#ヒグチアイ #HiguchiAi - #百六十度 Hyaku Rokujuu Dou ~ unboxing + comments

Sometime this year, someone introduced Higuchi Ai to me and gave me one of her albums as a gift.  I really liked the album and her music and wanted to write about her for some time.  But lots of things happened in my life this year and I've only really just gotten back into blogging again.  So before work ramps up again and before I'm ready to do the new Kalafina and Kajiura Yuki unboxings, I thought that I would write about her first.

Since this isn't about Kajiura Yuki or Kalafina, I've written it for Okonomikaki's which is a collaborative blog by a few friends and I.  I hope that you'll go over to the blog and check out the post and check out Higuchi Ai's music as well.  You might like it. :)  Here's the link to the unboxing post which also talks a little about the music on her third album and also gives a  little introduction to the singer-songwriter herself. CLICK ME.

#Kalafina ~ meeting Kalafina in Singapore !!!

source: Kalafina LINE blog

(I'm in there but I'm not telling you which one. :P )

This has got to be one of the most memorable moments in my life. :)  It probably rivals the first time I met them at Anime Festival Asia in Singapore when they signed the poster in front of me.  And the time I met them at AFA Malaysia twice, once when they handed me the autographed poster and once when they signed the CD.

Maybe this moment even surpasses all those moments, hahaha!!!  Having a photo taken with Kalafina, a vocal unit that I've been a HUGE fan of since 2009, is like a dream come true for any fan.  I never expected that my impulsive decision to see them live in Japan in Dec 2010 would lead me down this path.  Hahaha.... I loved the "Kagayaku Sora no Shijima niwa" live at the then Lemon CC Hall.  I loved it so much that I became a confirmed fan and have not looked back since. :P

#Kalafina ~ Singapore fans

screen cap: Kalafina Arena Live 2017 BD
Soon fans in Singapore can see Kalafina live too!! :)

Hello! Kalafina fans from Singapore. Please do contact me if you can. :)

I was suppose to do this at the beginning of the week, Sunday night to be precise, but a lot of things conspired to make it hard for me to write a blog post about it.  I did write a tweet and FB about it though. :P

Well, the Anisong Fantasy Live is going to happen this Saturday and a couple of us are thinking of doing something.  So if you wish to get involved, you still can.  Please do contact me either on Twitter, on FB or comment below.

I will get back to you ASAP.

#Kalafina ~ Arena Live 2016 BD - unboxing

It's really been a while since I last blogged.  Been very busy and there were some issues in the office that I had to deal with which were a little emotionally draining.  Office politics really suck. :( But it's cool. I stood my ground and it's mostly resolved for now.   And to make things even better, Kalafina's latest BD release arrived at my doorstep today. :)

I know there are three copies in that photo above.  I could pretend that I am a crazy rabid fan but, hahahahaha, I'm not that crazy. :P  The other copies belong to two other friends.  We shared shipping on this so it'll save us some money. :)

Kalafina ~ Winter Acoustic "Kalafina with Strings" - unboxing / comments

#Kalafina 's Winter Acoustics "Kalafina with Strings" arrived in the mail today!!!!! :)  And it's LOVELY!!!!!  I know what I'll be looping on my player on my way to work tomorrow.

I can't even concentrate on writing this post because I keep stopping to really listen to the album as it plays.  Yup......  I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE IT LOVE LOVE IT!!!!!

Hahahaha... this album really showcases their harmony and Kajiura Yuki's abilities at Chorus Arrangement.  A lot of it is VERY pretty and Kajiura Yuki knows just how to arrange it so that each song brings out the best of each of the vocalists in Kalafina.  In my opinion, if you love Kalafina's harmony, it's hard not to at the very least like this album.

First though, all the photos of the unboxing of this album.

Kalafina ~ blaze - FULL MV on VEVO (amend)

OH!!! Joy joy joy!! The full MV for #Kalafina 's "blaze" can now be found on their official VEVO channel which means..... yup!! It's legally online and available for international fans.  We don't need to jump through hoops for this one. :)

Maybe they really have been listening to international fans voicing their hopes that they would make more promotional material available to us so we can help them spread the joy!! :D

So here I am helping them spread the joy.  Although, this isn't my favourite Kalafina song, it is still a nice song and it is their newest song and it showcases their harmony BEAUTIFULLY.  Please enjoy!! :)



Amend: Looks like I have to temper my joy a little.  Someone just left a comment saying that this video isn't available in the US. :(  I really think Japan needs to learn a little bit from the way the Koreans are marketing their music and dramas etc to the world.  :(

Kalafina - blaze (Arslan Senki S2 ED) - unboxing

Here it is, the unboxing of #Kalafina 's "blaze". :)

It's been a while since I've done one of these so I kept forgetting to shoot certain photos.  Ah well, this is a pretty simple release, so there's enough here to give you a very good idea of what all of it looks like. :)

First up, photos.

