As you can tell from the lack of updates on the blog, I've been pretty busy & tired lately. But this came in the mail today and it's too pretty not to try and get a quick unboxing out. :)
So here you go....
First, here are the photos of the jacket cover with the plastic wrapping on and off. Pretty nice, yah? I quite like all the photos for this release. Something about them reminds of their music producer & the composer of all their songs, Kajiura Yuki. I think it's all that line art... maybe. :)
I had to take photos of it on the floor. I decided not to attempt to use the small table top studio I had set up for these and other purposes. This release is just too big and my table isn't large enough Unfortunately, there is some reflection on the slightly glossy jacket cover. :( It was hard to keep those reflections off given the shooting conditions in my room. :(
As this is a two disc release, the jacket holding the two vinyl records open up like a book. And boy is it gorgeous. :)
These are photos of the insert lyrics page and the mail away coupons etc. This time instead of a single sheet we get four pages for the lyrics. Nice photo of them again too. :)
And finally, here are photos of the labels on both sides of the 2 records. This way you know the breakdown. It's three to four songs per side.
I think one of the nicest things about getting these 12" vinyl record releases are that the cover art is BIG. It just makes everything look prettier. :P
I can't say it enough times how much I enjoy this album. I am still looping it everyday. Yup, just this album alone. Occasionally, I may loop a song or two which I particularly like but I haven't returned to my usual playlist of music yet. It's still only songs from far on the water. You can pretty much tell that I like this album. :)
Identify still remains my favourite song. But I don't know if anyone else likes it as much as I do. Maybe Tomita-san, the host of the Niconico studio live, likes it as much as I do too? I'm not sure. All I know was that he was quite excited and happy when Kalafina chose Identify as one of the songs they would play and talk about on the program. :) I was equally happy. :P
I also really like Hikaru's recommendation monochrome. That, like Identify and うすむらさき (usumurasaki), was instant love for me. My kind of stuff. I find Identify really different from Kalafina's usual stuff and I really LOVE the way Keiko sings this song. Really like the section when Hikaru comes in too, just after Keiko opens. It's also unusual that Wakana is pretty much just backup this time, she doesn't even get a bridge or short solo section etc which she usually does. This is pretty much a Keiko x Hikaru x electric guitar song. LOL. There is a whole jamming guitar section somewhere in the middle of the song. Not sure how many people like that part but I can totally imagine Keiko head banging to this bit. :)
Initially, I wasn't really drawn to Keiko's favourite song on the album. She really likes むすんでひらく (musunde hiraku). But after I heard the full song loop a few times, it really, really, really grew on me. I liked it so much that I was looping just that song alone for two days. LOL. The song starts pretty much immediately. Really, like no holds barred, immediately start singing. :) I think my favourite bits in this song are actually all of the lines when you can hear Keiko clearly. Okay, maybe I am bias... okay I AM bias... but I really enjoyed listening to her in this song. :P My favourite bits are probably about 3:15 & 4:20 min. The girls really combine well here and all of them get their time in the sun. It's a pretty fast beat for most of the song so I think I was tapping along to the beat of the song quite often on the train. Truth is, I can't really say exactly why I can loop this song for two days. I just like it. :)
usumurasaki has a middle eastern / world music / ethnic feel about it. I know Kajiura Yuki has use these ideas before in her songs but I really am a sucker for these kinds of songs and I've liked every single one of her harder rock, more deliberately mysterious kinds of songs. I'm totally in love with magnolia, tsuioku, koibito no mukashigatari no yuugure no etc. usumurasaki got a nice strong beat and the bass does come up nice and powerful on a nice pair of earphones.
far on the water is also nice. I liked it from the start. Love Keiko's powerful opening line and then all that lovely harmony later in the song. Very nice. I shared it in a music group I administrate on Facebook and several non-Kalafina fans liked the song too. It isn't my favourite song on the album but I really enjoy it and am happy when it comes up on rotation on my player.
