Roundup – Page 2 – Releska

RTS13 Roundup

April 28, 2016July 31, 2016ReleskaLeave a comment

Another event, another roundup post!

Like usual, some albums are being released by Western Touhou circles: Frozen Starfall (Babbe’s new circle) is continuing with their ‘DANCEFLOOR’ series with PROMISED DANCEFLOOR. Veto and denshuto are also being featured on Shinigiwa Satellite’s WOW!! EP. Also, Shoop has released an album, ‘Where no Miko has Gone Before.’ Check them out if you’d like to support the Western community!

Also, I’m releasing my 4th Touhou arrangement album! It’s called ‘Mastermind,’ and it’s another LoLK album. It features all of the themes that weren’t featured on my last album.

Just stressing that these are all my opinions! If there are any albums I haven’t put here that you’re looking forward to, mention them in the comments! (Oh yeah, any title translations are also unofficial. Just putting that out there.)

1. Team Shanghai Alice’s “Dr. Latency’s Freak Report”

I was hoping for ZUN to release another Sealing Club CD. And… he delivers! I’ve been spending too much time since the album was announced imagining what the new themes will sound like, imagining how I’ll arrange them, etc. Yeah, my 5th album is definitely going to be a Dr. Latency album.

Anyway, there have been a few theories regarding the title and what the story will be about. Some people think that Renko is Dr. Latency, observing Merry (hence, ‘Dr. Latency’s Sleepless Eyes’). No matter what happens, the story should be interesting, and the music will be great, too. Also, it makes me happy to see that ZUN is giving ‘Eternal Short-Lived Reign’ the attention it deserves. Thanks, ZUN.

2. Ringing Volcano’s “Chitchat at the Teahouse ‘Bakeneko'” [Kissa Bakeneko de Oshaberi wo – 喫茶化猫でおしゃべりを]

XFD || Official Site

Yep. Amazing. Simply amazing. If you are remotely into instrumental arrangements of Touhou themes, you need to visit the circle’s BOOTH page and do everything in your power to buy their music.

This album sounds so good I don’t even want to waste your time talking about it. Just listen to the crossfade. Please.

2. Shinra-Bansho’s “M other

XFD || Official Site

Right on schedule, Shinra-Bansho has returned with another release. (It takes joint second place because I can’t decide whether I like it more than Ringing Volcano’s album…)

If you’ve been following my translations, you’ll know how much of a Shinra-Bansho fan I am, and this album doesn’t disappoint! This one is more like Paraiso, since it doesn’t have a musical. But it does feature Ranko instead (a total of 2 times!). Awesome!

Like always, one vocalist is emphasised. This time, it’s あやぽんず＊ (ayaponzu＊). It looks like she’s new to the circle, so she’s been flung into the deep end, singing a total of 4 songs including the title track. She leaves a pretty good impression – she has a bit of a ‘cutesy’ voice, but it doesn’t overpower everything else. That probably didn’t make sense. Lyrics-wise, kaztora and azuki have taken care of 2 songs each, and Seiji (the newcomer from the last album) has taken care of 3 (!) songs. I’m interested to read his lyrics to see how he’s improved over the last year.

Also, the last track is brought to us by ACTRock. I bet you weren’t expecting that.

3. Touhou Jihen’s “revoltech”

XFD || Official Site

“Why are you putting this album so high when there’s only 3 tracks, and one of them is ‘Addicted!!’ which has already been released?”

Well, according to the Melonbooks page, this is the first in a series of 3 consecutive singles! So rather than waiting for over a year for a new album, NSY is splitting it up into parts. Based on this album, it seems like they’re all going to be based on DDC, though it could end up being different. Anyway, the title track is great, but track 2 is, in my opinion, the best. IZNA really shines – you can tell that NSY knows exactly how to play to her strengths. Also, ‘Addicted!!’ is still one of the ~~only~~ best arrangements of ‘Thunderclouds of Magical Power.’ So overall, the first single leaves me with high hopes for the next 2!

4. Diao ye zong’s “Kakage” [掲 – ‘Declaration’]

XFD || Official Site

The theme this time is spellcards. RD also said that he’s aiming to make an album that everyone can enjoy and get into. Which, honestly, is a massive departure from his last album.

Anyway, as can be expected, the songs sound great. I’m not entirely sold on the themes he chose to arrange, mainly because he’s arranged most of them before and there’s a whole game’s worth of themes that need arranging ~~*cough cough Pure Furies*~~ but that’s his choice, and I’m okay with it when the results sound as good as this. I like the instrumental tracks more than usual this time, and it looks like Evil Sign “Hao Xioaogui” (邪符「ハオシャオグイ」 ) is the Desire Drive/Old Yuanxian mashup I was waiting to hear. It has 3L, too, and unlike last time I feel much warmer towards her voice!

5. Akatsuki Records x Liz Triangle’s “First Memory/Next Memory”

XFD || Official Site

Yes, you read that right. Akatsuki Records and Liz Triangle have joined up to create a completely unexpected album. Have we seen a collaboration like this before? I don’t think so.

Anyway, the album consists of new and old arrangements, and each track is influenced by both circles in at least one way. It all makes sense if you look at the official site. It’s interesting to hear how the two circles combine, and to be honest it makes ACTRock stand out for me a lot more than he usually does. I never thought I’d hear lily-an sing LOVE EAST (arranged by kaztora), but it actually works. It seems like the song pushes her out of her comfort zone, which is what a collaboration should do. Stack does an awesome job with who killed U.N. Owen, as well. The theatrical nature of the song suits her voice perfectly. I’m a bit disappointed that Stack Bros. doesn’t make an appearance, but that would have made the album too crowded, I suppose…

6. KOKYO Active NEETs’ “Touhou Philharmonic Orchestra 4: IN + IaMP” [東方フィルハーモニー交響楽団4 永+萃]

XFD || Official Site

So, that’s not the full crossfade – instead, it’s their version of Dream Battle. Anyway, if you’ve been following my roundup posts, you’ll know how much I love this series. I’m… slightly disappointed that they didn’t go straight to PoFV, but I’m still happy with how this album sounds. My biggest concern is that… they had 2 albums to arrange Wriggle’s theme/the stage 1 theme and they didn’t! As if! And, for reasons that will probably never become clear, they decided to release a second Kancolle jazz album at this event instead of Explosive Jazz: UFO edition. Isn’t this… a Touhou-only event?!

