Archive for February, 2009
{ February 25, 2009 @ 10:21 pm }
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{ ambient, DJ, music, remix, review, trance, VGM }
{ Tags: roger sanchez } · { }
Some people may remember a certain PlayStation game released in 1998 entitled “Fluid” which had you playing as a dolphin unlocking sound loops to then mix together in a very,very basic sound studio. It was the prelude to the much more engrossing Music series from Codemasters. However, I was excited and bought the game and got with it the free promo one track CD with it. Using loops from the game, “Dolphinus Solarus” is remixed by Roger Sanchez. It’s a simple ambient bass track with echoey dolphin sirens floating throughout. It’s completely inoffensive and the bass has a nice circular ring to it. It showcases the game’s abilities to make simple tunes if not really earth shattering.
You’ll do well to pick up the disc now but the game can still be found on e-bay and Amazon marketplace so if you fancy a trip back in time to when sound programmes were limited and just as much about creating visual backdrops to beats – then you’ll have fun with Fluid.
{ February 25, 2009 @ 10:00 pm }
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{ alternative, band, grunge, music, review, rock }
{ Tags: Nirvana } · { }
Whilst “Nevermind” may have been their big break record, “Bleach” was actually their first album and didn’t not feature Dave Grohl (who joined the following year). It’s a very low-fi affair but contains some classic songs that deserve more attention than they get.
“Blew” opens the album with grungy guitars, simple production and Cobain’s vocals squealing over the top of everything but in a controlled and effective way. “Floyd the Barber” is a two note riff song that gets stuck in your head for the way how the drums fall around it. The chorus is classic four chord Nirvana and shows a big flash of brilliance. “About A Girl” is the most commercial the album gets. The live version of the Unplugged CD is a better version because it has better atmosphere and production but this is no slouch again showing the potential within the group.
“School” is the introduction to the easy riffs that went on to catalogue a lot of Nirvana’s b-side material. “School” is another song that deserves attention, if not for the lyrics but for the catchiness of the song in general. “Love Buzz” continues the funky riffs that get stuck in your head as the sole cover on the album but it feels like their own song when compared to the original.
“Paper Cuts” brings in the slow moody side of Cobain’s writing with a great song. Chugging bass and guitar feedback propel this grizzly track with Cobain really going for it in the chorus’. It’s a really taut number and one that stands out. “Negative Creep” is another zippy track that is relentless in its chorus’ and has the funkiest bass lines in the verses. Kurt Cobain screams out his lyrics with pain and affliction and you just can’t beat it.
“Scoff” is an interesting track as it sounds slightly different to the rest because of the way the drums are produced and its the drums that give this song an edge. “Swap Meet” is a dirge in the absolute best way. The riff is downbeat and repetitive and also slightly detuned. However there is a relentlessness to its onwards march that I really connect to and enjoy and therefore this song has became a favourite.
“Mr Moustache” is a lesson in maddening riffs. So simple, so effective, so infectious. It’s a great track to introduce people to Bleach as a whole as it shows off Kurt’s tongue in cheek lyrics and the bands expertises. “Sifting” is the original final track on the album and is a downbeat and depressing ending to the album with an almost live smash up finale.
On CD however there are two more tracks. “Big Cheese” is a personal favourite, being a simple two chord catch-a-thon. The lyrics are great and you can’t help but wonder why the song wasn’t on there to begin with! Who can’t shout “Big Cheese” in a grunge song? Lastly there is “Downer” which also appears on the b-side album “Incesticide”. Its a short track all about the bass and distorted vocals and is an obscure bonus track to add on.
The low-fi charm and the sure fire song writing placed together makes you feel like you’ve discovered a new band every time you listen. Nirvana may not have ended up the big success they were if they’d continued down this path but they’d have still done well from it. The “unknown” album from the big grunge band that you should really hear is “Bleach”.
{ February 25, 2009 @ 9:18 pm }
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{ alternative, ambient, band, music, review, singer songwriter, world music }
{ Tags: Dead Can Dance } · { }
With each album Dead Can Dance turn to a different place in time and space. With “Aion” the time and place is the French Renaissance. From jaunty jigs to mystical chants, the album delights from one end to the other.