into the water is really nice too. Classic Kalafina / Kajiura Yuki stuff here. Kajiura Yuki seems to like to write these short interlude pieces in each album and into the water is one of them. It harks back to their Kara no Kyoukai days, lovely ethereal harmony here. And since I fell in love with them because of their KnK songs, there is nothing not to like about into the water for me. :P
Wakana's recommendation is 空色の椅子 (sorairo no isu) which I think is a very pretty song and a song I had good feelings for from the moment I heard it previewed on Kalafina Club. But I generally prefer songs which I find interesting or intriguing and while sorairo no isu is really a very pretty song and Wakana's lovely in it and the harmony is heavenly and I think this would be an awesome song to hear at a live....I still can't place it right at the top because those positions are taken by Identify, monochrome, musunde hiraku and usumurasaki, which I either find interesting or they just suit my taste, hence my choice of my favourite songs on this album. :)
Initially, 五月の魔法 (gogatsu no mahou) was not one of the songs which made the biggest impression on me. But after Kalafina's live performance of the song on the Niconico studio live, I was in love with the song. It's weird how Kalafina is quite able to do it all the time with me. Some songs like Snow Falling or Yane no Mukou ni, for example, I liked but only really came to love and appreciate more after a live. Maybe sorairo no isu will be the same for me. I guess simple power ballad songs, no matter how lovely they sound, don't top my list that often because, perhaps, I think if it comes to ballads, I prefer rock ballads... I guess. :)
I think the song that I find the least interesting is actually 灯影 (hokage). Don't get me wrong, it's beautifully sung and it will probably sound quite powerful at a live, if they manage to get it correct. But this reminds me too much of the style of kagayaku sora no shijima ni wa, hence, I don't find it as interesting as the rest of the album. And kagayaku sora no shijima ni wa was a song that I didn't dislike but didn't love either. Till today, I can safely say that while I've grown fonder of the song since I've heard it sung quite nicely at several lives since 2010, the style of this song just isn't my favourite style.
I won't bother to talk in detail about the songs that have already been released on other singles like heavenly blue, One Light, believe and ring your bell. I like all these songs. The only difference being how much I like each song. heavenly blue is probably my favourite from these four song. Then maybe believe is second, while One Light and ring your bell probably draw level.
Okay... that's enough rambling from me. :) far on the water, the album, is doing pretty well on the Oricon charts so far. I think it's a really enjoyable album and I'm hoping that the album will continue to do well in the coming weeks.
For those of you who wish to buy their newest album, please feel free to use these CDJapan links or any other links that you prefer.
far on the water (RE)
far on the water (LE + BD)
far on the water (LE + DVD)
far on the water (analog vinyl)
I think the vinyl version may no longer be available on CDJapan. If this is the version you want, you can try Amazon Japan or HMV Japan to see if they still have copies available. :)
Okay, it's off to bed for me for now. :) Good night!!
12 comments:
Good album i agree. I was worried their music style would start getting a bit stale as the years pass.
Yup, I was worried too and was wondering if they would be able to continue sounding different from album to album.
The thing about Kalafina and Kajiura Yuki / FictionJunction FOR ME is that they rarely are stale. Their songs may contain elements in them that make it "Kalafina" or "Kajiura Yuki" sounding but these are just elements and motifs etc, in my opinion. Just a cursory listen to all their albums alone and one should be able to tell that songs from the Seventh Heaven / Red Moon era are quite different from the After Eden and Consolation albums and several songs in "far on the water" are quite a bit different from all their previous work too. Of course we will still have bits of Kajiurago and the heavenly harmonies but even their signature harmony is used quite differently in several of the songs.
That's a big part of why I really enjoy their music. Their sound some how manages to be at once familiar yet so different. :) And I'm really glad, that this new album has several songs that appeal to those of us who like their style from previously and those of us who want them to explore different sounds.
What's that music club you're talking about? I wanna join
Ahhhh... if you're talking about the Kalafina Club that I mentioned in the post. It's actually the name of their weekly radio program on BayFM.
http://www.bayfm.co.jp/ip/
Unfortunately, it's IP restricted to some parts of Japan only so it's a bit tricky to listen to it. You have to use VPN and try and get the right region, like Tokyo for example.
Just got my copy today. I have no record player however, so can't listen to it. Does yours play fine? I know some people have had issues with their copies skipping a lot and I'm worried that mine will be like that too.
As for the album, I think it's their weakest yet by quite a bit, although a lot of that comes from the anisongs. I can't stand Believe (in fact I hate it) and I don't care for Heavenly Blue either, I wish they'd put Kimi no Gin on instead of HB, it would've fitted better and is vastly superior as a song. Musunde is kinda boring to me, as is Hokage which I can agree with your statements on.
Thankfully Sorairo, Usumurasaki and Gogatsu are all amazing and I love them. Monochrome is growing on me a lot, and Identify is a lot of fun too. I just hope their next singles don't continue to drag them down like the ones on this album do.
Oh and since I forgot to mention it, the packaging on the LP is GORGEOUS. I'm happy I held off on looking at photos of it until I got my copy. The inside spread is beautiful especially.
Oh!! Thanks for your comments Kyouko Sakura. :) Just a quick note now. Will reply more later tonight. :)
Cheers :)
Hello! Sorry it too me a while to write back. I was busy with work and getting ready for this trip to Japan. :)
I don't have a record player too so I can't play these copies. I hope mine doesn't skip when I finally do buy a record player.