(Also, is it just me or is their orchestra getting smaller with each release?)

hlzy-0025_jacket

7. Halozy’s “Lucky 7”

XFD || Official Site

The album is called ‘Lucky 7’ and completely through coincidence, it ended up at 7th place on my list…

I’m here for the Asahi/Emaru track, and boy does it deliver. It’s everything I could have ever hoped for in an arrangement of ‘Wonderful Heaven.’ (I still can’t believe it took me so long to learn about him…)

8. Pizuya’s Cell’s “The Mallet and Stylus of Magical Power” [魔力の小槌とスタイラス]

XFD || Official Site

Another Godwood piano album. This time, the theme is DDC. Like usual, Godwood gives us some excellent piano playing, and his version of the original themes sounds fresh. He’s kind of like the antithesis to Marasy.

I don’t know if it’s just me, though, but these albums are beginning to sound a bit same-ish. Harmonically speaking, it seems like Godwood has the same patterns that he keeps coming back to. I was originally captivated by his Ten Desires album because it had some extra instruments, too, but he never went back to that style. Part of me wants to hear that style a little more… Anyway, don’t let that turn you off. It still sounds great!

9. Akatsuki Records’ “God’s Stories -INNOCENT- -to the beginning 06-” [神様Stories-]

XFD || Official Site

I stopped believing in Akatsuki Records for a while. I came close to ignoring this album, too, because I wasn’t too fond of the first two tracks. But then I heard the third track – wow, I haven’t heard this vocalist before! And then track 6 hit me. The beginning is so haunting, and then the tension just ramps up [plus, I love the original theme]. It turns out it was arranged by the enigmatic Stack Bros…

Speaking of Stack Bros., there’s also an event-limited CD full of arrangements by Stack Bros. Are they… planning on splitting off and forming their own circle? Honestly… I’d be okay with that.

Also, the title track has already been translated over at stargazer, so check it out!

10. Shibayan Records’ “TOHO BOSSA NOVA 5”

XFD || Official Site

As expected, we have another iteration in the bossa nova series. This time, there are two (!) arrangements of Desire Drive, and Shibayan has only arranged one (!) of the tracks. There’s also only one (!) vocal track – a wonderful arrangement of Futo’s theme. There’s also an arrangement of LoLK’s stage 4 theme + Sagume’s theme, but I’m not too fond of it. With bossa nova, you have to be careful or else it will sound too generic ~~(a problem that I’ve faced a couple of times)~~.

So, even though I’m not as hyped as I was for the previous bossa nova albums, it’s still going to end up pretty good. Shibayan has also released some of his older albums on BOOTH, so go and check them out if you’re interested!

11. AdamKadmon’s “moon”

XFD || Official Site

I don’t know what happened, but this is probably the most I’ve enjoyed an AdamKadmon crossfade. You can tell that Kamiyashiro has improved – I used to feel that his arrangements stuck too close to the original theme, but it looks like he’s found the confidence to step out a bit, which is an encouraging sign. This is also a LoLK album, which is a bonus. It also features a track by Wani (in collaboration with Sepia, which is a first). It has some weird gestalt thing going on – I can’t directly hear ‘Faraway Voyage of 38,000 Kilometres’ in there, but I can still feel it there. I can’t explain it. Anyway, it’s good to hear Wani arranging again. It’s like hearing from an old friend you should keep in touch with but never find time to.

12. GET IN THE RING’s “”Activity” Case:06 -Shining Future-“

XFD || Official Site

This is a compilation of all of the previous ‘Activity Case’ albums, and it also features two new tracks. GET IN THE RING sometimes suffers from the ‘sounds the same’ syndrome, but I’m a big fan of their mashups. And these tracks all manage to be pretty unique, even though their original themes overlap here and there. I wonder if this is the final volume in the series? Since we’re getting a new music CD, it probably isn’t. I’m sure we’ll see it again someday…

13. AbsoЯute Zero’s “Trident World”

XFD || Official Site

You might recall that I was really hyped for Absolute One, this circle’s first album. Well… I didn’t end up enjoying it as much as I thought it would. This album’s kind of the same story – the crossfade sounds really good, but in the end, I know that the full songs probably won’t capture my interest. For me, they’re better listened to in short bursts, because they kind of blend together a bit after a while (like with the Godwood albums). Putting that aside, there are some good tracks in there, and there’s actually an arrangement of LoLK’s ending theme – I never thought I’d see one of them!

14. “TOHO PARTY BOX – Hakurei Shrine Ver.” presented by Melonbooks

XFD || Official Site

The sequel to the one released last year. By the way, did anyone notice that there’s no UROBOROS album this time? I’m honestly… a bit disappointed. Anyway, I like the sound of the new Hatsunetsumiko’s and Diao ye zong tracks. There’s also an arrangement of ‘Eternal Spring Dream’ in there. Nice!

15. Pizuya’s Cell’s “The Sweet Joker’s Trump Card” [スウィートジョーカーの偽切札]

XFD || Official Site

I don’t like the way Pizuya masters his tracks, which turns me off a lot of his albums. Considering that I really love Futoumeido’s lyrics, it’s a shame. With that in mind, the track that I love the most is track 5 (the arrangement of Sagume’s theme). I love it because it’s subdued. It doesn’t assault your ears with violins and harsh pianos. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pizuya didn’t arrange it…

Also, I want to take a moment to mourn the passing of the -classic legend- series. I knew something was up when the last one began with “I forgot what I was going to write here, so I’ll just put random stuff in. Sorry.” It was a niche series, but I loved it all the same. Now who will I go to for my amusing takes on music history?

16. Butaotome’s “The Long Goodbye” [今日が最後の一日]

XFD || Official Site

“These songs are for the humans who continue to live here.”

The title properly translates to ‘Today is Our Last Day,’ but since ‘The Long Goodbye’ is written on the jacket, I assume that’s what they want it to be called.

