Dancemania EX × Trance Paradise

Natsu Monogatari presents Wa Euro Best
Release Date: 8/5/09
Price: 1886 yen

Wow, we’re getting more than one Dancemania release this year. O_O The title translates to Summer Story presents J-Euro Best, which can only mean one thing: repeats. It’s mostly old Akiba Koubou stuff, with some Misa and pachislot songs thrown in for good measure.

We are getting a few new Akiba Koubou songs, though. “Ai wo Torimodose” and “Cat’s Eye” have yet to appear on any other compilations. And though it’s not listed here, there’s also supposed to be a new Rumi Itabashi song titled “True Love Forever.” I’m crossing my fingers for new Misa as well.

Who knows? Maybe if this sells well they’ll release an Italo-Euro Best. They have just enough new Italian-produced eurobeat from the last few years to fill a compilation.

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Dancemania presents Natsu Monogatari 2009 supported by 9LoveJ (CD+DVD)
Release Date: 6/10/09
Price: 3000 yen

Akiba Koubou! Akyr! Saifam! Ventura! LED!!! The final list for Natsu Monogatari 2009 has a surprising amount of diversity. Sure, it’s still mostly Anime covers and J-Euro, but there’s enough variety to keep me interested. Plus, no psychedelic!

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The 2009 remake of “Butterfly” is finally out! Featuring Veronica and Malin on vocals, it’s a complete reworking of the original. Okay, maybe not so much. Vocals aside, it’s mostly the same as the original, with a few added flourishes. For instance, they definitely took some cues from the Delaction remix.

Anyway, the song is up for download on a variety of digital download services:
lala
iTunes

Only a radio edit is available for now. I’m assuming a longer edit will appear on the rumored remix album.

01. [3:07] Butterfly ’09 (United Forces Airplay Edit)

Dance Dance Revolution S
Release Date: 4/15/09
Price: 1500 yen

Konami recently released a digital soundtrack for their mobile DDR game, Dance Dance Revolution S. It’s mostly notable for featuring a new remix of the Naoki and Smile.dk collaboration, “A Geisha’s Dream.” The remix is nothing outstanding, but it is a nice change of pace from the original, which was too similar to “Butterfly” for my liking.

The soundtrack is available for purchase on iTunes.

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Dancemania presents Natsu Monogatari 2009 supported by 9LoveJ (CD+DVD)
Release Date: 6/10/09
Price: 3000 yen

Are you ready for a Summer Story? The early track list is out for this year’s edition of Natsu Monogatari, and it’s chock full of anime and J-euro, much like last year’s release. On the plus side, there’s also brand new eurobeat from Italian labels, as well as Dancemania classics.

For those interested in who’ll be dancing on the DVD, D-tan from ParaParaStage has a post with that info.

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Dancemania presents Natsu Monogatari 2009 supported by 9LoveJ (CD+DVD)
Release Date: 6/10/09
Price: 3000 yen

Natsu Monogatari returns for a third year in a row! Despite last year’s average release, it is nice to see the series return since it’s pretty much the only thing keeping Dancemania alive.

In the past, Natsu Monogatari albums were released on the last Wednesday of June, so theoretically NM 2009 should be released on June 24. However, the actual release date this year will be a few weeks earlier, on June 10. The change is most likely because Avex have decided to release Campus Summit 2009 on June 24, perhaps in an attempt to supplant the competition.

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Dance Dance Revolution X & FuruFuru Party Original Soundtrack
Release Date: 3/11/09 (Retail Version), 1/29/09 (Konamistyle Version)
Price: 3048 yen

The Japanese version of DDR X is out now, and someone graciously uploaded “A Geisha’s Dream” to YouTube:

Ahem. Let’s go back to what I said in my Party Around the World review:

And will someone please tell Smile.dk to stop using the words “samurai” and “butterfly”? It was cute in Doo-Be-Di-Boy, but it’s 2008, people.

It’s 2009 now. I like the song well enough, but it’s too lyrically, not to mention musically, derivative of “Butterfly.” There’s absolutely no reason for that. We’ve had at least one “Butterfly” retread per album, and it’s way past time for Smile.dk to move on. “Tokyo,” “Koko Soko,” and other songs have shown that it’s possible for them to do Japan-themed songs without resorting to cheap “Butterfly” callbacks, so please let “A Geisha’s Dream” be the last one.

Dance Dance Revolution X & FuruFuru Party Original Soundtrack
Release Date: 3/11/09
Price: 3048 yen

It was previously announced that a collaboration between Naoki and Smile.dk would be appearing on the Japanese version of DDR X, and we now have a song title: A Geisha’s Dream. A Japanese-themed song from Smile.dk?! Shock!

