Japanese vocalist recommendations
 

Hi there,

I recently discovered japanese vocalist and componist Akiko Shikata. I think I was just browsing VGMdb and were looking at the list of highest rated album. Went through the list and tab-opened every album which I hadn't heard of. RAKA by Shikata was one of it.

I then checked my digital collection and was surprised that I already had a Akiko Shikata directory there which also did contain RAKA. Well, what should I say, I instantly fell in love with the album. :)
It's already ordered and so I spend the last few days acquiering most of her other albums. Thanks to #gamemp3s I already had most of her Ar Tonelico works and my directory also contained Navigatoria, Harmonia and "Ruins and Heaven". Getting hold of the remaining albums wasn't very hard and I think I have most of the them by now.

For reference see the VGMdb listing:
Akiko Shikata - VGMdb

Like I said I instantly fell for RAKA, but I also very much like Navigatoria and Harmonia. Kalliope is also very nice, even though it doesn't feature her vocals (piano arrangement). Purchase of Navigatoria and Harmonia is planned for next month. Kalliope comes later.

I already know three other female japanese vocalist:

• Angela Aki: performed ending theme of FF12, performed a ending theme for the BLOOD+ anime and has so far released three major-label albums
• Haruka Shimotsuki: performs together with Shikata on the Ar Tonelico soundtrack, has released three original albums
• Kaori Kawasumi: mostly performs for compositions by Noriyuki Iwadare

I have two albums from Aki: HOME and TODAY, really nice stuff. You have to like piano though, since it's mostly Aki's vocals and piano. I heard that she really rocks at live performances. Judging from some videos on the bonus DVD of TODAY this seems to be true. *g*

So far I only own one (two if you also count the Atelier Iris ETERNAL MANA OST) album by Shimotsuki. That is Tindharia no Tane. All vocals by her and also most of the compositions (rest by Iwadare).

I have most albums that feature Kawasumi and are listed on VGMdb. That includes most of the Grandia soundtracks (still missing the OST for the first game, only have the Best Of collection) and the probably best album "Ingmar" (RDCD-0008: Ingmar -for the beginning- - VGMdb). Vocals by Kawasumi and composition by Iwadare... yummy :D

So that's a rough overview of the material that I know (and like).

Now I'm looking for recommendations concerning other female vocalists singing (mostly in japanese). I say mostly because Aki sometimes performs in english and Shikata also sings in italian and german (I can verify the italian part, but only read about her singing in german).

Greets,
liquid

I'm aware of that thread, but that's not really what I'm looking for.

First of all I don't think that the material above really classifies as "J-Pop". When I think of J-Pop someone like Ayumi Hamasaki comes to my mind. Shikata does something that could be described as japanase folk, with some celtic influences. Sometimes it's also very experimental. I really wouldn't described it as "J-Pop"...

Secondly I would like to have recommendations based on the overview I've written in the entry post. That requires that you have first hand experience with the artist's music.

I don't want any generic recommendations. If I wanted that I could just open the Wiki page about female japanese vocalists and skim through them. The thread you linked to Toby is pretty generic and it doesn't even list Shikata in the entry post. Well, it doesn't list any of the artists I mentioned above - I think that speaks for itself.

It's also a super old thread, but it's still a starting point. It's Japanese popular music, so it is classified as J-pop; Angela Aki especially. It's all weeaboo music.

You could have looked some of the artists up on Youtube upon reading the recommendations. OP happened to write really good reviews of the artists he mentioned and I'm sure you'd find something you'd like. But with the attitude you've given me, good luck getting help from anyone.

(I very easily could have given you recommendations, what with my hundreds of GB of Japanese music, but now I'm not)

It's a starting point if you're totally new to japanese music. That doesn't apply to me. What I need are specific recommendations by someone who also likes the artists that I mentioned in the entry post. If you cannot / don't want to give me these recommendations, than that's fine with me.

J-Pop -> popular -> mainstream. That's not what I'm looking for.

Maybe I should have emphasized this, but the main accent of the entry post is Shikata. I'm especially fond of piano music / arrangements and Aki has some nice voice, so I found it worthy to mention her.

I don't think Nipponophilia plays a role here. I like the music because I like it, not because it's performed by some japanese artist. I admit that I like japanese vocals although I understand only a small percentage of the words. Though that's probably just the same like people liking italian language, stating that it sounds "sexy".

