Kalafina Record - Limited Edition - unboxing teaser

Just a little teaser this morning. :D  I need to rush off to work now and I don't have time to mess with the photos which I shot last night... sometime tonight... I will put up the unboxing photos. :)

My Kalafina Record Limited Edition package arrived last night.  Itsuko did send it to me after all. :)   And as it is packaged in a box... this time, "unboxing" is the correct term to use. :D

K... gotta go... later y'all. :)

Kalafina Cafe stuff 2

As i suspected, i was way too tired last night to put those photos up, so here is a quick post. More photos of the fan and the lollipops. Enjoy. :)


Aren't those lollipops too pretty to eat. :) k... Gotta go, about to change trains. Bye.

kalafina cafe stuff

Unfortunately, there was no way I could have gone to the Kalafina Cafe or attended any of the recently concluded events in Shibuya this September. Fortunately for me, Itsuko did go and she sent me a surprise which i received last night. :) Of course this isn't the same as having been there but then, beggars can't be choosers. I'm still super happy to get two paper fans and two Kalafina lollipops. But... eating them is going to be hard. :)

I would like to have shot more photos of it but I was very tired last night and i went to bed relatively early for me. I may amend this post tonight with more photos or may just post a new post tonight.... we'll see... recently I've been feeling a little under the weather so if it's too late at night, i might elect to go to bed.

Also, more info has been put up about ticket purchases for AFA 11. Hmmm... it seems like to try and 100 percent guarantee a premium seat on Sunday, the day Kalafina perform, may turn out to be a bit of an expensive venture since they will begin selling the 3 day vip passes first. So here's hoping there will be enough 1day vip passes on Sunday left for the rest of us fans.
(link for ticketing info: http://www.animefestival.asia/ticketing.html

K... Bye for now. :)

Kalafina in Singapore :)

In the latest and the last of the 4 part Kawaii Girl japan videos on Kalafina, Kalafina ends off with a message for their overseas fans.  In that message, they say that they would like to go all over the world, where they are welcomed and they would like to spread their music there.

Well... and finally, it is Singapore's turn to welcome Kalafina.  I like to think it has something to do with me writing to them twice to come to Singapore... once on the response sheet at the Kagayaku concert in the Lemon CC Hall last year and once when I wrote in to their BayFM program to thank them for the wonderful time I had at the concert.  But of course I know this has nothing to do with me, but it's nice to stroke my ego once in a while. :D

Most likely, this has something to do with the current popularity of Mahou Shoujo Madoka and I think they are not merely travelling to promote Kalafina, they are also travelling to promote the anime.  I'm almost certain that they will sing "magia" at the Live in Singapore since Mahou Shoujo Madoka will be one of the featured animes.  As for the After Eden songs... I'm not sure if they'll sing any of those but they most likely will sing a few of their signature tunes from the Kara no Kyoukai films.

Whatever the case, I'm definitely going to try and get tickets to go to this Live.  I hope I can get them... you never know... and I dare not celebrate till I can confirm that I have tickets to the event.

Actually, the only Live I'm interested in is Kalafina's so the 1-Day I Love Anisong VIP Concert ticket at S$148 will be kind of expensive for me... I'm thinking of perhaps the1-Day I Love Anisong Standing concert tickets at S$48 may be more economical... but then if the VIP Concert tix ensures that I will definitely be able to get into the hall to see Kalafina live in Singapore... then I'll go for the SGD148 tix.

I might try and catch the Mahou Shoujo Madoka events and the Fate/Zero events too.  I think my friend who will most likely be going with me, will want to try and catch the Gundam Unicorn screening.  I'm not sure if I'll go on both Saturday and Sunday... I may actually do two days but it's unlikely that I'll go for Friday's events as I'll be working on Friday and I don't feel like taking leave to see Hatsune Miki.  We'll see.

Meanwhile, I'm off to bed and will hopefully dream happy happy dreams of seeing Kalafina live in Singapore. :)  Oyasumi. :)

Kalafina at AFA11 in Singapore - it's official

 The details are on the website which has been constantly updating all day since the announce this morning.

Check out the website for details. Click me and click me too.

Gotta go back to work... it's been hard working today. :p

cheers

OMG!!! Kalafina in Singapore!?!?!

A buddy of mine just told me that he has been informed by a friend that Kalafina will attend the AFA11 (Anime Festival Asia) in Singapore from the 11-13 Nov.  According to my friend they'll be at the AFA on the 13th Nov.  I'm going to cut Japanese class to go for this. :D

Not many details out now but it seems pretty confirmed and I saw the news on twitter too.

I'm so excited!!!!!

K... back to earth... got to get back to work. Later. :)

ps. - details are coming out on twitter... Madoka will be the featured anime!!! Awesome!!!  Check out sgcafe's twitter... k really got to go bk to work. :)

Update 2:33pm
- For Mahou Shoujo Madoka fans, Atsuhiro Iwaka, the producer for the anime and Saitou Chiwa (Akemi Homura's seiyuu) will also be at AFA.

url: http://www.animefestival.asia/special_guests.html

Gosh... I usually hate crowds, especially in Singapore so I never go for these events even though I'm a anime fan of sorts... but for KALAFINA!!!!  I will brave the crowds. :D

Too bad no Kajiura Yuki, cuz if she comes I would be in Seventh Heaven. :D

Kalafina - After Eden Limited Edition - unboxing

Let's cut to the chase. :)  Here is the "unboxing" of Kalafina's After Eden album.  The packaging is pretty standard stuff from Japan.  Relatively nice compared to many of my non-Japanese cds in my music collection.  You get a slip case, the CD, a bonus DVD, a booklet with the lyrics and a bonus photo booklet.  The photos are really quite nice and will please any fan.  The quality of the paper is nice, stiff and a little glossy but not too glossy.