I don’t really like this album based on what I’ve heard so far. Butaotome have arranged most of these songs and (in my opinion) they did a better job the first time around. My main problem with it is the arrangements themselves – there’s too much original material for my tastes, which was the issue I had with Animal Path (my least favourite Butaotome album). If you said tracks 3 and 4 (and probably 6 and 7 as well) were original tracks, I’d believe you. So, in that sense, I don’t think the album is bad. I just think that Butaotome could have done a better job arranging the original themes. So I’m kind of judging it on a different level.

That sounds really harsh, but there are are still positives. Ranko sounds great like usual, and I’m honestly sure that the full album will sound awesome, like we’ve come to expect from Butaotome. I just can’t get into it this time. I feel like there’s something wrong with me! *hides in a corner*

FELT 17. FELT’s “Rebirth Story III”

So I was kind of impressed by FELT’s last album, having never been a fan of them before. It looks like this album is another ‘best of’ collection. I suppose this gives me the perfect chance to go back and revisit some of the songs I missed during my long absence from the world of FELT. I don’t know how many of the songs have been made specifically for the album. I assume the first is new, since Kokoro’s on the front cover… But they’re all new to me since I hardly ever listen to FELT >_>

And, to finish it off, I need to say that Shinigiwa Satellite is releasing CLOWN EP. It is a thing. It has Clownpiece on the cover.

C89 Roundup

December 23, 2015December 29, 2015Releska3 Comments

So, I’m here with another one of these posts. C89’s shaping up to be an awesome event (or at least, it is for me), with lots of LoLK albums set to be released. I’m chipping in and releasing my own LoLK album, ‘Apollo Rises,‘ so be sure to check it out if you’re interested! Anyway, without further ado, here’s my list of ~~all~~ a few of the albums I’m looking forward to.

I’ll update this post as more XFDs come in.

Hisoka 1. Diao ye zong’s “Hisoka” [密 – ‘Secrets’]

XFD || Official Site

Yeah, that’s the cover art. The theme this time is ‘secrets,’ and those who expose them. I was upset that RD didn’t arrange Last Occultism for his last album. Luckily, he’s included not one, but two arrangements of it in this album! They are ‘The Aftermath’ and ‘Ms. lonely hedgehog,’ and they’re the opening tracks. nayuta also shines on this album, with 2 solos and a duet with Merami, ‘Secret Disclosers.’ I can’t help but feel that it’s going to be linked to ‘True Outsiders.’ Kushi also returns, and 3L’s absent this time. Which is a shame, since I ended up really enjoying 3L’s song…

Anyway, why have I put this album at top spot? Well, to me, it seems like it’s a more balanced album than Tatoe. I can honestly say that I like every track on the album so far. Also, Kirisame Eversion has Witch of Love Potion mashed in. Who can say no to an arrangement of that theme? ‘Alice, the Enigmatic Doll’ [アリス・ザ・エニグマティクドール] also has Circus Reverie in it. I love Circus Reverie.

Touhou Jihen.jpg 2. Touhou Jihen’s “Peerless Patrolwoman” [絶倫パトロール – ‘zetsurin patorooru’]

XFD || Official Site

The long-awaited sequel to 悦楽バージン [etsuraku baajin – “Pleasure Virgin”]. Well… I was waiting for it, at least.

So, this circle is another one of Sally’s branch circles. The main members of this one are NSY and IZNA, and their sound is deliciously old-school. I was a bit afraid that Touhou Jihen’s second album would be a PCB album, so I nearly lost it when I found out that it’s a LoLK album. It’s basically what I would have expected from Sally if they moved on to LoLK. Anyway, one of the standout tracks for me is 神楽0 [Kagura 0]. It’s a duet between IZNA and Ranko! They work so well together! I also like the title track – I need more Eternal Spring Dream arrangements in my life. It also features IZNA rapping. I never expected that. But the whole album is really impressive. And it makes me want to go and translate the first one. One day…

3. Ringing Volcano’s “Shinmyoumaru’s Little Adventures” [針妙丸のちいさな冒険 – ‘shinmyoumaru no chiisana bouken’]

XFD || Official Site

This new circle was founded by Nakasako Sakana [中迫酒菜], the main arranger of Machikado-Mapoze. So it’s like Machikado-Mapoze, but with a different name. I honestly thought I’d never hear from any of them again after Machikado-Mapoze disbanded earlier this year, so seeing a new album is like a dream come true. Like always, if you want arrangements of Touhou music for chamber instruments, there’s no equal. Seriously. All the tracks sound amazing. Track 5 is also an arrangement of Eternal Spring Dream… and I’m sure you know how much I love that theme! Anyway, I love the crossfade, and if I can buy a downloadable version of this album, I will. No questions asked.

And isn’t that cover art the cutest? Onigiri always does such a great job.

4. Butaotome’s “Lunar Probe” [ゲツメンタンサ – ‘getsumen tansa’]

XFD || Official Site

Butaotome! The theme this time seems to be the moon (as you can probably tell from the title). But… about half of the tracks are arrangements of themes that Butaotome’s done before. And… they actually sound quite similar to their last arrangements. Isn’t that cheating?! That’s just me nitpicking – they still sound good. And the LoLK arrangements sound great, too! Especially the Sagume and Clownpiece tracks. No Eternal Spring Dream arrangement, though. I’m kind of getting TRASH BOX vibes from this album for some reason…

ether 5. Liz Triangle’s “ether”

Liz Triangle always announces their albums later than everyone else (which makes it hard to make these sorts of lists…). Anyway, the dream trio has worked their magic on LoLK – kaztora’s provided some wonderful arrangements, lily-an’s provided her wonderful and unique vocals, and I can only assume that azuki’s provided some wonderful lyrics. Which leads to a wonderful package all-round. It may seem like I’m looking forward to this album less than Immortal Philosophy since this is at number 5 instead of number 3, but I’m actually more hyped for it. There’s more of a ‘power creep’ this time – my top 5 albums slot neatly into the empty 2nd spot from last time. If that makes any sense.