Seriously? Their weakest? I would say it's they most easily digestible album yet. LOL! I have been trying to spread the Kajiura Yuki / FJ and Kalafina love by sharing their music with my friends and colleagues. Shared several of their songs with on FOTW with friends and they seem to have responded well.
Ah....wait.... it's the anisong songs that you mostly don't like. I actually really like Heavenly Blue. I particularly like the opening parts. LOL. Believe is okay, not top of my list but I don't dislike it either. It grew on my. Unfortunately, Kim no Gin no Niwa is from 2013 and they seemed to have only included the A side single songs from 2014 onwards. I actually rather they didn't include Heavenly Blue because it was already on The Best: Blue album but I guess they figured not everyone who wants the song would buy a Best Of album or the single of it, so they included it in the album.
I love Identify actually. REALLY like it. Not too many people seem to like it as much as Tomita-san and I like it. I find it such an intriguing song. I like Monochrome for pretty much the same reason too. Usumurasaki is my kind of song so I liked it from the get go. :)
Gogatsu and Musunde Hiraku grew on me and I quite like them now. Gogatsu mostly because of the Niconico nama live and Musunde Hiraku.... I don't know why.... I was trying to figure out why Keiko likes it so much. She really does too.... she pretty much breathed out a "suki da" during the Niconico (I think it was Niconico) live too. After looping it a few times, something about the song hooked me too. I have no real clue why I like it but I find myself tapping along and singing bits of it when it plays. Till now I'm still trying to figure out its appeal to me.
I think that Sorairo no Isu is the easiest song to like on this album. It's a very pretty song and shows off both Wakana's voice and the Kalafina harmony very well. Strangely though, although I responded very well to the preview and really like the song now, I have yet to feel the urge to loop it. I think I don't really find it that intriguing maybe. It's a pretty song and will probably sound very nice at a live. But maybe it's because I kinda know what to expect in this song from Kalafina? Or maybe although I love Wakana too, just less than Keiko :P , I have never been a huge fan of the soprano voice in general. I do like them, especially in Kajiura Yuki's music, but I usually gravitate towards the lower voices more. My strange taste I guess. :) When I told someone recently that I didn't love Sorairo no Isu and didn't rank it in the top 5 songs that I liked on FOTW, they reacted with the equivalent of a "NANI?!?!?!" LOL!!!!
Hahaha....well to each his own I guess. :) There is still no song that Kalafina has released that I dislike. Even Hokage which I like least on this album, I don't dislike. It's okay and I won't hit the skip button or delete it out of my playlist. Just will probably never loop it that's all.
Yeah, the LP is really, really pretty. I was like so WOW-ed when I saw it too. So I had to write a unboxing post that very night itself. LOL
Luckily there are very few songs I don't care for, it's less than ten, with even less that I would say I dislike entirely. Believe is the key one which I cannot stand at all, but that's really the only one I outright skip. The others I'll listen through if I'm going through an album but won't really bother with unless I'm doing that, whilst everything else I'll randomly listen to sometimes and have on my music player and the like.
Then there's the songs I really love, which have had hundreds of plays since I got into Kalafina. This actually covers probably more than half of their discography however and is something I can comfortably do on regular occasion, which is generally a sign of a great artist to me.
There's a few that are above that, like lirica, Hanataba, red moon, Utsukushisa and Sandpiper especially, which have actually started to reach play counts of ridiculous amounts. Sandpiper alone has around a thousand :).
I think the reason I say it's their weakest is still because of the tie-ins, the rest of the material is rather good. All of the tie-ins on this album are pretty low tier for me, with two of them being my least favourite songs they've ever done, so that'll naturally drag it down a bit. There's also the lack of anything that's reached that 'truly amazing' stage, Seventh Heaven had Serenato, Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaete Yuku and Sprinter, Red Moon had the title track, Kyrie and Hikari no Senritsu, After Eden had Sandpiper and Magnolia, Consolation had Hanataba and Signal.
If I skipped b-sides (Utsukushisa and Tsuioko are both right up there) those would take up my top ten and they're spread quite evenly about across the four albums. Even after repeat listens, none of the tracks on Far on the Water reach top ten level for me. There's still good stuff on there and a few of the tracks will likely end up in my top thirty, possibly breaking into top twenty, there's just so much great material to go up against.
Ah.... I guess if you don't like the tie-ins then that's quite a few songs not to like on the album.
I'm totally in love with Identify. I don't know why. I really, really, really like this song. Hahahaha.... I guess for me that song is kind of like at the "truly amazing" level right now. I can't figure out how a song that's so different from their earlier work which I loved to death, like Lirica, Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaete Yuku etc can sneak its way to be ranked as high as some of my old favourites.
