Dancemania EX × Trance Paradise

Run to the Future
Release Date: 10/31/10
Price: 800 yen

It’s RTTF week here at Dancemania EX, where I’ll be placing a spotlight on the indie/doujin Japan label, RTTF. Run by DJ Hyuji, RTTF has put out a lot of great dance albums over the past few years, with lots of different sounds ranging from trance to SPEED to house. DJ Hyuji is a HUGE (pun intended) fan of Dancemania, quite possibly one of the most dedicated I’ve ever met, and the influence of Dancemania, and Dancemania Speed in particular, can definitely be heard throughout RTTF’s albums. He’s also managed to round up a varied amount of guest artists for RTTF’s releases, including Chris Bucknall (of CJ Crew fame), JAKAZiD, Hommarju, MK, and many others.

You can visit RTTF’s official website for crossfade demos of both discs. Luckily, DJ Hyuji also speaks English and is willing to ship overseas. If you’re interested in ordering, you can contact him here: http://rttf.eternalbreeze.net/contact.html Make sure you turn your ad blocker off if you have one installed, otherwise the form won’t appear for some reason.

Impressions on the album after the jump.

First up is RTTF’s debut release, a 2-CD album featuring trance and house songs. Disc 1 is the “Trance × Club Side,” featuring lots of epic trance as well as speed trance. Standout tracks include heric’s “chiptrance” song, “Star Trails,” which for some reason sounds like it was influenced by Chrono Trigger (Edit: I should clarify that it reminded me a lot of DJ OMKT & MJ’s rendition of “Chrono Trigger,” one of my favorite tracks from SQ Chips). I’m also in love with Raito Kazewara’s “Mirai to Mirai ni,” a fantastic orchestral piece that’s heavily reminiscent of “sui-ren (Orchestral Version).” Meanwhile, DJ Croco’s “Heart of the Sun” puts the epic in epic trance, with roaring trance synths and nice, hard beats. Speed trance fans will love the first three tracks, which are all 170+ BPM.

Disc 2 is labeled the “House × Pop Side,” and for the most part has a decidedly more house feel. My favorite track is “kindly breeze” by Tadashi Yamamoto. With its relaxing woodwind melody and light dance beat, it’s perfect for a breezy spring day. And despite being on disc 2, T-Effect’s “Moonflow” is 160 BPM and would be right at home on Speed Piano Trance Best, if Quake would come to their senses and release such a thing.

Disc 1 – Trance × Club Side
01. Dubrovnik / Orihime & Hyuji
02. Ichi Geki Ridatsu / Takahiro Aoki
03. contrail / Luna
04. Star Trails (Original Mix) / heric
05. Run to the Future 2010 / Hyuji
06. TechnoLoid / Maya Akai
07. Digital Revolutionist (Radio Edit) / Next Tribe
08. Heart of the Sun (Club Mix) / DJ Croco
09. Flight Declaration to the Sky / DJ Noriken

Disc 2 – House × Pop Side
01. Mirai to Mirai ni / Raito Kazewara
02. Sunny Mint girl / Yunyun
03. kindly breeze / Tadashi Yamamoto
04. Drifting / Yamajet
05. Cronus / Orihime & Hyuji
06. Top note / Suguru
07. Douhyou ~Namo Naki Boku no Uta~ / Kazuhiko Aihara
08. Fukanzen Fukanzu / Itcha
09. Moonflow / T-Effect