末広アンテナdebut with their first single 『ラブギガヘルツ 』

This time a veteran of the denpa song, Nanahira (ななひら), joins forces with her friend and Idol Arino Iku (有野いく) to form 末広アンテナ. They debuted with their single 『ラブギガヘルツ 』. Most of you already know about Nanahira, but if you've never heard about Arino until today, here I’ve got some interesting trivia about her:

- Born in Tokyo on January 14, she studied in Osaka, graduating from the Dwango creative school.

- She’s the self-proclaimed “Karaage Idol”. She loves it (and who doesn’t) to the point of being part of the National Karaage Association and having a blog about karaage.

- She’s an internet Idol who has appeared in various internet radio and TV programs on Nico Nico Douga. Watch some of her broadcasts here (and her endearing love for karaage).

- She was a Seiyuu for various videogames including the PSP VN つくものがたり and 3DS RPG Metal Max 4.

In case this piqued your interest, you can visit her official website here.

 

But let’s talk about what we’ve got at hand, the music. This single brings 2 original songs composed by Satsuki Ga Tenkomori. Both songs play with different styles:

This is their introduction song. Closer to j-pop than Denpa, it’s a light hearted song. The real pleasure comes from the combination of Nanahira and Iku’s voice as they lovably complement each other; Nanahira’s voice tone is high so sometimes people find it too strident for their tastes. Arino’s soft and warm voice covers this issue perfectly by enveloping the sourness in Nanahira’s voice. Just to make a comparison, both singers work like a caramel flan. Nanahira’s strong caramel sweetness may put back some people but the flan-like softness and fluffiness of Iku’s voice provides an excellent base. Together, they bring to your ears a tasty treat which you can savour endlessly. Please check it out and don’t leave anything on your plates.

This is the denpa song on this single. The lyrics use the rather classic theme of denpa waves and mobile phone communication, so the music tries to convey this by giving emphasis on 2 repetitive and obsessive phrases that build up momentum with the lyrics. Furthermore, Nanahira’s voice stands out a bit more, breaking the balance described in the previous song. This in itself isn’t bad; in fact, it adds a lot more to the denpa feeling. Satsuki and the singers did a great job on this song.

I’ll be looking forward to new songs and albums from 末広アンテナin the future, especially if they bring us more stuff like the second song.

Track list:

1. ラブギガヘルツ

Lyrics and music: Satsuki ga Tenkomori / Arrange: Ooya Masaya

2. うるせえ黙れ

Lyrics and music: Satsuki ga Tenkomori / Arrange: Ooya Masaya

3. ラブギガヘルツ（y0c1e's REMIX）

4. ラブギガヘルツ（OFF VOCAL）

5. うるせえ黙れ（OFF VOCAL）

PS: This was to be published last week but for some unseen circunstances I haven't been able to do it until now.

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.

Buy or Die! Second さつきがてんこもり major album 「人畜無害」

Rejoice, for today marks the release of Lord Tenkomori's second major album! Indeed 「人畜無害」 is now available for purchase in Japan and internationally through cdjapan.co.jp for a measly 2476 yen... buy or die! Absolutely no compromise this time. You're either with us, or against us... and we'll STOMP THE ENEMY!

Joking, of course. But be a pal and buy a copy. You'll not only get the following 15 tracks (including a nifty MOSAIC.WAV remix), the first-press edition also includes a DVD with 6 fantastic videos!

【CD contents】

1. ウインク・トランジ・スター
2. ハッピーシンセサイザ-さつき が てんこもり's "redial call remix"-
3. 回線上のギャングスター
4. アストロとルーパー
5. ネトゲ廃人シュプレヒコール
6. 夏休みYummy
7. STOMP THE ENEMY
8. 人畜無害
9. チョコレートは人体に対してこんなにも危険!
10. お断りします
11. 男の娘メモラブル
12. お断りします-Denpa ga Tenkomo remix-
13. ネトゲ廃人シュプレヒコール(buff!buff! REMIX)
14. 男の娘メモラブル (He is Panda Girl!? REMIX)
15. いいえ、トムは妹に対して性的な興奮を覚えています

【DVD contents】

• 男の娘メモラブル
• ネトゲ廃人シュプレヒコール
• お断りします【PVのようなもの】
• アストロ トルーパー
• お断りします -Dempa ga Tenkomo remix-(MOSAIC.WAVリミックス)
• 人畜無害

Wow, these are some intense remixes from y0c1e and PandaBoY! But if high-tension vocaloid denpa is not 100% your thing, don't forget Satsuki also does real girls... no holds barred! You can still score a copy of 2011's masterpiece 「ニコ生モラルハザード」 for around 25USD. Stay tuned for an extra "bit" of coverage!