Anyway, looking at the music – I really like Sagume’s track. Hecatia’s one is really good too. And there’s an arrangement of Eternal Spring Dream, which fuels my desire for more good arrangements of that theme. Hopefully I’ll actually translate this album this time, instead of saying I will then abandoning it…

Kishida 6.Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets’ “SUPER SONIC APPLE RABBIT”

XFD || Official Site

So, C88 saw the return of Sound CYCLONE, and C89 sees the return of Kishida. I’m excited for this release, since it’s their first one since I became a fan of them earlier in the year. I already translated the first track, Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke, back when it was still known as mokotan_demo. There’s also an arrangement of 昔話わんだーらんど [Legendary Wonderland]. I definitely wasn’t expecting that. It’s probably going to be a while until their next Touhou release, so I’m going to enjoy this one as much as I can.

Less Extra 7. Sally’s “LessExtra”

XFD || Official Site

So, after being delayed due to personal issues, the fabled ‘Less 2’ is finally being released! The last time I put this album on one of my lists, it was cancelled, so I’m tempting fate by putting it on there this time… It’s a bit less of a ‘Less 2’ than some might have been hoping for – there are only 3 new tracks (1 by Shrimp, 2 by NSY), and the other 3 include a remix of zen, a re-recording of Forecast (未来予報 – mirai yohou), and a Ranko version of did. So why am I looking forward to it? Well, NSY is one of my favourite arrangers, so it’s always good to see more tracks for him. Also, hopefully this release means that Sally can start releasing stuff more regularly again. Having said that, Wani seems to have been struggling through some personal issues for a while, so please send some positive thoughts his way 🙂

8. KOKYO Active NEETs’ “Touhou Philharmonic
Orchestra 3: IN” [東方フィルハーモニー交響楽団3 永]

XFD || Official Site

This series has finally exited EoSD/PCB purgatory, and is now approaching the games that I like more. I know that’s harsh, since I really liked the first 2 albums, but I feel like those 2 games always hog all the attention… Anyway, even without a crossfade, I know that this album will satisfy my inner orchestral music nerd. It looks like all the main themes are being covered, except for the stage 1 theme/Wriggle’s theme, which makes me a bit sad. The crossfade sounds amazing! There’s also some orchestral piano in there, which is cool. There’s also a bit more clarinet than last time, and less oboe, which I think leads to a better balance between everything. Maybe I’m just biased since I’m a clarinet player… It’s nice to see that there’s more mashups this time – there’s a Mystia mashup and a Keine mashup. I’m already looking forward to the inevitable PoFV album, and the distant LoLK album… >_>

9. “FELICIDADE,” by Hatsunetsumiko’s

XFD || Official Site

Junko’s on the front cover, so you know what that means – a dance arrangement of Pure Furies! It’s chill. I almost thought that the third track was an Eternal Spring Dream arrangement, but then I realised that it was an arrangement of Eternal Shrine Maiden instead. I was a bit disappointed, but I always enjoy Ark Brown’s vocals, so it’s not too much of a loss. The last track is supposed to be an arrangement of Faraway 380,000-Kilometer Voyage, but I can’t hear it in the bit that’s in the crossfade. I can only hope that it’s more prominent in the full song. As a whole, this album’s more subdued than Girls in the Mirror, with less inventive scatting and stuff like that. But I think it still sounds really good.

The cover art’s also really nice. Someone needs to give their artist a raise… >_>

Rem

10. monochrome-coat’s “ReM”

XFD || Official Site

So, monochrome-coat’s releasing not one, but 2 albums for C89! As you can tell from the Doremy on the front cover, this album contains arrangements of the themes from stages 1-3 of LoLK. It also features IZNA in a grand total of 3 tracks! (2 by Eiji Hijikata (土方英司) and the other by buoy). It’s hard to judge this album when there’s no XFD, but I’m sure it’s going to be a good one based on the arranger list alone.

Object 2 11. monochrome-coat’s “Object2”

XFD || Official Site

The second monochrome-coat album. This one’s a sequel to Object, and it’s full of Sealing Club arrangements. I put this one a bit lower since it only has one IZNA track and more merami, but it also features an arrangement by NSY! An arrangement of Greenwich in the Sky! It also marks the debut of a new vocalist, Yoru Shirasawa (白沢よる), who’s been helping out at the live shows. She’s covering Warp Time Letter, by mono. I’m following her on Twitter, so I’m interested to see what her voice sounds like.

Recollection 12. Foxtail-Grass Studio’s “Re*Collection”

XFD || Official Site

Some of you may remember the 4 season-related albums Foxtail-Grass Studio put out about 4 years ago. Maybe not? Well, I do. This album is apparently some sort of a commemorative album, continuing in the same spirit. It’s heavily focused on Trojan Green Asteroid and Neo-Traditionalism of Japan, but there are some old favourites in there, too. The Wind of Agartha arrangement is amazing! Also, they managed to get Wild and Horned Hermit’s artist to draw the cover art. Nice!

Agony 13. GET IN THE RING’s “Agony”

XFD || Official Site

Hey, look – it’s Sagume! This is another LoLK-heavy album, with GCHM bringing his trademark parody style to the table. I love Mie’s voice, and she shines on pretty much all the tracks. Track 3 deserves a special mention, simply because it’s called “What the hell is going on?” I also like the relaxed atmosphere of “Sweet Dreams.” It’s also an arrangement of Eternal Spring Dream, which I can add to my slowly-growing collection…

14. Toranoana’s “Uroboros 5”

The title uses 業 (‘gou’), which kind of sounds like 五 (‘go’ – 5). But it means something different – I guess that means it’s actually Uroboros Karma…? >_>

And the very first track is a Shinra-Bansho track. It’s an arrangement of Little Princess. That’s it – I’m sold! Other highlights include Butaotome’s track (an arrangement of Kyouko’s theme… finally!), Sally’s track (arranged by Shrimp), TAMAONSEN’s track (I swear they put more effort into their compilation tracks than their real releases), and RD’s two(!) tracks.

