Dancemania EX × Trance Paradise

Bunbun Nine9′ (Jacket B ver.) (CD Only) (Single)
Artist: Cheeky Parade
Release Date: 1/9/13
Price: 952 yen

A single released by the idol group, Cheeky Parade, earlier this year. Notable for the ZK (a.k.a. Ace Closer/Floorbreaker/etc.) remix of “Cheeky Dreamer,” which is available ONLY on the Jacket B, CD Only version. It’s an awesome trance remix with touches of hyper techno, and it’s amazing to see such a remix released in 2013. Again, it’s only available on the Jacket B version of the CD single; even the iTunes release doesn’t have it. -_-

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Girlicious
Artist: Sweet Licious
Release Date: 1/11/12
Price: 952 yen

Full album from the Japanese duo, Sweet Licious. Notable for the DJ Tora + ZK remix of “Yozora no Melody,” which is sort of a mix between piano house and trance. Also available on iTunes Japan if you only want to grab the DJ Tora + ZK mix.

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Winter Kiss ~Fuyu ga Kureta Love Story~ (Single)
Artist: Sweet Licious
Release Date: 11/16/11
Price: 952 yen

Single from the Japanese duo, Sweet Licious. Features a vaguely trance-pop remix of “Destiny” by DJ Tora. Also available on iTunes Japan if you only want to grab the DJ Tora mix.

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Exit Trance presents Speed Anime Trance Best 18
Release Date: 5/1/13
Price: 1905 yen

SATB 18 just came out, and the CD version is notable for taking up all 80 minutes on the CD. If they weren’t going to have 20 tracks, at least they used up every single second they possibly could. First-press copies come with a cell phone strap. Also, I didn’t notice before, but it looks like they stopped doing the Karaoke CD present after SATB 16. Instead, sending in the included survey will get you some sort of autographed item.

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Exit Trance presents Speed Anime Trance Best 18
Release Date: 5/1/13
Price: 1905 yen

Final list is out, and it’s 19 tracks total. The tracks have been divvied up a bit more evenly than they were on SATB 17, where 2 artists got 5 tracks each. This time, Hommarju and Disco da Gama lead the pack with 4 tracks each. Booing Day and MK each get 3 tracks, while Flash back Dominant and Icon get 2 each and plazma rounds out the list with a single track. Ryu*’s absence isn’t a surprise, but there’s sadly still no Dizzi Mystica. It makes me wonder if he’s just too busy with his own sample production company, Katana Bits. Or maybe he’s just taking a break like MK did for a while. Or was Disco da Gama his alias? I honestly keep forgetting.

Edit: According to the Chinese Wikipedia page for Exit Trance, Disco da Gama is indeed Dizzi Mystica. Loli Salad did a nice job making the list more presentable, and it’s neat to see the who’s behind the various aliases.

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Psychedelic Lover -NPD Style- mixed by DJ Kato vs. DJ Yagi
Release Date: 4/17/13
Price: 1200 yen

New digital only Psychedelic Lover compilation, available on iTunes Japan. This one’s a non-stop mix that features new songs as well as repeats.

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New Album (Title Pending)
Artist: Ryu*
Release Date: 7/3/13
Price: 1905 yen

Well, this is a bit surprising. A new Ryu* album is scheduled for release this July, which is just 7 months after his last album, Sakura Luminance. No details yet, not even a title.

Pre-order at CDJapan.

On this day, exactly 5 years ago, Kousuke Okamoto passed away at the young age of 31. Better known to trance fans as Oriental Space, Kousuke was a true pioneer of the J-Trance scene and his presence has been sorely missed. It was listening to “Magical Express” all the way back on the first Trance Paradise that got me hooked to J-Trance, and I wanted to take a moment to remember him.

If you’re a fan of J-Trance, you owe it to yourself to get the tribute album that was released to honor his works. Disc 1 is a megamix of his most famous works, while Disc 2 features remixes by Japan’s top epic trance producers.

Rest in peace.

Exit Trance presents Speed Anime Trance Best 18
Release Date: 5/1/13
Price: 1905 yen

First three tracks have been announced, though keep in mind they’re not guaranteed to appear on the final list. One of the announced tracks is Utada Hikaru’s latest single, “Sakura Nagashi.”

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Exit Trance presents Speed Anime Trance Best 18
Release Date: 5/1/13
Price: 1905 yen

The next entry in the SATB series releases this May. If they stay on this schedule maybe they’ll have 3 SATB albums this year instead of 2012’s paltry 2. No word on what tracks may be included just yet, but presumably it’ll come with a bonus cell phone strap and a karaoke CD if you send in the included survey.

Pre-order at CDJapan.

Santa Maria (Deluxe Collection)
Artist: Tatjana
Release Date: 1/13/13
Price: $5.99

This was released worldwide a bit earlier this year and features various remixes of the hit songs from over the years. The most interesting one is probably the Delaction remix, though it’s disappointing that it’s only the radio edit.

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Exit Trance presents Speed Anime Trance Best 17
Release Date: 1/2/13
Price: 1905 yen

Let’s start off the new year with the 17th release in the long-running Speed Anime Trance Best series. There are 19 tracks in all, with artists including Hommarju, Disco da Gama, Icon, and the glorious return of MK. Oddly, the Dizzi Mystica alias is nowhere to be found. Bonus items include a smart phone strap and an instrumental CD if you send in the included survey.

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Sound Drive -Drift Luxy V.I.P.-
Artist: N.O.-SYO
Release Date: 12/19/12
Price: 2095 yen

The latest album from N.O.-SYO. In addition to new tracks, there are also repeats from some of the EPs he’s released since the first Sound Drive, as well as remixes from songs from Sound Drive and previous albums.

N.O.-SYO has set up an official website with info on all of his albums. He’s offering an exclusive set featuring both Dance Rock Mix and Drift Luxy VIP, plus signed booklets and a guitar pick, all for only 3500 yen.

I contacted CDJapan to see if they would be carrying it, but they replied, “Unfortunately, it won’t be possible for us to get it supplied. The label is selling it independently, and none of the record company we have dealings with will be able to get it supplied, either.” Bummer. Thankfully, HMV Japan and Amazon Japan do have it up for pre-order, and both ship overseas.

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Handz Up Posse 2 mixed by DJ Uto
Release Date: 12/19/12
Price: 1905 yen

Oh, very interesting. Whereas Quake Trance Best 23 featured hard dance tracks from all across Europe, Handz Up Posse is primarily composed of UK productions. In fact, aside from the Starving Trancer bonus track, I believe all of the tracks are licensed from Andy Whitby’s AWsum label and Synergy Trax. Good to know DJ Uto still has his eye on the UK scene. Seeing Gammer on this makes me miss Dancemania Speed, though. 🙁

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Sakura Luminance
Artist: Ryu*
Release Date: 12/5/12
Price: 1905 yen

Final track list for Ryu*’s 4th album has surfaced on his official website. In addition to songs from Bemani, there’ll also be a number of new songs.

Bonus items include a holographic cover, cell phone strap, pass case, clear file, and poster. Konamistyle is offering a special Sakura Luminance set with exclusive goods, including a muffler towel, smart phone sticker, and an exclusive remix CD featuring “Sakura Luminance (kors k Remix)”. Not to be outdone other retailers will offer their own exclusive bonuses. Animate, Tora no Ana, and Tsutaya will each get their own exclusive remix CDS. WonderGOO gets a can badge, while ordering from Shinseido will net you an LED strap.

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