Overall mostly cooler colours were used for the album art.  The bonus photo booklet has several photos with warmer colour tones but the actual album and its insert booklet uses a colour palette that was in general cooler with just itty bits of a warmer colour, like red, to break it up a bit and give it life.  It's nice... I like the different costume / art direction that they took.  If they were looking to go in a different direction with the music, it made sense to move away from the Gothic, Romani, Eastern European feel of their previous image.  This feels more like classical English maybe????  I don't know, I can't say for sure except that it's not Eastern European influenced... I  was terrible at my classical art / music / literature class... I barely passed it :)  Except for some of the accessories, the overall look doesn't look as Romani influenced and certainly not as dark as their previous image.  This look does fit in better with the greater number of breezier, cheerier songs in this album.

Overall, I rather like the art / costume design of their current album and image.  The Gothic, Romani, Eastern European style seems to be quite popular in Japan and it's nice that they are breaking away from that and taking a direction that is a little bit more unique.  I don't know that much about fashion... I am part of the "T-Shirts and jeans" are always in fashion crowd :)  ... but to my limited knowledge, this new image is not that common in Japan.

The mouse pad is okay.  If you're a rabid fan... then go for it.  I am a rabid fan so I did want the limited first press edition so I could get the mouse pad.  But seriously, this isn't a mouse pad most people could use and perhaps, it was never meant for using.  I know, even if it were bigger, I probably wouldn't have used it anyway. :)  Given the nature of the material that mouse pads that aim to be somewhat usable are made from, the printing on the mouse pad isn't that sharp.  The colours are a little muted and there is a matte finish and the surface is textured.  This collectable is pretty much strictly something I think only fans will really like.

If you're a fan and can afford it, I do encourage you to pick up the Limited Edition because it does come with the very nice 40 page photo booklet and a bonus DVD that doesn't just simply contain one PV.  The DVD contains both the symphonia PV as well as footage of their trip to the Anime Expo in LA this year.  It's a nice bonus for fans. Personally, I think that if you like Kajiura Yuki and Kalafina, the After Eden album is worth getting.  The music is good and the packaging of the CD is nice.

Here are the links to getting the album if you are interested.  These are CDJapan links... other places like playasia, yesasia, Amazon Japan, HMV Japan etc will also offer these cds.

After Eden [w/ DVD, Limited Edition] After Eden [Regular Edition]

And finally... here are the photos of the "unboxing".... sorry...  the composition of the photos etc looks very uninspired to me and I really should have shot a few more photos of the inside of the booklets.... I was kind of tired when I shot them and I'm too lazy to shoot better ones. :p



That's it from me for tonight.  Have a good week everyone. :)  Time for bed... good night. :)

Kalafina Record - unboxing

Technically, I didn't have to unbox the Kalafina Record book but I'm too lazy to think of a more appropriate title. :p

I finally received this shipment containing Kalafina Record, the After Eden album, a t-shirt and some Mahou Shoujo Madoka toys yesterday due to some delays with the availability of the Kalafina Record book and the shipping delays caused by Typhoon Roke in Japan.

Kalafina Record is amazing and completely worth getting if you're a fan of Kajiura Yuki and Kalafina or even FictionJunction, since both Keiko and Wakana form half of FictionJunction [edit: actually, it should be 2/5 since Kajiura Yuki also fronts FJ].  The photos in the book are beautifully taken and there's a lot of information which I hope to be able to read with ease someday.  I can kind of read some of it but it'll take me a while.

I did order both the Limited Edition as well as the Regular Edition.  The Limited Edition is a hard-cover edition with a T-Shirt.  That's for keeping.  Itsuko may or may not ship that out to me now and either way it's fine with me since I did decide to order the Regular Edition partly because I know it would be hard for me to wait to get it in November.  Also, I want to try and read Kalafina Record and since my Japanese is really not very good at all at the moment, I didn't want to carry a hard-cover copy every where I went.  It would be heavy and I wouldn't want to mess it up too much.

Still... although I can mess with the Regular Edition of Kalafina Record, the photos in this book are so nice, the quality of the paper and the binding of such nice quality, I really don't want to flatten it to scan it at all.  I just love books too much that even though I may have an extra copy of it... ruining it is simply something I find near impossible to do.  So, sadly for any of you who chance upon this post, I only shot a couple of photos of the inside of the book... I won't be scanning it... I just can't do it. :)

At 1619yen for the Regular Edition, I think that the book is completely worth it if you're a fan of Kalafina and Kajiura.  Seriously, if you're looking for nice photos... there are quite a few in this book that should satisfy most fans and for people like me, it's more than a photo book because there is tons of information on not just Keiko, Wakana, Hikaru and Kajiura Yuki in this book.  There is also information on the musicians and the music / songs themselves etc... and that's what I like.... I'm a glutton for information. :)

For those of you who want to get the book... there are several online places that offer it... I got mine through CDJapan.  You'll need to hurry though if you want to get your own copy, the last I looked there were only 7 copies of the Regular Edition left...



... click the picture above to jump there.  I'm not sure if there will be more copies available after that, there maybe... but I wouldn't know.  BTW, just in case this bothers anyone... I've started using affiliated links from CDJapan because I can actually get commission from my own purchases... so if it bothers you... don't use the links... if it doesn't bother you.. then be my guest. :)

The photos that I shot, although not many, are kind of Keiko centric... gomen ne... of the trio, it's no secret to those who have read my blog that I do like Keiko best both in terms of her voice as well as her looks.  So since I'm sure that somewhere out there on the internet, there will be more photos / scans of the book, I'll just keep my photos to what my blog has always been about anyway... stuff that interest me. :)

Okay... here you go... the photos of Kalafina Record... enjoy. :)

 

That's it from me for tonight... I have a very long day ahead tomorrow... got to go to work early in the morning and then I have my Japanese class and then I really need to cut my hair tomorrow after that. So in preparation for having to wake up at 6am tomorrow morning... I will go and sleep almost immediately after this post. I think I'll attempt to do the unboxing of the After Eden album tomorrow.... and maybe the Madoka stuff... we'll see... for now... oyasumi. :)

Kalafina Record / After Eden LE album is here. :)

Yay... my Kalafina Record and After Eden Limited Edition album are here. :)

Played football today and work was also tough today.... crashing out soon but just wanted to post about getting it. :)

I did shoot some unboxing photos... maybe tomorrow I'll upload them.