Victors Space Odyssey 15. 智慧人狂想曲～ The Victors’ Space Odyssey, by 夢想吟遊詩人 (The Dream Troubadours)

XFD || Official Site

This ‘group’ only came into existence this year. They’re basically a collection of composers who compose music in ZUN’s style, including well-known figures like リュウオウ and Pesot. This album mimics ZUN’s Mysterious Works, containing new tracks and rearrangements of old tracks, as well as an original Renko x Merry story. Their first one, Citrus Resuscitation, was awesome, so I have high hopes for this one. If I feel like it, I might even arrange one of the tracks…

Pizuya 16. Pizuya’s Cell’s 怨みを溶かしたダージリン [‘urami wo tokashita daarin’]

XFD || Official Site

Normally I’d try to translate the title, but I’m actually not too sure about it this time. If I had to translate it, I’d probably translate it as “My Darling, Who Melted Her Grudge.” This album is pretty much Godwood meets LoLK. It has a similar sound to his other collections, and it doesn’t look like there are any extra instruments (which is a bit of a shame for me since I thought the other instruments gave the covers more character). Anyway, needless to say, it has an arrangement of Eternal Spring Dream.

Pizuya’s also releasing a regular album, 共犯ストラテジー [Complicity Strategy – ‘kyouhan sutoratejii’]. Like last time, I’m looking forward to the classic legend track, which is an arrangement of LoLK’s stage 1 theme.

Cajiva2 17. Panday@Works 2: Boobs the universe

“This album is C89 venue limited.
Then, the arranger is not a real person.
Please only person who understands pun.”

Hecatia as a Hindu God. Just let that sink in for a bit.

Moon 18. Cajiva’s Gadget Shop’s “MOONTRIBE”

The above album is meant to be a supplement to this one. Cajiva made up a fake persona to do Indian Touhou arrangements, and they even have a Twitter account out there somewhere. Anyway, MOONTRIBE offers more of Cajiva’s unique sound. It also has not one, but two arrangements of ‘Eternal Spring Dream.’ Sweet! To be honest, I’m not a fan of the vocal samples Cajiva uses, but I’m sure they’ll grow on me. There’s also another Last Occultism arrangement, along with Pure Furies and Clownpiece’s theme.

19. TUMENECO’s “Secret Winter”

They say there was once a king called Midas, who was cursed with the power to turn everything he touched into gold. Centuries later, a Japanese doujin circle called TUMENECO was granted a similar gift – every theme they touched would, like magic, become related to Renko x Merry. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. I like the concept of this album – a bunch of unrelated themes are mashed with Renko x Merry themes, which at least justifies the lyrics. And I love mashups! I also love Crystallised Silver, and there’s not one, but two mashups incorporating it! Overall, it sounds like a charming, winter-themed album.

Six String 2 20. Hachimitsu-Lemon × Aftergrow’s “Touhou Six String 02. Sealing” [封]

So, it looks like this might be a series. To be honest, I think I’ve had enough Sealing Club albums this year to last me a lifetime, but I guess more is always a good thing! It’s also good to see that Aftergrow is still going in some form. I have a certain nostalgia for that circle… Sugar in Black is deliciously calm, and the Satellite TORIFUNE arrangement is awesome!

21. SWING HOLIC’s “SWING HOLIC VOL.16”

XFD || Official Site

I think I started to lose interest in this series somewhere along the line. But SWING HOLIC’s still at it, churning out arrangements of each game’s OSTs. They still have a bunch of games left, including the first 2 PC-98 games, LoLK, and the 13.x and 14.x spinoffs, but they’re actually coming close to arranging everything. You have to admire their dedication: some circles start off with the goal off arranging every game’s themes, but I think SWING HOLIC is one of the only circles that’s actually close to achieving that. To be honest, I really like Mystic Square, so I’ll probably like this album more once I hear the whole thing.

Kasen 22. flap+frog’s “rosa canina”

XFD || Official Site

Kasen on the cover is no lie – in an event flooded with LoLK arrangements, flap+frog is releasing an album with not one, not 2, but 7 arrangements of Kasen’s theme. And only Kasen’s theme. And they all manage to sound different, whilst basically being easy-listening music.

FELT 23. FELT’s “Spatial Moving”

XFD || Official Site

Last, but not least, we have FELT. I don’t consider myself a FELT fan, and I usually pass over their albums, but I listened to this album’s crossfade and I was pleasantly surprised! There’s some lovely Japanese-language songs in there, and there’s also MAGIC! (a dance track that sounds like it belongs in a Hatsunetsumiko’s album). Doloza is also really hypnotic. The only track I really don’t like (apart from the remix) is Untitled. It has a promising beginning, but then… something happened and it just jarred with the rest of the album for me. We’ve also got some Lost Dream arrangements, which are always welcome. FELT probably always sounds like this, and I’ve been missing out the whole time… >_>

There’s some more albums being released at the event that I didn’t fully cover here. In particular, a lot of Western circles are releasing albums this time! Veto’s releasing a new EP, and Frozen Starfall [Babbe’s new circle] is releasing an album, too! There’s also a collaboration album called Collection of Dreams by Last Dream coming out. The majority of these are available on Bandcamp, so getting them won’t involve outrageous shipping costs. Also, Shinigiwa Satellite’s releasing ~~an album~~ two albums. I can’t forget about them.

Autumn Reitaisai 2 Roundup

October 12, 2015October 15, 2016Releska1 Comment

I’m back with another one of these posts! In case you don’t know already, Autumn Reitaisai (or ARTS for short) is like the Reitaisai that’s held in May, only it’s held later in the year. In 2014 it was held at the end of November, but it was moved back over a month for 2015 – it’s now going to be held on the 18th of October. Unfortunately, there aren’t many albums being released this time (and there’s no Shinra-Bansho release like last year…).

Anyway, I’m going to list the few albums I’m looking forward to, along with links to the official sites and crossfades. Also, if you’re a Sally fan, you’ll be pleased to know that according to their official site, if they pass the ‘ballot’ and make it in to C89, they’re definitely going to release their new album.

1. BUTAOTOME’s “I LOVE CHERRY”

XFD || Official Site

DJ Comp and MC Paprika make their triumphant return, casting their… magic (I suppose?) on the tracks from Perfect Cherry Blossom. Basically, it’s a PCB rap album that somehow manages to put even the likes of TAMAONSEN to shame. Comp has an amazing command of language, and even if the songs sound like they’re jokes, you can tell that a lot of thought went into the lyrics. So far, I like the first track [‘Dance Dance Dance’] and the 4th track [‘one life’] the most. Overall, I think it’s more balanced than I LOVE RED, and Comp seems to take over more of the rapping. He sounds so cool >_> Either way, the crossfade has left me looking forward to this album and the next one… which will probably be I LOVE NIGHT, or something like that.

