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R&B Anthem -R&B House Best-
Release Date: 3/6/13
Price: 600 yen
Digital only album featuring 16 full versions of songs from No.1 Party Mix -R&B House Best-. This one features most of the good remixes from the non-stop mix, including all of the Threemason remixes as well as the DJ ET-Q remix.
The Big Reunion
Release Date: 3/8/13
Price: £6.99
Available only in the UK, this digital release features the tops songs from all of the bands involved in The Big Reunion. Included are four songs from Atomic Kitten, 911, and Blue that have appeared on Dancemania. Liberty X get only one track, and it’s not “Thinking It Over.” -_-
Out of all the bands involved with The Big Reunion, Atomic Kitten made the biggest impression on Dancemania. Their first single, “Right Now” was absolutely huge in Japan. It first appeared on ZIPmania III in 2000 and would go on to appear as a playable track on Dance Dance Revolution 5th MIX. After “I Want Your Love” appeared on Dancemania X8 in 2001, Atomic Kitten wouldn’t be seen in Dancemania again until the EX series. During 2004, they became a staple of the series, with “Be With You,” “The Tide Is High” and “Ladies Night” appearing on various Dancemania releases.
The band actually released a 2004 version of “Right Now,” which was surprisingly never used for a Dancemania EX release.
Despite being under the EMI label in Japan, British boy band Blue only appeared once on Dancemania. I actually remember being quite annoyed by “One Love” when it appeared on ZIPmania DX because it was too R&Bish for Dancemania.
In 2011, they represented the UK in Eurovision with a more synth-infused song than they were known for, becoming the second Dancemania-associated act to represent the UK (following Daz from Bus Stop).
Dancemania 22 was an amazing album full of incredible Almighty remixes, but for me the standout track was Almighty’s remix of “Thinking It Over.” Sadly, it was to be Liberty X’s first and only appearance on Dancemania.
911 were a boy band trio comprising Jimmy Constable, Simon “Spike” Dawbarn, and lead singer, Lee Brennan. They made their first appearance on Dancemania in 1998 with the song, “Love Sensation,” before following it up with “A Night to Remember” and “Party People…Friday Night” on various Dancemania subseries. They made their final appearance with “More Than a Woman” on the 2-disc set, Dancemania Delux 3. Oddly, one of their biggest hits, “Bodyshakin’,” has an awesome dance remix yet never appeared on Dancemania.
Move over, Downton Abbey, ITV’s most addictive new show brings back the biggest UK pop bands of yesteryear for one more chance in the limelight. “The Big Reunion” is a new reality show featuring bands from the 90s and 2000s reuniting after years apart. The show follows them as they reminisce over the good (and not so good) ol’ days and rehearse for a one-off gig, later expanded to an areana tour.
The bands in question? Well, there’s Honeyz, 5ive, and B*Witched, only the last of whom I’ve heard of as the other two never really broke into the US market. However, as a huge Dancemania fan I was excited to learn that 911, Atomic Kitten, Blue, and Liberty X would also be participating. Over the next few days I’ll take a trip down nostalgia lane and revisit each band’s contributions to Dancemania.
Perhaps most excitingly of all, “The Big Reunion” has been a big success in the UK and will soon be licensed to other countries. The 90s movement is in full swing all across Europe, as evidenced by the return of 2 Unlimited, and I’d love to see the format spread to other countries and potentially bring back some other groups that played huge roles in Dancemania.
Anim80s 2 ~Anime Hits in 80s Disco Style~
Release Date: 11/28/12
Price: 1886 yen
Hit anime themes remade in an 80s disco-pop style. Got my copy a few days ago and it’s mostly enjoyable. I’m not gonna lie, I don’t immediately recognize what served as the inspiration for most of the tracks. Many of the songs on the first Anim80s used rather distinctive synths or beats that made their inspirations clear. For example, “Cat’s Eye” was unmistakably modeled after “Beat It” while “Shuuketsu no Sono e” imitated the synths from “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” The songs on Anim80s 2 don’t quite have the same recognizable hooks. However, there were many times when I was listening to the album and thought, “Wow, this sounds really familiar,” but couldn’t place the source material. In some ways it’s better that way in that it lets the productions stand on their own, but I kind of miss the fun in comparing the songs to the originals, so to speak.
