Dancemania EX × Trance Paradise

No Nobody’s Love (Single)
Release Date: 10/1/13
Price: $0.99

Dam Dariram and Bye Bye Baby Balloon were released within the past two years, and it appears that the final Joga song to be featured on Dancemania has finally been released digitally. As 134217728 pointed out in the iTunes comments, however, it appears that they just used the Dancemania X7 edit. I haven’t bought it yet to confirm, but the length is exactly the same as the one featured on X7, and I’m kind of wondering if they even bothered to at least add a proper intro or ending.

Also of note are worldwide digital releases of Misa’s Du-Du Di-Da and So So singles. The “So So” single has been available on iTunes Japan for a while now, but this is the first time the extended version of “Du-Du Di-Da” has been made available digitally. Personally, I hope they finally release the original version of “Natsu Monogatari,” assuming it even exists.

Update (10/4/13): Finished extracting data from Saifam’s site for the SPE catalogue. I’ve placed the raw data in some spreadsheets if anyone is interested in them. From 1-171, the only ones missing from Saifam’s catalogue were SPE 147 and 150. Next I’ll write the code to extract data from Juno.

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ZIPmania All Best Mix
Release Date: 11/13/13
Price: 2190 yen

Dancemania lives! ZIPmania All Best Mix has been resurrected from the dead and will (hopefully) come out this November!

There’s also a new early list out, and dare I say it? It’s not that bad. There’s quite a bit of EDM, and even the more mainstream artists mostly appear with remixes. Dancemania gets representation in the form of Misa, E-Rotic, and Crazy Frog (uggh), though there’s also eurodance from Da Buzz and O-Zone, the latter of which appears in Almighty form. Even trance gets in on the action, with Groove Coverage and DJ Ten’s remix of “Ass Up!” making appearances. Also interesting will be a newly commissioned dance remix of Che’Nelle’s “Aishiteru.”

I swear, if they cancel this again…

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ZIPmania All Best Mix
Release Date: 11/13/13
Price: 2190 yen

It appears the reports of Dancemania’s death are greatly exaggerated. That’s right, ZIP Hot 100 and ZIP Mania All Best Mix have been given a reprieve and have been rescheduled for release this November! This release will focus more on the pop side of ZIP-FM, and includes songs that hit No. 1 on the ZIP Hot 100 charts. A It’s unclear whether this will also count as a Dancemania release, or if it will even be mixed.

Make sure to check out the updated early list. It’s unfortunately pretty light on EMI artists and perhaps a bit too heavy on more recent offerings.

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Saifam Speed – September 2013
Artist: Various Artists

Quite a few new Speed tracks in September, which is nice to see after the relatively light output during July and August. One of the tracks, “Kryptonite,” is almost 200 BPM, while the others range from 156-168.

SPE230 – [4:47] Kryptonite (Speed remix) / Speedogang
SPE231 – [4:49] Mr Jones (The Factory Speed remix) / Speedmaster
SPE232 – [4:58] Who Are You (The Factory Speedo-Rock remix) / Speedmaster
SPE233 – [4:34] American Woman (The Factory speed mix) / Speedmaster
SPE234 – [4:19] Our Song (The Factory Speedo Mix) / Speedogang
SPE235 – [4:20] I Will Follow (The Factory Team speed mix) / Speedmaster

What’s EDM? mixed by DJ Komori
Release Date: 3/20/13
Price: 1886 yen

This came out earlier this year, and I wasn’t planning on covering it, but I thought I might as well mention it along with the other recent Warner releases. It’s an EDM compilation with slightly less mainstream artists than those featured in other EDM series. Really weird title, though.

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Million Dance
Release Date: 10/30/13
Price: 1886 yen

Warner have really been on a dance kick lately. It really warms my heart to see dance back on the forefront after being treated like a bastard child during the ’00s. This compilation is particularly interesting because it mostly eschews mainstream acts in favor of more obscure European artists. It also has a few Japanese artists, like DJ Dirt Flare and Prog5 (Shohei Matsumoto/Heavens Wire).

Don’t ask me what on Earth the title means, though. I just hope there’s a sequel so they can call it Billion Dance.

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The Finest -Dance The Best-
Release Date: 9/18/13
Price: 2171 yen

A new dance compilation from Warner Music. The Finest is an R&B compilation series similar in vein to EMI’s VIP or Universal’s What’s Up. In fact, Universal and Warner collaborated on a The Finest × What’s Up release as well as on What’s Up × The Finest.

This CD was originally conceived as a 2-CD set titled The Finest The Best of Best R&B / Dance / Hip Hop. However, dance is back in fashion now, so Warner apparently decided to ditch the R&B/Hip-Hop and went for a single-CD dance compilation instead. Also, CD Japan list it as “The Finest -The Dance The Best-,” which I find mildly amusing for its overuse of articles.

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V.I.P. 10th Anniversary Best Mix
Release Date: 10/30/13
Price: 2171 yen

The 10th release in the V.I.P. series will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the series, which began in 2003. The release is a little earlier than usual, though. Previous release in the main series have always come out in December. I wonder if this non-stop mix is a special release, and they’ll release a proper V.I.P. X in December?

Anyway, it’s nice to see Universal continue an EMI series. There may be hope for Dancemania yet. I’m sure in 2016 they’ll announce a 20th anniversary Dancemania release…then cancel it two months later.

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DJ Kaori’s Party Mix 5
Release Date: 8/21/13
Price: 2286 yen

The latest release in the hugely popular DJ Kaori’s Mix series, which has sold over 4 million copies over the years since its debut in 2005. You can visit the official website for more info on previous entries. A lot of EDM tracks on this one.

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Anison “Kamikyoku” Cover Mix!! -2nd Season-
Release Date: 8/7/13
Price: 1429 yen

Tsutaya-exclusive compilation featuring eurobeat covers of anime themes. There’s a chance that it’ll receive a wide release in the future, as the first one was originally exclusive to Tsutaya, but became widely available about 7 months later.

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Super Ita G Beat presents Anime Mach
Release Date: 9/22/13
Price: 1500 yen

Basically the sequel to Super Ita G Beat, which was released in April of 2012. This one was released during the Ita G Festa on September 22. It’s unknown if it’ll eventually see a wide release, but seeing as it’s nothing but repeats it wouldn’t be a huge loss.

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Super Euro Smash Vol. 4
Release Date: 8/12/13
Price: 952 yen

The fourth release in the Super Euro Smash series was released during Comiket 84 last month. Unlike the third volume, Vol. 4 contains brand new tracks.

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Toho Eurobeat Vol. 8 ~ Subterranean Animism
Release Date: 8/12/13
Price: 1400 yen

Doujin release featuring eurobeat covers of popular touhou songs. Released last month to coincide with Comiket 84. You can visit the official website for a crossfade demo and more info.

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recognize
Artist: recog
Release Date: 9/18/13
Price: 1905 yen

New album from utaite, recog. Bonuses include a cell phone strap (1 of 5 designs), poster, and clear file. Retailer-exclusive bonuses range from Talk CDs to stickers. The official website has more info and samples.

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