You can download track 8 here.

2. Floating Cloud’s “Touhou Irish 7: Phantasm Festa” [東方アイリッシュ7　Phantasm Festa]

XFD || Official Site

And Floating Cloud returns after last year’s wonderful Touhou Irish 6. This album drops the DDC focus the last one had in favour of a more eclectic collection of original tracks. I’d say my favourites so far are #6 ‘Intermission ~ Pilgrim’s Way’ (幕間～巡礼道程, ‘makuai ~ junrei michinori) simply because I need more arrangements of Gathering the Mysterious from All Around Japan, and #7 ‘Riddle-solving Step’ (謎解きステップ, ‘nazotoki suteppu’) because of its transition from a slow tempo to a fast tempo. I don’t think it’s quite as good as the last one, mainly because I’m fond of DDC’s OST, but it’s still seems like a really great album.

3. AbsoЯute Zero ‘s “Piece of clown”

XFD || Official Site

Get it? ‘Piece of clown’ because her name’s… Clownpiece. >_>

Anyway, Rute’s following up the impressive ‘Absolute One’ with a shorter mini-album (which is a bit disappointing, but I guess there’s still hope for C89). The title track is the star here, mashing up Clownpiece’s theme with Faraway 380,000-Kilometer Voyage. It’s full of energy. There’s also a PV available on NicoNico, if you’re interested (Youtube mirror). The second track is a mashup of Last Remote and Koishi’s theme, and the third track is an original. How random. Anyway, it’s solid – hopefully C89’s release will be an album with the rest of the LoLK tracks!

Update: According to the PV description, C89’s album is actually going to be an original album, and the third track is a sample track from it.

4. SOUND HOLIC’s “TOHO PIANISM II”

XFD || Official Site

The sequel to TOHO PIANISM I, which was released in… 2009. And I though there was a big gap between Sound CYCLONE’s Touhou releases!

Anyway, the crossfade is very convincing. It’s basically a piano album, with some extras as well. So… it’s kind of like Godwood’s piano albums with Pizuya, in that respect. For me, the standout tracks are the Pure Furies arrangement, the Fantastic Tales from Tono arrangement, and the Unknown Flower, Mesmerising Journey arrangement. But the whole album seems pretty good!

5. IOSYS’ “PUNK IT!TOUHOU!3“

XFD || Official Site

This is the 3rd album in the series? I didn’t even know there was a 1 and 2… Anyway, this album is exactly what it says on the tin – punk arrangements of past IOSYS hits. It seems like they already covered their most notable ones, but this album includes well-known tracks like ‘Make Us Your Brides!’ and ‘star river.’ Aki does a good job with ‘star river,’ but I don’t think anyone can beat asana. I must admit, the Hatate track is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine (partially because Hatate’s such an overlooked character), so I guess the punk version makes it… a bit less of a guilty pleasure, I suppose?

6. A-GEAR‘s “Rubbish Recycle” [我楽多再生 – ガラクタリサイクル, ‘garakuta risaukuru’]

XFD || Official Site

A Sealing Club piano (+ extras) album. I’ve never heard of this circle before, but this album looks pretty good. It has a very… jazzy feel, and we don’t see that enough with Sealing Club tracks. Tracks 1-6 appear to be recycled from a previous album: 我楽多灯籠 (‘Junk-O’-Lantern’). I’m very fond of the new Last Occultism arrangement, though the other tracks have a great easy-listening vibe to them – perfect for listening to whilst stressing over essay-writing >_>

By the way, Rolling Contact [Melonbooks link – click サンプル1, etc. for samples], KRASTERII, and IRON ATTACK [Melonbooks link] are releasing albums as well. I just didn’t make a write-up for them because I’m not really interested in them >_<

Anyway, that’s pretty much it for this event. There’s not much coming out, though there are a couple of good albums hidden away there.

C88 Roundup

August 7, 2015August 7, 2018Releska3 Comments

I’ve wanted to do one of these for a while! There’s quite a few albums coming out for C88, so I’m going to list them in some sort of vague order, with my most hyped albums first. Also, I was originally going to put Sally’s planned album ‘Less 2’ as #2 on my list, but according to a Twitter update by Wani, the album won’t be released at this event. It looks like he’s been having some personal troubles lately, so please send some positive thoughts his way 🙂

Also, I moved Machikado-Mapoze’s Greatest Hits album to #2 in place of the Sally album, but then they disbanded. So they won’t be releasing the album at C88. 😦

If you have any recommendations, or if there’s an album that you’re really looking forward to, feel free to comment! [I’m releasing an album, too…]

artworks-000125376449-7wac90-t200x200 1. Butaotome’s “Maiden Purgatory Vol. 3” [少女煉獄第三巻, ‘shoujo rengoku daisankan]

XFD || Official Site

“Chinoiserie that swims through the night sky. A catharsis that speaks. We packed the maidens’ bittersweetness into a single CD, overflowing with Chinese tastes. This is a Touhou full vocal album in which neon lights sway – the third in the series.”

If you’ve been following along, you probably know that Butaotome’s one of my favourite circles, second only to Shinra-Bansho. And, of course, they don’t disappoint with this album! Based on the original themes alone, I’d say I like this one much more than the second one, and possibly even more than number one. It’s got both Sumireko and Kasen’s themes, and there’s even an arrangement from the LoLK demo, along with favourites like Desire Drive and Suwa Foughten Field. I could ramble on for ages, but basically I’m looking forward to it, and I’m looking forward to translating it! [There’s a best-of album for Paprika’s piano arrangements, too – just imagine that’s combined with this album…]

By the way, Violet (from the ‘Fried World’ blog) opened up a Butaotome fansite in English called ‘Tiramisu Cowboy’ – feel free to head on over and have a look around.