Hopefully this will lead to Anim90s, as unpronounceable as that may be. I’d love to hear the themes in classic 90s eurodance style.
The album is available on iTunes JP and other Japanese download services, but as with the first Anim80s it’s mixed, so no full versions. 🙁
Anim80s 2 ~Anime Hits in 80s Disco Style~
Release Date: 11/28/12
Price: 1886 yen
Update (11/8/12): Track list has been rearranged somewhat, and producers have been revealed. It’s mostly the same producers from the first Anim80’s, with a majority of the tracks done by dance Beyond and Youhei Fujita. Rayto is also responsible for a few tracks, but it looks like DJ Command is sitting this one out.
Vocalo Cho Mix 39 feat. Hatsune Miku
Release Date: 9/26/12
Price: 1714 yen
This second Vocaloid compilation from EMI features a non-stop mix of 39 songs. It’s priced much lower than Vocalo Dance, so there are fewer bonus features. You’ll just get a picture label CD and cardboard sleeve this time around. Animate are offering a fan featuring the cover art if you order from them, while Tsutaya will give away a special clear file.
As with Vocalo Dance, this is being marketed as part of the Dancemania series. Both Vocalo releases are now part of the official discography as part of the “Vocalo Series,” just above the Utattemita releases.
Anim80s 2 ~Anime Hits in 80s Disco Style~
Release Date: 11/28/12
Price: 1886 yen
Update (9/21/12): DJ Yossy posted the album cover on his twitter. Once again there’ll be 30 tracks in all, and DJ Yossy confirms that Sunplaza Nakano-kun will be participating.
Anim80s 2 ~Anime Hits in 80s Disco Style~
Release Date: 11/28/12
Price: 1886 yen
Well, this is a shock. The original Anim80s came out in December of 2010 and was an incredible mix of Anime themes with 80s hits. It didn’t sell all that well, however, so it’s surprising that they’re giving the series another shot almost 2 years later. No word yet on which songs or artists will be included, but Akiba Koubou will most likely be producing once again.
Also, apologies for the intermittent updates lately. I’ve been a bit busy, and there’s been a drought in dance-related CDs coming out in Japan. If things don’t pick up, I may switch to updates every other day instead of daily.
Pre-order at CDJapan.
Vocalo Cho Mix 39 feat. Hatsune Miku
Release Date: 9/26/12
Price: 1714 yen
This second Vocaloid compilation from EMI features a non-stop mix of 39 songs. It’s priced much lower than Vocalo Dance, so there are fewer bonus features. You’ll just get a picture label CD and cardboard sleeve this time around. Animate are also offering a folding fan featuring the cover art if you order from them.
Dancemania Party ~ Best of 90s Dance Hits
Release Date: 8/1/12
Price: 2381 yen
Dancemania is still alive!! That’s MST’s special message, in English no less, to Dancemania fans!
Yes, Dancemania Party is full of many songs that fans have heard multiple times, but there are 12 songs that are “new” to the series. “Roses Are Red” turned out to be a different remix than the one previously used on ZIPmania Best, so it technically counts as a “new” track. The other new tracks are great representatives of 90s eurodance, particularly the tracks that previously appeared on Victor’s Dance Panic series. I’m just glad they shied away from the euro-reggae that was prominent on Sparkle.
For those interested, “Moonlight Shadow” is the original version from Dancemania 7 and not the new vocal version from X8, while “My Heart Will Go On” is the Definitive mix.
The mixing by MST is generally very good. I think he put more effort into this one than usual just because he didn’t have to mix the same old tracks again. I just wish he’d stop using that fake crowd noise.
Vocalo Cho Mix feat. Hatsune Miku
Release Date: 9/26/12
Price: 1714 yen
This is now being billed as the second entry in EMI’s Vocaloid series, so there’s a good chance it will indeed be considered part of the Dancemania series as Vocalo Dance was. As further proof, retailers are listing it as a 39-track non-stop party mix.
Bonus items include a cardboard sleeve and picture label CD. Buying from Animate will get you a special fan. No word on any other bonus items, but with such a relatively low price they make skimp on bonuses.
DanceMaster | 
03 24th, 2013| 
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