“The Arrival and the Reunion” opens the album with a powerful chant led by Lisa Gerrard’s otherworldly vocal talent. There’s many backing vocals that support her and push this short song into the forefront of your mind. Followed is the jaunty jig that is “Salterello” that is a beautiful instrumental. The drums pound away (with kudos to the huge bass drum) while entwining pipes bring you an infectious riff that doesn’t leave your side when the song is finished. If the album didn’t flow so well as a one listen piece, you’d have this song on repeat. The ambience of “Mephisto” is a short but sweet string piece using many archaic instruments.
“The Song of Sibyl” signals the next section of the album with a haunting piece led by Gerrard and an eerie church organ. The tension can be felt like electrical pulses in this song. “Fortune Presents Gifts Not According to the Book” is the first song with Brendan Perry singing and its a simplistic song on the surface with lots of hidden instrumental depth to it. It’s a bit like a wind up song that builds up and up and then slowly ebbs away and the playing of the stringed instruments is exceptional. “As the Bells Ring the Maypole Spins” follows on as a joyous song. The pipe playing is at the forefront with some excellent vocals from Gerrard as one of her more uplifting songs to date.
“The End of Words” is a calming vocal duet that signals the start of act three as it envelops you with its arms before “Black Sun” pushes you away and screams at you. Possibly my favourite track of the album, Perry’s vocals and the tense impending doom that surrounds the entire track really hit home in what is generally a soothing and quiet album. “Wilderness” quickly returns to a soothing vocal piece as if to reassure you its all ok! “The Promised Womb” is a more abstract piece of string and vocal rollings which has never fully grabbed me. “The Garden of Zephirus” is a bird singing, flute playing ambient section that leads to the final track “Radharc” which comes across almost Asian influenced in a way. This track is a favourite too as its got a good beat and a sense of urgency about it.
“Aion” is very much a mood piece. It’ll take you on a journey and some songs as a standalone aren’t as effective as when they are played as part of the album. However the overall feel is one of being transported away to some other plain and that’s what Dead Can Dance have always done best.
{ February 19, 2009 @ 12:35 am }
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{ credit crunch, economy, import, music, VGM }
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For the first time this year I’ve just completed a Japanese computer game soundtrack order from CDJapan and I’m staggered by the huge price jump in the last few months. CD’s that were £13 are now £20 and I’ve basically spent all my money for the next couple of months on 10 soundtracks! I’ve never been so aware that the UK economy is far worse than it used to be since the day I was made redundant last year.
Thankfully I should be back in employment by the end of March so I hope to keep up with all the latest releases but if not, a lot of HPM will be reviewing and discussing my extensive back catalogue instead!
If anyone knows of cheap alternatives for VGM importing to the UK (I don’t download) then please let me know!
{ February 18, 2009 @ 11:40 pm }
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{ composer, j-pop, music, review, singer songwriter, VGM }
{ Tags: kouhei tanaka, saeko chiba } · { }
Alundra 2 the game took a lot of flack for generally being considered a baby version of its much loved and enjoyed original. However I’ve been told by many the music held its own. While I haven’t listened to the soundtrack (and although I have the game its on my to-play list) I can tell you about the single release of the vocal theme. Saeko Chiba was on-board to sing the main theme song called “Carry On Everyday”.
The single contains the full sized version, a laid back J-pop piece with gospel undertones with backing singers “oohing” and your typical gospel keyboard pounding away behind the drum machines trying to give a contemporary almost rapped up J-pop effect. The result, combined with a rather funky piano solo in the middle gives a song that is catchy enough to hold your attention and inoffensive so that it won’t annoy listeners who do not quite get to grips with vocal tracks. It’s charm definitely grows on repeated listens.
The b-side is called “I’m Home” and although I’m not sure if its Saeko Chiba’s own song or not, I did enjoy it. “I’m Home” is much more a ballad with some interesting usage of water drops. Soft and gentle, Saeko’s voice does wander on occasion but its never off tune.
