M3-30 Review Part 1

Happy Halloween! I haven't done a proper review in ages, so I thought I'll do that this year. Please don't ask me about posting the actual release just yet.

Carnaval Papillon - Yume, Uruwashiku Yami wo Kanate
A gorgeous, glamorous vocal quartet featuring a vampire tragic love story as the theme, even though there's only 1 vocal song in the preview CD. There's harmony between Hatsuki Yura (Girl Alpha) and Tsukiko (Girl Beta), plus Konori's bass (The Earl of Darkness) and Nagi Kaiji's baritone (The Viscount). The tease is killing me, and I couldn't wait for the actual album itself to be released next year.

Sally in the room - Sally in the room
This CD features Fukami Chie on vocal and iyuna on composition. The music is on the refreshing, girlish pop side, but not too sugary or fluffy. The music also retains Chie's whimsical charm.

Hatsuki Yura x Okka - BABEL
Mamyukka's Okka composes this album, and BABEL would not sound out of place in Mamyukka's repertoire. The perfect treat for Hallowe'en. Unlike the heavy Gothic atmosphere in "Yume, Uruwashiku Yami wo Kanate", this album is more playful and also more wicked in its child-like cruelty. It begins with a carnival-esque ambience and ends on a vaguely unsettling note.

Shirakaba no Kai - Cherries
Mutsuki ("Muzzo") and Murasaki ("Murataro") sing as men. Mutsuki has released something of the like awhile back, but this is the first time I hear Murasaki sing in a guy's voice. The style of the album is quite diverse: hard-boiled (?), Arabian, cabaret in the early Showa era, the more Gothic-like style reminiscent of Queen of Wand, and denpa-kei (...).

M3-30 News Part 3

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M3-30 News Part 2

Sorry about the delay. It's been a busy month for me.

binaria - 双子のダイアログ (Twins' Dialogue)
binaria's latest single. They are also hosting a 2nd live concert on Oct 26 as a preview to the new single.
http://binaria.net/index.html

Project-ALCA - luminous
A uplifting new release from Project-ALCA. Vocalists include Tada Aoi, marina, Shihori and Nakae Mitsuki.
http://project-alca.com/site/alca_s/lum.html

Absolute Castaway - 古書ノスタルジヰ堂 (Antiquarian Nostalgia)
And speaking of Nakae Mitsuki, she'll be releasing a new early Showa-style single. In addition, she'll be holding her 1st solo concert on Feb 11, 2013.
http://shule-aroon.sakura.ne.jp/index.html

Hatsuki Yura - BABEL
Carnaval Papillon　- 夢、麗しく闇を奏で (Yume, Uruwashiku Yami wo Kanate)
Two new CDs from Hatsuki Yura. In BABEL, Hatsuki Yura is collaborating with Mamyukka's composer Okka to produce this "Dark Marchen Original Album". Konori, who also works with Yura before in Gentou Parade, will be the guest vocalist. Nagi Kaiji, who appears in Lost Omen (produced by Yura), serves as the story teller.
Carnaval Papillon is a collaboration between Yura, Land-You's Kai Yuu, Tsukiko, Konori and Nagi Kaiji. The CD to be released at M3-30 is actually a preview CD for the upcoming vampire-themed album that is set to be released in 2013. Both Gentou Parade and Lost Omen can be found in Nakidora (look under the tag "Hatsuki Yura").
http://hatukiyura.sakura.ne.jp/

Utanoha (Takanashi Mako) - The Tragedy of Gifted
A new album from Takanashi Mako.
http://www.utanoha.net/

RomariaCrusade - 正常の国のアリス (Seijou no Kuni no Alice)
RomariaCrusade takes on the ever popular "Alice in Wonderland".
http://romaria.net/19th_Alice/

Lolita Neurosis - love in idleness/eyecandy
14th single. Rimiyu returns to her root of a single vocal with piano accompaniment.
http://lolita-neurosis.biz/

M3-30 News Part 1 + Ayutrica Disbanded

Mamyukka - King Piglog
After a pretty long delay, Mamyukka will finally be releasing their much anticipated new album, King Piglot. The pilot CD "Invitation" was released back in M3-28 (that would be last fall). Like their previous albums, they are bringing in many guest vocalists, including Fukami Chie, Nakae Mitsuki, Ikeda Show, Cherose, Gotou Haruki, Aihara Kaori, Chikamori Kayako and others.
http://mamyukka.tank.jp/

my sound life (Chata + iyuna) - square vision
Sally in the room (Fukami Chie + iyuna + Kudo) - Sally in the room
iyuna and Chata have often collaborated in their group, my sound life, and this year they'll also be hosting their first live on Nov 23. But this time iyuna has also teamed up with Fukami Chie and pixelbee's kudo (composer) and formed a new circle, Sally in the room. They will be releasing their 1st CD at M3-30.
http://www.solfa.asia/

Alice Eden - 厭世観ユーフォリア (Enseikan Euforia
Alice Eden consists of vocalist Hiiragi Tsuyuri and composer Hikarinosu (he also belongs to two other circles, ArsMagnA and Seraph). Awhile back, Alice Eden has revamped their website completely. It also appears to be a fresh start from the old. They've released their 3rd single at M3-29, which fell under the radar. This time, they returned with their 2nd album.
http://aliceeden.jp/index.html

Asriel - XANADU
Asriel rarely misses out on M3, and this year they will be releasing their 14th indies album.
http://asriel.jp/

Starry Garden - Queen -Schwarz Traum
Konno Sei is another highly prolific doujin musician, and she's releasing her 7th album at M3-30. The theme of the album is "What does the sleeping queen dream of".
http://konnosei.com/

Studio-Kurage - さよならポップス (Sayonara Pops)
This is one intense-looking illustration, not something I would expect from Studio-Kurage after their long break. Participating vocalists include Chata, Fukami Chie, Nanjou Akira, Midorizaka Aaya, Nina Branch, and foolen.
http://studio-kurage.sakura.ne.jp/4th/index.html

I.L.C -Image Leaf Craft- - ラムネ星、みつけた。 (Lemon Hoshi, Mitsuketa.)
With vocalists Takizawa Ichiru, Kunii and Yoshikawa Sunao.
http://image.main.jp/

In other news, Ayutrica has officially disbanded on Sep 17, citing that its members are busy with their individual projects. However, they do not rule out the possibility that the members will reunite again in the future. On the other hand, [S] and Hoshio Yuka have found the new circle Eclipseed, which has the same concept as Ayutrica. Eclipseed has already released a single to mark its debut back in C82. In addition, Eclipseed will still perform songs from Ayutrica in live concerts, so that's something to be happy about.

Ayutrica's official statement
Eclipseed