Regular Edition

Kalafina ~ blaze (Arslan Senki S2 ED) - unboxing tease

YAY! #Kalafina 's blaze CDs and LP has reached me. :) :) :)

I've shot all the photos and aim to write my unboxing post tomorrow night, probably after 10pm Singapore time. :)

It's late now and I have a full day of work tomorrow which requires my full attention.  So I can't sleep too late.  So I'll just leave you with two teaser photos and also say that once again, I really like the b-side song. :)

Check in tomorrow... or rather later today... since it's already past 1:45am in Singapore. :P

Good night!! :)

NOISEMAKER ~ A-Sketch Showcase- live in Singapore, Millian soft opening

Last night, I went with a couple of friends to the opening of a new live house + nightclub called Millian in Singapore.  We were there partly to check out the place and to check out this Japanese band called NOISEMAKER.

The band was brought in to perform at the soft opening of Millian.  And it was a free live so we thought, we'll check it out since we like Japanese music, we like lives and from what we could tell from the music videos on YouTube, they seem interesting.

Millian is located at St. James Power Station.  Now if, you have never been to St. James Power Station, it might be a little tricky finding the place.  We got a little lost, not terribly, but there's no signage once you get to the building, so instructions would be useful. So I'll give some simple instructions here, should any of you ever need to find Millian, you will be able to.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu ~ 5th Anniversary World Tour - Singapore

Maybe about 2 weeks ago, KPP said during an interview that Singapore will be one of the stops during her 5th Anniversary World Tour.  And now the details have been released.

Her live will be held on the 13th May (Friday) 8pm at the Esplanade Theatre.  Wow!! That's a nice location.  The ticket prices are also very decent and cheaper than her previous concerts in Singapore too.

CLICK ME to go to SISTIC booking page

She's coming as part of a larger festival called the Super Japan - Japanese Festival of Arts 2016. Here's the link to information on the rest of the acts in the festival.  CLICK ME.

I'm going to try and go with my friends. While I do listen to electronic music and bubblegum pop, they aren't not my favourite genre.  But I don't mind KPP.  Her lives are quite fun and I have several friends who like her so it's fun to go together. :)

NOISEMAKER ~ free concert in Singapore

[ MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT ]Exclusive VIP Event at MILLIANWe are inviting you, our fans,to the soft opening of MILLIAN,a...
Posted by Amuse Inc. Asia on Tuesday, 9 February 2016

Oh!!! I almost forgot to talk about this.

Japanese music fans in Singapore should really take note of this event.  Amuse is a Japanese entertainment company that manages various artistes.  They manage several artistes that have thrown lives in Singapore before and I quite like them because they are one of the few Japanese entertainment companies that actually seem interested in marketing to the South East Asian market.  THANK YOU!!!

Ieiri Leo " 20 - 4th Live Tour ~ " BD & DVD release & 2016 lives announce

Oh... looks like those of us who are Ieiri Leo fans will be happy with this announce. :)  They will be releasing  her "20 ~ 4th live tour ~" on BD and DVD.  Yay for me! :)  I'll be picking up the BD for sure.

(source)

As usual, Ieiri's management company released the cover art for the release on the day of the announce.  It's their usual practice.  The BD and DVD covers look vastly different. LOL.

This is the BD cover art.

Kalafina ~ far on the water - Analog / Vinyl - unboxing + comments / review on the tracks

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....

Ieiri Leo ~ Kimi ga Kureta Natsu - short live PV

Less anyone forgets that I also rather like Ieiri Leo :P , here's a post about her soon to be released single.

Yesterday, her record label posted a video featuring her singing a short portion of her soon to be released song Kimi ga Kureta Natsu which translates into something like The Summer that you gave me.



