Dancemania EX × Trance Paradise

A lot of goings-on the in the world of Exit Tunes lately, some of which I’ve mentioned in the comments. I thought I’d summarize them in a blog post for convenience.

The biggest news is that DJ Uto has left Exit Tunes. The founder and president of Quake Records (now Exit Tunes) made the announcement on April 2 on twitter. He has since been removed from the Exit Tunes Artists page. DJ Uto was a huge proponent of trance, and I’m very much worried that he was the only one keeping Speed Anime Trance Best on life support. Without his influence the series may go away altogether. Of course, when DJ U*Hey? left FARM Records and started a new label, Star Music, he still kept ties with FARM. It’s entirely possible that DJ Uto left to go back to his trance roots, and will continue to collaborate with Exit Tunes in the future.

With the departure of DJ UTo, Exit Tunes is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Pony Canyon. The new Exit Tunes president is Shusaku Yoshida (also the current head of Pony Canyon), whom DJ Uto said was a “nice guy” on twitter. Yoshida might be nice, but he likely has no allegiance to trance. Expect the Bemani-related releases to continue, but the fates of Exit Trance and Quake Trance remain up in the air.

Exit Tunes has a launched a new sub-label, melt Lab. It appears that the new label will be focused on drama CDs, namely the Mafia’s Blood series which I’ve posted about before. Exit Tunes is no stranger to drama CDs, what with that really weird Sekihan storybook CD from a while ago, but to devote an entire sub-label to it suggests even more of a divergence from the label’s origins.

So, yeah, it’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for Exit Tunes.

YMM (YM Music)
Artist: YM
Release Date: 4/2/14
Price: 1905 yen

New album from Vocaloid producer, YM. Bonus items include a cell phone strap, poster, and clear file. The official site is already up and running: http://ymmusic.jp/

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Exit Trance presents Speed Anime Trance Best 21
Release Date: 4/2/14
Price: 1905 yen

Update (4/1/14): The album is up on iTunes Japan, and despite the fewer tracks it’s still 1800 yen. Also, the track lengths I posted previously were apparently for the iTunes release. The CD version is definitely a non-stop mix, as the edits are a bit shorter than the digital release.

The first SATB release of 2014 is out this week, and the announcement that it’ll only have 15 tracks is like an admission that the series is on its last legs. Cutting the number of tracks is a frequent cost-saving measure when sales slow down. Dancemania went from ~25 down to 18, Super Eurobeat went from 18 to 15, and even the original Exit Trance series went from 48 to 24 to 20 before they stopped completely.

MK gets the most tracks with 4, with Dizzi Mystica not far behind with 3. Icon, plazma, and Hommarju get 2 each, while the remaining tracks are split between Flash back dominant and kinoto. Acid=Stone Valley, who only made his return to the series a couple of albums ago, makes no appearance here. The Exit Tunes website is still advertising the CD as a non-stop mix, though the edits are quite long given the number of tracks.

Bonus items include a strap, bath poster, and postcard. They can’t even afford the clear files anymore ;_;

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Life Is Beautiful
Artist: Touyu
Release Date: 6/4/14
Price: 1852 yen

New album from male utaite, Touyu. Bonus items include a cell phone strap, poster, and clear file. Retailer-exclusive bonuses have yet to be revealed. The official website is up, but there’s not much there yet.

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Let’s Do It Now!!
Artist: kors k
Release Date: 6/4/14
Price: 1852 yen

Oh, this is quite a surprise. Kors k has appeared a couple of times on Exit Trance compilations in the past, but his last appearance was back in 2008. It’s just a little odd that Exit Tunes would give him his own album before someone like Starving Trancer or MK, but I guess the Bemani connection makes him more marketable. No track list yet, but 13 tracks are scheduled, and I’m sort of assuming at least some of them will be from IIDX. Bonus items include a cell phone strap, sticker, poster, and clear file. Retailer-exclusive bonuses have yet to be revealed. The official website has already launched, but is pretty sparse at the moment.

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recognize
Artist: recog
Release Date: 5/21/14
Price: 1852 yen

Second album from utaite, recog. Bonuses include a cell phone strap (1 of 5 designs), poster, and clear file. Retailer-exclusive bonuses have yet to be revealed. The official website has more info and samples.

