Dancemania EX × Trance Paradise

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!

Party Around the World (iTunes)
Release Date: 9/18/08
Price: $9.99

Party Around the World is now available on iTunes Plus! The album is also available digitally on Limewire and LaLa. Unfortunately, it seems that the album is only available in the US at the moment, so those outside the US may have to wait for the physical release on October 28.

Saifam released this on iTunes in early June, but I never noticed. ^^; It’s a compilation of all of Jenny Rom’s songs (just the slower dance versions, unfortunately) plus that megamix Saifam produced recently. If you were to buy these tracks from Saifam’s website it would cost you the equivalent of about 22 bucks, but this album is only $11.99. Plus, you get the tracks in 256 kbps instead of Saifam’s 192.

The Cartoon World of Jenny Rom

01. [5:22] www.blondegirl (Extended Version)
02. [4:07] Hanky Panky (Bubble Mix)
03. [5:17] Robin Robin Hood (Extended Version)
04. [5:23] Happy Toyboys (Bubble Mix)
05. [4:54] The Game of Love (Bubble Game Mix)
06. [5:47] Senorita (Dance Mix)
07. [3:52] Ika Uka (Bubble Mix)
08. [4:21] Joe Joe (Bubble Mix)
09. [4:34] Pippi Girl (Bubble Mix)
10. [4:55] Wuki Wuki (Dancemania Mix)
11. [5:12] Be My Cowboy (The Factory Dance Mix)
12. [4:35] Coco Rock (Factory Hyper Mix)
13. [3:54] The Magnificant Seven (Bubble Mix)
14. [4:25] Popeye (The Factory Team Mix)
15. [5:28] The Boom Boom Hyper Megamix (Radio Edit)

Mega Trance 09
Release Date: 7/9/08
Price: 1800-2100 yen

Mega Trance 09 downloads have been up on Music Master for a few weeks now, but Kingbeat just added the album today. The odd thing is that Kingbeat has a slightly different selection of tracks up for download. The two Groove Coverage tracks as well as the Sesto Sento tracks are exclusive to Kingbeat, while “Children” and “Shut Up and Drive” are exclusive to Music Master. Music Master tracks are all in 192kbps, while with Kingbeat you have a choice between 192 or 320. Kingbeat is quite a bit more expensive, however.

Here’s the album on Kingbeat: http://www.king-beat.com/g_album_detail.php?ps_alid=100003464

And on Music Master: http://www.music-master.tv/store/default.php?cPath=21_23_52_532

Exit Trance presents UmaUma Dekiru Trance wo Tsukutte Mita 2 – Sakusha wa Byouki Series
Release Date: 8/20/08
Price: 1905 yen

The official release date is supposed to be August 20, but the digital download site Kingbeat jumped the gun and has full versions up for download now:

http://www.king-beat.com/index.php?main_url=%2Fg_album_detail.php%3Fps_alid%3D100003449%26

Edit: Kingbeat seem to have realized their mistake and have taken the tracks down for the time being. I’m sure they’ll put them back up on the 20th, however.

Super Best Trance 09
Release Date: 8/6/08
Price: 150 yen per track

Full versions of tracks from SBT 09 are now available for purchase on various Japanese download sites. The only viable option for those not living in Japan is Avex’s own mu-mo service:
http://music.mu-mo.net/album/?id=32835&subgenre=4&filetype=music

For info on how to buy from mu-mo, check out Mikaeru’s very informative thread on Eurobeat Prime. Keep in mind that the files up on mu-mo are mostly 128 kbps wma files that are DRM protected. The tracks are 150 yen each, and unfortunately there’s no option to buy the entire album, so if you want all of the tracks you’ll have to shell out 3300 yen.

Am I the only one pissed that Avex mostly put up radio edits? In some cases the edits on the actual nonstop CD are longer than the “full versions”!

The Japanese iTunes music store is a veritable treasure trove of trance. Quake have their entire catalogue up on it, and Avex also have a few trance and eurobeat releases up. The only problem is that people outside of Japan normally can’t buy songs from iTunes Japan. That’s where iTunes gift cards come in. There are various places to purchase cards online, and you’re usually e-mailed the code and instructions on setting up your account pretty quickly. Here are just some of the sites where you can get a card:

Gateway to Japan
JBOX
JPopMp3s

The only one I’ve tried so far is Gateway to Japan because, quite frankly, they’ve got the cheapest prices. They’re also extremely fast. The last time I bought a card I got the code within 5 hours.

Now, the normal priced for single songs on iTunes Japan ranges from 150-200 yen, which is a bit steep compared to the US. However, you can buy entire Quake albums for 1200-1800 yen, which drastically lowers the per-song price. Most of Quake’s iTunes releases feature full-length tracks, so if you’re really interested in the nonstop mix then you’ll have to buy the CD. Same goes for Avex.

Keep in mind that Avex do not use iTunes Plus, which means you’ll get 128 kbps files that are copy protected. All of Quake’s albums, however, are free of DRM and are 256 kbps. Please don’t force Quake to start using DRM 😉

For those wondering, EMI Music Japan only have a limited presence on iTunes at the moment. The Misa albums and singles are up, as is the Wookie Wookie single, but there’s very little otherwise in the way of Dancemania or Trance Paradise. In fact, the only albums up right now are the two Anime Speeds, both of which are the nonstop mixes and not full versions >_<