Dancemania EX × Trance Paradise

movie Speed

Release Date: 8/6/03 Unreleased!
Price: 1905 yen

After the apparent success of classical Speed, the second themed Dancemania Speed spinoff was supposed to be movie Speed. Originally scheduled for release on 2003-08-06 with the catalog #, TOCP-64226, it was eventually canceled and reworked into Speed SFX, which came out on 2003-09-18.

The first tentative track list sent to retailers shows just how many of the tracks on Speed SFX were originally intended for movie Speed. And did you ever wonder why Speed Giga 2 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution had random movie themes on it? It turns out they were originally made for movie Speed!

But perhaps most shocking is “Moero Dragon Theme,” aka “Theme from Enter the Dragon,” which at the time everyone assumed wasn’t actually produced. Imagine our surprise when it finally showed up on Speed Buyuuden three years later in 2006! If you wondered why Speed Buyuuden had a single new track from Runaway Productions/CJ Crew, it’s because it was likely made for movie Speed.

Two tracks, “Beverly Hills Cop Theme” and “Speed Theme,” have never been released as far we know.. It’s unknown if they were ever actually made. They don’t appear in the Saifam or LED catalogs, and I believe Runaway told me they don’t recall producing them.

1. My Heart Will Go On (Titanic) [from Dancemania Speed 2] -> Speed SFX
2. I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing (Armageddon) [from Dancemania Speed 2] -> Speed SFX
3. There You’ll Be (Pearl Harbor) [from Dancemania Speed 8]
4. Star Wars Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
5. I Will Always Love You (Bodyguard) [from Dancemania Speed 2]
6. Soul Bossa Nova (Austin Powers) [from Dancemania Speed 9]
7. Mission Impossible Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
8. 007 Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
9. Beverly Hills Cop Theme -> Unreleased?
10. Speed Theme -> Unreleased?
11. Spider-Man Theme [New Track] -> Speed Giga 4 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution
12. Batman Theme [New Track] -> Speed Giga 2 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution
13. Jaws Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
14. Indiana Jones Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
15. Moero Dragon Theme [New Track] -> Speed Buyuuden
16. Unchained Melody (Ghost) [New Track] -> Speed SFX
17. Pretty Woman [New Track] -> Speed Giga 2 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution
18. Godfather Theme -> Speed Giga 2 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution

A second tentative track list was sent to retailers which subtracted tracks 9 and 10 from the original list while adding four new tracks. “Flashdance” was probably a repeat from Dancemania Speed 3/9. Meanwhile, “Gonna Fly Now” and “Up Where We Belong” ended up being used on Speed Giga 2 instead.

That brings us to “A Man and a Woman.” For years it was thought that the song was never produced, until Luigi Stanga surprised us in 2008 by releasing the full song for purchase on Juno Download. It is also available to stream/buy on Apple Music as part of Coverland 2.

1. “Titanic” ~ My Heart Will Go On
2. “Armageddon” ~ Miss a Thing
3. “Pearl Harbor” ~ There You’ll Be
4. Star Wars no Theme
5. “Body Guard” ~ I Will Always Love You
6. “Austin Powers” ~ Soul Bossa Nova
7. Mission Impossible no Theme
8. 007 no Theme
9. Spider-Man no Theme
10. Batman no Theme
11. Jaws no Theme
12. Indy Jones no Theme
13. Moero Dragon no Theme
14. “Ghost” ~ Unchained Melody
15. Pretty Woman
16. Godfather no Theme
17. Rocky no Theme -> Speed Giga 2 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution
18. A Man and a Woman Theme -> Unreleased*
19. An Officer and a Gentleman -> Speed Giga 2 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution
20. Flash Dance [from Dancemania Speed 3/9]

The final tentative list was even more different than the previous ones. It was at this point where you can see how it eventually became Speed SFX, as 16 of the tracks on this list ended up on SFX. No, I don’t know why Star Wars was listed twice.

The “Gojira/Godzilla Theme” never did end up on a Speed album. Again, we don’t know if it was ever even made.