Finding new artists when your music taste is not mainstream is extremely hard. Like I already stated, I could just browse through the Wiki entry and randomly check artists but that's like looking for a needle in a haystack.

I haven't give you any "attitude", I just made clear that you missed the point of the thread. You're also insulting me with dropping off this link, implicating that I didn't use the forum search before typing all this.

I want to make this very clear. I don't post before doing any research myself, ever (that does apply to all board / mailing lists I'm active on). I have done my research here. To be more specific I'm currently looking into Noriko Mitose, since she worked together with Shikata on some projects.

However I want your ideas / recommendations.

quantity != quality

I'm already happy if someone can name me one single album by a different artist that goes into the same direction as the works described in the entry post. There are enough torrents out there that bundle a huge bunch of japanese music. I could download these, but again: that's not what I want. ;)

If you're a fan of Shimotsuki, make sure to listen to Ashiato Rhythm.

If you don't mind looking into Shikata's non-vocal works, the Hanakisou OST is great. There's a couple of vocals on there, but some of my favorite tracks on there are all instrumental.

Considering the small list of vocalists you posted, it's actually kind of hard to give recommendations. You could try Yae, but I'm not really a fan of her. Eri Kawai's probably a good one (check out Kirite, it's amazing). Maybe some stuff from the .hack OSTs as well.

Mostly just throwing some kinda similar stuff out here. Considering Shikata is unlike everything I've heard, it's kind of hard.

Thanks, going to take a listen. That's her first commercial album, right?

I think I have this one in my digital collection, but didn't listen to it yet. Non-vocal is fine too, especially since her compositions on Kalliope sound absolutely great even without her voice :)

I will definitely check this out, thanks!

I could add Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (if that helps *g*), who performed on most of the Silent Hill soundtracks (composed by Akira Yamaoka). But I only know that she performs in english and furthermore I know know her works for SH (I'm aware that see's a voice actor for lots of anime series and even VGs).

Apart from that I have only heard a few other vocalist like Mikuni Shimokawa, who performed the intro song "tomorrow" for the first Full Metal Panic! anime (however that's the only work I know of her), and Hitomi Takahashi, who performed the first intro song "Aozora no Namida" for the BLOOD+ anime. I own her album "sympathy" which has some great tracks like the already mentioned theme song, "Evergreen" and "Another Daybreak". I took a look at her other albums but I was not really convinced. Her style changed a lot and I'm not really a fan of punk. :)

You mean her?
Yae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Any hints which album I might wanna fetch to get a (good) first impression?

Oh yeah :D
Actually I'm very aware of Eri Kawai (may she rest in peace), but so far I only know her collaboration works with Yasunori Mitsuda. However I have put her memorial album (DDCZ-1581: Kaze No Michi E / Eri Kawai - VGMdb) on my birthday wishlist, so maybe I'm going get it from my parents. It's kind of a "blind purchase" since I really don't know anything from her, apart from her performances for Mitsuda.
And concerning Kirite (which I already own), yeah, that's one hell of an album. Too bad I still haven't found a translation of the story book by Masato Kato, which is included with the disc (AFAIK it's sort of a soundtrack for the story).

I think I have heard of .hack before, but haven't listened to anything yet. *putting on list*

Thanks for your effort! Yeah, Shikata seems kinda unique :D

Looks like this was who I was talking about: Fujimoto Yae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Like I said, not really a fan, and the only album I've heard from her is Blue Line, as well as Kazenone from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. I wouldn't call either of these notable though.

As for Eri Kawai, the album you mentioned there is pretty good. The other one I know of is Himawari, which is also worth a listen.

Akiko Shikata does the OP for Umineko no Naku Koro ni:

YouTube Video

(warning: spoilers)


Haruka Shimotsuki's best song, in my opinion:

YouTube Video

I've tried to find the single on YJA for a year now (even though the track is available on Ashiato Rhythm), but it's apparently very rare.


And now for something different: KOKIA performing Chouwa Oto live:

YouTube Video

And here's the group Kalafina performing ARIA live:

YouTube Video

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A big thanks goes to blah!

