Dancemania EX × Trance Paradise

Disko Warp presents Speedisko Vol. 2
Release Date: 7/13/10
Price: $7.92

Speedisko Vol. 2 finally sees a release after a short delay. The album is now up for sale on iTunes and Amazon for $7.92.

“I Wanna Be a Ninja” is the lead track and happens to be one of my favorites on the album. I could do without the sped-up vocals, but I love the use of Japanese instruments and the lyrics are undeniably catchy. Who doesn’t want to be a ninja?!

Another standout song, and perhaps my favorite on the album, is “Space Space Shooter,” a eurobeat track with lots of 8-bit samples. Space Invaders is an obvious inspiration and after listening to this I’m suddenly finding myself in the mood for some alien-blasting action.

Speaking of video games, Thomas H. Lichtenstein of DDR fame also makes an appearance on the album with “Keep It Real.” The song tries to imitate the Hyper Techno sound, but falls a little short. The synths are certainly there, but it lacks the energy of a true hyper techno song, particularly during the verses. I’d love to hear it with a different, more fitting remix.

Chris Jay, who previously did an awesome 80s PWL mix of “Oh Oh Sexy Vampire,” returns for Speedisko 2 with another retro-inspired track. This time, it’s a 90s eurodance remix of Peroxide Mocha’s “Don’t Have My Baby.” The vocalist is great on the song, and sings the hysterical lyrics without a hint of irony.

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Disko Warp × Pump It Up Pro 2 Official Soundtrack
Release Date: 8/11/10
Price: $9.90

Disko Warp recently provided some songs for Andamiro’s Pump It Up Pro 2 arcade game and released an accompanying digital soundtrack. If you’ve been following Disko Warp for a while then most of these songs aren’t new to you. However, there are a couple of new bonus remixes included. The soundtrack is up for sale on Amazon and iTunes. It’s slightly cheaper on Amazon ($8.99 versus $9.90 on iTunes).

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High Tension Ghibli
Artist: Hiroki Arai
Release Date: 7/28/10
Price: 2400 yen

Ghibli Hi-Speed style!

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Big Band*Ghibli
Artist: Magical Bigband Orchestra
Release Date: 7/28/10
Price: 1714 yen

Ghibli Big Band style! Again!

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Big Band*Ghibli
Artist: AKBB (Akatsuka Kenichi Big Band)
Release Date: 7/7/10
Price: 2000 yen

Ghibli Big Band style! The up-tempo tracks sound great, but “Umi no Mieru Machi” is a little too lounge-y for me. The album is also available on iTunes Japan.

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EX:P2 ~EX:Producers 2~
Release Date: 9/15/10
Price: 1995 yen

Visit the official website for more info: http://www.exproducers2.jp/

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Best of Acoustic
Artist: Captain Jack
Release Date: 9/6/10

Well, this is certainly a surprise. Back to the Dancefloor was supposed to be coming out this September, but it looks like they’ll be releasing this acoustic collection in its stead. The album will include acoustic versions of CJ’s most popular songs such as “Captain Jack,” “Drill Instructor,” and Only “You.” There will also be new tracks like “People Like to Party” and “Everything Started with Captain Jack.”

The album will be on sale at musicload and presumably at other online retailers as well. In the meantime, they’ve also released yet another greatest hits album titled, “Meine Besten.”

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Ghibli Rock
Release Date: 8/25/10
Price: 2095 yen

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People Like to Party (Single)
Artist: Captain Jack
Release Date: Fall 2010

The first single off Captain Jack’s new album just had a music video released:

Damn, I really, really like it. It’s got a great summery feel and sounds like it could have been on CJ’s Cafe Cubar album. If the rest of the album is anything like this then Beat Disaster may finally be forgiven for that horrid “Captain Jack Is Back” fiasco.

You can buy a high quality version of the music video at Music Load:
http://www.musicload.de/captain-jack/people-like-to-party/videos/video/7681555_4

The song itself isn’t available for purchase just yet. Hopefully they’ll release a single later on with some remixes.

Age*Son ~Agaru Anison Compi~
Release Date: 8/11/10
Price: 2381 yen

Another anime-themed compilation from Avex. No “Zankoku,” but “Sousei no Aquarion” rears its overused head once again. Most of the tracks are by Avex artists like AAA, m.o.v.e and TRF. It is notable for a trio of Spacey tracks, including the debut of the Spacey vs. Polaris remix of Tsukasa’s “Shin Ai” as well as a Spacey vs. Polaris remix of “Dreams,” which just appeared on the excellent Aneuta compilation. Surprisingly, it also includes a FARM license in the form of mioco’s “Sorairo Days.”

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Bemanistyle has the song list for the Japanese arcade release of DDR X2, and there are quite a few surprises:

CAPTAIN JACK – CAPTAIN JACK (GRANDALE MIX)
JOGA – DAM DARIRAM
PAPAYA – HERO
JENNIFER – IF YOU WERE HERE
JENNIFER – IF YOU WERE HERE -L.E.D.-G STYLE MIX)

I’m told that Captain Jack (Grandale Mix) is a different edit than the one used previously. The biggest surprised, however, is the new “If You Were Here” remix!

I wonder how likely we are to get a full version, considering that Konami rarely include licensed tracks on the soundtracks nowadays.

JapaNation
Release Date: 7/7/10
Price: 2286 yen

Compiled and mixed by DJ Kaya, this compilation exclusively features J-Dance songs with Japanese lyrics. Most of it is house, but I do spot a handful of trance tracks near the end.

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Caramel*Heart (Single)
Artist: Doki Doki Dream Campus
Release Date: 7/7/10
Price: 952 yen

Second single from FARM’s new idol group. “Caramel*Heart” is a new song, while “Tomare!” has already appeared on Anime Dance*Best Gig.

CDJapan don’t seem to be carrying it, but you can order it from Amazon Japan.

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Ghibli Rock
Release Date: 8/25/10
Price: 2095 yen

FARM will be releasing yet another Ghibli cover compilation in August. This time the covers will be done in a rock style. For more information and samples, visit FARM’s special Ghibli Rock website.

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Another Way (Single)
Artist: Eternity
Release Date: 5/10/10
Price: 2.49 USD

One of my favorite Dancemania Speed songs gets a trance makeover! Chris Bucknall, half of the duo known as CJ Crew, now runs Cubit Records, a new UK label that focuses on Pop and Dance. He’s decided to revisit one of his original works, “Another Way,” which originally appeared on Speed Giga 4 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution. As far as I can tell the vocals are the same on this remake. The entire single (6 tracks in all) is available for only $2.49 at 7digital!

Unfortunately, there’s no Speed remix :{

That reminds me, I really should work on that CJ Crew feature…

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