8. 恋愛サーキュレーション
MK feat. CAMRY
from: 化物語 OP4


EXIT used to be hit-or-miss, but when their remixes sound more engaging and involved than the original version, you know they're on their way up. What would normally be an average anime OP with very little substance is turned into a refreshing piece full of zest and vigor. Don't be surprised if this one doesn't make the DENPA TRANCE 2 cut, but it's still worth a mention. This is a CAMRY performance, after all!


13. できるかなって☆☆☆
Ryu☆ feat. MAKI + CAMRY + Ma15
from: ひだまりスケッチ×☆☆☆


「ひだまりスケッチ×☆☆☆」 has always had denpa-friendly OP themes; observe the first and second versions, the latter of which was already covered on 「アニメトランス BEST 7」 (even though it was better suited for an ウマウマ album). But the big draw here is that motherfucking Ryu☆ is working with the three hottest EXIT singers... all at once. Any of them on their own is newsworthy, but this quartet is the ultimate DENPA TRANCE fan service.


16. Ａｌｒｉｇｈｔ！ ハートキャッチプリキュア！
Acid=Stone Valley feat. MAKI
from: ハートキャッチプリキュア!


People frequently ask me what makes a song "denpa". If it contains HAI!HAI! screams sharp enough to cut through various animal carcasses, then it's a denpa song. Coincidentally, this fast-paced OP theme is a perfect match for 「Heartcatch PreCure!」, with its over-the-top art style and hot-blooded magical girls. Acid=Stone Valley (great name BTW) and MAKI have created an even more insane version for this album; it's pretty much a shoe-in for 電波トランス２.


17. どっきゅん☆ハート
TokorotenG feat. MAKI
from: どっきゅん☆ハート


TokorotenG isn't exactly the most prolific EXIT remixer, but judging by this contribution, you could swear he's been doing this for ages. The song itself is an interesting pick, showing that EXIT aren't always after the A-list OP themes. It's a "character song" from an episode of the anime Umineko, sung by the character Jessica as she was cosplaying Marisa from Touhou... not only that, but the song itself is apparently full of references to the 2 previous Higurashi series. Deep stuff! Original song is a perfect example of Denpa Rock. Remix is nuts!


18.BEAM my BEAM
MK feat. Maki + Camry + Mi-Mi
from: おまもりひまり ED


Another crazy trio is at work here! 「BEAM my BEAM」 is a great denpa song, and don't just take my word for it, most people will agree it is denpa. Actually, even though this is supposed to be a trance album, this remix probably runs at the same BPM as the fast and furious original version. The voices have been lolified a little and the remixed BGM is slightly more explosive, but other than that there are no major differences. Regardless, this is yet another great example of this up and coming DENPA TRANCE genre that EXIT have a hold on.


Bottom-line: DENPA TRANCE is fucking awesome in more ways than one. It's great for the gym, for one. It's also good for long-distance trips and even when you have people over that might not necessarily be receptive to pure denpa songs such as MOSAIC.WAV or Holic Service. Call it a gateway drug if you must, but let's give credit where credit is due; EXIT have definitely spanned a sub-genre of their own here.

Relax, take it easy with MOSAIC.WAV's fourth うじゅ single

Since 2007, MOSAIC.WAV have been composing theme songs for TOEI's Eiga Mura mascot うじゅ on a yearly basis. While the first three releases had absolutely batshit insane A-sides and equally mindblowing B-sides (as well as the occasional bonus track), the fourth single (as-of-yet untitled) puts craziness on the backburner.... at least for their first public promo.

This new song is actually a remix of 「うじゅたま☆うじゅりんぱ」, the very first うじゅ theme which first came out in June 2007 (lyrics sheet). However this is the "Kyoto Dialect" which, for all intents and purposes, probably only makes sense if you're a native speaker or a diehard linguist. You'll also rapidly notice that the music itself is quite different from regular MOSAIC.WAV songs, sounding more like traditional Japanese music than high-octane denpa.