Good night. :)

Kalafina's After Eden - Oricon No. 1

 Awesome news for Kajiura Yuki, Kalafina and fans of both. :)  Kalafina's 3rd album, "After Eden" debuted at No.1 on the Oricon charts today, the day of it's release.

Although there are no super huge stars like AKB48 etc to compete with, still it's a super achievement and the first time Kalafina has been able to hit the No. 1 spot.  They even surpassed Every Little Thing, which is a very established group.  Although, ELT is way pass its prime and no longer sells albums / singles the way they used to.  That said... in this day and age, CDs no longer sell the way they used to too anyway. :(

梶浦さん、Kalafinaさん、 おめでとう　ございます!!!　：）

Now, it's time for bed for me... oyasumi. :)

mahou shoujo madoka vol. 6 - unboxing

Short post today, writing those After Eden thoughts till 3am in the morning has taken their toil on me. so here are the photos of the unboxing. i think they really did save the best for last. Even the discs cover art is the nicest yet. :)

Anyway, here you here, photos of the Blu-ray Limited Edition box set with Kajiura Yuki's OST 3.  Enjoy.  :)

Kalafina - After Eden - more thoughts

For the last two days all I've been listening to are the tracks from the After Eden album and my reaction to the album has gone from favourable to really rather liking it.

1. Eden - My initial reactions and my current reaction is still the same.  It's nice, breezy and kind of cheery.  But ultimately, still not really my cup of tea.  The harmony is what keeps me from totally not liking this song.  A big part of me liking Kajiura Yuki's work and Kalafina is the harmony.  The chorus and the bridge works best for me because the harmony comes through really big time.  Yup... still not my cup of tea... it's nice enough but I would be very surprise if it becomes my favourite song from this album.

2. sandpiper - I like it more than I did two days ago, it's nice... classic Kalafina stuff.  I will like this but it won't be a favourite for me too.

3. magia - always liked it. :)

4. 九月 - It's pretty in parts.  I rather like it.  Hikaru sounds really sweet in the opening.  The bits I like best are the way they sing "kitto.." and "sotto", sort of staccato and lightly.  I'm transcribing from sound here, so the romanji maybe wrong.  The open contrasts very nicely with the heavier tone of the next section which is led by Wakana.  Keiko is in support again but I like her support work lots and as usual, her support work is stellar throughout the album.  I must say though that I don't really like Hikaru's "yashashiku" echo right after Wakana's... somehow it just seems too reminiscent of their pass work when Hikaru always seems to sing a line like that.

5. in your eyes - Yup, still sounds kind of bossa nova / world music to me... it's kind of like Eden in its tone, really breezy... and like Eden conjures up images of wide open spaces.  There is a little too much of Hikaru in this for me and I actually welcomed the moments when Keiko and Wakana become more prominent.  I really do like Keiko in this song and I really like the way she sings "kura kura, yume no naka".  She throws in quite a bit of variation in the solo portions she got in this song.   And I like the second time Hikaru holds her own at approx 2mins, finding it to be more interesting than her interpretation in the opening.  As usual, a lot of the highlights in this song happen when they combine, especially when Keiko and Hikaru combine.  Wakana doesn't have have anything that would be too taxing for her in this song, but that is not to say it wasn't good, I liked her loads in this song.  Wakana doing what she does best, Keiko breaking it up constantly and Hikaru's sweet voice and their harmony, gives me enough to move this song from "hmmmm... I don't know" to "like".

6. destination unknown - This is definitely an early favourite for me mostly because the Hikaru-Keiko combo is really, really good in this song.  I also really, really like the way Keiko comes in with "kokoro no kata sumini..."  She comes in like a force of nature then smoothly dips that aggressiveness without reducing the feeling of power by just a notch when she hits "hitori mo korasu..." and she's gone from a rushing force to a powerful swirl of wind as she prepares for Hikaru's entry.  I LOVE IT.  This song has so much energy... it would be great to hear it at a live in the same set as "magnolia", "ongaku", "magia" etc.

7. neverending - Yeah, Hikaru really still does sound a little too nasal for my liking in the very opening phrase / line and seems to have a slight problem with the evenness of the melody, hence, she doesn't sound as controlled or as smooth as Keiko does when she sings the second stanza.  When the melody opens up more, she really got going though... nice.  I really prefer the way Keiko sings that same melody.  She varies it from her usual way of singing to give it a more... hmmmm.... I don't know how to describe it... but she sounds almost "classical" to me.  Not Western / opera classical but like an Japanese/Chinese classical / oldie.  I don't know, I can't describe it properly but I really like how she sang this, lots of nuance, inflection and control.  BUT that is not to say that Hikaru's was bad... I actually also like it lots, just not as much as Keiko's.  I like Hikaru's because her voice/way of singing always, at least to me, has a slight rawness compared to both Keiko and Wakana and that is actually one of her strengths.  I really like Hikaru's performance when she does what she does in places like "...dare ka omo kage".  It's the way she ends that line that gives her singing that little emotionally raw nuance which I like.  And for me, her less controlled more emotionally raw way of singing is part of what makes Kalafina sound so good because all their differences added together give Kalafina so much variation in sound and style that whether it's in the parts where they lead or the parts when they harmonize, Kalafina just sounds so different, so good and so interesting.  A definite early favourite.

8. ことのは -This song I liked two days ago and still like it two days later.  It's classic Kalafina stuff and it's the stuff they've been doing so well for 4 years.  Wakana sounds so lovely in this song... really at her best and the harmony is just beautiful.  Nice.