KOKIA sounds interesting (have to hear more stuff before I can judge this properly) but Kalafina is just the type of music I search. :)
Now going undercover trying to grab some music :cool:

@youseph: Sounds like her, but I can't figure out from which album it is. Haven't heard all her compositions yet, so it's probably from one of the older ones.

EDIT: Hehe, I'm seeing the connection now. Yuki Kajiura, member of Kalafina and according to Wikipedia also the primary composer, seems (acoording to VGMdb) to be responsible for some .hack albums. Now grabbing "Seventh Heaven" which seems like a good album to get to know the group.

Heh, that's one of my favorite Shimotsuki songs as well, Bigblah. Never heard of Kokia myself, and she does seem interesting, though I like the instrumentals more than the vocals in that song for some reason.

Yes, Kajiura was also respnsible for the .hack//SIGN OST and the opening for .hack//ROOTS. SIGN is the one I really recommend though. I've heard other Kalafina stuff and definitely second that recommendation as well. But most things that Yuki Kajiura has worked on are pretty solid (might want to check out the Fictionjunction stuff). Though some people get put off by the fact that all of her stuff has a similar distinct style.

Eri Kawai, one of my favourites. Grab her memorial CD, Himawari, here: MEGAUPLOAD - The leading online storage and file delivery service A lot of the works in this album borrow a lot from the Celtic style music that Mitsuda derives from. So think of it as Kirite Part 2 :P My favourite from the album: YouTube - Kawai Eri - Undine -Zougoshi ver.-

Maya Sakamoto is pretty popular. She collaborates with Yoko Kanno (Best Anime Composer!) for most of the anime openings/endings.

YouTube - Hemisphere - RahXephon Opening by Maaya Sakamoto [HIGH QUALITY!!!]
YouTube - Maya sakamoto Gravity Wolf's rain

Hope you enjoy these.

Kalafina really rocks :)

Looks like that the live videos from Youtube are actually available in full res digital format. They're from the bonus DVD that was included with the limited edition of the Seventh Heaven album. Someone has uploaded the DVD ISO here:
Foro MCAnime ~ Ver tema - Kalafina - Seventh Heaven & Lacrimosa [DVD-ISO]

If the limited edition is still available next month I might grab it from YesAsia.

EDIT: I knew that Eri Kawai was good and the Himawari album proves it again. Thanks for the hint and upload Sepharite!

EDIT2: Fetched and currently evaluating:

• Akiko Shikata - When the Seagulls Cry / Umineko no Naku Koro ni [KNIL-0003]
• Ashiato Rhythm ~Haruka Shimotsuki works best~ [LHCA-5015]
• Kalafina - Seventh Heaven (with bonus DVD)
• Eri Kawai - Himawari

Now stuck with the Kalafina live performances set on repeat :D

Update:
Realising that Yuki Kajiura was also responsible for the later Xenosaga games I started to dig a bit deeper.

I still haven't listened to .hack, but I found a IMHO real gem, the OST to "El Cazador de la Bruja". This one blends a multitude of different styles: The track with the children choir remind me a bit of the "Home Alone" score by John Williams. Then there are tracks that are very Morricone-like, then other with an african feeling. Also lots of celtic and oriental influences. Very great stuff, so to speak :) [another album for my list]

In case you want to preview the album, it's available from #losslessONE (they provide both a tracker and distribution through IRC bots).

Anyway, I'm really impressed how versatile this woman is :)
Especially considering the few albums I actually listened to *g*

EDIT: Almost forgot, IT HAS JAZZ!!!!!!!!1111 *OMFG* :D

Last update:
First of all: I dropped Noriko Mitose from my list. Her solo performances really don't knock me off my feet. Her voice is nice, but most of her tracks sound rather boring to me. However if someone has any good advice which of her work is awesome, I'll gladly put her back on the list.

Concerning Haruka Shimotsuki: I have ordered both the Ashiato Rhythm and the Oto no Compass. Still have to look into all her other works, which seems to be a huge bunch of tracks. If you like laid back compositions backed with a soft voice, then you should really try out Shimotsuki. Very different from Shikata, but both have a lot of ethnic influences in their songs. Something I really like.