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3. Liz Triangle’s “インモータル　フィロソフィー” Inmortal

Kaztora suddenly announced that he’d made another album a few days after I posted up this list, so this album’s a bit of a late addition. Anyway, the title track is an arrangement of Kasen’s theme, which immediately makes it awesome in my eyes. I really like how kaztora blends chiptune sounds in his Liz Triangle albums, even if I like the vocalists featured in the Shinra-Bansho albums just a bit more. I get the feeling that インモータル is just a different spelling of ‘immortal,’ but I don’t want to make a judgement until I read the lyrics. Which will be by azuki *cheers*

4. AbsoЯute Zero‘s “Absolute One”

XFD || Official Site

A new circle makes their debut with style! The main vocalist is Rute, from A-One [which explains the circle name], and the main arranger is someone called 梗. The album covers the tracks from the LoLK demo, which is awesome. I already translated the second track, and I particularly enjoy tracks 3 and 7, probably because I love the original themes. Of course, if male vocals aren’t your thing, steer clear.

5. KOKYO Active NEETs’ “Touhou Philharmonic
Orchestra 2: PCB” [東方フィルハーモニー交響楽団２妖]

XFD || Official Site

(The Japanese title uses the first kanji from 妖, so using the acronym of the English title has a similar effect) Anyway, KOKYO Active NEETs is a sister circle of TOKYO Active NEETs, but focused on orchestral arrangements – live recordings made with a fully-equipped orchestra. They started off with Kancolle arrangements, but ~~thankfully~~ they switched to Touhou. I have no idea how the leader managed to rustle all these professional musicians together, but if they manage to make one of these albums for all of the main games, I’ll be one happy orchestral music nerd. My one reservation is that they chose to arrange the Prisimrivers’ theme rather than ‘The Capital City of Flowers in the Sky.’ That would have made this album perfect!

6. Diao ye zong’s “Tatoe” [喩 – ‘Metaphor’]

XFD || Official Site

In true Diao ye zong style, this album has a theme – ‘A World of What-ifs.’ ~~[No relation to ‘A Tale of What-ifs’…]~~ Kushi [Φ串Φ] is absent this time, replaced with 3L (the 3L?). My personal favourites from the crossfade are true outsiders, カ-210号の嘆き, and A transient faith. I must admit, I’m disappointed there’s no arrangement of Sumireko’s theme this time. Maybe RD’s saving it for C89? In regards to the album title, I translated the kanji as ‘Metaphor,’ [since that’s apparently its meaning], but part of me feels like ‘Example’ might be a better fit (given that ‘tatoe’ sounds like ‘tatoeba,’ which means ‘for example’].

7. Hatsunetsumiko’s “Girls in the Mirror”

XFD || Official Site

According to Twitter, Tim Vegas ran into some difficulties whilst putting this album together. Thankfully, he managed to get it all finished. Basically, this album is full of dance arrangements of tracks from the Sealing Club CDs. Is it just me, or are they getting arranged more lately? I’m not complaining. I’d say my favourite tracks so far are ‘Embrace’ and ‘Satellite Rendezvous’ [is that scatting I can here in there?]. There’s a Wind of Agartha arrangement in there as well, but I can’t really hear Wind of Agartha in there. That happened the last time it appeared in a Hatsunetsumiko’s album, too…

Synth 8. DDBY’s “Synth de Touhou II”

XFD || Official Site

I was a big fan of the 1st Synth de Touhou album, which covered most of the tracks from UFO. The arrangements have that ‘old-school’ feel to them, without going all the way back to NES sounds – I think it’s refreshing. This one focuses on the tracks from the two photography spinoffs, Shoot the Bullet and Double Spoiler. Let’s face it, Double Spoiler tracks in particular are criminally overlooked. My favourite’s probably ‘The Mystery in Your Town,’ simply because I can count the number of arrangements of it on one hand. Thank you, DDBY.

9. TUMENECO’s “ヒミツナグモノ”

To be honest, I placed this at this spot before I even knew what the album was about, simply because I saw Sumireko on the front cover. And of course, the title track is an arrangement of Sumireko’s theme. And a pretty good one, too, judging from the crossfade! I held off from translating the title because it looks like a pun. I’ll save it until I get around to translating it, if it happens. Other than that, it appears to be a ‘best-of-album,’ lacking the rearrangements found in the RE.TMNC series. I don’t know if it’s just me, but TUMENECO’s releases always seem to be so disjointed, so a greatest hits album actually suits them quite well. Did I mention that the majority of the tracks are mashups? Awesome!

10. GET IN THE RING’s “An Ordinary Life”

XFD || Official Site

Another solid album from GET IN THE RING. And, of course, it begins with ‘A.’ Apparently they do it so their albums are at the top of everyone’s playlists? I’m not sure if that’s the case, but if so, it’s a clever ploy… The standout track for me is Unbind. Simply because it’s an arrangement of Kasen’s theme. And the world needs more of them. I’m a Mie fan, and this album (kind of) makes up for her minor appearance in “On That Day, I Looked Up at the Sky.”

11. Sound CYCLONE’s “Touhou Funk Love” [トウホウファンクラブ]

XFD || Official Site

I was doing some research whilst translating Soup (in A), and I discovered this album. Apparently, it’s been three years since Sound CYCLONE last released a Touhou album(?). The title’s a play on words – the katakana can be read as ‘Funk Love’ and ‘Fan Club.’ Clever. This album falls under the genre of funk, and it’s cool. It’s chill, whatever that means. And it’s got a Reverse Ideology arrangement, too, which makes it even more chill. I’d say my favourite tracks from the crossfade are #3, #6, #7 and #8. The Nuclear Fusion arrangement is great – definitely worth a listen. Hopefully it won’t be three years before they release another album… *sweatdrops*

Pizuya1 12. Pizuya’s Cell’s “The Celestial Maiden’s Window Side” [飛天少女ノ窓際 – ‘hiten shoujo no madogiwa’]

XFD || Official Site

Fun fact: Hiten was the name given to Japan’s first lunar probe, and it was given the English name ‘Celestial Maiden.’ The term itself originated in Buddhism. Putting that aside, I’m a big fan of Godwood’s piano arrangements (I started following them with his Ten Desires album). This album covers Immaterial and Missing Power, along with Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, and the arrangements are suitably awesome. They’re not quite as chill as Paprika’s arrangements, but they also avoid the trap of being straight-out covers, like in a lot of Marasy’s albums.