I tend to listen to Kalafina's music in one big hugh random looping playlist. Each time I get a new song, I'll rip the flac off the CD and throw it into my big hard drive and add it to the playlist and just loop it all. If it's a new album, I'll probably loop just the album alone for a while. It's almost a month and I'm still looping FOTW non-stop, even Hokage, the one I like least on the album, I don't skip.
I did suspect though that live performances will make me like some of these songs more and after the FOTW lives in Tokyo, that has once again come true. :)
Identify is such a strange song. When FOTW was first released, the only one I knew who liked it as much as I did was Tomita-san from the Niconico live. But at the lives, on both Saturday and Sunday, it was Identify which got the audience standing and tapping along. Usually, Ongaku's the one that'll get everyone up so I was surprised that on both days Kalafina didn't have to wait till Ongaku to get people on their feet, Identify did it for them. The lives hasn't diminished my love for the song, it's probably strengthened it. :)
I also have moved more favourably towards Hokage because of the lives. It's not my favourite song on the album and still remains low on the list of favourites on the FOTW album. But Kalafina did a splendid job with the song at the live. They did a really good job with Kagayaku too, a song which also ranks low on my like list. So now, I like Hokage more than before.
I don't know if I have a Top Ten list. I don't actually keep a list. I just play all their songs in a giant play list and if I am in a mood for a particular song, I may loop it endlessly for half an hour to a day or two. If I had to come up with a Top Ten list, I probably couldn't. I like too many of their songs and there's not a lot to separate how much I like one over the other. And that too may change depending on my mood that day.
Interesting how we all listen to music, isn't it? :)
p.s. I LOVE Utsukushisa and Tsuioku too. My kind of song. Add Magnolia to that too, I looped that one endlessly at one point in time. Oh and I like "Koibito no Mukashigatari no Yuugure no" A LOT too. Looped that endlessly at one point in time, even though I also don't know many people who like this song as much as I do.
Koibito is lovely and I'm hoping they'll play it at Osaka like they did in Tokyo, I'm really interested to see how it comes across live.
Even though there's a bunch of songs I don't like much, the only one I skip when listening through albums is Believe. I usually listen to Heavenly Blue and Mirai and I really don't like either of those either, but I can deal with them when listening to the album. Believe I cannot, it's just too much of a mess.
I'm also looking forward to the live performances a lot. Watching the lives of Sandpiper and hearing the lives for serenato and Kimi ga Hikari is what really made me love those songs. I didn't really get much from Hikari Furu originally and regarded it as their worst song alongside Mirai for a while (pre-Consolation era, this is) but after I saw them sing it live in France it's gone up a considerable amount in my opinions, their performance of it there was incredible.
Ahhh I'm going in two days and I cannot wait.
Actually I guess it wasn't pre-Consolation, since Consolation was out when I saw them and there's certainly nothing on that album even close to Mirai, I love practically all of it other than that.
As for the new songs, I've listened through FotW a bunch since I got my copy and I've conceded to the fact that I like it quite a bit. Gogatsu, Usumurasaki and Sorairo are still my top three, that hasn't changed since first listen, and I really love all three of them. Identify has grown on me a bit and I liked it in the first place and whilst I'd still rank Hokage and Musunde as the weakest album tracks, they've both grown on me to at least the state where I can happily listen to them. Far on the Water itself has grown a lot since that first time when I heard it ripped from RHH (I remember not caring much for it then, although I couldn't hear much) up to liking it when they played it live around the time of release, but there were a couple parts of the composition there that bugged me. Thankfully those don't seem to be as obvious in the actual studio recording, so I'm enjoying it quite a bit now. I think I like it more than Symphonia even, whilst I originally placed it between Symphonia and Yume no Daichi. It's probably my favourite of the three now.
And then there's Monochrome. After the initial surprise and slight confusion of it when I first heard it, it's grown on me. And grown on me. And grown on me. Whilst it's not quite to the same level as my top three, it's a clear cut above the rest of the tracks now, I really enjoy it a lot. I can't wait to hear it live.
Overall though, the album as a whole has grown on me. I was preparing for the possibility of a bad album and even on first listen it exceeded that, so I'm happy, but it's grown since. It's probably around the same level as After Eden now for me. They can improve on it, for sure, but it's worth owning a copy of. I just really wish Believe wasn't there as it feels weird skipping a track mid-album as it's not something I do other than in extreme circumstances, and I know when I finally get a record player I can't avoid it any time I listen through the vinyl. If they'd just replaced that with Kimi no Gin no Niwa I'd have considerably less of an issue.
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