Maaya Sakamoto: Another great recommandation, especially in combination with mentioning Yoko Kanno. I knew Kanno mainly composed anime scores, but I wasn't aware that she also did a lot more than that. Fetched a bunch of albums through a huge lossless discography torrent, which also contains (most?) Maaya Sakamoto albums (AFAIK Maaya always lets Kanno compose her songs). Currently listening to DIVE, Lucy and Shonen Alice.
Also learned that Kanno replaced Kenji Kawai as composer for the GitS anime series. I started with the bonus OST disc (the one with one long track) "smooth in the shell" and then went back to OST1, OST2 and OST3. Pretty amazing stuff. Also going to listen to her works for Brain PowerD and Escaflowne. Still thinking which Sakamoto album to order. :)

Yuki Kajiura: Fetched most of the Kalafina albums. Lots of track that are really good, some have a bit too much "pop" for my taste. Also checked out the FictionJunction project (#losslessONE has released the "Everlasting Songs" album). Same thing applies here. Still very good stuff.
Finally listened to .hack//SIGN... not bad, but I still like "El Cazador de la Bruja" better :D

Well, so it remains to say "thank you" to all people who made constructive contributions to this thread. I think I have enough material now and a lot of information where to find more. E.g. I put KOKIA on hold, but might look into her if I run out of tunes *g*

I'm leaving this thread open for further discussion. Maybe someone wants to defend Mitose (I would be glad to see this) by hinting me to a groovy track :)

Oh yeah, I might as well pose this question here:
Haruka Shimotsuki seems to have done (according to Wikipedia) two live concerts. I found one FLAC rip from the second concert (Haruka Shimotsuki solo live Lv.2), where I don't know exactly if it's some sort of concert bootleg or a rip of a promotional disc that was handed out at the concert. Nonetheless the three tracks are a real feast for the ears and I would love to hear something from the first concert (the Lv.1 one). If someone has some sort of rip it would be really great if he could provide it.

Speaking of Haruka Shimotsuki, I highly recommend Tindharia no Tane, music composed by her, arranged by Iwadare. Lots of great music on that disc. She's also coming out with another Tindharia related album in October that features compositions by Michiko Naruke, Yoshitaka Hirota, Noriyuki Iwadare, and MANYO. That one is called Griotte no Nemuri Hime.

Yeah, my first album from her. Funny thing was that it was mere chance that I purchased the album from Chudah (VGMdb sale) :)
Was just browsing for stuff from Iwadare back then and saw Tindharia on her list. Did I blind purchase just judging from the cover art (something I usually don't do).

Thanks for the info! Naruke sounds interesting, she didn't do much compositions lately, didn't she? (apart from her arranging on the recent CAVE album).

She also did the theme songs for RIZ-ZOAWD as well.

Oh, and Haruka Shimotsuki is also the singer on the Atelier Iris 3 Grand Fantasm Single.

http://vgmdb.net/album/1788

I might be way off here, as my knowledge of any type of Japanese music is pretty limited, other that what I hear here and there.
But listening to your favorite artists and those of Bigblah's you like, I thought maybe this might be up your alley too:

YouTube Video

It's one of the most beatiful Japanese pieces I've heard personally.

Yeah, I know that one. :)

In fact I own most of Joe Hisaishi's works for Studio Ghibli. His compositions for Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke are my favorite ones. The Mononoke theme is especially strong, even without the vocalist.

I have one live album from Hisaishi (Psycho Horror Night), which also features a Princess Mononoke medley. It's composed of the Ashitaka theme, Adagio of Life and Death (if I remember correctly) and a beautiful rendition of the Mononoke theme, featuring both piano and strings. It's purely instrumental but gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it.

Coming back to "Always With Me", it's a perfect closing theme. However you have to watch the anime to really enjoy it. Hard to describe, but it leaves you with a deep feeling of satisfaction when then credits end. It's something that most Ghibli work accomplish. Watch e.g. "Laputa / Castle in the Sky", the ending theme just fits perfectly (YouTube - Laputa castle in the sky ending + lyrics). I don't think I have to mention the Mononoke ending (full reprise of the Ashitaka theme). Hisaishi is especially good at choosing these :D

EDIT:
@Ziggy: Yeah, almost forgot about RIZ-ZOAWD. I purchased it just because of Naruke's work. I had hoped that she did some more tracks since the rest of the album is pretty much standard Sakimoto-style (he's a bit like Sakuraba, always clinging onto his standard style). But good to hear that she's still in business. I'm really curious how a collaboration between her and Shimotsuki could sound like :)

Hell yeah, I also own most of the Ghibli movies. Music is epic.