Hardly ground breaking but “Carry On Everyday” deserves a listen for its light-hearted fun. Not essential but worthwhile if you see it cheap. There’s no karaoke tracks which is the only downside and it comes as a mini-disc which means the packaging doesn’t quite fit anything but apart from that – all good!
{ February 18, 2009 @ 11:22 pm }
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{ acoustic, alternative, music, news, piano, release dates, singer songwriter }
{ Tags: Tori Amos } · { }
Tori’s back! A short message on her myspace has confirmed an album to be released in Spring this year. The album will be titled “Abnormally Attracted to Sin”. Sounds like a darker tone for this one. We’ll be hanging out for more info soon like who Tori will release from?
{ February 16, 2009 @ 4:38 pm }
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{ ambient, composer, music, news, release dates, singer songwriter, VGM, world music }
{ Tags: Sitorimon } · { }
Sitorimon today releases a free album which is a musical tribute to Silent Hill. Entitled “My Hill Is Not Silent”, the 14 tracks take you through an eerie ambience with two vocal tracks, 6 previous unreleased tracks and a fair smattering of older tracks now available for free.
You can download the album by going to Sitorimon’s Website, which is currently under construction for upcoming studio album Runeology.
{ February 12, 2009 @ 12:04 pm }
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{ acoustic, alternative, ambient, folk, music, review, singer songwriter }
{ Tags: Brendan Perry } · { }
While we wait for the new album from Brendan Perry (and my goodness doesn’t the song Utopia sound good!) I thought it’d be a great time to revisit Brendan’s first solo outing “Eye of the Hunter” which is an understated beauty that grows more comfortable with you upon each listen with its wistful ways and subtle taut underline of tension.
“Saturday’s Child” opens the album in mellow fashion. The acoustic guitars are soft and the plucking gentle. The underscoring keyboards add a subtle stargazing quality to it but its the vocals that really shine through. Perry’s range is let loose and has a great speaker presence.
“Voyage of Bran” feels like a real trudge but in a good sense. There’s a desolation to the song that really makes it stand out and the extra instrumentation really gives it an ethereal quirk. A personal highlight.
“Medusa” couples with the previous track in its slightly otherworldly quality but this is a beautiful waltz that is both downbeat yet sway-able – the kind of song that would have the undead following the piper to their deaths. The strings really add that extra point to the song.
“Sloth” is a more country styled acoustic piece which breezes by like a summer day, similar to “I Must Have Been Blind” which uses the guitar strumming to gain a nice beat in the chorus, the first time a beat of sorts is actually used on the album. The chorus’ vocals are particular strong here and the end passage is lovely.
“The Captive Heart” is the first song to use drums and reminds me of old western movies with its “cowboy guitar”. The song is probably the most commercial of the album but even then its nowhere near a mainstream sound. It stands out above all for its music quality – it’s a great song.
“Death Will Be My Bride” continues the band blues with an eerie taut song that’s full of atmosphere and unusual arrangements and guitar noises. It’s a nice change of sound as largely the album is mellow with a pinch of downbeat and this one adds the mystery.
“Archangel” closes the album however in style. Backwards guitar noises and Perry’s choir-esque vocals open the song for the first few minutes in what is a beautiful sounding piece but one that is also quite eerily empty and deserted too. Then Brendan breaks out with the closing half of the track with a controlled anger that isn’t really present on the rest of the album. It’s such a great contrast, “Archangel” quickly became a favourite at HPM.
Despite being only 8 tracks long, “Eye of the Hunter” isn’t a short album and doesn’t feel under done. The mellow overtones is a completely different sound from Dead Can Dance and is only really hinted in the “American Dreaming” and “I Can See Now”. Think of an album of that material and you’re half way there. Now sit back and enjoy it and lets look forward to the new album some 10 years later, due out this year.
