Dancemania EX × Trance Paradise

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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EDM.JP
Release Date: 8/21/13
Price: 600 yen

Digital EP from EMI featuring EDM hits from Japanese producers. I guess this is the new project that Tomo Hirata mentioned on his twitter.

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Anime Nitro*Itaon Mix! Vintage Selection
Release Date: 10/23/13
Price: 1800 yen

Well, this is a surprise. The Anime Nitro series hasn’t seen a release since 2010. Although previous releases had J-Core artists like kors k and Redalice, this new entry looks like it’ll have repeats from Anison Joshibu and Majokko Disco. Hopefully they’ll have J-Core artists remix the songs, otherwise it won’t live up to its “Nitro” name. The two Evangelion tracks look like they’ll be newly recorded, so I don’t think this will just be straight repeats.

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Gekkan eta Vol. 02
Release Date: 8/7/13
Price: ??? yen

A new monthly series from Exit Tunes, featuring live recordings from the Exit Tunes Academy tour. The odd thing is that the CDs will only be available for rental at Tsutaya. Visit the official website for more info on the series.

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Gekkan eta Vol. 01
Release Date: 8/7/13
Price: ??? yen

A new monthly series from Exit Tunes, featuring live recordings from the Exit Tunes Academy tour. The odd thing is that the CDs will only be available for rental at Tsutaya. Visit the official website for more info on the series.

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Setsuna Code
Artist: Last Note.
Release Date: 7/17/13
Price: 1905 yen

First major album from Vocaloid producer, Last Note. Bonus items include 1 of 6 rubber straps. Visit the official website for more info.

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Exit Tunes presents Vocalofuture feat. Hatsune Miku
Release Date: 11/6/13
Price: 1905 yen

Twelfth in the hit series of Vocaloid compilation albums, following Vocarhythm, Vocalostar, Vocalolegend, Vocalogenesis, Vocaloanthems, Vocalonexus, Vocalonation, Vocalocluster, Vocalodream, Vocaloconnection, and Vocalosensation. There will be a bevy of bonuses available, many of which will be limited to first-press copies only. All copies of the CD will have a picture label and cardboard sleeve. Limited bonuses include a cell phone strap and mousepad. If you send in the included survey, you can also receive a clear file. Posters will also be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Visit the official website for samples and more info.

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Exit Tunes presents Under the Live 2013
Artist: ?? (Underbar)
Release Date: 10/16/13
Price: 2381 yen (Limited Edition) or 1905 yen (Regular Edition)

New Live album featuring ?? (Underbar). There’ll be two editions released, a regular edition as well as a limited edition. It’s unclear what the limited edition has, but one would assume it’ll have a live DVD.

Pre-order at CDJapan.