Parts of this song always reminds me of Maigo from Tonari no Totoro. Can't seem to find a proper version on Youtube, but you probably have it anyway ;)

Speaking of opening / ending themes, I think this one should be mentioned:

"Tobikata wo Wasureta Chiisana Tori" (A Little Bird Who Forgot How to Fly) by MISIA, opening theme song for "Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time".

I don't know any other work by MISIA, but this one is really strong. AFAIK it's not included on the official OST nor on the arrange album.

You can listen to the song here:
YouTube - Misia - the Little Bird

Glad you liked Sakamoto :D

Have you heard of Shiina Ringo?

YouTube - Shiina Ringo - La Salle de Bain
YouTube - Shiina Ringo x Saito Neko - Gamble

If you're interested, I'd recommend the Heisei Fuuzoku album. It has more of a sweet orchestrated sound than her usually hardcore metal.

Some random ones, I forgot to mention previously.

YouTube - RahXephon - Yume no Tamago (Egg of the Dream)
YouTube - Ayaka - Okaeri (????)
YouTube - Yamato (2005) - "Close your eyes" ost with romanian subtitle

Hope you like em.

Well, I can make some suggestions. Don't know how much it will help.

"Stigmata" - From Mana Khemia

"EXEC_SPHILIA/." - From Ar tonelico 2 (Get both Hymn Concert albums if you haven't already.)

"Winter Coffin~Black King's Sacrifice" - Winter Mix Vol.5 RED VERSION

"Kataha no Kotori" - Collaboration Album "message" (I recommend this whole album, really.)

"seven colors" - Little Wing works album "Thanksgiving" (I think this originally came from somewhere else, but I don't know where. Also another full album I recommend.)

For the two above mentioned albums, they contain a large number of different vocalists, so they might be helpful in finding new people you like. "message" is a collaboration of many composers along with many vocalists. For example, "Kataha no Kotori" is composed by Yoshitaka Hirota (Shadow Hearts series). It also has a Shimotsuki song (composed by Motoi Sakuraba).

If you have any interest in Naruke's work, check out the vocals by Kaori Asoh while you're at it. Wild ARMs 2's opening ("You'll Never Be Alone no Matter Where You Go") is one of my favorite songs ever. I prefer Wild ARMs 3's OST overall, though.

Another recommendation I'll make is the album murmur. It contains compositions by Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts, Legend of Mana, Super Mario RPG, etc.) with Chata as the vocalist. Really nice stuff overall. I haven't heard much else by Chata so I can't say what she's like in general, though.

I also recommend taking a listen to Shadow Hearts: Covenant's ending theme "GETSUREKA". I don't know anything else about the vocalist, but it's a beautiful song.

The major problem is picking a good track out of the vast pool of available tracks. It's also a "first impression" problem. Start with a mediocre track and it ruins the experience.
So pointing out specific tracks is a big help for me ;)

*check* Should have the #gamemp3s release.

*check* (again #gamemp3s, the AT2 OST is also on my VGMdb wishlist)

Is this the one?

*check* (ZiggyGo's release)

I assume it's this one?

Looks promising! I already own the four SH retails albums (SHADOW HEARTS Original Soundtracks plus1, SHADOW HEARTS II Original Soundtracks, SHADOW HEARTS FROM THE NEW WORLD Original Soundtracks and near death experience, SHADOW HEARTS Arrangetracks). Very good stuff :)

I own Wild Arms Original Game Soundtrack and Wild Arms: Alter Code F Original Score by Naruke. Never played any Wild Arms game though. Going to check this (AFAIK #gamemp3s released it) one out. Naruke's always top-notch, I really wished she would do more scores. *g*
Or perhaps we should be happy that she chooses quality over quantity (*cough* Sakuraba *cough*)...

I know this one, but I'm still unsure what to think about it. I'm usually very fond of Shimomura's work. Her works for the KH series is exceptional. LoM is another great examples of her abilities. The trailer track "Somnus" for the Final Fantasy XIII Versus game featuring latin vocals is pure awesomeness :D

Make sure to get her recent album "drammatica" ;)

Anyway, I think I listened to murmur twice before removing it from the playlist again. Maybe the album needs a bit more time before it comes pleasant.