1. Star Wars Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
2. Matrix Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
3. Terminator Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
4. I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing (Armageddon Theme) [from Dancemania Speed 2] -> Speed SFX
5. Lord of the Rings Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
6. Harry Potter Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
7. ET Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
8. Jurassic Park Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
9. Indiana Jones Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
10. Ghostbusters Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
11. Men in Black Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
12. 007 Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
13. Gojira Theme -> Unreleased?
14. Neverending Story [New Track] -> Speed SFX
15. Soul Bossa Nova (Austin Powers Theme) [from Dancemania Speed 8]
16. 2001 A Space Odyssey Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
17. Batman Theme [New Track] -> Speed Giga 2 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution
18. Ghost (Unchained Melody) [New Track] -> Speed SFX
19. Star Wars
20. Charlie’s Angels [New Track] -> Speed SFX

Dancemania -20th Anniversary Special Edition-
Release Date: 10/11/17
Price: 2160 yen

Edit (8/25/17): As I feared, the release is now showing up as canceled on CD Japan and other retailers. I’m hoping it’s just a delay at worst.

Edit (8/22/17): Well, this is a worrying sign. Universal have removed any mention of the 20th anniversary release from their website. This could mean that they’ve canceled the release outright. However, it’s also possible that they canceled it in favor of something else (perhaps a 2-disc set?) instead. Right now the original release is still available for pre-order at a number of retailers, so we’ll see if those pre-orders get canceled.

Edit (8/14/17): Early list is out, and so far 4 of the 6 songs already appeared on Sparkle and Party. I had forgotten that EMI/Universal had reacquired the AATW license from Avex at some point, and it looks like they’ll be drawing quite a bit from that catalog. The lack of Smile.dk, Me & MY, or Captain Jack is a bit concerning. On one hand, we’ve heard the same songs dozens of times. But it wouldn’t be a proper celebration of Dancemania without them.

01. Mamma Mia / A*Teens
02. Samba de Janeiro / Bellini
03. Jump / Bus Stop
04. Santa Maria / DJ Milano feat. Samantha Fox
05. Eyes on Me featured in Final Fantasy VIII (Almighty Mix) / Faye Wong
06. I Wanna Dance with Somebody / Flip & Fill

Original Post: Dancemania-EX.com lives!!! Apologies for the complete lack of updates, but I’ve been busy the past year. I also lost a lot of motivation for continuing the site given that Universal didn’t bother releasing anything during it’s 20th anniversary in 2016. It seemed that Dancemania was all but dead…

Then today, out of nowhere, I noticed a listing for a new Dancemania album! That’s right, this October will see the release of Dancemania -20th Anniversary Special Edition-. At first I thought the title didn’t make any sense, since the first release was back in April of 1996. But then I realized that if the 1st anniversary was in 1997, then technically 2017 would indeed be the 20th. Of course, this doesn’t explain why the 10th anniversary was celebrated in 2006.

But I digress, the important thing is Dancemania is back! Presumably Atsushi Sekimoto is still at Universal and spearheaded the effort to commemorate 20+ years of Dancemania. Details are sparse on the release. CD Japan’s description mentions it’ll once again feature the best of ’90s dance music. Unfortunately, it’ll only be a single disc release. Since Universal lost the rights to many EMI artists when they bought out EMI, it’ll be interesting to see exactly what tracks they’ll include.

Meanwhile, Japanese Dancemania fans continue to keep its spirit alive. Earlier this year they held another Dancemania Birthday party and even had the one and only Mitsugu “Red Monster” Matsumoto as a special guest. You can see videos of the event here: https://twitter.com/hashtag/dancemaniabirthday?f=videos&vertical=default&src=hash

Pre-order at CDJapan.

Dancemania Springs 2
Release Date: 4/10/16
Total Length: 1:19:42

Happy 20th anniversary, Dancemania! It’s been 20 years to the day since the first release in the series, and while the series hasn’t been too active in recent years the great memories will always remain. Thanks for the music that always kept my spirits up!