{ February 12, 2009 @ 11:33 am }
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{ books, j-pop, music, news, release dates, singer songwriter }
{ Tags: Ayumi Hamasaki } · { }
Not long after Utada’s double book announcement, Ayumi Hamasaki has joined in as she’s to release a book herself. Currently titled “Deji Deji Nikki 100 Kai Kinen!”, it seems to feature a full compliation of a serial she’s involved in called “Ayu no Deji Deji Nikki” from the magazine ViVi that stretches back 8 years. It will be released on the 12th of March, the same day as Utada Hikaru’s books. A war me thinks!
{ February 10, 2009 @ 2:07 pm }
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{ acoustic, ambient, classical, composer, live music, music, review, VGM }
{ Tags: Hiroki Kikuta, Maurice Durufle } · { }
Koudelka OST is a dark horse. Of the 34 songs on the album only 10 have names and are over say a minute long! Behind the seemingly uncaring approach lies a beast of a soundtrack. Visually divided into four sections of music, each has its own individual purpose and feel.
“Requiem” opens the album with a haunting choir girl singing alone in a eerie tune. Aiding to the atmosphere a bass drum and little jangles of triangles are added. Its a chilling start. “Ubi Caritas et Amor” sees the lone girl joined by the rest of the choir for a beautiful choir piece that sounds like it came from heavens church. The singing is angelic and inspired. “Dead” ends the first section of music with a sorrow felt string quartet carefully treading through another bitter sweet piece of beauty.
However its all change for the next section as we enter the battle songs. “Waterfall” is an 8 minute epic battle song which is actually quite scarce and understated for a battle track. The tune is relatively pleasant for the first 3 minutes before getting a bit more frantic and darker later on. “Incantation Again” keeps the same tribalesque drum beat but with a much more frantic and blood rushing tune and despite being different from most RPG battle tracks – its different in a refreshingly pleasing way. “Patience” keeps the same basis as the previous battle tracks but has a fast paced tune in amongst all the drum breakdowns. “Kiss Twice” is the final battle song and once again uses the same premise of drums and instrumentation but has more of it that the others. It almost like each song is slightly more geared up than the last to offer more in the ear of the listener. Its another quirk to this soundtrack.
The next section of music comprises of 24 tracks which are just named as “#Scene ?” with ? being a number. These are more effector scene’s than anything else. Each is full orchestrated with the odd choir piece thrown in for good measure. Some of them are excellent little pieces of music and remind me very much of the little musical pieces that you’d get walking into a new room in say a “Tomb Raider” game and are put together like the “Final Fantasy IX Plus” CD. Some of them are eerie and/or dramatic, some of them are beautiful and some of them are just empty sound effect pieces ala “Silent Hill”. Its a mixed bunch but makes for delightful listening.
The final section is a trio of songs taken from the 1999 Zepp Tokyo show in which Koudelka showcased some music. “Live Waterfall” actually sounds like a completely new song altogether choosing the arrange it with a rock band and some little game show keyboard effects. In fact the only remains of the song easily picked out is the lead guitar playing the main tune to the song. “Live Incantation” is a stonking piece of music. With a choir opening it quickly assembles into a dramatic frantic event with a singer actually performing the main tune! It gives it a completely new level and eerie effect which is added to with some excellent instrumentation and a superb build up to a climatic finish. The closing track “Live Patience” turns the battle song into a beautiful acoustic guitar ballad which is poetry in motion and simply beautiful.
Koudelka OST is a strange beast full of originality and quirks that set it apart and you can see the origins of what would later offspring the stunning Shadow Hearts series, even in this music you can see where it was going. This is a little gem if you enjoy original flare, slightly religious sounding and organic instrumentation and dramatic scores. I recommend it – especially for the live tracks which are stunning.
{ February 9, 2009 @ 1:40 pm }
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{ alternative, dance, DJ, drum n bass, indie, music, rave, review, techno, trance, VGM }
{ Tags: Ayako Saso, Hiroshi Okubo, Masashi Yano, Nakany, Ryo Wantanabe, Shinji Hosoe, SuperSweep, Yousuke Yasui } · { }
2005 saw the release of Nanosweep 2 from the artists aka SuperSweep. After setting the tone for hard hitting bass in the first CD things are a little more relaxed this time around…but not much!