MOSAIC.WAV participating on two albums in May

MOSAIC.WAV are probably hard at work on their next release and summer shows as we speak, but that doesn't mean they can't have share their tremendous creativity and contribute songs to other people's albums. They've announced a couple of collaborations not long ago to tide us over until their next big thing comes out.


First we have something that was definitely unexpected. We don't recall MOSAIC.WAV and 清竜人 sharing the stage together or publicly mentioning any affinity for one another, but somehow our Akiba Heroes got a call from this 22-year-old singer/songwriter requesting a composition for his new album 『MUSIC』 slated to release May 9th 2012. Though he mostly sings over folksy music, he has had very interesting songs in the past. A rough sample for the upcoming single 「CAN YOU SPEAK JAPANESE」 (featuring Yui Horie!) also signals a potential shift towards a funny-poppy style, for this particular album anyway.

One more unexpected surprise? ave;new head honcho a.k.a.dRESS will also be composing the second track 「インモラリスト」! Should be a very interesting album indeed, preorder now or at least keep an eye out for this one.


The next one we've known for quite a while, but it's exciting nonetheless to see confirmation coming from MOSAIC.WAV's side. As the title indicates, 「お断りします -Dempa ga Tenkomo remix-」 will be a remix of Lord Satsuki's smashing Summer of 2010 Miku-hit 「お断りします」. This song was already released on the major album 『ニコ生モラルハザード』 in late 2011, performed by the lovely ゆづか姫, but this MOSAIC.WAV remix shall prove interesting nonetheless. Don't worry, we'll have some actual coverage of Satsuki's new all-初音ミク album 『人畜無害』 which comes out May 30th 2012, until then make sure you preorder it!

Free MP3 compilation 「ろりこんぴ²」 from 女児レコーズ

Back in November 2011, STUDIO1COURS had the great idea to release their Youkai Denpa compilation 「きゅん×２カーニバル 百萌夜行」 on the internet, absolutely free to download. If you're down with the concept of enjoying free music without a guilty conscience, then you'll love this new MP3 compilation 「ろりこんぴ²」 from 女児レコーズ.

Turns out circle owner airtoxin is no stranger to releasing free music through the 女児レコーズ website, this being the fifth album. However, 「ろりこんぴ²」 is clearly aiming to be a high-profile release as it features 21 tracks from various artists, each collaborating in their own way. There's an eclectic and impressive mix of bubblegum pop, electro, gabber, anison, glitch, breakcore and plenty more genres that just can't be put into words.

Perhaps most relevant to this blog's readership is the track 「Loli-Pop」 from tsundeRECords feat. がきコ. We've been big fans of がきコ since her high-tension song 「デートなう！」 on the C80 mini-album 「Sweet Blue」 (which also featured ななひら and our buddy keiji_haru). It's great to see her land some singing spots here and there and we certainly hope to hear even more in the future. As for tsundeRECords, we're expecting great things in 2012!

There's a little something for everyone here, but another highlight is the hardcore remix of the Milky Holmes OP from you (male version of U?). Clearly fans of the EXIT series would enjoy this remix, make sure to check out "For You Sounds" for many free albums. mononofrog_4sk & fazerock have a great contribution featuring 兎眠りおん and 初音ミク. DJ EVANGELION hits with a tragically short (just 1:16!) blastbeat outburst of happy hardcore for fans of t+pazolite and P*Light. Finally, it's pretty cool to see the mysterious Silvanian Families getting more exposure for his unique genre: moeclick.

Under the scope: Otaku Supernova 白石なごむ

I'm chargin mah denpa songs!!!!

白石なごむ (SHIRAISHI Nagomu) is a cute up-and-coming idol singer with a bit of a denpa twist. Late last year, she got in touch with us over twitter to confess her love for the genre! This immediately put her into our "must check out" list, but she didn't have many songs at the time. Four months later, she has two game theme songs and a debut mini-album with five songs... guess it's time for another one of our "Under the scope" features!

We'll get to her songs in a moment, but first let's check out her profile. Turns out she's a HUGE "momoist" (religious follower of 桃井はるこ) and no doubt you'll see the influence in her vocal style. But more interestingly is that Miss Nagomu is (was?) in charge of the "love.exe★" events, where the Queen of Akiba is celebrated through dance, song and general drunken festiveness. The official site has a ton of awesome pictures and videos. But wait! These great events don't stop at Momoi adulation: Kotoko and 田村ゆかり are also popular choices. The site even has links to MOSAIC.WAV and ave;new projecto... that says a lot! A LOT.

Behind every successful singer lies a great producer, and Nagomu can count on きくお to write great melodies upon which she can lay her pretty voice. He has composed all of her seven songs so far, which explains the consistency and apposition between all of them. He seems to have nailed the perfect balance of 電波ソング and 萌えソング which enhances her unique style. Let's not forget he is also behind some of the best songs on 「プチリズムＣＨＵ」 where he was paired with kana and ひなうち. But the man is also highly versatile and can compose some dark stuff as well, if his first solo album 「夢の鐘」 is any indication. Take a moment to lookup his extensive worklist and you might be surprised at what you'll find there!