9. magnolia - How could I possibly not like this song??!?!?  :)  This is my kind of song.  Pretty much classic Kalafina stuff too.  Not early Kalafina perhaps but I think by the album "Red Moon" we were getting similar songs or songs with parts that had a rockier edge with a good measure of electronica and trance all mixed in with the trio's mesmerizing vocals.  That said, while "magnolia" does owe something to some of Kalafina's rock numbers, it is ultimately different enough for me to like it and not go "this sounds exactly like___". Firm early favourite for me.

10. 輝く空の静寂には - This was previously released as a single.  It's not my favourite Kalafina song to be honest.  I enjoy this song though, just not one of the ones I fell in love with.

11. 胸の行方 - This song has also entered the list of my favourites from this album.  Lately, it's rare to hear Keiko open any song and get such an extensive opening that it's almost a breathe of fresh air on it's own.  That said, I love the wide open and optimistic feel of the opening.  Keiko seems to relish this opportunity and I can almost picture her in a wide open prairie, singing with the wind in her face and her arms wide open and simply celebrating the feeling of being alive.  The chorus is really unusual, it's in English and sounds like something one would hear in a Broadway musical.  It's really odd but has a certain strange charm about it and the three girls sound really good together in the chorus.  Hikaru sounds really good in this song too... really nice and open.  There aren't too many signature moments from Wakana, somehow I thought there was more of her the first time I heard this song.  Still... Wakana sounds good as usual and the harmony is good.

Oh and just a little observation... I think they really worked very hard at their English pronunciation and enunciation because their English actually sounds good.  Just take the words "river" and "life".  Generally speaking, these are usually tricky for the Japanese.  And the "r" sounds end up sounding like "l's and the "l" sounds end up sounding like "r"s.  And we've heard them sing in English before and only Kaori (FictionJunction) and Hikaru sound relatively more comfortable with the sounds.  So I say... good job girls for getting the pronunciation right!!! :)

12. snow falling - This was also previously released as a single.  It's not one of my favourite Kalafina songs because it's a little too slow for me.  But there are parts I really like... especially the bits that start at 2.15min and lasts for about 1 min.  That's when the trio's voices do some overlapping.  Nice, just what I like.

13. symphonia -  Listening to it again and again these last few days has not diminished my liking of this song.  Classic epic goodness from Kalafina.  They all sound so good separately and together in this song.  And the build up to the climax, as well as the climax itself, is really nicely done.  I kept forgetting to rip this song from the Historia II album which I left in the office... so I've been happily listening to this extended version a lot these two days.

Conclusion:
I definitely like this album.  Overall, the tone and mood of this album is less heavy than their previous work.  There are more breezy songs and songs which conjure up images of big fields with tall grass and wild flowers... almost pastoral in nature... hence, the title? When the girls said that they were going for a different feel / sound in this album, I don't think I expected this.  I like it though, I like it that I can throw in all of Kalafina's songs into my portable player and play it on loop and shuffle and never feel like I'm listening to the same kind of music.

And even after listening to the entire album on loop for the most part of two straight days, I still like all the songs to varying degrees.   I mostly end up liking the tracks a little more than the first run through.  Yup... to me... this is a good album.  Enough classic Kalafina to keep them sounding like Kalafina and enough difference to not be the same-o same-o again.  Even the classic Kalafina songs are classic only in spirit and style, with certain signature moments thrown in but are different enough to keep the songs likeable.

Now I just can't wait for my CD to come.  It was shipped today and will most likely reach me on Thursday.  I really want to rip my flacs and place them on my  portable so I can hear the music without the compression and clipping that is inevitable with mp3 compression even at 320k.

Also... please forgive any grammatical errors, once again, I'm not going to proof read... no time. ALSO, you probably will need to forgive any romanji errors as I'm just transcribing by sound when I write those phrases down, I don't know what they mean and they may be wrong.

Time to sleep ... but before I go to sleep, here is part 3 of the Kalafina Kawaii Girl Japan interview.  And they are amusing as usual. :)

Oyasumi. :)

... "in shipping process"

... perhaps the 3 best words I've read in the last two days. :D

Super short post... at work and need to get back to it but I really wanted to post this cuz I'm happy... :p

My package with Kalafina's After Eden (Limited Edition) and Kalafina Record (Regular Edition) is showing "in shipping process"... if I'm lucky I may get it by tomorrow... if not... it'll be day after.

And I should be getting Kajiura Yuki's OST 3 for Mahou Shoujo Madoka by tomorrow too. :)

YAY!!!!  K... back to work. :)

p.s. I've been looping the After Eden album on my portable player and it's the only thing I've been listening to for the last 2 days.... I'm really liking this album.... maybe I'll try and write up something later tonight... we'll see.  Can't wait to get the CD to rip me some flacs. :)

Kalafina - After Eden (first impressions)

The After Eden album has been leaked and is now available for download on the internet.  I was just not able to stop myself from downloading the mp3s and listening to them.  I currently don't know when I may get my album because I'm not sure what the status on the Kalafina Record RE is, so I decided to download the mp3s and listen to them first while I wait for my CD to arrive so that I can rip flacs and put them in my portable and really listen to them properly.

First impressions so far are still favourable. :)

1. Eden - I really honestly don't know yet how I will ultimately feel about this track.  It's just not quite what I expected and not really typical Kajiura.  It's a breezy number led mostly by Hikaru and Wakana, with Keiko doing mostly harmony work.  It's not bad... kind of unusual... but I'm not sure if it's my kind of song just yet.

2. sandpiper - It's not instant love for me.  It's a fair bit of a drop in tempo from the first track Eden that I kind of didn't expect it.  The harmony is lovely as usual.  I think Hikaru's voice is more prominent in this track.  Kind of interesting in parts but some of the background beat is a little reminiscent of one of Kajiura's other songs... I just can't place which one.