Opening with bird song is “Birds Eye” from Nakany which has a beautiful ambient glow and haze all the way around it. The percussion is fast but light to match the synth pads whirling around the speakers. It’s a complete contrast to anything on NanoSweep.
“Dazzling Rays” from Ryo Wantanabe teases you with a nice electric acoustic guitar sample and electric piano riffs to gently tease you into a great dance track. It reminds me of something from Sudeki in a way with its pace and urgency crossed over with some simple but effective guitar work.
Hiroshi Okubo raises the beats higher with “PLANET FUNK” which has a kind of stuck tape effect running throughout. That fused with some seriously jazzy keyboard playing makes for a funkfest that I could boogie to for ages.
“Sage” from Shinji Hosoe uses the saxaphone for random effects and is the busiest track to date with lots of chord changes going on while the notes decay from the speakers. Its intricate and well executed.
“Like a Clock” sounds to me just like a level clear screen! Masashi Yano creates the typical offbeat and over happy melody for a level clear screen and it works very well and is different to anything else on the album.
Ayako Saso’s “Junk Plant” is the closest you’ll get to NanoSweep 1. This is a mega rave up. At god knows how many BPM that bass drum bangs out to computerized rapping and wailing sirens.
Finally “Neutral Network” from Yousuke Yasui straddles the divide by giving us a song that I’d imagine would be used in an arcade shoot-em-up. I can just see myself blasting away the big boss ship with this blasting its beats and grizzly bassline.
Overall I think Nanosweep 2 is a more cohesive piece than its predecessor. There’s a lot more variety and much more melody involved this time around. I’d recommend this to any fan of arcade game music. It’s good stuff!
{ February 9, 2009 @ 1:23 pm }
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{ composer, dance, DJ, drum n bass, j-pop, music, review, techno, trance, VGM }
{ Tags: Ayako Saso, Hiroshi Okubo, Koji Nakagawa, Masashi Yano, Nakany, Shinji Hosoe, SuperSweep, Yousuke Yasui } · { }
“Nanosweep” is a brand of a collection of artists from various game music backgrounds. Together these artists are best known as Supersweep. Every so often they release a compilation of heavy tracks that are individual pieces not related to games and this a review of the first of the series.
“Red-Eye” opens from Nakany and sets the overall tone for the album and indeed the series. Heavy Drum and Bass booms through the speakers with a floor vibrating pulse that drowns out the echoing electronic melodies above it. There is so much low end on this piece I can see it really filling the dance floors.
“Recycle” is a 7 minute epic by Koji Nakagawa. This reminds me my days playing with the E-Jay series at the beginning but soon develops into a real Ibiza style club tune that ends up reminding me of the PS2 game “Rez”.
“DENKI GIRL” by Hiroshi Okubo is instantly a change in dynamics with its scatting weird noise and hyper speed Anime dating style music. Bright pianos and brass lead the way in a fantastic bubbly tune that its impossible to not get your foot tapping or yourself seat bopping.
“Flood” by Masashi Yano is a different beat altogether with a two minute assault at your ears. Heavily processed and very, very busy – it’ll certainly keep you on your toes and its a fine track – a bit like Zone of Enders in a way.
“Nova Prospect” is a more experimental piece. Yousuke Yasui has purposely made the main tune discordant and then everything around it to clash. It’s very much down to personal taste if you would like this piece but I can certainly say its a bit manic.
“Primitive Recycling” from Shinji Hosoe takes a lot of old acoustic percussion and then throws them around a lot of modern day technology and it works very well. The contrast is great even if there’s not a straight melody to it.
Finally “matoryoshka” from Ayako Saso if a very original song in placed and one that I personally really enjoy. It takes me back to early 1990′s rave days and then places some ancient sounding vocal samples over the top. It works really well and is a nice ending.
Nanosweep is a fast paced danceathon through the individual catalogues of the artists at SuperSweep. Some tracks definitely work better than other but there’s a couple of really good tracks here and for the price SuperSweep are after for them, its a good deal.