13. Toranoana’s “Uroboros 4 – ～dEATHtINYoVERdRIVE～ [東方幻奏響UROBOROS肆]

I though the title was pronounced “Death in Yoverdrive,” but I took a proper look at the logo and apparently it’s meant to be “Deathiny Overdrive.” Anyway, this compilation album seems like it’s a cut above the others – TUMENECO’s covering Wind of Agartha, NSY’s providing a Sally track, Butaotome’s providing their usual remix of Hartmann’s Youkai girl, and so on and so forth. But! The most exciting part of this compilation album (for me, at least…) is the fact that Shinra-Bansho is participating for the first time. Their track is an arrangement of Orin’s theme, ‘ハイカラ―’ (‘Stylish’), and according to a Twitter update, kaztora both arranged and wrote the lyrics for this one. It promises to be weird and wonderful…

FYW 14. Find Your Way’s “Fade / Time”

XFD || Official Site

For those of you who don’t already know, Find Your Way is one of Veto’s circles, classified under the genre of “Touhou Emo.” Normally, I’d shy away from this style of music, but I gave the crossfade a listen, and it’s a really solid album! The first track ‘there’s the Burger King…’ is an arrangement of ‘A Soul as Red as a Ground Cherry,’ and it’s really addictive. I’m always up for more arrangements of that theme. Some of the tracks also feature live trumpet recordings, which is cool. Apart from the first track, I’m also quite fond of #2 (an arrangement of ‘Little Princess’ – awesome!), #8, and #11. Veto’s playing live in Japan next week, so send some positive energy his way!

15. DDBY’s “Cafe de Touhou 7”

XFD || Official Site

The series reaches Mountain of Faith. To be honest, I normally listen to these albums when I’m studying or writing essays or stuff like that – they’re so soothing! (Especially when you have to write 9000 words of essays…) I quite like the arrangement of ‘Faith is for the Transient People,’ as well as the arrangement of ‘Suwa Foughten Field.’ I’m assuming it features the same saxophonist who featured in their EoSD sax album – it sounds too good to be a VST…

16. Cajiva’s Gadget Shop’s “Sept florum”

XFD || Official Site

“Hey, Merry… How about a moldy occult tale to pass this sultry night?”

This album’s an instrumental album, just like DDBY’s one, but it’s not the sort of one I’d listen to to relax… *sweatdrops* It’s marketed as a ‘tribal house’ album, and the tracks certainly live up to that name. They all have such a strong, lively beat to them. There’s also not one, but two Last Occultism arrangements, so this one’s recommended if you’re a Sumireko fan.

17. Akatsuki Records’ “LOVE EAST -to the beginning 04-“

XFD || Official Site

Defying tradition, Akatsuki Records is releasing another full-length album right after their previous one. Based on first impressions alone, I like their previous album more, but this one’s still good. It even has a cool arrangement of Rumia’s theme! Somehow, Stack manages to sing that really quick intro bit at the start of the original. There’s also an arrangement of Kasen’s theme, even if it’s missing my favourite part in place of a kind of generic verse-y bit… As always, Stack’s voice sounds great on the tracks she’s featured in.

18. Saga Novel’s “Tsukiyomi’s Dream” [月黄泉の夢]

XFD || Official Site

I was browsing for albums to add to my list, and I saw this one, with Doremy on the front cover. I dug a bit deeper, and I was pleasantly surprised. It’s made up of arrangements of the title screen theme and the boss themes from the LoLK demo. There’s only 4 tracks, but they’re quite good. I like the vocalist on the second track, and I’m fond of their arrangement of Doremy’s theme [the full version’s here]. I might write the lyrics down and translate it if I get some time… It’s only 700 yen, so I might pick it up next time Shinra-Bansho releases an album if it’s still available.

Bakuon 19. TOKYO Active NEETs’ “Exploding Jazz 8” [東方爆音ジャズ８]

XFD || Official Site

I feel like I placed this one a bit low on my interest list, but TOKYO Active NEETs’ albums have become very hit-and-miss for me. I won’t deny that they’re all very talented musicians, but their arrangements are a bit too… full-on for my tastes. Jazz can be subtle, too! Having said that, the medley is quite good. Probably because each track moves on before the solos can begin…

ULiL 20. “A Deeply Mystic Music Collection ~ Sumireko Usami and the Clubroom of Secrets” [深秘的楽曲集　宇佐見菫子と秘密の部室]

XFD || Official Site

The much-anticipated soundtrack CD to Urban Legend in Limbo, with 2 discs of the original and arranged tracks from the game. The XFD is for the arrangements of Kasen’s and Sumireko’s themes, along with the staff roll theme. They lose some of their intensity, but they still sound good. An interesting note about the title – the grammatical ‘的’ in the title is said to have been influenced by the English suffix ‘-tic,’ [see ロマン的, ‘Romantic’], which is why I’ve translated 深秘的 as ‘Deeply Mystic’ – if we’re going with ‘Deep Mysteries’ as a translation of ‘深秘.’ And now I’ve made this about translating, and not about music. Sorry…

Love 21. Honey Pocket’s “Love Compilation -Revised Edition-” [恋綴里-改訂版-]

Wow, their recording quality is worlds better than it was last time I listened to them. Normally I’m a bit skeptical about ‘revised editions’ of albums, but when the recording quality’s been increased this much, I’m all for it. I don’t think I listened to the original album, but the tracklist seems solid. They always seem like they’re trying so hard, and they look like they’re having so much fun in all of their promotional images.

Pizuya2 22. Pizuya’s Cell’s “Izanami’s Antinomy” [イザナミの二律背反 ]

XFD || Official Site

Apparently, ‘Antinomy’ is a term that means something similar to ‘Paradox’ or ‘Self-Contradiction.’ For me, Pizuya’s Cell is a very ‘scientific’ circle, so I guess the more complicated term suits them better… Track 6 is quite mellow, which you wouldn’t expect from them, but I really enjoy it. The obligatory Godwood piano arrangement is also marvelous. I often find myself looking forward to the classic legend tracks, in which they overlay a mechanical voice reading out aspects of music history. They’re so random.

And that’s pretty much it for this event. Congratulations if you managed to get past all of my rambling and reached this point >_>