田中ヤスタカ roundup: Capsule, Perfume, 鈴木亜美, MEG

I said I'd write more about NAKATA yasutaka and his solid-gold compositions, time to make good on that promise and actually get down to it, not to mention that a large number of his tracks are about to get released by the end of the year. Source for this information largely taken from Perfume City (and its splendid, troll-free forums).

First and foremost, capsule will finally release some new material this year, after a busy 2007 that saw them release three albums. Dated for November 19 2008 「More! More! More!」 will indeed probably give us more of the same audio crack that we are desperate for. A trippy PV for "Jumper" is already out and a short version of the album's titular song has been out there for quite a while actually. Initial impressions on this fan's end are extremely positive, but the currently available songs don't eclipse 2007's brilliant 「Sugarless GiRL」; stay tuned for a review once the album hits.

Of course, 中田さん is once again completely behind Perfume's third release of the year (fourth if you include the Game DVD). 「Dream Fighter」 is also slated to be released on November 19, hopefully the legion of Perfume superfans will have a thought for their producer and buy both capsule's full-length and Perfume's new single at the same time. Either way, it's clear which one will top the oricon charts. Surprisingly none of the two tracks have leaked yet, however Chaku-Uta will have the songs available for its けいたい users on October 29th... any moment now!



Fans of SUZUKI ami have been enjoyed the second coming of her career as she has now completely transitioned under 中田's authority. The eleven track full-length album 「Supreme Show」 will drop one week before capsule and Perfume, that's November 12 2008. Five of these tracks are already available through the two singles she released this summer. Considering the decent chartings obtained by 「ONE」 and 「can't stop the DISCO」, it only makes sense for this entire album to come to fruition. If it charts higher than 「DOLCE」 did (and it is expected to) then by inference, people will actually be buying this mostly because of NAKATA's work on rejuvenating the diva's career. Which is good stuff all-around for all three parties involved (the third is us!! the fans!!!)



Quick ending note about the lovely MEG. The relentless model-turned-singer released her third single of the year on September 17, a mere three months after dropping her fifth album in August. Sadly, the single fell off oricon charts after reaching #17 on week 39, but it has yet to fall out of her fan's hearts. It features two new songs: PRECIOUS, CANDY and an appropriate "end of summer" remix of PRECIOUS, which actually blows the original out of the water with its slick flamenco guitar picking and by-the-beach mood. Let's just hope the poor commercial performance doesn't break the camel's back, because what a terrible place this world would become without her beautiful voice...