Paranoia Love 「ぱらのいあ☆らヴ」

SHIRAISHI Nagomu (白石なごむ)

Back to Nagomu, she released her debut mini-album in early February 2011. It contains the five following original songs, along with requisite karaoke versions (tracks 6-10). There are no official sites or samplers, but we managed to dig up a few videos. Like what you hear below? Then click the album cover and you can buy it directly from CDJapan!

1. ねこっねこ☆どり~みんぐ♪NIGHT
2. 独占☆モエQ!?恋ゴコロ!
3. ちらLOVE★ぱれっと~覗いちゃダメ!なの!~
4. ぴゅあえむEND♪~はぁはぁしてもイイですか・・~
5. 人畜N系パラノイド

Track #1「ねこっねこ☆どり~みんぐ♪NIGHT」is lovely, carefree, lighthearted... break out the thesaurus! The background music is catchy and groovy... and Nagomu really does sound like a cat! Great new song and a solid opening track for a debut album. Unfortunately this video ends quite abruptly, guess you'll have to buy the album to hear the rest!

「独占☆モエQ!?恋ゴコロ!」 is the second track on the CD, but it was also initially released in July 2010 on the compilation album 「TOgether SONGS Neo girls 2010」 which features a plethora of upcoming talent. For a debut song, it's certainly eccentric and borderline experimental. It could also draw in fans of technopop!

「イツドコ！？らぶ☆リンクdeゴーゴーゴー！！！」was her first commercial song, OP theme to TEATIME's 3D-online eroge 「らぶデス５５５！」. There's good driving bass and passionate vocals in this strong pop song. Just watch out for the pigeon gang rape scene!

Finally we have「オシエテスキシテ♥」which is the very latest song from the duo. This was composed as the opening theme song for Nintendo DS game Nanami’s Teach English DS: Aim to be a Toeic Test Master and since it isn't even out yet, there's no way they could have included it on the CD. It's a shame, because this song is dangerously denpa and we here at 電波の世界 are hopeful it's an indication of things to come from them. Perhaps they will pull a MOSAIC.WAV and start releasing albums with their "commercial" songs included. HAI HAI HAI HAI HAI HAI!!!!

Want more Nagomu? Here are some great live shots from the recent 『TogetherLIVE2011』 event, where she performed alongside 森永まみ, 桃杏める, キャンディーGO!GO! and even more ridiculously pretty idol singers. Things are definitely on an upswing for her career and we'll be covering her every move from now on!

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!!

Top 5 things that need to happen in 2010

@ RUN WISHFUL_THINKING_1.3b

> NOW LOADING...
> DISABLING ALL_RATIONALITY_v0.9.. DONE!
> DISABLING COMMON_SENSE_v3.1+... DONE!
> ACTIVATING SELF_SERVING_BIAS_v2010a.. DONE!
> SUCCESS! COMMENCE DEBLATERATION.

Though the C77 maelstrom still virulently rages on, 2009 is now squarely behind us. 'Twas a good year for denpa, it was. Without giving away too much, we've still got one big "2009" article lined up for your refined reading pleasure. But until then, please indulge with us as we lay down our most perverse wishes for the coming year... and feel free to throw in your two cents when it's all said and done.




5 - The 電波ソング tag is not taboo anymore -- so use it
Calling all artists, musicians, singers, youtube/niconico uploaders -- DENPA IS OK!!! There's no need to hide behind fancier terms, it doesn't have to mean "crazy in the head" anymore. We have claimed it as ours and now it's time to take this shit to the next level. The war still rages on, of course, so don't let your guard down until the enemy is completely disgusted with the soundtrack to our collective lives. For you see, there are still those who refuse to "stoop" to our level, thinking that denpa song is a lowly denominator for rubbish music. Ironically, GWAVE's Love Bullets producer KATO describes denpa as something that "accomplishes entertainment", so that misguided reviewer will have to re-evaluate her standards. I'd like to think we're doing a good promotional job here, but all of the credit goes to the creative artists this blog covers, as well as the fine folks dedicated to events such as Denpa Song Night and the DENPA!!! gatherings.




4 - MOSAIC.WAV and IOSYS (ARM+miko) crossover
This one's high on my personal wishlist. As much as I looooooove MOSAIC.WAV as a standalone unit, they can deal even more damage when otaku mastermind kayapi is paired with a fellow composer and mi~ko an accompanying songstress. They went with koike-aniki for a long time and that worked pretty well, although they made it very clear that they were not gonna be the second coming of Under17 anytime soon. TONAKAI wrote a couple of fantastic MOSAIC.WAV songs before launching into Love Bullets full-time. Then their recent 「Heartsnative」 mini-album saw them team up with 鶴田加茂, one of the most popular Hatsune Miku composers out there. So theoretically, they should be open to the following idea: Kayapi, ARM, mi~ko and miko on the same song(s). No seriously, I know Japan is supposed to be a peaceful country now, but that deadly combination right there, my friends, gives THEM the nuke.