3. magia - this isn't a new song, so I won't say much, except to say that I liked it from the first time I heard it at the Live at the Lemon CC. Hall last December.

4. 九月- I like this song, especially the beginning.  The moments between the typical epic Kajiuran parts are actually kind of pretty.  The girls keep it kind of light and sprightly with a touch of mystery.  Mostly Hikaru again with very prominent solos.  Wakana's portions have Keiko coming in very nicely in the background to give it more richness.  Not instant favourite for me but nice enough.

5. in your eyes - Okay, this is yet another song that I really honestly don't know yet how I will ultimately feel about this track.  This is kind of bossa nova maybe?  There's a definite world music feel to the end section... perhaps Indian sitar? There is some genre mixing here but I'm not that good at identifying the genres.  Once again Hikaru leads but the Keiko fan will be pleased that Keiko has some very interesting portions at approx 2.20mins and again at 4mins into the track.  These parts I really like and I like it too when Wakana comes in after Keiko's apart at 220min because she comes in relatively more "operatic" sounding which kinds of changes the texture of the sounds again... interesting.  The beginning had too much Hikaru.  It's not that I dislike Hikaru but I, in general, I like it more when they harmonize and they part and harmonize again.  Too much of one of them and it'll sound like FJ xxx which isn't what I generally want from Kalafina.  This is definitely not typical Kajiura or at least not typical Kalafina.  I might end up kind of liking this song.

6. destination unknown - a rock number with traces of "magia" especially in the beginning.  Hikaru opens the song again.  It'll make a good concert number and I would place bets on this being one of the songs sung at the "After Eden" Live.  It's not bad but really comes to life only when Keiko comes in.  Hikaru isn't bad in the beginning but she's a bit too "magia" in it and hence, some of the "wow" factor I felt when I first hear "magia' is lost.  Keiko, on the other hand, is simply wonderful when she comes in after Hikaru opens at approx 1.30 mins in.... strong yet distinctly feminine... and her fuller, rounder sound ia a beautiful counterbalance to Hikaru's thinner sound. I really liked it.  This song is very fast in parts.  We have the signature Kalafina harmony portion at approx 4mins after an extended portion meant for lots of Keiko head banging at the Live I'm sure :) and a stanza from Hikaru / Keiko.  This is definitely not a Wakana song, she's in there but not very prominent... definitely a song that plays to Hikaru's and Keiko's strengths.  And for me a keeper cuz I am very partial to this kind of music and I simply love Keiko's portion at 1.30. :)  Yup... this is going to be an early favourite for me.

7. neverending - we drop tempo all the way down to a much slower song than "destination unknown".  Kind of not very typical Kalafina.  Hikaru opens again but it's Keiko's stanza which I like more.  I think Hikaru is a little too nasal for this song in the beginning while Keiko sounds clear and I don't know... there is a quality about the way she sings this stanza which I really like... really like, it caught my attention in the sample and I still really like it.  The harmony in this song is particularly nice, at least I really like it and I think Wakana sounds really lovely in the latter part of the song when she's the most prominent voice in the harmony.  I really like this song... I'm not really bothered by the slightly too nasal Hikaru in the beginning, I may not even have picked up on it if Keiko didn't sound so lovely in her section.  I actually quite like this song... another early favourite for me I think.

8. ことのは - Wakana opens this with Keiko in support before Hikaru comes in with Keiko still in support and then more harmony and more of the beginning.  A somewhat typical Kalafina setup, done before but done nicely again.  While it won't win points on being atypical Kalafina / Kajiura, it's still a pretty song and I like it.  It's short as well and seems to be similar in purpose to "Intermezzo" and "Interlude" etc, Kajiura likes to put in these in Kalafina albums.  I like this song too.  Another pretty number.  It's a instant like from me. :)

9. magnolia - Ohhhh... another rock number. :)  And Keiko opens and loads of her in the song.  Instant love for me. :)  This is more "Ongaku" sounding Keiko, unlike "destination unknown" and I still like it. :)  This is again not too different from what Kalafina has done before.  But I have said it before too, I don't want super different music... I like Kalafina, Kajiura and FictionJunction because they sing a brand of music I enjoy.  So while a certain amount of experimentation and deviation is welcomed, but too much and they wouldn't be Kalafina and I think they will lose some of their core fans, me quite possibly included.  Back to the song... this is likely to be another song that will be sung at the live along with "destination unknown".  Nice strong beat to rev things up for the night.  I hope they sing this and "destination unknown" at the Live in Nov. :)

10. 輝く空の静寂には - this was previously released as a single... so I won't talk about it here.   

11. 胸の行方 - Oh boy, what an interesting opening and a rather nice one too... IMO, not quite something you'll expect in Japanese music.  It's Keiko and her powerful voice works really well as the opening voice for this song... kind of broadway-ish and so non-Kalafina that I must say it would definitely need time for long time listeners of Kajiura and Kalafina to digest.  I definitely like it now that I've heard the opening.  Hikaru and Wakana sound really good in this song too. Hikaru's stanza after the first chorus is pleasant and sweet and once again provides a nice counter balance to Keiko's voice.  The chorus is kind of odd but nice in it's oddness... maybe because it's sung by Japanese and in a Japanese song, so it is oddly charming. :) If this was in an English song sung by a Western band, it may not have worked as well.  Hmmm... I'm thinking this is a strong candidate to end the Live in Nov... if it doesn't end it.. then it's a very strong candidate for showing up in the encore.  I kind of like it actually.  I'm not sure if I'll love it even though Keiko is all over the place in this song... I will need time to digest it properly but for now... I definitely am leaning quite favourably towards it.

12. snow falling - this was previously released as a single... so I won't talk about it here.