Regardless, it's a refreshing new take on a now-classic composition and chances are the B-Side will feature the MOSAIC.WAV we know and love. Oh by the way, this new song was originally composed by none other than Big Brother 小池雅也, but Team LoveBullets head honcho 磯村カイ handled the remix! This is his third collaboration; he first arranged 「一件落着よベイベー！」 on 2007's 「Future-Fiction: AKIBA-POP!!」 and then composed 「最高ψ最強φメロダロイド！」 on 2008's superb 「ラストバトル！ アキバトラー“μ”」 single. Speaking of which, Akibattler is definitely due for a comeback!!



In related news, MOSAIC.WAV have been interviewed by the "Uju Production Committee". As usual, み～こ keeps chatter to a minimum while かやぴ has a lot to say. They touch on the upcoming うじゅ single, the new song itself as well as provide more details on Kyoto Dialect usage. Finally, they talk about their upcoming Uzumaki concert on September 25 2010, with Kayamori-san calling this live clubhouse "cozy". Another good description would be "fucking awesome", judging by these fantastic pictures.

ALBATROSICKS NOT DEAD, Banana Prince Fuck Off

IOSYS has an... interesting relationship with its sideproject band Albatrosicks. They released one of the best overall punk/rock/denpa/chiptune/fucked up albums of C76 in 「star cracker」, or at least the only one of its kind. Then, absolutely NOTHING for a whole year, until the recent announcement of an Osaka concert on August 31st. They even went as far as creating a Twitternator account for the Banana Prince, who seems to be the central theme of this gig. Although he's rumoured to be married with miko in the Albatrosicks universe, she really hates his big yellow face (in a tsundere way).

Titled 「ライド・オン・ザ☆マンボウ- petit -」, this show doesn't mean much to those of us outside Japanland. However, I want to believe that what they're doing here is announcing an event which will also serve as a launch party for an upcoming record. Now that would be the tits, unless it turns out like the mediocre 「e」.

Momoe Paruchu figure coming late 2010

Are you an ave;new projecto fan? Dumb question, who isn't. Are you a HARD to the CORE ave;new projecto zealot, ready to drop 70$ on a 12cm POP-designed Momoe Paruchu figure? This is where we separate the men from the boys (masculine form used to simplify text (point totally moot now)).

To be fair, retailer amiami is bundling a "new" Special Maxi-Single with this figure. The ave;new projecto website hasn't been updated in a while, so that's all we know so far. There's a slight chance this could be the standalone "Yoroken Sweets" single, but that's kind of old news by now (sample here). So, odds are we are looking at a new ave;new projecto single for Comiket 78!

Update 08/09/10: Looks like ave;new read paranda and mandichan's concerns for quality, so they decided to postpone the release for improvements!

You will dance ecphorically to MOSAIC.WAV's newest single

It's not much, but we know more about MOSAIC.WAV's seventh single. Now officially slated for an August 2010 release (hello C78), it also has a name: 「脳・内・再・醒 ～ecphoric dance～』 (nounai seisai ～ecphoric dance～). As he did with the previous album 「Superluminal Ж AKIBA-POP」, Kayamori-san randomly pulls a big word out of his bunny hat to use as a title. How about we let our good friends from the NASA enlighten us as to the etymology of the term:

Ecphory is a process by which retrieval information provided by a cue is correlated with the information stored in an episodic memory trace, thus providing the basis for the subjective experience of remembering and the corresponding memory performance. Particularly relevant to the study of ecphoric processes are experiments in which the material that is to be remembered is held nominally constant and in which both encoding conditions and retrieval conditions are systematically varied.

So "ecphoric dance" works well with 脳内再醒, which more or less means re-awakening of the brain. This sounds like a good premise for mi~ko to write totally crazy lyrics to, so let's tip our boring, non-usagimimi hats to the pair as they tirelessly prepare for their next full-length album, out in December 2010.