3 - Japanese stores must open up to international buyers
Japanese music fans OUTSIDE of Japan have had to live with a dilemma for years, one that quickly fades away the second that special release shows up in torrent form. Most Doujin music comes out at a fair price and stores such as akibaoo and toranoana don't have the huge markups that HMV and amazon liberally apply. But they don't offer international shipping! There are folks like myself who would just LOVE to shower hardworking denpa artists with hard-earned dough. Holic Service, Birdtune, Satuki? I would finance them myself if they knew about paypal at all! We don't all have 1000$ to blow on roundtrip airfare when comiket rolls around. Is Japan not the industrialized country they pretend to be? HOW FUCKING HARD CAN IT BE to add international shipping to akibaoo? And don't even get me started on those courier/proxy services, bunch of fucking crooks. Props to CDJapan for stocking up on more independent releases, but their search system is wack as all get-out.




2 - Enough with the regurgitated Touhou madness
This one's a bit of a double-edged blade and I might as well fall on my sword if I don't explain this properly. I do enjoy the revered SHMUP series, but there was a dark era of doujin music when it was all touhou all the time. Who isn't sick of Marisa Stole the Precious Thing by now? I'm not sure anyone wants this mistake repeated. Somehow IOSYS got the memo and spawned great original series such as Albatrosicks and ARM's fantastic denpa album. Originality is one area in which MOSAIC.WAV has never disappointed. I know, starving musicians want their new products to sell, but a little artistic integrity goes a long way with hardcore fans. If anything, I'd like to see more internet memes turned into songs, such as Studio Satuki's Denpa Hammer. On the flipside, we do have circles such as Holic Service doing recycled wonders with their Energy Reimen series... but KuKuDoDo's original compositions are just as good and don't carry the same sense of déjà vu, so why bother in the end? Again, let me make myself clear: I'm open to more Touhou remixes (as long as they're denpa-flavoured) but from now on, original compositions will get priority coverage on 電波の世界.




1 - I've Sound must bring SHORT CIRCUIT back from the dead
This one's not a wish, it's an order. I know the American I've Sound underlings are reading this, now that they've opened up an English website and started translating cool interviews. Let's be perfectly honest: KOTOKO and crew are to denpa what Thomas A. Edison is to the electric light bulb. They didn't quite invent the genre, but they sure made it work! What's that, you want me to be even more perfectly honest? How's this: all of KOTOKO's post-SC2 singles SUCKED. This affirmation does exclude the brilliant 「七転八起☆至上主義！」 but to be fair, it came out a mere three months after SHORT CIRCUIT II did. 2008 and 2009 were pretty abysmal for I've Sound overall, but that's not for this blog to discuss. To add insult to injury, they did come out with a couple of hyperactive-eurobeat-denpa compositions that were pretty damn good, but diehard fans will only consider their existence validated if everything comes out in the form of a compilation CD, along with 3 or 4 new songs. Enough with the bait-and-switch, SHORT CIRCUIT III is where I've Sound should be at... 2010 is their make-or-break year as far as this fan is concerned.

Well, that's that. Hope I haven't offended anyone, but feel free to lash out in the comments if you are. Otherwise, a heartfelt happy new year to all of you readers! I would especially like to thank my trusty sidekick mandichan who has provided me with tons of links and exciting news through the year. Another grateful mention goes out to all the Japanese composers and denpa fans who didn't delete my emails right away and chose to communicate despite my awkward JLPT4 "skills". Here's to another year of lyrical delusion and musical nonsense!!!

C77: Witness the best of the rest (IOSYS is everywhere)

Comiket 77 ends today and so will our coverage with this final entry (unless we've missed anything glaring). Interestingly, most of the remaining entries are linked together in ways other than they feature denpa music to some degree... all of them can be traced back to IOSYS.



When you think of IOSYS, does the ARM/miko duo come to mind first? That may change soon, since they have another denpa unit in the works (and let's not forget the underrated Dear Chocolat series). Enter VOID/ayu and their first "solo" album 「*antipasto*」, which features 4 new tracks and remixed versions of the two Princess Party opening themes. Check out the crossfade sampler to get a good idea of what the pair is capable of.



「東方ラブストリーム」 （MP3） is C77's flagship touhou release for IOSYS, but it is also Countess Younomi's second entry in her own series (follow-up to 「東方ヘクトパスカル」 (MP3)). The four-track mini-album offers an interesting mix of gothic metal, flower-pop and hyper-moe-denpa, for serious. Calling all Albatrosicks fans: quim sings on the third track. If you're aching for more material from IOSYS's lyrical powerhouse, you can also check out 「定概テクトニクス」, (MP3) which offers straight up JPop tinged with just enough moe goodness to make it worth your time.