You mean the "Moon Love Flower" one?

EDIT:
News for the Shikata fans. sonix released the latest single "One-Winged Bird" on his blog (http://sonixgvn.blogspot.com/2009/08...ingle-one.html).
It's not bad, but I liked "When the Seagulls Cry" better (also from "Umineko no Naku Koro ni").

EDIT2:
I felt a sudden urge to try some more material from MISIA, and stumbled upon this blog entry:
http://japanesemusicdream.wordpress....9/03/27/misia/
Looks like it's a (almost?) complete discography of the artist. A better overview about her works is given on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misia_discography). Check out her live album, it's pretty good and also features the SO3 theme song I mentioned above. Kinda like a acoustic rendition, very nice :)

EDIT3:@Sepharite:
I haven't forgotten your post! Still going through the material :)

EDIT4:
Just found Winter Mix Vol. 5 in my unsorted doujin folder, looks like the rip that Akumu posted in the large doujin thread. Also grabbing thanksgiving (tak / lossless) from a torrent.

Yeah, those two links look to be the right albums.

As for murmur, I took another listen to it in full and didn't like it as much as I originally did. I guess I was just remembering some of the better songs off of it and forgetting the others.

I do have drammatica and I agree, it's absolutely amazing. I've always wanted some official Legend of Mana arranges.

Maybe. I don't know the English translation off hand.

Going to grab that Shikata album now since I don't seem to have it yet.

No, haven't heard of her before. But the material looks interesting, going to check some more.

OK, hardcore metal isn't really my cup of tea. Now fetching "Heisei Fuuzoku", that one was easy to find.

Hisaishi's compositions for Yamato ain't bad (I don't own the full OST, but the "Psycho Horror Night" album I mentioned above has a suite of the score), but this one doesn't really spark my interest.

Not bad...

Sweet! I think I'm also hearing some irish bagpipes :)

Yeah, thanks! I grabbed ayaka's album "Sing to the Sky" (her second one), but haven't listened to it yet. Sad to hear that she seems to be suffering some illness (see Ayaka - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

Yeah, looks like that it is the Moon Love Flower one. Found it on Youtube (haven't got access to my collection at this time) and remembered it pretty fast. Very good song, pretty strong ending theme.

Some voice actresses aren't that bad.

Minori Chihara is a good singer, who is pretty much underrated.

Can you recommend any specific track from her?

@Talaysen: I finished grabbing the thanksgiving album. Very good album, the tracks by Mitose and Shimotsuki really stand out.

Here's an example of Minori Chihara singing LIVE.

YouTube Video

Yes, she voices Yuki from Haruhi Suzumiya.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minori_Chihara


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My next recommendations are mostly singers who sang for KEY visual novel games, because the composers write beautiful music and they pick really good vocalists for the songs. My favourite being Lia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lia_%28singer%29

Here's a list of stuff she sang that I loved.

Theme Song from Clannad After Story

YouTube Video

Tori No Uta, theme song from Air

YouTube Video

Aozora, insert song for Air. Very sad song.

YouTube Video

Karma, from Lia's own album, composed by Jun Maeda who composed the Clannad After Story theme song, along with composing various tracks from Clannad, Kanon and Air game (and subsquently Anime) soundtracks.

Personally, while Lia's solo work from her albums is nice, her best vocal tracks tend to be the ones composed by Key composers like Maeda.

YouTube Video

Natsukage, vocal arrange track from Air.

YouTube Video

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Another singer I liked who did songs for Key is Riya from Eufonius.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riya

Here's her list of songs I liked.

Mag Mell from Clannad season 1 opening

YouTube Video

The Tiny Palm of Your Hand, insert song for final episode of Clannad After Story

YouTube Video

Sunbeams Streaming Through the Leaves, vocal arrangment of Ushio theme from Clannad After Story.

YouTube Video

The Girl's Fantasy, vocal arrangement of Fantasy from Clannad soundtrack.

YouTube Video

Narcissu, theme song from Doujin visual novel narcissu - side 2nd- .

YouTube Video

Not bad, but the mixing isn't really that great. Or it's perhaps because of my crappy laptop speakers (I'm really missing my AKG k701...)