The latest news update also includes information about their still unnamed tie-up song for the fourth 「こえでおしごと！」 volume, due out July 24th 2010. Basically there will be a regular version and a limited one, with the various bells & whistles such an edition entails. Natalie has a nice writeup of the manga series and make sure to check out 「魔法のおしごと」, the song they previously wrote for volume 2, as well as a naughty audiobook.

DJ Sharpnel goes denpa on 「爆萌電波注意報!」

A lot more denpa stuff came out at C77 than you might have read about on this blog. It's our duty to keep you informed about the good stuff... but the rest of it can wait. That's not to say that DJ Sharpnel's unexpected 「爆萌電波注意報!」 is complete crap, but it just doesn't compare with the cream of the crop. It's most likely being shunned by their hardcore fans and it doesn't click with this denpa fan at all, so who's this for anyway?

Let's back the fuck up. Who or what is DJ Sharpnel/Sharpnelsound? This is a denpa blog after all, so let's go over a quick overview for you guys. Formed in 1998, DJ Sharpnel is actually a doujin circle consisting of these two guys Jea and Lemmy (Sharpnelsound is the label). They are known internationally for their 50+ speedcore/trance/gabber/etc. releases, most of which are compilations featuring many other artists. Even for their most dedicated fans, it's almost impossible to keep track of everything they have released or are featured on, because they are heavily involved with other circles/labels/groups such as Mob Squad Tokyo, M-Project, and the list goes on.


Let's direct our attention to the focus of this article, their so-called denpa album 「爆萌電波注意報!」 which came out at C77 and went public in February 2010. It features two musicians each doing three tracks, namely Killingscum (one of Jea's many aliases) and m1dy, commonly referred to as Japan's King of Speedcore (check out his latest album 「Lector In The Sky With Diamorphine」 to hear for yourself). These two guys are seminal icons in the Japanese speedcore scene, so why would they waste their time with a denpa mini-album?

Well, they may be speedcore gods but they're also hardcore nerds, in the strict sense of the term. This accompanying blog entry explains their leitmotiv as well as provides track-by-track analysis of their denpa sideproject. If you can't read Japanese, chances are you'll at least notice the constant "MOSAIC.WAV" namedropping. That's right, these guys are big fans of akiba-kei and wanted to have a go at it for the longest time.

Musically, it works... in a "this is not too bad" way. Maybe they had a MOSAIC.WAV homage in mind when they wrote some of these songs, but these guys have been making music for a very long time and it shows. Don't forget we're dealing with 6 original tracks, all of them lovingly crafted by two musical geniuses. Some of it feels like sped up new wave, overdistorted punk rock and standard fare denpa. The highlights are probably m1dy's fast-as-fuck 「くろゅめ!」 and Killingscum's 「ねらって スナイパーたそ」 which honestly sounds like a kooky anime theme song from the eighties.

So what's the problem here? THEY FUCKING SING, THAT'S WHAT THE FUCKING PROBLEM IS. There's no denpa rulebook, but male vocals are usually a big no-no unless they're hot-blooded screams like Kayapi as the Akibattler or Kota-tune on Tulip Kaiser. What we have here is two grown men in their thirties acting like soccer players faking injury. This pansy stuff is made worse by the extreme vocal plugins abuse, not that it would be palatable without that junk in the first place. This is one instance where instrumental versions are desperately needed, but then again the tracks were clearly composed with lyrics in mind so they would have felt empty without vocals.

This aspect of the album feels like they just wanted to satisfy their ego, some kind of "bigger than Jesus" claim. They can't sing to save their lives, so all six songs are a complete loss because of this poor decision. It baffles the mind that they didn't decide to collaborate with some up-and-coming denpa songstresses such as ななひら, ゆきまめ or even リズナ. They can't reach their hardcore fans with this album either way, but at least they would have made a ton of new denpa fans had they gone with female vocals.

There you have it. It's a shame but this mini-album is certainly not one for the history books, unless there's one for the really bad stuff. If you somehow still want to acquire this (for the lolz?) then head on over to akibaoo or Guhroovy. However, dust is best left settled on this one. Let's hope that if they ever revisit the exploding world of denpa, it'll be in company of the female variety.