Date Course is linked to IOSYS too, because Countess Younomi wrote a few of their lyrics. The hypersexual trio (blame it on MILK) is currently the star of the most recent Dance Mixer DLC, but what we're mostly interested in today is their C77 mini-album-slash-eroge-single 「いちゃいちゃプリンセス！」, which compiles all FOUR of the songs they've done so far. Yeah I know, not a lot, but still good stuff. Let's just hope they'll focus on new material in 2010, now that the whole handshaking business is out of the way. The trio is also proud to announce that they've won the 2009 Moe-GameAward for best... topic (話題??) thanks to the game Marginal Skip, out of which the sound unit came from in the first place. No MP3 samplers here but you can always refer to our Under The Scope feature for all the info you need.



2-dimension is a circle from circa 2006 with quite a few earlier releases, but based on their slick new website, their C77 release 「parade」 (MP3) seems to be their "reboot" effort... and what an album this will be. The composer behind all songs is this guy "task", who seems to be the 2-dimension head honcho as well. A quick look at the album cover and the assembled talent will show you just how much flair this dude has. The miko/ARM duo leaves its mark here, although on two separate songs. More interestingly, you have cosMo＠暴走P on arrangement duties, better known 'round this blog as one half of cosMoDRIVER. Then yet another veteran shows up on vocal duties... talking about 茶太 (chata) who's been out and about since 1998 and is still kicking with tons of stuff for C77. Most will agree that she is mostly famous for her Growlanser VI OP, but the couple of denpa songs she did with her own circle ウサギキノコ sure turned me on to her music. Anyway, this looks like yet another winner even though it will probably fall into obscurity as soon as C77 is over.



Now for something even more under the radar, yet still totally IOSYS-related: a new moe-denpa duo 天然ジェミニ (shortened to tenjemi) featuring the lovely 愛原佑季 & 愛原千尋 are releasing their first CD 「東方香辛甘味」 (Touhou Spice and Sugar) (MP3) at C77. This is more or less completely denpa (or at least totally cute stuff) so it comes highly recommended from your friendly neighborhood 電波の世界 overlord. No seriously, check that shit out. The first sign of quality is that the two ladies have been featured on a number of IOSYS albums in the past, mostly on the really good ones too. Their about page has all the stalker info you need. The second sign is that さつき が てんこもり (Satuki Studio) composed the very first track of that album, with his signature deep bass groove prominently featured. 未来派 (iDOLM@STER lover) and 24 bit lolitas (likely another IOSYS byproduct) have a couple of marked contributions as well. Yes, this is another Touhou remix album, but one totally worth going out of your way to obtain (wonder how I'll be able to get my hands on this one...)



Aaaaand we're gonna end today's fun-tastic update with our good buddies at Studio Satuki. Yes I know, this isn't quite IOSYS-related, but bear in mind the previous paragraph and BEHOLD, a vague connection appears! Their C77 release 「ファミマ秋葉原店に入ったらテンションがあがった」 (When you enter the Family-Mart in Akihabara, tension goes up!!!) has a really long title, but is a little short on contents. All it basically does is collect their two most recent NicoNico hits (minus their splendid Hatsune Miku song) as well as the instrumental versions, a glitch remix of "ファミマ" and a bonus track from LOLI.COM. Hardcore Satuki fans will snap this up, but let's hope a real full-length album is on the way! A cross-fade sampler MP3 is available, but full-length versions of both songs can be checked out on our Under The Scope feature.

C77: From fripSide to DystopiaGround, nao's "graduation" complete

We all expected nao to bounce back after her separation but other than a lone (though brilliant) eroge OP, nothing concrete came out of that fateful day. Well worry no more, nao fans, as she is definitely back, but not in the way you'd expect. Spearheaded by 志倉千代丸 (of 5pb. fame, yes the Ketsui publisher), DystopiaGround is a new doujin circle that focuses on nao and her songs, much like what fripSide used to be. They will release two mini-albums called 「Euclidean」 and 「Fermion」 at Comiket 77, with 4 tracks on each. Click "Play Music" on the flash-only website for demos of each song.

The main difference so far is that DG is not limited to a single composer but rather a ton of them, including superstars 桃井はるこ and motherfucking 伊藤賢治 of SquareEnix fame. Yes, the one and only Kenji Ito, how the hell did they get this guy? But according to his blog, it's not the first time he works with Momoi (they were teamed up on this effort). One of the "fripSide NAO project!" composers is back too, and you can tell from the samples that they won't shy away from denpa stuff. Either way, their mantra is "No A-Pop, No Life!" which greatly pleases this writer. There is a lengthy interview with nao about this new project up on Famitsu. Exciting stuff! Let's hope for more DystopiaGround stuff in 2010.