I have to pass here. The only thing I know about the Suzumiya series is the first light novel (I read the translation from Baka-Tsuki). Never have seen the anime series. Would you recommend it? Just asking, because it never felt the urge to continue the light novel series after finishing volume 1.

Hey, absolutely right! KEY and his team always tend to amaze me. I mainly got into this kind of music because I watched the Kanon and Clannad anime (both the first season and the After Story one).
If I had to choose it would be the opening theme of Clannad After Story, that one really left a strong impression on me. They also did a piano arrangement of the opener. I think the disc also contains a arrangement of TORCH, the ending theme of After Story. Really beautiful compositions.

I grabbed most of KEY's works from a large lossless torrent (just google, it pops up very fast). I think it contains almost everything that was done for Kanon, Clannad, Clannad After Story, AIR and Tomoyo After. I still haven't any physical copies, but a few albums are on my list (e.g. the Clannad OST and the Mabinogi arrange album). The albums are pretty hard to find: the Clannad OST seems to be only sold by champs@eBay and the japanese Amazon store. Mabinogi is even harder to find, since it's a promotional item. Damn those japanese, why is all this great stuff so hard to get :D

Two thumbs up for all three (and especially the first one *g*)

Nice, something new for me. Didn't look too much into other works by Lia. Wasn't she a member of "I've Sound"? I think this name also pops up a few times on KEY albums. I probably didn't have a closer look because they usually do techno and trance.

Hmm, maybe I should really watch AIR (still haven't done so) :)

Speaking of Eufonius, they also did some work for the Noien anime. Whether it's the music or the anime itself, both are great.

I assume that you have seen all the corresponding anime or have played the games they're based on?
I ask because at least I think that the mood of the scene, where the song is played, is pretty important for the songs to "work".

Well, I am a fan of the Haruhi series thanks to the anime, so yes I do recommend it. However, season 1 of the anime was aired out of chronologial order on purpose, and they are "re airing" season 1 right now with new episodes inserted between certain episodes of season 1. You really need to wiki it a bit to get your fansubbed files in the right chronological order before watching it.

Also the Yuki song I linked was a live recording, so you can't really expect a studio quality mix there.

And yeah, I have watch Air, Kanon and Clannad in anime form, and I am also prepared to play the visal novel version of them when I have time. (Kanon is 100% fan translated.)

Lia was a member of Ive sound, but she now seems to release more solo works, with a Key composer occasionally contributing to her solo albums and singles. For example, the ending theme to Gunslinger Girl 2 "Doll" is also composed by Jun Maeda from Key.

YouTube Video

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Here's another singer!

One singer I discovered that had Classical training, along with impeccable English,is a singer called Kanon.

(NO relation to the anime/visual novel Kanon! She just happened to take that name as her Professional Alias, and no she did not sing any theme songs for the anime/game Kanon.)

Kanon (singer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

She did the theme song for the anime Kin’iro no Corda ~primo passo~, which is where I first heard her amazing voice.

She is lesser known, so her music is more on IMEEM than on youtube.


Examples:


String Quartet version of the theme song from Kin’iro no Corda ~primo passo~, shows off her voice better than the single mix they used for the anime. Search the original on youtube with "Brand New Breeze - Kanon"

Kanon - Brand New Breeze Featuring Stella Quintet Players Side - Free MP3 Stream on IMEEM Music

Shine, a cover of a classical music that I cannot recall as I post this.

??? - Kanon - SHINE - Free MP3 Stream on IMEEM Music

Here's one of her albums, a Xmas themed one called Precious.

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tracklist:
1 Kyrie~荒野の果てに
2 都会の天使たちへ Featuring Tetsuya Bessho
3 Let It Snow Featuring Wise
4 Brand New Breeze Featuring Stella Quintet Players Side
5 You Raise Me Up
6 Carry On
7 Nella Fantasia
8 Time To Say Goodbye
9 Eternity~悠久~ Featuring 上松美香
10 O Come All Ye Faithful
11 ｷｾｷ Song Of Love Featuring Stella Quintet Players Side
12 Christmas Medley

As you can see, alot of the tracks are covers of existing traditional songs or hymns. My favorite covers she did includes Nella Fantasia (She does Italian well.) Oh Come All Ye Faithful and You Raise me Up.