Unfortunately, it looks like Universal won’t be releasing an anniversary CD any time soon. Instead, celebrate with a fan mix I did a while back that features the best in bubblegum dance pop. A play on the Summers/Winters series, Dancemania Springs 2 is a bubbly mix of artists like Smile.dk, Me & My, Bambee, and E-Rotic, with some Almighty thrown in for good measure. Apologies in advance for the amateurish production; I originally just did it for something to listen to during my commutes. ^^; If you’ve been following me for way too long you’ve probably already heard it 😉

Also a quick reminder that a special, unofficial 20th birthday event will be held in Japan today: http://tweetvite.com/event/DancemaniaBIRTHDAY

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The 20th anniversary of Dancemania 1’s release is just a couple of months away. And while Universal don’t yet have anything planned to celebrate, a bunch of dedicated Dancemania fans will be holding an unofficial event to commemorate the momentous occasion. The event will be held at Stella Asakusa in Tokyo on Sunday, April 10, with an entrance fee of 2,000 yen (or 1,500 if you bring the flyer or a Dancemania CD). More details can be found here: http://tweetvite.com/event/DancemaniaBIRTHDAY

Expect a myriad of styles to be played, including classic eurodance, eurobeat, bubblegum dance, trance and hardcore. DJs include Hyuji, kazpulse, B, Anvil, DJ KIMO, DJ mAsa, Takahiro Aoki, and StackStorm. It seems that the DJs will also bring their personal Dancemania collections, so this is a chance to see all of the Dancemania CDs lined up, and perhaps even some special promotional releases as well. It should be a great time for Dancemania fans!

Dancemania -Let’s Party-
Release Date: 11/11/15
Price: 1000 yen
Total Length: 1:17:03

Dancemania lives! Oh, and so do I 😀 As you may or may not have noticed, the blog hasn’t really been updated for a few months now. In addition to a lack of motivation and being busy, there just hasn’t been all that much to write about. I intended on starting things up again next year with a renewed focus (sorry, no more non-dance Exit Tunes releases), but had to break my hiatus to bring news of a new Dancemania release!

That’s right, after a break of its own, Dancemania comes back with a new digital release. The last release in the series was Zipmania All Best Mix almost two years ago exactly. And while a digital release isn’t exactly ideal, it’s nice to know that Universal still think that the Dancemania brand still has value. The album art even has the squiggly mascot! Here’s hoping this means that there’ll be a proper anniversary release next year, which will mark 20 years since the release of Dancemania 1 back in 1996.

Now for the bad news: the tracklist. It’s mostly EDM, which is fine since that’s what dance music sounds like today. What’s not okay is including tracks like “Beauty and a Beat” or “Hangover” from 2012. Thankfully, there are some more recent tracks that actually debuted in 2015, but they’re too few and far between. I wouldn’t mind if Dancemania returned as an EDM mix series, but put some effort into it, Universal!

The album is available on iTunes Japan as well as other Japanese digital stores.

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E-Rotic feat. Lyane Leigh
Release Date: 2015

Well, hot damn, I never saw this coming. The original E-rotic lead singer, Lyane Leigh, announced in December of 2014 that she would be returning to the group, and a new album will be released some time in 2015, which happens to be the 20th anniversary of their first album, Sex Affairs. Right now the new album is being planned as a best-of release with a few new tracks. In addition to the return of Lyane, the group will have a new male rapper, Stephen Appleton. And it appears that David Brandes will still be on board as a producer.

It looks like the ’90s nostalgia boom is in full swing in Europe. Later this month, E-Rotic will perform with Captain Jack, Snap, Culture Beat, and Fun Factory at a German concert.

Keep up with the latest E-Rotic news at their new Facebook page.

Thanks to Vincent for the tip.

Say Captain Say What 2015 (Single)
Artist: Captain Jack
Release Date: 3/6/15

It’s been about two years since the last Captain Jack single, but CJ is back with a couple of new 2015 remixes of “Say Captain Say Wot.” There’ll also be a new album coming soon titled “20 Years,” which probably means another greatest hits.