I really, really do like her music and one of the things on my bucket list is to one day attend one of her lives.  It's just that Kajiura Yuki, FictionJunction and Kalafina always take priority for me since I really am a huge fan of their work.  And unfortunately, Ieiri's lives don't quite coincide or can't fit into my schedule when I am in Japan for Kajiura Yuki's and Kalafina's lives. :(

Rie Fu ~ Growing Singapore: Construction Site Paintings & Acoustic Live

Two days ago, I finally managed to watch Rie Fu live in Singapore. :)  The Japanese singer songwriter moved to Singapore about a year ago and is currently based here for now.  During this time, I knew that she sang and held a workshop at Hood Bar & Cafe and also at J-Obsessions at Cathay but both events were on a Sunday afternoon which made it hard for me to attend because it clashed with my classes.  This time, this event was held on a Saturday afternoon so I grabbed at the chance to go.

Admittedly, outside of Rie Fu's anime related music, I didn't really know that much about her music at all.  And I didn't even know she painted till the Japan Creative Centre put up an art exhibition showcasing her paintings which were very cool.

source

The event was held at the Japan Creative Centre on Nasim Road and Rie Fu performed on the opening and closing day of her art exhibition.  The cool thing about it is that it's a free live, you just had to write in to apply for a "ticket" to get in.  I applied for the closing day because it was on a Saturday and hence, made it much easy for me to attend.

Koda Kumi ~ live in Singapore 2015 announce

I've spent the last two days moping and avoiding social media as much as possible because I'm still trying my darnest to pretend that Kalafina isn't at AFA Thailand. ;'(  If only my pockets ran deeper, I would go to Thailand.... sigh. :(

But this popped up and so I thought I should share it.  Apparently, Koda Kumi is coming to Singapore for her first live.  That's pretty good news for Japanese music lovers.  We're getting some heavy hitters these days, not just anisong artistes but also J-music artists.

KODA KUMI ASIA LIVE 2015 COMES TO SINGAPORE!In line with her 15th Anniversary, Koda Kumi's Asia Live has been...
Posted by avex International Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd on Saturday, 2 May 2015

It's at Scape again, where AAA had their live.  The AAA live was really enjoyable. I had a lot of fun. I'm not sure if I'll go, it'll depend on my friends.  Of course, I generally do support Japanese lives in SG so I still may go.  We'll see.  I haven't quite decided. :)

Interestingly, LiSA also has a live that day but at Sentosa but my concert buddies and I already decided we'll not be going to that live. It's rare to have two Japanese music events clash in Singapore though. So that's a little surprising.  Koda Kumi live, we'll be discussing this before we decide.  :)

Nanri Yuuka ~ 3DS home theme / new album

There isn't much news on Kalafina now because I think both Keiko and Wakana are busy preparing for the Yuki Kajiura vol.12 lives in June.  Kajiura Yuki's been tweeting about the lives as well and I'm getting pretty excited about them.  No real juicy bits or anything, just that she'll be playing some Hanako to An tracks and that she'd written a song... although, I'm not sure if that song is for the vol.12 lives or something else.

source

Anyway...meanwhile Nanri Yuuka has released a new album called one day.  As part of the promotions for this release, the marketing team behind Nanri Yuuka made a 3DS home theme available for purchase on the 3DS.

AAA Asia Tour 2015 - Attack All Around - in Singapore ~ my experience :)

Wow!!!!!!! This was a really fun live.  I was really jumping and dancing a lot.  I didn't expect it to be so fun, to be honest.  I like AAA which is why when I heard that they were coming to Singapore, I was very excited and decided that I would go for the live.  I wanted VIP tickets but the friends I was with wanted to get Standard tix so that is what I got in the end.

L'Arc en Ciel ~ Over the L'Arc en Ciel docu - ustream

source

Just a really quick thing for Laruku fans.

I saw this over twitter on my way home.  It looks like they will be making the docu available online via ustream.  So if you miss the theatrical screening in Singapore or any other country or if it wasn't ever screened in your country, you can watch it now. Unfortunately, it isn't free.  You have to buy a ticket to view it.

There are a few screen times available from the 23rd Mar to the 31st Mar.  The link to the ustream webpage for this event is here... CLICK ME.  Please check for screen times there.  You can also purchase your ticket there.

Over The L’Arc-en-Ciel ~ Singapore screening details released

Post by Golden Village Mr Popcorn.

Really quick post... really busy.  If you're a Laruku fan residing in SG. Take note of the screening dates for their documentary in SG. :)

cheers