Under the Scope: Everyone, let's DATE COURSE get!

It's a small interwebz, and an even smaller erogeworld after all. Earlier this year I was talking with I've Sound blog owner 愛撫 about a new fishtone (former I've member) OP tune. We both concluded that the song sucked balls and that this would be the end of that. Enter デートコース (Date Course) who actually had a decent song on the game's CD (抱きしめて欲しいよ, featured below), which I didn't bother checking out because of the totally lame fishtone OP. Shame on me, but no time like the present to catch up on past mistakes.

Although Date Course only officially started sometime in January 2009, the girls have at least a decade of experience combined. It's worth taking a look at the unique lineup behind this new band, namely: 民安ともえ the veteran, みるく the hypersexual strumpet and finally 加瀬愛奈, the regular girl who wants you to fly her "to the over the rainbow". No shit, hop in my Nissan and I'll take you there. OR WILL I?!?! They don't have a particularly explosive discography to this day, in fact this page will do a much better job at summarizing everything than I ever could. Some of their songs are pretty sappy, but the good ones are upbeat and borderline denpa. They seem to be closely related to (sponsored by?) game studio MoonStone and promotional agency Dwango (home to Akihabalove Records).

Together they make for a good balanced trio capable of producing fantastic (see above), average (see below) and mediocre stuff (see キラキラッ☆-twinkle star light- on the Princess Party album). The fact that 民安ともえ/Tami/Tammy/Tomoe/whatever you wanna call her is at the helm bodes well for Date Course's future. Here's a girl who's been working in the eroge industry for the past 5 years and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. Certainly one of her most well-know album is 「TECHNORIDER TAMMY」 but right now I'm "looking" for 「アイドルKiss! 無敵ッス☆」, her latest split single with 織姫よぞら, whose deep booming voice always impressed me, considering how tiny she seems! (eyes excluded)

Here's a rather unique objective Date Course have set for themselves this year: they want to shake 10,000 hands. It's a bit ill-advised with the A(H1N1) scare we're going through recently, but it's still an clever promotional ploy. As it stands, they have accomplished a little over 80% of their goal. But with only two months to go before 2009 runs out, methinks they'll have to offer a little more than a handshake. Might I suggest みるく upping the ante with a more enticing incentive? Or... chances are they'll have something new for C77 and that will seal the deal. So let's keep an eye out for our new favourite maid trio!

Mandi noticed an interesting fact: the lyrics to both songs featured on this entry were penned by none other than Countess YOUNO, who usually writes for IOSYS and Albatrosicks. It's a nice coincidence, but I wouldn't come to the conclusion that IOSYS and Date Course are in cahoots just yet, as the dog-loving author actually does this for a living.

SallyCherry19 debut maxi single 「Very☆Lucky☆Sally☆Cherry」

ave;new's resident princess 佐倉紗織 is at it again with SallyCherry19, a brand new series that aims at mixing sounds of "Cute punk", "Dark gothic" and "Vivid girly" in her own words. Truth be told, the first two samples released on the official website don't sound too different from the average ave;new song, except devoid of any of this oddly enjoyable pseudo-trance/techno sonority most of their tracks are laden with, replacing it instead with catchy TommyHeavenly6-styled JPop. And whether they like it or not, I'm gonna slap the denpa label on this one because it's pretty messed up stuff overall. CHIHUAHUA PUNKISH? WHAT THE FUCK KINDA DRUGS ARE THEY ON? Wait, what's that sound? Oh yeah, Sid Vicious rolling over in his grave. Once again.



On the other hand, I'd expect no less from ave;new. Just hope SallyCherry19 doesn't take away too much from the recent spotlight they've been shining on the ave;new projecto series in 2009, (somehow I doubt it will). They don't seem to be aiming for anime/eroge theme production yet, strictly music for music's sake. If you scroll down the news box, you'll run into promotional videos for both Chihuahua Punkish and Usagi The Darkness, generated with the iDOLM@STER knockoff Dance×Mixer. The maxi single features two other songs, Very☆Cherry and Lucky☆Sally but they might as well be spoken tracks for all I know as there are no demos. Let's hear it from the Chiwakura fanclub!

Legend of Face is Miko's new mystery band

Miko is one busy gal, but apparently found enough time to be the face... err, make that the mask of Legend of Face, a new band of facially-covert folks. Nevermind the fact that Miko actually showed her face at last year's Animelo concert. Legend of Face also features Tissue-Hime on bass, the internet phenomenon real-life anime trap. The trio is completed by the mysterioius 桃知みなみ, who doesn't appear to be surfing the wave of internet stardom, but I wouldn't rule out he/she being one of the Anigao people.