13. symphonia - this is the longer version of the already long version that can be found in the Historia II soundtrack. Keiko opens this song oh so beautifully and the girls all sound so lovely in this song.  I already liked the original so I don't have much to say except that I still like it lots.  Lots of epic sounding Kalafina and lovely harmony in this song... love it. :)

Yup... I'm happy... although I was admittedly a little worried that they will sound vastly different because they said they will be trying some new things in the album and while I like different... I don't want vastly different. I am pleased with the album overall.  It managed to tread the thin line between actually being relatively different from their previous work and yet not so different that they are unrecognisable. I like that. I never expect to like every song in any album that I buy but with Kalafina, I've come to expect that I will like or be quite favourable to all the songs in their album... the standard they and Kajiura Yuki have set is very high and for them to surpass it all the time must be quite difficult.  Happily, in my opinion, while the jury is out on whether they have surpassed their previous efforts, at least for me, they have at the very least equalled it.  I like all the songs to varying degrees and except for previous Kalafina albums and some of Faye Wong's albums, I rarely like ALL songs in an album.  I very often hate some of them or am bored with some tracks and wouldn't rip them into flac for my player, but for Kalafina's After Eden... it's ALL going into the portable player when I get my grubby hands on the album... hopefully by the end of the week. :)

Okay... it's 3am.... and my original intention to write quick snappy capsule reviews has apparently failed as I've been verbose again... going to sleep... long, long week ahead... lots of work and I know some of it will be stressful... so need to sleep.... WILL NOT proof-read so if there are portions that don't make sense for now... please forgive me till I have time to correct them.

Have a good week and enjoy the 3rd album from Kalafina. :)  Good night. :)

Kalafina Record - coming soon

 I'm so tired this week but this email from my friend perked me up. :)

Itsuko just mailed to let me know that she's received my Kalafina Record Limited Edition package and will like to ship it to me.  Yay!!!!  I think I will let her ship it to me because it looks like my order of the Regular Edition maybe delayed for up to 3 weeks at CDJapan.

I'm not sure but my After Eden album order is stated as "in stock" but the album isn't officially released till the 21st of this month.  Kalafina Record was released several days earlier but even though I checked my order everyday, it stubbornly refused to change to "in stock" and kept showing "processed".  "After Eden", on the other hand, has been showing "in stock" for at least 2 days already.

Today the availability of Kalafina Record RE changed to "ship in 1-3 weeks" which possibly means that the book was so popular that the publishers were unable to meet the demand for the book and they were unable to even fulfil pre-orders. :(

Sigh... so it looks like I will most likely have to split this order if I want to receive my "After Eden" album on time.

So when Itsuko offered to ship the LE to me... I said yes cuz I don't really want to wait 3 weeks for the After Eden album.  So I will most likely separate the Kalafina Record RE from the After Eden album order so that I can get the album on time... sounds complicated, right? :D

Anyway, I'm going to go to bed soon... this week I played badminton, football, table tennis and went cycling... so physically... I am dying.  I also got a new shot on a new show this week and it is a pretty challenging shot for my current skill level on Nuke.  I'm loving it though... much better than nothing to do... workaholics don't like to have too many "nothing to do" days... I like one or two but too many and I get bored out of my mind.  Also, I'm learning a lot about Nuke on this shot so I am really happy... but that means my mind is kind of tired too... so need to go sleep now. :)

cheers

p.s. Itsuko went to the Kalafina Cafe / Museum today... lucky her.  :)

fangirl moment

I am a little bored at work and not having the best of days. Not busy is a bad thing for me, I tend to think of stupid stuff.

Well... on the bright side... Kajiura Yuki mentioned Singapore on tweeter today. The fangirl in me got all happy about it. :)

I think she says something about writing Singapore-ish songs and I think she wonders what it should sound like and then ends of with saying she believes it is possible.

Of course I am half guessing here since my Japanese isn't good enough to understand that tweet fully.

Still it is cool she mentioned my country :) ... I wonder too what a Singapore-ish song should sound like. Would it be a mismash of ethnic sounds that reflect our mix heritage or, should it be a pulsating beat to reflect the incredible pace of change that has transformed this island or, should it also have bits of quiet to reflect the quieter, more traditional and family oriented core of heartland Singapore.

I hope she does write a Singapore-ish sounding song. I would be interested to listen to it and to know what she thinkks the sounds and music of my country would sound like.

K... time to go back to my work, a little happier from reading that tweet and taking a break to blog about it. :)

Kalafina's After Eden song samples

It's late in Singapore but I really want to write this post before I go to bed..... FINALLY... we have more on Kalafina's After Eden songs.  :)

CLICK ME!! to listen

Sony Music has put up samples of all the songs and I must say first impressions for me are mostly favourable.  There will be some songs I think I will need time to digest but there are some I think I will already like.  The trio said in an interview that this album will take some different paths from their earlier work and from what I can tell, some of it really does seem that way.  But happily, as usual, it is heavy on harmony, which is to me A VERY GOOD THING because the biggest reason why I like Kajiura Yuki's vocal projects, Kalafina and FictionJunction, is precisely because it is heavy on harmony.  I've said it more than once to friends that no matter how much I love Keiko and Kaori, I am not interested in them going solo and when Nanri Yuuka and Ishikawa Chieko kind of went solo, I was only marginally interested in their work.  I really, really like it that the Kalafina and FJ vocalists sing for Kajiura and in their respective vocal units.

