Dancemania EX × Trance Paradise

No.1 Party Mix -World Famous R&B- mixed by DJ Satoshi
Release Date: 9/4/13 (6/19/13 Tsutaya)
Price: 1714 yen

House compilation from VillageAgain. Sequel to No.1 Party Mix -R&B House Best-. The music is mostly by Power Music, but unfortunately it doesn’t appear that there are any remixes by DJ Satoshi or DJ U*Hey? Previously, it was available exclusively at Tsutaya Records, but this September it will see a wide release at other retailers, including Amazon.

Also Available digitally on iTunes Japan.

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Dengou Sekka! Anison Cover Mix!!
Release Date: 10/23/13
Price: 1714 yen

Another release in Akiba Koubou’s Anison Cover Mix!! series. I don’t know why, but I have a strange feeling that there’s some sort of theme to this release. Anyway, lots of repeats from AKBK’s back catalogue, but I also spot some new tracks.

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Meganimation * Anison Party Mix! mixed by DJ Kenzi
Release Date: 10/9/13 (9/18/13 Tsutaya Rental, iTunes)
Price: 1700 yen

A new anison compilation from Star Music. Features covers by a variety of DJs, including former Mega Trance producers, Threemason (DJ U*Hey?) and Jack Clavia (DJ Minagawa). It’s not entirely clear what genre(s) of music will be represented, but given the current climate I’d guesss EDM/house. Available for rental on 9/18/13 at Tsutaya, or digitally from iTunes. If you want the CD version, online retailers will have it in stock on 10/9/13.

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Blurry
Release Date: 9/4/13
Price: 1905 yen

New album from Vocaloid producer, 164.

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Party Shuffle -Real Hits Megamix- mixed by DJ Mike-Masa
Release Date: 9/25/13
Price: 1900 yen

New EDM compilation from FARM Records, mixed by DJ Mike-Masa.

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Party Anthem -Sunshine Megamix- mixed by DJ Yu-Ki
Release Date: 8/7/13
Price: 1900 yen

Sequel to World Anthem. Features summer anthems from around the world. Mixed by DJ Yu-Ki.

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ADM -Anime Dance Music produced by tkrism-
Artist: Emergency
Release Date: 9/25/13
Price: 2286 yen

The EDM boom is still in full effect, it seems, as evidenced by this combination of EDM and anime songs. The music is produced by tkrism, with vocals by Emergency. You can find more news on the group on their official website.

There’ll be retailer-exclusive bonuses available, ranging from bonus drama CDs to alternative CD covers.

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Exit Trance presents Speed Anime Trance Best 19
Release Date: 9/4/13
Price: 1905 yen

HOLY CRAP. It took them until 5 days before release to finally reveal a track list, but maybe it’s because they didn’t want to spoil the surprises. First of all, the Dizzi Mystica alias returns to Exit Trance with 4 tracks after skipping SATB 17 and 18 (though technically he was still present on those as Disco da Gama). The kinoto alias also comes back from retirement with a new song, though apparently Flash back Dominant and plazma were his aliases, so he hasn’t really been gone, either. MK represents with 4 tracks, while Booing Day features with 3. Hommarju gets a bum deal with only 2 tracks, thought Icon gets it worse with only 1. A new artist by the name of airportexpress also makes his debut.

Now, here’s the biggest shocker of them all: Acid=Stone Valley is back! I had to refresh the page a few times to make sure I wasn’t seeing things, but apparently Acid=Stone Valley will indeed be making his glorious return to Exit Trance after being M.I.A. since 2010. It’s only a single track, but it’s exciting to see him back as he was an old favorite of mine. I can’t help but wonder if Quake are purposely going back to their roots by heavily featuring old aliases and artists. Hopefully they make SATB 20 a proper anniversary release by asking back even more old ET artists.

The selected songs are mostly a good mix of recent anime offerings. I was admittedly rather perplexed to see “Uchuu Senkan Yamato” since it was already covered on one of the R25 albums, but apparently there was a recent sequel series that features a new arrangement of the old theme.

Oh, and why only a 1:15 edit for one of Dizzi Mystica’s tracks? The entire album clocks in at around 1 hour and 10 minutes, so surely they could’ve given it more time. 🙁

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Saifam Speed – June/July/August 2013
Artist: Various Artists

The past 3 months have brought quite a few new Speed tracks, with June in particular being very prolific.

SPE222 – [4:10] Cruise (The Factory Speedo remix) / Speedmaster
SPE223 – [3:48] Hava Nagila 2 0 (Alternative Sound remix) / Don Pablos Animals
SPE224 – [4:17] Here’s To Never Growing Up (Speed version) / Speedmaster
SPE225 – [4:14] Happening / Speedmaster
SPE226 – [4:25] One Day (Speed remix) / Speedmaster
SPE227 – [4:16] Gangsta’s Paradise (Alternative Sound Planet remix) / Speedogang
SPE228 – [3:50] Old Time Rock & Roll / Speedmaster
SPE229 – [4:08] The Other Side (AR speed mix) / Speedmaster

Stay Young (Single)
Artist: The United
Release Date: 8/21/13
Price: 476 yen

Debut single from the FARM Records international boy band. It’s exclusive to Tower Records and features a scant two tracks. I was hoping they’d commission some remixes by FARM producers.

You can visit the official website for more info on the boy band.

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Scandal Beach ~Natsu Party! Umi Selection!~
Release Date: 7/31/13
Price: 1200 yen

Digital compilation from FARM Records featuring full versions of various repeats. Only features 2 songs that haven’t appeared elsewhere before.

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House Flavor R&B ~Original Best~ Vol. 8
Release Date: 7/31/13
Price: 1200 yen

8th release in the digital series, which collects fulls versions of songs from various FARM compilations. There are 10 new productions that will debut on this compilation.

Featured artists include FARM mainstays like Daiki × ZK and Minimum Cox, as well as newer names like Countdown Groove and MST.

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R&B Summer Drivin’ ~Nemuku Naranai Drive Music~
Release Date: 7/24/13
Price: 900 yen

Sequel to R&B House Drivin’. This digital only compilation features full versions of many songs from Driving Hits -Speed-. I actually complained about Driving Hits -Speed- being too slow, with most of the tracks hovering around 130-140 BPM, but judging by this album the original versions were even slower! Ironically, the subtitle roughly translates to “Don’t Be Sleepy Drive Music.”

Still, I did enjoy Driving Hits -Speed- for what it was, and this collects some of my favorite tracks from it. In particular, I loved Daiki & ZK’s spectacular rendition of “Troublemaker” and “Shake Senora,” both of which appear here. Oddly, the arrangement of “We’ll Be Coming Back” is vastly different than the one on Driving Hits -Speed-. I actually thought it was a completely different song at first.

Available on iTunes Japan.

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J-Pop Cover Densetsu V
Release Date: 8/7/13
Price: 1905 yen

The fifth release in FARM’s highly successful J-Pop Cover Densetsu series, which has sold a combined 500,000+ units. It’s been a while since J-Pop Cover Densetsu IV, which came out in November of 2011. Mixed by DJ Fumi*Yeah!

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K-Pop Party Mix Best ~Best of K-Pop Cover Selection~
Release Date: 9/4/13
Price: 1886 yen

Wow, it’s been a while since the last release in this series, K-Pop Party Mix III in March 3, 2012. The K-Pop boom in Japan appears to be fading, and how does Japan celebrate a fading boom? With a Best mix, of course! There will be new tracks, however, including the debut of “Gangnam Style” to the series. There’ll be 50 tracks on the final list.

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