[C86] ComicMarket 86 Coverage Part 5

Ok, yet another update, MAYBE this is the last one! I (technically) made it in time with at least some of the Touhou stuff! Full C86 coverage here!

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Kikuo Sound Works - 略してきくおミク０

2014/08/17 (Sun) 東"シ"80a
1000 Yen



きくお presents a massive collection of tracks he made in the 7 years before he began making Vocaloid music. A whopping 28 tracks, 3 of which feature 白石なごむ! Get in touch with your roots with this release!

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OVERSPHERE - OVERSAW

2014/08/17 (Sun) 東ル-40a
1000 Yen



 木下いちご lends her cute voice to this cool CD!

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東方女子流 - 東方ガールズレジェンド

2014/08/16 (Sat) シ26a
1000 Yen



A nice line up of Touhou stars! あゆ, あまね, and はる*あま*にゃ provide lyrics, an arrangement from D.watt, and some lyrics from ビートまりお!

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Color&Color+ - 虹色キャンバス

2014/08/16(Sat) シ-26b

A touhou arrange CD with a colorful line up, including 桃箱 and ななひら among the ranks!

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天然ジェミニ - 東方Side Story

2014/08/16(Sat)  東ヒ-46a
1000 Yen


D.watt and the rest of the gang return for the latest 天然ジェミニ Touhou arrange CD.

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みこぺろ - Couverture

2014/08/17(Sun) 東 ヨ 45a
1000 Yen

ちえP's best of album includes 2 whole disks of a lot of lovely Vocaloid tracks, and a re-recording of a previously released ななひら track too! They will also sell a small number of copies of  "little birds flying over the stars", which is also available on bandcamp!

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Innocent Key - いのたま

2014/08/16(Sat) シ-23a  魂音泉, シ-23b Innocent Key
1000 Yen




More Innocent Key means more ココ!

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Dessert Logic LAB

2014/08/17(Sun) 東リ56b
Free

A new member, 結月ゆかり, has joined Desesrt Logic LAB, and to celebrate, they're releasing a free CD with her singing one of their previous songs. Listen here!

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めろめろんブックス - HOME 萌えっ娘だらけの水泳大会

2014/08/17(Sun) 東H－48b (HNU（ハニュー）)

Under the pen name "あまつかゆうゆ", Akiba-kei "Little sister" idol 桜川ひめこ is releasing her own doujinshi! Himeme is taking care of the story, while the art is brought to you by 風上旬, known for his art for Melonbooks. (Thus the circle name, Meromeron Books!)

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MilkyHoneyMoon - にゃんこのきもち

2014/08/17(Sun) 東リ-08b



真優, who you may know from her many collaborations with のみこ, is releasing this cute new CD at C86. Though there's only 2 tracks in the preview, there will be 4 tracks on the CD, though that could be including instrumental versions. And did you know her previous releases are available on itunes for those fans around the world?  (By the way, you can probably find her collaboration CDs with のみこ at her table too!)

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C-CLAYS - 番ヒノ翼

2014/08/16(Sat) 東シ-20a



Denpa fans check out track 3 of this KanColle CD!

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Halozy - TOHO R&B HOUSE Party Vol.3

2014/08/16(Sat)  シ-25ab (DiGITAL WiNG)
 1000 Yen



3rd in the series, featuring the lovely ななひら on track 3! Track 8 featuring nachi is also quite cute!

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DiGiTAL WiNG - デジウィ DREAM

2014/08/16(Sat)  シ-25ab (DiGITAL WiNG)




Another Touhou arrange album featuring a track with ななひら! It's as simple as that!

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556ミリメートル - invincible - perfect beautiful girls

2014/08/16(Sat)  ヒ-48b
1000 Yen



You thought I was done with Touhou CDs with a single ななひら track? Well, you were kind of right!! This one has TWO ななひら tracks! Gotcha!

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COOL&CREATE - ラララライブドリーマー

2014/08/17(Sun) 東シ-88a
1000 Yen

Another fun and wild release from C&C! ARM contributes too!

Catch the haruamania with 『ハルアマパラダイス』 and 『haru * ama * nia』

はる*あま*にゃ (haru-ama-nya) is a recent unit / circle which officially started in April 2012 when they released their debut CD 『haru * ama * nia』. They followed it up in April 2013 with 『ハルアマパラダイス』. Probably the best way to describe their music is "cute high-energy pop", maybe even a bit like the Hi-NRG genre of the 80s but with a bit more tempo, variety and definitely some 萌え電波 in there (in fact they remind me a lot of unMOMENT). Both albums are currently available on DIVERSE DIRECT which has worldwide shipping for a reasonable fee, so if you like what you hear, you know what to do!