I really love Keiko's unusual voice and I am always happy to hear the moments when she does have a solo bit or when she does lead songs.  I can't say for sure if she leads in any of the songs in After Eden, since these are only samples.  But I was quite happy to hear her voice come through strong and clear in some of the songs. :)  I know she's the contralto, so while supporting the alto and the soprano is part of her job and I do like it that she does it so well but still, I really do love her voice so I am always happy to be able to hear her on her own once in a while or when the other two support her lovely deep vocals. :)

Quick thoughts about the tracks:
I can already see "Destination Unknown" and "胸の行方" becoming early personal favourites. :)  The first song because I love Keiko's part in that song and the second song because it's kind of not very Kajiura which already makes it kind of interesting for me.  Actually, "In Your Eyes", is quite unusual too but that is a song I probably need to hear more of before I can conclude if I like it.  The beginning of the sample is not particularly interesting but Hikaru's solo bit at the end of the sample is interesting.  I'm definitely partial to "magnolia" because I usually like songs with a heavy beat.  And I quite like "neverending", heh heh... more Keiko for me... and it's great too cuz it's not the usual "Ongaku" style Keiko too... I like it. :)  I'm not sure on "Eden" but I do like the harmony, the girls always sound good together.  "ことのは" is nice, not a lot of musical accompaniment in the sample which is nice because their voices come across clean, clear and beautiful. "sandpiper" seems to be more typical Kajiura which is fine for me but is unlikely to be my favourite track from this album at the moment.  "九月" is quite pretty, not incredibly non-Kajiura but I like the sample enough, this type of song is just one of the types of songs which made Kajiura popular and I'm not opposed to them.  I like typical Kajiura as much as I like atypical Kajiura. :-)

The rest are songs which have already been released.... at least I think I didn't miss any of the new ones... I'm fading really fast... and need to sleep.

But before I leave... Kawaii Girl Japan has put up the second part of the Kalafina interview... they change it every Monday.  And although I know it is part of the same shoot, the girls seem more energetic now then in the first clip when I felt they seemed a little tired.  They are kind of funny in the second clip and I think in the interviews/radio programs where they are allowed to just talk pretty freely, they are actually quite amusing and funny at times.  I guess they just had to get the serious stuff out of the way in the first part of the interview so they came across less jolly then usual... perhaps. :-)

Maybe tomorrow I will post something on another piece of software that I tested and loved on the Android Samsung Galaxy SII or perhaps finish up a post I had written two nights ago on the train but didn't finish and is currently still in draft... we'll see... tomorrow I'm suppose to play table tennis so maybe too tired for blogging.

K.... time to sleep... enjoy the After Eden samples guys. :-)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Production Note

I really want this!!! But this thing weighs like 1.6kg and I'm afraid the shipping would be scary.  But I really want this.

This two volume release collects all the production notes and sketches etc for the anime and looking at the wiki page for it, I think any crazed fan of the anime would want to own this thing of beauty.  Check it out at this link.

I wished I owned books like this when I was studying last year. It would have come in handy for my storyboard class which I was utterly horrible at.  The only reason why I got a B in that class was because I tried very hard at all the assignments even though I know that my work was less than stellar.

Sigh... should I get it??!?!?!  Thank god the OP and EP for Fate/Zero isn't sung by FictionJunction or Kalafina.  I'm definitely not getting those cds. :-)

I wonder if I should be a conniving cheapskate and get my boyfriend to get this for me.  ;D

Man... I really should get back to practising my drawing.  I suck big time at it but I still wish I was better at it... of course I know using my mouth to say I want to get better at it isn't going to help... but unfortunately, drawing always comes after my work, my Japanese studies, sports and my relax time... I just don't have the same passion some of my classmates have for it.

Sigh... I'm going to have to think very hard about this purchase.  If I get this, I'm definitely not going to get the commentary book on the anime.  I'm very tempted. :)

update 3am:
Ok... I suck at resisting temptation. :)  I pre-ordered it in the end but I have quite a few points I have been saving up at CDJapan to offset a purchase such as this... so I'm getting this at quite a decent discount. Yay. :)  K... time to sleep.... it's 3am. Good night. :)

update 9:35am:
Wow... I just checked and the pre-order is sold out.  I'm not sure if there will be more available after release date.  I'm not sure about books like these but for the figures, they are often available again after release date, so if you want this book, you'll just have to keep checking the online sites to see if someone release their pre-order or if they have become available again.

update 7th Oct 2010:
I wrote an entry of the unboxing of this purchase for those who are interested.  Here is the link. Click me.

It's the end of the week!!!! :)

It's the end of the week and the end of a 12 day stretch at work. Happily, we are not required to work this weekend. Whew... when they first told us to expect to work weekends on this project, i prepared myself mentally to do a 30 day stretch. Luckily for us, it's only 12 days in a row.  We're not done with it yet but for now, we can relax over the weekend. :)

Today was a good day, work went well and I actually got onto a relatively empty train home and now this...  via the Kalafina staff twitter feed... we get two photos of the exterior of what i am assuming is the Kalafina-Parco Cafe and some advertising or something.  I couldn't read the kanji in the feed and admittedly, was too lazy to look it up.  ;p



Man... I so want to go. Unfortunately, I won't be in Japan till Nov. I've been so high at work lately. Probably too much adrenaline caused by too little rest. :) I don't know what it is but I've been jumping around the studio just talking about Japan, Kalafina, anime, maid cafes... basically anything related to Japan. :D It's gotten to a point where I've been banned from saying the word Japan. Hahahaha...

On a slightly disappointing note, Kalafina won't be singing the opening theme for the much anticipated Fate/Zero anime. Anticipation was really high that they would since Kajiura Yuki is writing the score and this was also a ufotable production that was being released by Sony.

I am admittedly somewhat disappointed by it. But i suppose the girls have been very busy this year and doing further promotion for yet another anime would have been tough.

In a way this is good news for me... having listened to the preview of the ending theme several times, i have already decided I will not be getting that single. The song seems like a pretty generic anime song... omoshirokunai. The theme song will be sung by Lisa of Angel Beats fame. I didn't know anything about her so i youtubed it. The music isn't too bad but unless the song is exceptional, i am unlikely to buy the single too. Not the type of music that interests me these days. This means i only have to concentrate on getting Kajiura's OST. Hopefully it won't be bundled with the dvds or blurays like Mahou Shoujo Madoka and Kara no Kyoukai cuz if the anime turns out to be anything but great i will have a very hard time justifying a purchase.