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Mafia’s Blood ~Shitsuji Salvatore no Kurooshiki Houshi~ Vol. 02
Artist: Ken Takeuchi
Release Date: 5/21/14
Price: 1852 yen

Second in a planned trilogy of “Mafia’s Blood” drama CDs. The featured voice actor on this volume will be Ken Takeuchi.

Pre-order at CDJapan.

Mafia’s Blood ~Koroshiya Nick no Amayaka na Goumon~ Vol. 01
Artist: Takashi Kondo
Release Date: 4/16/14
Price: 1852 yen

First of a planned trilogy of “Mafia’s Blood” drama CDs. Scheduled to include Takashi Kondo. I guess Exit Tunes is branching out to drama CDs now.

Pre-order at CDJapan.

Exit Tunes presents Ta -Sonna Fuinki de Utatte Mita-
Artist: Glutamine
Release Date: 3/19/14
Price: 1905 yen

Third album from Glutamine. Bonus items include a cell phone strap (1 of 9 designs), smartphone case (1 of 5 designs), poster, and clear file. Retailer-exclusive bonuses range from bromides to a bonus radio CD. Check out Glutamine’s official website for up-to-date news.

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Glutamine “Ta” 2014-3-19 Hatsubai Kinen Yoshuu Ban + Omake Tsuki
Artist: Glutamine
Release Date: 2/19/14
Price: 1905 yen

A special Tsutaya only rental CD released in advance of Glutamine’s 3d album.

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Exit Tunes presents Actors
Release Date: 3/19/14
Price: 1905 yen

An interesting new release from Exit Tunes that pairs popular anime voice actors with Vocaloid producers. Bonus items include a strap (1 of 8 designs), clear file, and poster. Animate has the best retailer-exclusive present, a bonus CD with comments from the cast. Visit the official website for samples and more info.

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Exit Trance presents Speed Anime Trance Best 21
Release Date: 4/2/14
Price: 1905 yen

The first SATB release of 2014 is coming out in a few weeks, and the announcement that it’ll only have 15 tracks is like an admission that the series is on its last legs. Cutting the number of tracks is a frequent cost-saving measure when sales slow down. Dancemania went from ~25 down to 18, Super Eurobeat went from 18 to 15, and even the original Exit Trance series went from 48 to 24 to 20 before they stopped completely.

MK gets the most tracks with 4, with Dizzi Mystica not far behind with 3. Icon, plazma, and Hommarju get 2 each, while the remaining tracks are split between Flash back dominant and kinoto. Acid=Stone Valley, who only made his return to the series a couple of albums ago, makes no appearance here. The Exit Tunes website is still advertising the CD as a non-stop mix, though the edits are quite long given the number of tracks.

Bonus items include a strap, bath poster, and postcard. They can’t even afford the clear files anymore ;_;

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Exit Tunes presents Stages
Release Date: 3/5/14
Price: 1905 yen

New compilation from Exit Tunes with some sort of random theme involving stages. Bonus items include a cell phone strap, clear file, and poster. Retailer-exclusive bonuses are also available. The official website has samples and more info.

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Exit Tunes presents GUMical from Megpoid
Release Date: 3/5/14
Price: 1905 yen

The seventh GUMI compilation from Exit Tunes, following GUMism, GUMitive, GUMish, GUMing, GUMitia, and GUMity. The title is a portmanteau of “GUMI” and “Magical.” Bonus items include a cell phone strap (1 of 4 designs), poster, and clear file. Retailer-exclusive bonuses are also available. Visit the official website for samples and more info.

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Fuwari P Da Yo ~Minna de Utatte Mita~
Artist: Fuwari P
Release Date: 3/5/14
Price: 1905 yen

A new album from Fuwari P. It appears that each song will feature vocals by a chorus composed of Inakamono, Usa, Sana, Shito, Sekihan, Nayugorou, Nobunaga, halyosy, Himawari, maro., Ryokun, and recog. Bonus items include a cell phone strap (1 of 13 designs), poster, and clear file. Retailer-exclusive presents are also available. Visit the official website for more info.

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