{ February 9, 2009 @ 11:47 am }
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{ acoustic, alternative, band, instruments, kora, live music, live vault, music, singer songwriter, world music }
{ Tags: Toumani Diabate } · { }
LittleBigPlanet had an excellent soundtrack but the best new artist I found was Toumani Diabate! Ordered are several of his albums which will be reviewed in due course but until then here’s an excellent video that shows him explaining exactly how he plays the Kora. He is a very talented man indeed. Enjoy!
{ February 4, 2009 @ 10:54 pm }
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{ acoustic, alternative, gigs, indie, music, news, preview, singer songwriter }
{ Tags: Vienna Teng } · { }
Despite being two months from its release, you can preview a stream of Vienna Teng’s latest album “Inland Territory”. You can hear the entire album here. Also available are her American tour dates.
The album is much more up-tempo and much more experimental than her previous album “Dreaming Through the Noise”. There’s not a duff song and this leaves us pumped for the release on the 7th April.
HPM won’t review the album until we’ve bought it but just by this stream we can honestly say – it’s going to be absolutely fantastic!
{ February 4, 2009 @ 4:03 pm }
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{ alternative, ambient, composer, music, piano, piano rock, review, rock, singer songwriter, VGM }
{ Tags: Akira Yamaoka, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn } · { }
Two soundtracks in the same year, Akira Yamaoka has been busy with the Silent Hill series, and this is the sixth in it. Each soundtrack has bought something new. The original gave us the noise, the second gave us melodies, the third vocal pieces and beats, the fourth purposefully poor production and discordant chords and zero swirling ambience. This time around the shift isn’t so noticeable but in a word, Silent Hill Homecoming is about sound loops.
However the soundtrack opens with “One More Soul to the Call”, the biggest rock anthem that has been a mainstay during the series and is once again performed excellently by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. This takes the traditional Silent Hill theme chords and gives it a stick of TNT, lights it and runs for cover. It’s an uplifting and reassuring opener.
“Witchcraft” follows with its downplayed cold ambience and piano led melody. It’s suitably depressing and macabre even when the electronic percussion joins in and sets you in for another eerie jaunt.
“Mr Joy” is ominous and eluding at the same time. It’s the bass drum that constantly thuds along with the atonal backing that makes the rapping and main tune all the more unsettling. “Cold Blood”, along with the previous two remind me very much of the ambient/beat tracks from Silent Hill 2. The rising piano and the backing keyboards are really lifted up when the drums come in and takes the track to another level. “The Terminal Show” continues with the same damp mood with piano, keyboard and drum loops. They are minimal but very effective.
McGlynn is back for “Elle Theme”. This song is not rock at all and is more empty and sparse. It’s like taking the previous songs and arranging them into a vocal piece. The vocals are excellent and the layering effect on all Mary’s songs works perfectly – and the chorus is infectious.
“4 Pattern” is the first real noise piece on the soundtrack. Coupled with the initial bass drum, its nice to hear that general ambience pieces haven’t completely disappeared as its what Silent Hill has always been about. “Snow Flower” is a beautiful track in many ways with its reversed sounds over heavy percussion. Its also very bleak but there’s a certain innocence to it too. “Attitude #70″ returns to the more abstract noise effects which continue to be a breath of fresh air and build up for “Regards” where percussion joins in along with bent radio samples for the best use of the abstract noises on the soundtrack.
“Total Invasion” is a tense track even if it doesn’t freak out. It’s percussion is heavy in the mix so the keyboard loops always sound like they are about to stop being nice and go run riot. “The Real Love” has plenty of discordant samples and loops playing around for an interesting piece as it builds up to its climax leaving “Voodoo Girl” to charm you with its weird drum samples which sound like the life’s been sucked out of them. It also sounds like a heartbeat gone wrong and that makes the track all the better.
“Living in Fear” is a stand out track for me as its one of the few that goes for it with its beats and detuned bass line. “Dreams of Leaving” too is a harsh track with all kinds of minor notes and chords for the ultimate strange/depressed effect and its also a track that never sits still with its arrangement.