A full version of the song will be appearing on the upcoming DDR X + FuruFuru Party OST. Check out the rest of the track list at Bemanistyle.

Unlike the last few OSTs, which were available exclusively through Konamistyle, this one will also be published by Sony Music Entertainment, meaning that it will be available at various retailers. You can pre-order the 3-disc OST at CDJapan. 3200 yen is a surprisingly good price for 3 discs.

Smile.dk have just put up a brand new, free download of “X-mas Party” on their official website. “X-mas Party” is a Christmas version of “Summer Party,” one of the best tracks off Party Around the World. In addition to sleigh bells and electric guitars, the remix also features slightly different vocals to make for a truly festive eurodance song. It’s just a shame they didn’t replace the “acting naughty” lyric, as it sounds completely out of place in a song that features Santa. I thought naughty kids get coal in their stockings?

While you’re in the holiday spirit, why not check out Me & My’s “Too Much Christmas,” which is available digitally on iTunes.

The Doki Doki digital single is now available for purchase on Amazon. Last I checked, it wasn’t yet available on iTunes, but the official Smile.dk site says it should be up there soon.

The odd thing is that the bonus track, which was supposed to be a new remix of Butterfly featuring Veronica and Malin, is not included on the digital single. There’s supposed to be a physical release of the single limited to 1,000 copies coming soon, so maybe the bonus track will only be included on the CD.

Here’s the track list for the digital version:

01. Doki Doki (Radio Edit)
02. Doki Doki (Panik Mix)
03. Doki Doki (Extended Mix)
04. Doki Doki (Disko Warp Lockdown Mix)
05. Doki Doki (Cyber Systers Euro Mix)
06. Doki Doki (Dancecore Inc. Remix)

In other Smile.dk news, it was recently revealed on Bubblegum Dancer that Doki Doki will be appearing on DDR X (most likely the Japanese version). Also, Naoki will be collaborating with Smile.dk for an all-new song!

Anime Speed
Release Date: 12/10/08
Price: 1905 yen

Just a quick reminder that Anime Speed gets re-released today. If you didn’t pick up the original because of the copy control junk, now’s your chance to have the CD free of restrictions.

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Revolution X still hasn’t been released on iTunes or Amazon MP3, but there’s some exciting news from S&K!

Joint Ventures in Music!! SMiLE.dk, the famous and successful DDR producer has joined forces with S&K. In the near future there will be a new release of Get up n move, remixed by United Forces. In addition, there will be at least one new track produced by both teams, the projekt and song names are still secret, but will be revealed shortly. Stay tuned of more news shortly!

Wow, DJ Slash is really getting around, isn’t he? At this rate I wouldn’t be surprised if he resurrected Franky G. 😛

Edit: Revolution X is now available on Rhapsody. “Don’t Stop” is definitely the spiritual successor to “Get Up ‘n Move.”

The new album was supposed to come out on October 16, but has since been delayed to November 21: http://www.amazon.de/Captain-Jack-Back/dp/B001IBQCP2/

Beatdisaster have released a press release with the album art and final track list.

01. Mission Complete (Intro)
02. Turkish Bazar
03. We Will Rock You
04. Push It Up
05. Rainbow in the Sky
06. Free
07. Dreams
08. Hit the Road Jack
09. Base Jam
10. Take Me Away
11. Say Captain Say Wot
12. I Was a Fool
Bonus Tracks
13. Captain Jack
14. Drill Instructor
15. Soldier Soldier
16. Only You
17. Turkish Bazar (DJ Falk House Mix)

Track 6 is supposed to be a eurodance song written by a Culture Beat songwriter. It looks like they won’t completely abandon eurodance, though the press release claimed that the style was “R ‘n’ B / Hip Hop / Pop.”

Tracks 13-16 are not new covers, but are instead the original versions.

S&K have finally released an album of sorts, with 3 brand new tracks as well as 8 tracks from their Dancemania years. The album is currently available digitally at Musicload: http://www.musicload.de/album/3994129_2/sk/revolution-x/item.html

“Don’t Stop” is pretty darn catchy.

Anyway, last I checked the album still isn’t available on iTunes or Amazon MP3, and I don’t yet know if people outside of Germany can purchase from Musicload. I’ll post an update if/when the tracks become available in the US.

Again, you can listen to samples of their old and new songs here: http://sandkmusic.com/pages/music.php

Samples are now up for the Doki Doki single:
http://www.smiledk-music.com/discography/single-dokidoki/

The Cyber Sister Euro Mix sounds promising, and “Butterfly” sounds fantastic with Malin!

The single will soon be available on digital download sites like iTunes and lala.com. Additionally, “Doki Doki (Panik Mix)” will be featured on Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3.