K, time for dinner. Have a good weekend everyone. :)

kalafina record - cover art (regular edition)

Got this off the kalafina staff twitter feed today. This is the cover art for the regular edition of the soon to be released artist book Kalafina Record.

It looks rather nice and I am glad I pre-ordered it cuz I don't think I could wait till Nov to look at the insides of this much anticipated book. I decided against ordering the regular edition of the After Eden cd in the end. Going to try and not be such a fan girl and save that money for the trip to Japan. :-)

Keiko still looks the best in my opinion. She really looks really good in these posed photos. Just the right amount of innocence with a subtle touch of sexuality. She doesn't always look the best in snapshots at events etc but in these photo shoots and photo spreads, she usually stands out. If she wasn't such a capable singer, I think she might have a relatively successful career as a model, the non-catwalk variety of course.

Today is my tenth straight day at work and i must say this old bag of bones is having a harder time working such long stretches compared to previously. But this picture made my day... yay... something to look forward to. :-)

And to keep myself energize as i try and finish the week on a high and prepare myself mentally for the possibilty of more work over the weekend... I placed this very nice pix as my lock screen wallpaper on the Galaxy S2. :-D



Now each time my phone goes, i will be reminded of my upcoming trip to Japan and the upcoming After Eden Live. :-)

Tonight, i have to renew my passport, arrange for travel insurance, research places to visit, train schedules etc... Fun!!! :-)

K, time to go. Bye bye. :-)

p.s. And for those who are interested, this is the link to the special micro-site for the Kalafina Week in Shibuya.There's not a lot up yet but I expect that would change in the coming days.

video test

I am back doing more testing of the samsung galaxy S2 capabilities. This time i'm testing the video camera and the video editing software that came pre-installed on the device.

The editing software is pretty basic but good enough for something that comes on a phone. I shot some video of my room and of the view from window. It is pretty rubbishy video. I had meant to shoot something on the way home but forgot. :-P

Anyhow, let's try and publish this post to test if i face the same problem i did this morning with the youtube link. This video is being uploaded directly from my phone's storage, so it may not be a problem, we'll see. Here goes. :)

ps. just checked this on the PC and on my phone browser and all looks fine :) ... now just left one thing to test and that's another youtube link... the first test was unsuccessful... maybe will try that tomorrow on the train ride in.

kalafina on after eden, kawaii girl japan

Usually i don't bother posting up videos etc. Too lazy, too busy. :) but today i wanted to do more testing. More samsung galaxy s2 and blogger droid testing.

I am trying to use my s2 as much as possible to blog, surf, watch videos, watch streaming video, facebook etc. So far i have been too busy at work to download any high performance games to try out on this phone.

Anyway first things.... the above video is a clip of a recent interview that kalafina did for kawaii girl japan. It's subtitled in english like the previous interview they did for the website. I think this is just part one of a series of 4 or 5 clips... am not sure as i zipped through the clip just before i left the house for work.

Interesting bits about the new album. Apparently, this time they recorded the album with a live band unlike their previous albums and singles. The girls, however, look kinda tired. Even the usually chatty Wakana and the ultra energetic & perky Keiko seem muted. Keiko  managed one moe moment in the clip and that was about it. Their schedule this year and the upcoming year looks really punishing. Hopefully they manage to get some quality rest and relax time in between gigs and events... and definitely before the live in Nov :D ... must be at optimum level for when i see them live at the concert. :)

UPDATE: (8th Sept 2011)
- according to the Kawaii Girl Japan website, they will update this clip every week in the month of Sept.  The video will change every Monday.

As for the Samsung Galaxy S2... I am still super impressed with it. The battery life is better than decent. I am just trying to run it down for the second time, so far since getting it, i have only charged it twice. And even when i use the phone for long periods of time, it doesn't feel hot and zips along nicely. Video playback is brilliant.

k. Time to go. Will be getting off the train soon. :-)

Ps.
Not sure if the video will be embedded properly. This is what i m testing on blogger droid today. If that fails, i will fix that later.

Pps.
I discovered some interesting things about blogger-droid and posting videos from youtube using the software.  Will probably do more testing later in the week just cuz I'm curious.  But suffice to say, the first time... I'm not exactly sure it was successful since I couldn't see the body of the text on my cel phone browser but could see it on PC browser...

There were other formatting problems too but that cuz I keep forgetting that blogger-droid automatically puts a line break code html code for me and I don't need to put empty lines between paragraphs.

Anyway... gotta go... at work and it's time to work. :)

my new toy :)

It's a sunday morning and i am at work but wasn't too unhappy about it till the server went down. Now i'm here with tons of work to do but no way to do it.  :( sigh...

Ah well... this gives me the opportunity to do a little mobile blogging. :)  I got myself a new phone last night.  I waited till i was sure of which phone i wanted before recontracting my mobile plan.  Much as i love my tactile keyboards, i have pretty much given up on the motorola milestone 3 coming to the shores of this sunny island anytime soon.  As i have definitely outgrown the capabilities of my milestone and the old trusty phone has become quite a whiner lately, it was time to get another phone.



My new phone of choice is the Samsung Galaxy S II.  I managed to recontract it with the current comex discount and boy am i loving it.  the screen is bright and vibrant.  The touchscreen is responsive and the duo-processor keeps things zipping along.  The portrait keyboard is kind of easy to type with which makes me happy cuz it means mobile blogging is easy, although no as easy as on my milestone which has a fuller qwerty keyboard but still quite nice.

The phone cames pre-loaded with a bunch of M1 crap which I have not tried uninstalling.  There is some microsoft office type software which i know i will love. I can't remember the name of the software now and I'm too lazy to check. :P 

K, that's it for my mini review of the new phone. I wanna go off and setup this phone properly and maybe get some japanese homework done while i wait for tech. Bye. :)

Ps. As this is my first time using the samsung galaxy to blog... there might be some formatting problems. If there are any, i'll fix them later.