They've only released a 30-second sample of their debut song 「Love&Face」 which clearly indicates the band-oriented pop/rock direction they're headed in, as opposed to something more electronic. ARM and the rest of IOSYS don't appear to have a hand in this, yet. Legend of Face have actually already played a gig (at the Animelo 2009 outside stage, no less) and made a few TV appearances, so they're on a roll. They're actually encouraging their fans to download and print out their own masks, so that everyone can enjoy the anonymity of the internet in real life. And look real stupid in the process, too.

C76: Fourth Albatrosicks album 「STAR CRACKER」

No no, this isn't a story about a new American Idol type show for Southern audiences. Coincidentally, I am in Alabama right now. Rather, this is a quick reminder that Comiket 76 saw the release of the fourth Albatrosicks album, since they consider the short-lived (and not exactly well-received) 「e」 an album as well.

But if 「e」 left you with a sour impression of the IOSYS superband, then by all means do check out samples from their latest release. A song like 「Cosmo Phoenix」 greatly shows how ARM's latest eroge theme songs have started to influence his Albatrosicks compositions as well.　「Walpurgis Sabbath」 is borderline Gothic Lolita / Yousei Teikoku, interesting! But the real kicker is the encore, 「残念ミラクルアンセム!」... 俺のヨメ！！ They totally went there. I'll save my complete impressions for the forthcoming review.

Their third live "voyage" has been scheduled for September 12th 2009... but wouldn't you know it, they sold out Studio Cube 326 in less than a week! Good on them.

C76: New ave;new projecto maxi single, Saori radio collection

Alright folks, Comiket 76 is only just over one week away, so let's get the news rolling. ave;new will be at the convention for the first time, under their new d;VIRTU distribution label (they love the shit outta semi colons). As well as regular ave;new merchandise, they'll be pushing two brand new releases, namely an ave;new projecto maxi single titled 「あらら、ど～も☆CHUぅ」 and a Sakura Saori double CD 「radio♪佐倉紗織のLoveLoveLovable！vol.1」. They'll be at booth 992 in the corporate section.


Although they're calling it a "maxi", the new ave;new projecto single only has three full songs (and two karaoke versions). What's more, two of these songs are actually remixes, but their description is promising so we'll have to give doreCHU benefit of the doubt on that one. You can listen to a very short sample of track #1 (the only new song) on the ave;new blog, but you'll have to sit/skip through 12 minutes of Saori Sakura and Rie Shirasawa being obnoxiously cute about this hot summer we're having. Well, I don't really mind them, but fair warning.

01. ダブル♪SHOOTING☆ぱるちゅ！！
02. 続・生意気☆いちごミルクDAYO！！-ツン成分63%増 CHU(当社比)-
03. ふわっFuワッホー☆メイプルまじっく！！-どれちゅ、今は黙ってて！みっくCHU-
04. ダブル♪SHOOTING☆ぱるちゅ！！（カラオケ）
05. 続・生意気☆いちごミルクDAYO！！ -ツン成分63%増量CHU(当社比)-（カラオケ）


ave;new's own little princess will be getting a double CD which, as the name suggests, compiles most of her internet radio shows since late 2007. The first disc will contain 30 episodes, available as high-quality 160 KBps MP3 files (their oxymoron, not mine). Now I am not exactly familiar with her radio act, but I believe she assumes the persona of "chiwakura", which is a clever pun that incorporates "sweet nothings" into her name (edit: read comment by paranda for actual explanation). The second disc features 2 songs, the first of which is most likely the full version of the show's opening theme. The other track is a full version of a theme song which a.k.a.dRESS wrote for some TV drama. Then we have the obligatory karaoke versions and some "hard" remix of the radio show OP. Not sure they couldn't have fit all of these on one disc, but the whole thing is a pretty sweet package deal either way.

【DISC-1】DATA-CD-------------------------

First 30 episodes of 「radio♪佐倉紗織のLoveLoveLovable！」 (mp3 / 160kbps)

【DISC-2】AUDIO-CD-------------------------

01.チワ倉さんのラブソング
02.everybody LovableNote！
03.チワ倉さんのラブソング -HARD dRESS STYLE-
04.チワ倉さんのラブソング (karaoke)
05.チワ倉さんのラブソング -HARD dRESS STYLE- (inst)

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.

Yui Sakakibara's Mad Summer of Compilation Love

The otaku-pleasing-yet-otagei-prohibiting JPop diva may have had an extremely busy first half of 2009, but that doesn't mean she's planning to take any vacation this summer. Of course the biggest concert of her life is approaching rapidly, as she takes the Saitama Super Arena stage on August 23rd along with a host of other elite artists gathered for the Animelo 2009 RE:BRIDGE concert. In terms of releases though, she's got not one, not two but THREE brand new compilation albums coming out in the near future.

The first one is titled 「DreamParty メモリアルアルバム」 and actually already came out on May 5th at the Dream Party (duh) Tokyo event, but will be available to the general public on June 30th. It compiles twelve unreleased and/or re-arranged songs from her 2004-2006 repertoire. It's possible that this re-release might get different jacket artwork, since neither amazon nor ota-suke are showing the album's cover at the moment.