Even though はる*あま*にゃ is about a year old, their core members go way back. As of now, haru*nya and あまね are providing dual female vocals and paraoka (麹町音源) completely produced their latest album. In fact paraoka and haru*nya have been making music together since 2006! Check out 33 of their tracks in 52 minutes. As for あまね, yes that is absolutely the same girl which has provided fantastic vocals for COOL&CREATE since 2004, alongside the always-hyperactive ビートまりお.

download crossfade MP3

Their April 2012 debut CD 『haru * ama * nia』 opens with 「御洋服革命」, a roaring anthem from ビートまりお which sounds pretty much exactly how you'd expect one of his songs to sound. You can't fault this guy for consistency! The lyrics and overall theme make it clear right off the bat that this is going to be a fun record. 「Sun! Sun! Sun! シャイン!」 continues the theme with a fun-in-the-sun variation. It is composed by 狐夢想(狐夢想屋), the same guy who came up with 「ぎみぎみ☆もあもあ」 on 2012's 『プチリズムＧｏ！』 , one of last year's best denpa songs which made it to our "Honourable Mentions"! It is an absolute rager of a track, with fast piano, rolling percussions and some kind of ultra-distorted lead instrument that definitely stands out. The girls' voices are a perfect match to this summer roadtrip theme song! (tested by yours truly)

With 「約束」, composer naotyu-(studio7) slows things down a bit and comes up with a great melodic piece that highlights their ability to sing sweet songs. Actually it gets pretty powerful overall and you have to love the stylish sound. 「ki-zu-na」 sounds straight-up 80s synthpop with tons of attitude. It was also composed by 狐夢想(狐夢想屋) who demonstrates his wide range of skills. As the title would indicate, track 5 「スイーツホリック」 is on the funky side with lots of jumpy bass, light-hearted piano lines and an unexpectedly violent finish from yamajet.

狐夢想(狐夢想屋)　returns for the third time with 「オシャレセラピー」, a confusing track which throws all kinds of tempos at its bewildered listeners. This guy sure loves to crank up the distortion on anything he does! The synth in particular is very colored, sounding almost like a harpsichord but I'm not sure that's the best comparison. It really does sound unique! This sixth track also ends with some surprisingly fast parts and is just a joy to listen to.

ARM (IOSYS) makes a surprise appearance with 「輝け乙女たち!」 which might remind you of his work on 2010's 「燃えろ！東方ブラスバンド」. This one's a little more "epic" (in the proper sense of the word) and sounds more like a full orchestra than a brass band. Finally 「トリックスター」 is full-on technopop from paraoka(麹町音源) with a nostalgia-inducing sonority despite futuristic overtones. Honestly it reminds me of old NAMCO and SEGA arcade game soundtracks with the heavy slapping bass and reverbed drums. The girls really give it their best shot and intertwine their beautiful vocals throughout the song.

download crossfade MP3

The theme for April 2013's CD was haru*nya+あまね+paraoka=ハルアマパラダイス and... that's exactly what happened! If you enjoyed the last track from the first CD, then you'll love this whole CD. Not that the genres are all technopop (far from it) but there's strong stylistic cohesion between all five songs. Opening track 「ハイ・ファイ・レイ」 is extremely vigorous and features compelling singalong moments. The guitar, drums and keyboard arrangement is nothing short of sublime, I particularly enjoy the parts where the ride cymbal is clearly audible. Track #2 「カステラ」 feels like soft picopop, just some easy-going music with good rhythm and catchy phrases.

「スゴイ・エナジー」 definitely stands out from the rest and would be a great PV candidate if they ever decide to go that way. Honestly, this sounds like something 中田ヤスタカ would compose for Perfume and I totally mean that as a compliment. This is definitely skilled electropop with all kinds of influences from the past 30 years. It's just a shoe-in for the girls, their voices sound appropriately mature here and I would just love to see some choreographed dancing! 「ブリーズ・スピナー」 feels a bit like an extension to the opening track with a slower tempo, but the same gorgeous instrumental arrangement. Great drums once again! This brings us to 「スローコースター」 which closes the album with class. By the way... noticed how all track titles are written in katakana?

It's too bad the second album has only 5 tracks as opposed to 8 for the debut album, because I could definitely stand to listen to some more of this wonderful unit! At this point we can only hope for a third album in April 2014, but I sure hope they'll surprise us with something else in-between. Highly recommended, talented artists and memorable songs for fans of electronic Japanese music.