Anime Instrumentality

Vocaloid Character Hatsune Miku Turns Three

Chris Nguyen — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:49:07 +0000

Given all of the Hatsune Miku songs that have been created and played on sites like Nico Nico Douga, it seems as though she’s been around forever. But when August 31 rolls around, it’s a firm reminder just how relatively new she is as she turns 3 years old this year.

With a voice sampled from the voice actress Saki Fujita (known most recently for playing the roll of Mahiru Inami from Working!!), Hatsune Miku has gone on to do arrangements of popular anime themes along with original works like supercell’s “Melt” and more famously, “Black Rock Shooter.” Her popularity continues to grow and reach out far beyond Japan and with new mixes continually being churned out, she still has plenty left in her and so, we can all look forward to seeing what this year brings for her!

Disko Warp Music Releases Happy Hardcore Anime Arrangement Album

Chris Nguyen — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 23:29:04 +0000

Pete Ellison, known by his DJ moniker as Initial P has released an anime arrange album through his music label, Disko Warp Records. The album, titled Anime Love Hardcore, consists of ten anime songs, all arranged in the style of happy hardcore, featuring sped up rhythms and vocals and run the gamut of anime titles as far back as Lupin III and the more recent Tengen Toppa Gurrent Lagaan.

The album has already been on sale through iTunes. You can also purchase the physical copy of the album through Disko Warp’s website.

Ghibli Movie, Only Yesterday, Gets Stage Adaptation

Chris Nguyen — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 05:28:38 +0000

Starting at Tokyo’s Ginga Gekijō theater, the Studio Ghibli film, Only Yesterday, will premiere as a stage musical starting April 16, 2011 and continuing until April 29, 2011. The stage adaptation will star Hikaru Asami as Taeko during the musical’s Tokyo run, with Keaki Mori playing Taeko’s mother. Tamiya Kuriyama will be behind the director’s chair, and Masato Kai is in charge of the musical’s soundtrack.

There are additional plans to take it out of Tokyo, with a performance in Semboku City before embarking upon a national tour April of 2012.

Source: Oricon via AnimeNewsNetwork

Tickets for Mikuni Shimokawa’s Singapore Concert on Sale

Chris Nguyen — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 05:43:32 +0000

As reported earlier, Mikuni Shimokawa had announced a concert to be taking place on August 22 of this year and that the concert would be held at the Movida, St James Power Station venue. And for those looking to attend, tickets are finally available and on sale to the public.

Tickets for the event can be found on Gatecrash. The tickets themselves cost around SGD $93 excluding booking fee.

Utada Hikaru Going on Hiatus

Chris Nguyen — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 06:43:48 +0000

J-pop singer Utada Hikaru has announced on her blog that she’ll be going on hiatus starting next year. She does plan to release a full-length album consisting of her more recent singles before she departs, but as she takes note to emphasize, this will not be a retirement announcement or even a break. Based on what she wrote, she’s looking to mature as an artist and once she feels recharged, it’ll be full steam ahead.

What she doesn’t say is how long this hiatus will last because she hints it could range from 2 years to as long as 5 years. It has been 12 years since she debuted and has been working almost non-stop this entire time.

K-ON!!’s OP and ED Themes Soar to #2 and #3 on the Oricon Charts

Chris Nguyen — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:17:03 +0000

The K-ON! franchise is able to whip up a frenzy among buyers, and in doing so, they just cannot seem to stop selling CDs. With the release of the opening and ending singles, titled Utauyo!! MIRACLE and NO Thank You! respectively, the sales generated have propelled them to the #2 and #3 spots on the Oricon weeklies for the week ending on August 4, 2010.

The opening single, Utauyo!! MIRACLE, succeeded in placing #3 with sales numbering around 26,686 sold, while NO Thank You! managed a touch higher with 26,989 albums sold. Knowing the track record for these albums, it’s likely they’ll continue to stay on the charts for weeks down the line.

For those looking to purchase the albums, links to CDJapan are below:
Utauyo!! MIRACLE – Limited Edition | Regular Edition
NO Thank You! – Limited Edition | Regular Edition

Gackpoid Vocaloid Voice Celebrates its 2nd Year!

Chris Nguyen — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 05:06:52 +0000

Though not quite as popular or well-known as his counterparts Miku Hatsune, the Kagamine twins, and Luka Megurine, Kamui Gakupo, better known to most Vocaloid enthusiasts out there as the sexy, aggressive Gackpoid, is celebrating his 2nd year of coming into being. The voice, taken from J-pop-rock singer Gackt, has been used in all sorts of creations, ranging from the heavy metal pieces composed by ROY to lighter fare like turnastudio’s qawsedrftgyhujikolp. Often looked upon as the Vocaloid team’s sexiest singer, now might be a good time to sample some of the songs that use his voice. You can check out some of the following below:

Mahoraba Singer/Composer Bice Passes Away

Chris Nguyen — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:40:55 +0000

You might not have heard of Bice, but those who’ve seen Mahoraba ~Heartful Days~ may remember the sweet, charming music that played in the anime as well as the calm, soothing vocals that accompanied some of the BGM. Bice, who also goes by Anne, composed the score for Mahoraba’s anime and provided said vocals. Regretfully, she has passed away on Monday, June 26, from a heart attack.

In addition to Mahoraba, Bice also composed music for Kirarin Revolution as well as a live-action adaptation of a Yayoi Ogawa work.

Source: Natalie

K-ON!! Vol. 2 Anime Soundtrack Release Date Set

Chris Nguyen — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:52:36 +0000

For those of you who’ve been having a blast listening to volume 1 of the K-ON!! Original Soundtrack, the soundtrack to the second season of the K-ON! anime, the second volume’s release date has been set. The CD will be out in stores on October 6, 2010. You can order the soundtrack on CDJapan.

Like with the previous album, volume 2 will continue to present Hajime Hyakkoku’s light-hearted compositions from the K-ON! anime series. Whether the album will come with a character song or two like the first volume did is unknown for now.

Seiyuu Pop Group Sphere Concert Announced at Budokan

Chris Nguyen — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:42:55 +0000

Sphere, the pop group made up of seiyuu Aki Toyosaki, Haruka Tomatsu, Ayahi Takagaki, and Minako Kotobuki, have announced a concert at Budokan on November 23, 2010. The concert, ON LOVE, ON Live, will open their doors at 4:30pm and officially start at 5:30pm.

Anime music fans should be familiar with Sphere’s work given their debut single for Hatsukoi Limited’s intro, titled “Future Stream.” They’ve gone on to release “Super Noisy Nova” for Sora no Manimani, and, most recently, Asobi ni Ikuyo!’s “Now loading…Sky!!.” They also have a single set to be released in October for an anime premiering in Fall 2010.

Source: Sphere website via J1m0ne.