Saturday, November 7, 2009

M3-24 Info Dump: Gothic and Fairy Tales

I know how hard it can be to judge an album by its cover and title alone, so I would like to mention some of the albums and give you some idea on what the albums are like.

Gekidan Forest (劇団フォレスト) - Yume Kowashi Kitan (夢壊し奇譚)

A collaboration between many musicians, including Amami Rimiyu (Lolita Neurosis), Ikeda Show (The Room of Show Ikeda), Yuka (Lotus Root Orchestra), Tamari and others. It's a buffet of dark fairy tales envisioned in various genres such as rock and ballad, and in Amami Rimiyu's case, her trademark piano music, ending with a gothic sounding song sung by Yuka. It's a shame that the balance of the album is slightly off, and the sound quality isn't exactly the greatest.
http://081.in/forest_gakuya/

Giniro Konpeitou Gakudan (銀色星砂糖楽団) - Gentou Parade ~phantasm parade~ (幻燈パレード~phantasm parade~)

One of two Hatsuki Yura's latest projects. Deliciously diabolic, owing much to Konori's gorgeous bass timbre and Yura's insane high notes. Konori, Yura, and マチゲリータ (the composer responsible for this album) have collaborated on a song in Yura's album Gothika before, and that song is included in Gentou Parade. The music, to me at least, is slightly reminiscent of Malice Mizer. A true gothic romance indeed.
http://hatukiyura.sakura.ne.jp/gentou/index.html

Mamyukka - Evilz

Do not be fooled by the Halloween-ish cover and music; the theme of the album is actually quite sinister. It is a carnival of villains, which includes the Queen from Snow White, the Black Swan from Swan Lake, Kaguya Hime, and Captain Hook. Guest vocalists include Nakae Mitsuki (Absolute Castaway), Goto Haruki (A little bit), Yuka (Lotus Roots Orchestra), Aihara Kaori (Melody), Ikeda Show (The Room of Show Ikeda), Hiiragi Rian (spice+rock), and recog. Even though this is only the group's first album, the quality is exceptionally high.
http://mamyukka.tank.jp/

Seifuu Meigetsu (清風明月) - Hameln ~Koisuru Marionette~ (ハーメルン ~恋するマリオネット~)

The other Hatsuki Yura album of M3-24. Slightly more folk-song-like and pop-ish than Gentou Parade, it also doesn't sound as dark (though I can't say the same about the lyrics, since it's Hatsuki Yura after all). The song "Juliet" evokes a flashback to Yura's Yami Douwa Koubou album. A pleasant shoujo gothic-like love story. If you like Hatsuki Yura, you will probably like this album.
http://otogibako.net/hameln/index.htm

Uekiya (植木屋) - Allegoria

If Yume Kowashi Kitan is a buffet of fairy tales, then Allegoria is a five-course fairy tale tragedy, be it expressed through melancholy or anguish. This album has apparently taken the group 4 years to produce, and it shows; there is a consistency throughout the album. It is one of those albums that should be consumed from beginning to end without pause.
http://uekiya.daa.jp/

If you would like to make a request, please leave a comment.

4 comments:

  1. I really liked Allegoria, this M3 is the first time i listen to Uekiya adn i already love them. Looking forward for more music from them.
    Also liked Evilz. I am following this circles releases form now on!

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  2. I really like those two albums as well. I was pleasantly surprised by Mamyukka because it manages to convey well the macabre and playful mood it sets up to capture.

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  3. Let's upload these albums, maybe more people like them. They deserve more fans.
    I can help maybe with Allegoria (i think it's the shortest) because now i am back at uploading at 9kb/s after a couple of weeks of enjoying a boost in internet speed (ul 40-35/kbs).
    Oh, also i have some request. Have you got Yura's maiden collector? It leaked some time ago, but only in TAK format. I am Mac user, so i can't convert to mp3. Thanks in advance!

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  4. Sure. I'll upload the other two (my upload speed is 30kb/s...).

    And yes, I have Yura's Maiden Collector, and I've already converted it to mp3 (foobar2000 is my latest best friend). So I'll upload that one as well.

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