“Who Knows” is all about the drums and piano inside echoes which back up a sample of woodwind and brass that is constantly repeated. This is the soundtracks “Wounded Warsong”, a song that repeats and just gets more intense the more you listen. It’s a sure-fire stand out.
“Slave 2 Death” is sparse but heavy with echoes and random notes being looped around which is still effective. “The Thing” interestingly has an almost 90′s pop track drum beat that sounds like its being played through a radio at the beginning. The track gradually builds on itself to provide the most slinky and hypnotic song on the soundtrack. “Dead Monks” rounds off the instrumental tracks in eerie fashion with high scat singing wrapped around some old skool Silent Hill ambient noises. It’s a crisp end.
Mary rejoins for “This Sacred Line”, the second and in my opinion stronger of the two rock vocal songs. This is because the chords are new and there’s a good build up to the rip roaring chorus and the guitar solo. The soundtrack closes with “Alex Theme” which is like Elle Theme in that is minimal – just beats, keyboards and lots of layered vocals. This song shows off Mary’s ability to completely own and carry off a song by herself and is possibly my favourite vocal piece since SH4.
After the slightly safe and not so eerie “Silent Hill Zero” soundtrack, this is absolutely a return to form. The vocal songs are fantastic, its great to hear some noise fests back in the mix and the general mood and simplicity all works. Another excellent soundtrack to the series which never falls below par and delivers.
{ February 4, 2009 @ 1:35 pm }
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{ behind the music, behind the scenes, books, j-pop, music, news, release dates }
{ Tags: Utada Hikaru } · { }
Utada Hikaru is to release two books of completely different content on the same date. The books are entitled “Ten” and “Sen” and are released on the 12th of March.
“Sen” is a book that will chart all of her web diary and various other messages over the last ten years. This will have a specific new photo shoot. “Ten” will have summaries of official interviews taken over the last ten years and appears to be retailing at a few yen more in price.
What with that and an English album, Hikki is busy this year!
{ February 2, 2009 @ 9:00 pm }
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{ alternative, chip tunes, dance, DJ, indie, music, remix, review, VGM }
{ Tags: Dr Cova, Takayuki "J99" Aihara } · { }
The Sega Mega Drive (Or Genesis if you’re American) gave us some of the pinnacle of game music with its superb 16-bit madness. This three track CD comprises of 3 medley’s taking 24 games and then doing a non-stop medley between them all for some exciting remixed madness.
The games included are: Alien Soldier, Outrun, Space Harrier II, Bare Knuckle II, Crying, Monster World III, Ristar the Shooting Star, Super Fantasy Zone, Pulseman, Super Shinobi, Ecco the Dolphin, Gunstar Heroes, Vermillion, Golden Axe II, Shining & The Darkness, Shining Force, Landstalker, Phantasy Star III, Phantasy Star II, Battle Golfer Yui, Shikinjo, Ninja Buraiden & Rent-a-Hero. Some you may be familiar with however a few of them I was not as they may be Japan only releases.
Not that it really matters because each game really does just have its main theme played through in true 16-bit synth style before a seamless transition to the next game theme. On each of the three tracks, the transitions are superb and you never get bored with each song clocking in at the 8 minute mark. It’s a great trip down memory lane and the songs haven’t sounded so good in a long time.
The first remix is the Arranged version, which takes each song into a dance version and polishes the synths and this is probably the best version. The second mix is using all the original synths completely which is daring and apart from some drum confusion, it works perfectly. The third and final mix (by Dr. Cova) is the “Super Medley” which kind of bridges the two and uses both original and revised synths and a follows a different pattern of songs altogether.
Fans of 16-bit music will find heaven here, and anyone wanting to know how remixes or 16-bit music can really revolutionize your vgm collection really needs to get the cd. An expert class in game music.
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It’s harder than it should be to find anything on Irina Mikhailova but here’s a rare concert caught on camera for everyone to enjoy. 
Whilst trawling the internet I came across 
This weeks video vault is Emiliana Torrini’s 