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ZIPmania Special

The end of the year is upon us, and that can only mean one thing: Toy Day (otherwise known as Christmas) is coming! As a special present for Dancemania fans who are supporting the releases, I’ve got something special for people who have purchased either ZIPmania All Best Mix, ZIPmania Super Greatest Hits, or both. Just make a post in the comments with a link to a picture of your copy of the album and a little piece of paper with your username on it, or take a screenshot of your iTunes receipt (make sure to edit out any identifying details). I’ll contact you via e-mail, hopefully by the end of the year, with details on how to claim your present. Please no photoshops or printouts of the ZIPmania cover in a CD case. Unless they’re really good, in which case I’ll send you something for trying, lol.

Dancemania 25 Tracks
Release Date: 2/15/12
Price: 750 yen

It seems that Universals has been updating some old iTunes releases, giving them cleaner artwork and, in some cases, lower prices. The most notable is Dancemania 25 Tracks, which is down to 750 yen from 1200 yen.

Other price drops include:

Wa Euro Best -Download Selection- 1200 yen ? 750 yen
Anim80s 1200 yen ? 750 yen

The downside to all of this is that it seems they’re taking down older stuff. I noticed I no longer have cloud access to the Wa Euro Best releases. -_-

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ZIP Hot 100 No. 1 Mega Hits – ZIP-FM 20th Anniversary Special
Release Date: 11/20/13
Price: 900 yen

The digital counterpart to ZIP Hot 100 1993-2013 All Time No. 1 Hits features 14 full versions from the CD … which already had full versions. So, yeah, this is kind of pointless if you already have the CD.

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ZIPmania Super Greatest Hits – ZIP-FM 20th Anniversary Special
Release Date: 11/20/13
Price: 900 yen

Update (11/26/13): As pointed out by Mike D in the comments, the full album is back up on iTunes Japan with the correct track list.

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

Update (11/25/13): A bit of good news for Dancemania fans. ZIPmania All Best Mix managed to snag a spot on the Oricon weekly Top 100, debuting at 97 for the week of its release. It’s far from the days when Dancemania releases routinely broke the Top 20, but when you compare it to VIP X (115), Super Eurobeat Vol. 225 (182), Speed Anime Trance Best 19 (111) or even Dancemania Party (184), it’s a surprisingly solid number. ZIPmania’s companion release, ZIP Hot 100, debuted at 125.

And for those that missed it in the comments, the old Dancemania website has been reproduced on Universal’s site: http://microsites.universal-music.co.jp/dancemania/

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ZIP Hot 100 1993-2013 All Time No. 1 Hits
Release Date: 11/13/13
Price: 2190 yen

This release features songs that have reached the top of the ZIP Hot 100 charts over the past 20 years. Unfortunately, the list skews highly in favor of more recent Universal artists. I think the only EMI artist on the list is Janet Jackson, so I’m not sure how much this will appeal to Dancemania fans. There are 20 full-length tracks plus some talk from ZIP-FM DJs.

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

Final list and cover art are out. It’s great to see the Dancemania mascot being so prominent. 😀

The final list is pretty much the same as the early one, so not much new info other than the addition of “Why Don’t You” by Gramophonedzie, and the Che’Nelle remix being done by ZIP staff. I’m a bit disappointed that there are really only 3 Dancemania tracks, with one of them from Crazy Frog. It’s nice to know EMI still have the rights to E-Rotic and Misa, but Captain Jack is the second-most prolific Dancemania artist, and the fact that he’s not present here makes me wonder if they let the rights go.

Still, not a bad list overall. I could probably do without the more mainstream, non-remixed songs from LMFAO and Flo Rida, but at least most of the other mainstream songs are here in remixed form. In particular, I’m glad they licensed the kz remix of “Take Over Control” from FARM since it’s an awesome remix that breathes new life into the song.

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ZIP Hot 100 1993-2013 All Time No. 1 Hits
Release Date: 11/13/13
Price: 2190 yen

Canceled again!

Okay, not really. A final list and cover art have emerged, so I’m pretty sure this will actually come out this time. This release features songs that have reached the top of the ZIP Hot 100 charts over the past 20 years. Unfortunately, the list skews highly in favor of more recent Universal artists. I think the only EMI artist on the list is Janet Jackson, so I’m not sure how much this will appeal to Dancemania fans. There are 20 full-length tracks plus some talk from ZIP-FM DJs.

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