Then we have another compilation which was apparently heavily requested by fans, that is to say her first four singles on the same disc. 「LOVE×singles」 comes out mere days after the Dream Party Memorial album, on July 3rd to be exact. There's no word on whether any of these songs will be remixed/remastered/what-have-you, but it's a safe bet that they'll be the exact same versions that could be found on the 「jewelry days」 (2004, produced by DJ SHIMAMURA!), 「此の花咲ク頃」 (2005), 「Eternal Destiny」 (2005) and 「Imitation」 (2006) singles.

Last but not least... her fifth full-length album is also coming out this summer! It's slated for August 26th, but you can be sure that advance copies will be sold at Animelo. This was just recently announced (June 10th) so the only details we have right now is that the album will contain 15 songs; 11 of her latest eroge compositions and 4 new ones. That's it for now. Oh wait, we have the title too... 「Yeeeeell！」. Yeah, no kidding. I like to end my posts with a bit of a snark, but I don't believe anything else needs to be said right now.

IOSYS demoes its upcoming M3 releases

The official "We Are IOSYS" website was updated today with crossfade sampler MP3s from two brand new IOSYS albums set to be released on May 5th 2009 when the 23rd M3 event hits Tokyo's Ota City. While the Comiket alternative is still far from threatening to overtake its big brother, it has significantly grown in scale as you can tell from this current list of participating circles. Already, the 24th event has been planned for this year's October, so that's one more thing to look forward to. Please note that the We Are IOSYS website also offers full lyrics to each and every track, simply by clicking the song names.

The first one, titled 「君と出会って二年過ごした私が 微妙に変わった理由」 is a compilation of brand new Hatsune Miku songs which will no doubt prove successful. The sampler reveals a variety of genres, including some strong rock tracks leading the way. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this might be the first IOSYS-produced Hatsune Mike album. But as good as Miku still sounds, it does look as though the aging virtual diva has stopped learning new tricks some time ago. Here's hoping the new vocaloids will be given more exposure in the near future, but at this rate...

The second album is 「Shall We IOSYS?」, the third volume in the recent 「We Are IOSYS」 series which previously featured 「We Are IOSYS」 in August 2008 and 「Are You IOSYS?」 in December 2008. Judging by the sampler, the same mishmash of musical genres marks a return, but the standout track looks like it will be "Chocolate Lip", produced by Innocent Key's yohine and sung by the lovely Ayu. The dark and gloomy "JOURNEY" should be interesting too, sung by the mysterious and karate-obsessed 龍波しゅういち. Overall, it sounds like IOSYS are finally managing to break free from their perpetual Touhou-arranging stigma and move into their own production domain.

That's not to say that they're going to stop producing their famous ZUN tributes. Certainly, M3 will be a good occasion for them to push their recent greatest hits compilation 「東方月燈籠セーフ！」 as well as their eleventh Touhou album 「東方超都魔転」 (English: "Just A Moment"), ARM's first solo album "BLOOM" and of course Monotone, ARM's first self-produced album featuring the deceptively-named Sapporo voice unit.


In related IOSYS news, their popular Princess Party opening theme "Princess Party～青春禁止令～" will be part of a vocal album compilation, also due out May 5th incidentally. The other songs weren't composed by IOSYS, but the prospect of a full-length version of said theme song is probably good enough for most fans. The question now is: will the full-length version of their PAI★TOUCH theme ever get a proper release?

ave;new delays 「A LA MODE 2」 once again

And they're not saying why either. Their second moe/denpa compilation album has been pushed back to mid-June, 06/12/09 to be exact. Recall that it was originally slated for mid-March, then mid-May and now mid-June. At least the above animation provides a bit more information on the tracklist, but it is still shrouded in mystery. One thing I can appreciate is that doreCHU is very upfront about the album being a DENPA compilation. Lately the term seems to have been eschewed a little bit from all major players. We've already discussed of its possibly negative connotations in the past.

On the other hand, vol. 2 of ave;new's "rare track collection" series has not gone through any setbacks whatsoever and hit Japanese music stores as expected on April 17th. If you can't physically haul ass and pick up your own copy in person, fear not. They released about a sixth of the album online in the form of a 9 minute long non-stop-remix that criss-crosses between the 13 tracks that make up "new;Fable". You can listen to it either via the embedded player on ave;new's homepage or by downloading it directly, courtesy of my xXx-treme "View Page Source" skillz.

Finally, ave;new will host their first Akihabara concert on May 11th 2009 at Club Goodman. The usual suspects will be performing but who knows if there will be any live Hatsune songs? There seems to be a new official fanclub in the making, but I don't really pay attention to these things. Full details here for those interested.

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!