IMPORTANT EDIT:

Oh WOW! I just discovered that her latest mini album are songs from Guin Saga anime, and guess who composed the soundtrack? Uematsu from FF! The album should be out today!

http://www.bgbcom.com/kanon/schedule/index.php?e=760#j

Track 2 and 5 are composed by Uematsu. Track 1 and 7 are by Kanon.

Found the torrent! FLAC.

http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=torrentinfo&tid=82241

Live performance of This is My Road, Ending theme from Guin Saga. She sounds incredible LIVE.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9m...oad-live_music

Small update:

First of all I now own a few more original copies thanks to you guys and gals.

Purchased:

• Xenosaga Episode II OST by Yuki Kajiura
• Seventh Heaven (Limited Edition) by Kalafina
• El Cazador de la Bruja OST 1 by Yuki Kajiura
• Uncharted Waters II Special Edition by Yoko Kanno
• Oto no Compass by Haruka Shimotsuki
• Ashiato Rhythm by Haruka Shimotsuki
• Kaze no Michi E by Eri Kawai (got it as birthday present)
• Navigatoria by Akiko Shikata
• Harmonia by Akiko Shikata

Planning to purchase:

• El Cazador de la Bruja OST 2 by Yuki Kajiura
• Sing to the Sky by Ayaka
• Griotte no Nemuri Hime (Limited Edition) by Haruka Shimotsuki
• Himawari by Eri Kawai
• Little Wing works album Thanksgiving

Still have to listen to more albums by Maaya Sakamoto. Dropped Shiina Ringo from my list, the album that was mentioned here isn't really my taste. She has a slightly rough voice, something I usually associate with a jazz performer. While I like instrumental jazz, this voice isn't something I can listen to for long. Thanks for the hint though :)

I'm currently transcoding Ar Tonelico 2, message and Mana-Khemia for my portable player so that I can give them a listen in the next days.

I did give the Winter Mix Vol. 5 a try and some tracks are really good, even the one by Mitose. What I really like though is the Thanksgiving album, which might end up on my wishlist. Has a great track by Mitose and another stunning performance by Shimotsuki, plus the rest is also nice (I don't know the vocalists though). All in all a very solid album.

I haven't forgotten about the Wild Arms albums nor about your detailed post Kairi. I already did a bit of listening of the precious album by Kanon (maybe the first 5 tracks). Track 3 (Let it snow) is probably my favorite for now. I usually dislike rap/hiphop but the combination of Kanon's vocals and the rap by WISE is done very well in this track.

I'm adding more information once I find the time to thoroughly listen to the new material :)

EDIT: And just ordered the CLANNAD OST after finding out that it's still available on Amazon Japan, but they don't ship it internationally. So the only option left for me was to order it from champ_des_pins@eBay. Also ordered the CLANNAD After Story theme song album.
Damn you Amazon Japan! I was going to order some of the new works from Hiroki Kikuta with this album! Looks like Kikuta has to wait till next month then... *g*

EDIT2 / Note for me:
Take a look at Hajime Chitose, Rurutia, Yuko Ishibashi, Rimi Natsukawa, Kumiko Noma and Akino Arai.

EDIT3: Finished listening to "message" and the "Ar tonelico 2" score. The AT2 score was already on my wishlist and is also going to stay there. :)

However I have mixed feelings about the "message" album. My favorite track from the album is "Angelic" by Noriyuki Iwadare (sung by Kanako Ito). I was very disappointed though with the first track - I usually like everything Shimotsuki touches, but this one is really bad IMHO. It's not so much because of the vocals, but probably because of Sakuraba's constant "trying-to-be-epic" trip. This isn't really compatible with Shimotsuki's style.

Bad start into this album, but maybe it gets better... I thought. Rating some tracks from good to bad:
1) Angelic (track #5)
2) Moon (#8, Yoko Shimomura & Marie)
3) Weekend chocolat blanc (#4, Shinji Hosoe & Rita)
4) Weep (#9, Hijiri Anze & Chata)
I'm usually no fan of Hosoe, but I think I can make an exception here. The last track (sung by Lia) is also nice, but she did better tracks IMHO. The rest sounds pretty generic to me, but I'm still keeping the copy on my player. Will listen to some of the tracks again, sometimes it's just that I'm not in the mood for a particular style of music.

EDIT4: Just added the "Thanksgiving" album to the second list, which is IMO much better than the message album.