Dancemania EX × Trance Paradise

Dancemania Sparkle Classics – Best of 80s Disco Pop
Release Date: 1/18/12 ? 1/25/12
Price: 2381 yen

It’s the same repeats you know and love and are sick of by now. Mixed by Mitsugu Matsumoto and DJ Mocchi.

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Born in the USA (Single)
Artist: Captain Jack
Release Date: 12/19/11

Another new song from the new Captain Jack. This one’s a cover/remake of the Bruce Springsteen classic. Whereas the original was about Vietnam, CJ’s version updates the lyrics to be about more current situations.

Available on iTunes, Amazon, and Juno Download.

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I Was a Fool/Rainbow in the Sky (Single)
Artist: Captain Jack
Release Date: 12/8/11

New single from the new Captain Jack. It’s labeled as “a new single for Christmas” and the artwork reflects that, but the lyrics don’t. o_O The first track is your usual generic eurodance ballad, while “Rainbow in the Sky” is actually from the 2008 album, Captain Jack Is Back! Odd that they would include a track from that and not from Back to the Dancefloor. Maybe they figured that everyone forgot about it.

Available on iTunes, Amazon, and Juno Download.

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Baby Boom (Single)
Artist: Smile.dk
Release Date: 2012

Good news, everyone! Hot off the heels of Cecilia’s pregnancy, Veronica just announced that she’s pregnant with her second child. To celebrate, they’ve written a new song called “Baby Boom.” The title alone sounds like it’ll make for prime bubblegum dance. No release date has been set yet, as the song is still in production.

Dance Dance Revolution 2nd MIX Original Soundtrack Deluxe Edition presented by Dancemania
Release Date: 11/9/11 ? 11/30/11
Price: 3619 yen (2 CD+DVD Version) or 3048 yen (2 CD Only Version)

Update (12/20/11): The entire OST, including bonus tracks and non-stop mix, is now available on iTunes Japan. It’s 150 yen per track or 2,400 yen for the whole album.

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Saturday Night (Single)
Artist: Captain Jack
Release Date: 11/23/12

Second single from the new Captain Jack’s latest album. It’s available at Juno Download as well as iTunes and other online music stores.

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Bemanistyle have an update on the recently released DDR X3 vs. 2nd MIX. 2nd MIX mode has all of the 2nd MIX licenses playable with the exception of “Strictly Business,” which I suppose shouldn’t be a surprise. So far 6 of these licenses are also playable in X3 mode. Interestingly, all of this wouldn’t have been possible just a year or two ago since EMI lost the AATW license (necessary for the Bus Stop song) to Avex and only recently reacquired it. I’m sure they probably would’ve worked something out, but getting the license back no doubt made things easier.

X3 has some others songs by artists I frequently cover here. “Come Back to My Heart” by Another Infinity feat. Mayumi Morinaga makes a surprise appearance, and there’s also a J-Mi and Midi-D song, “Wings of an Angel (Fly with Me).” Also licensed is Yuki Kimura’s “Love & Joy,” which is about 5 years too late since it was most popular during the Hime Trance era.

Shout out to my friend, Tyma, repository of obscure DDR trivia. Make sure to check out his podcast at http://www.maniacmode.com/ for a nostalgic trip back in time as he, Max, and special guest JAKAZiD look back at the history of DDR 2nd MIX. It’s kind of like The Ricky Gervais Show, except about DDR. And funny. Oh, I kid, I kid. Neither is very funny.

Dancemania Sparkle Classics – Best of 80s Disco Pop
Release Date: 1/18/12 ? 1/25/12
Price: 2381 yen

Update (12/27/11): Final track list has been revealed. There are seven “new” tracks, meaning that they’ve never appeared on Dancemania before. The bonus track is Wink’s Japanese cover of “Turn It into Love.”

Now get to work on Dancemania Speed Sparkle, EMI.

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Dance Dance Revolution 2nd MIX Original Soundtrack presented by Dancemania
Release Date: 11/9/11 ? 11/30/11
Price: 3619 yen (2 CD+DVD Version) or 3048 yen (2 CD Only Version)

Update (11/7/11): Track lengths have been released, and it appears that the new bonus tracks won’t be DDR-sized edits. Sadly, “Brilliant 2U” gets a ridiculously short edit. 🙁 Speaking of which, Mieya reports that DJ Command will be handling the “Brilliant 2U” remix, while kors k will be doing the “Paranoia” remix.

Bonus Tracks
39. [2:12] Keep On Movin (Y&Co. DJ Boss remix) / N.M.R.
40. [5:11] Put Your Faith in Me (DA’s Twinkly Disco Remix) / Uzi-Lay
41. [3:12] Trip Machine (xac nanoglide mix) / De-Sire
42. [2:11] Brilliant 2U (AKBK Mix) / Naoki
43. [4:14] Paranoia (kskst mix) / 180
44. [2:43] Love Is the Power -Re:born-

The official Dancemania website has also been updated with info on the 2nd MIX OST. Apparently all of the old tracks have been digitally remastered. As for the DVD, it will include special performances by “charisma” player, Zio.

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Dance Dance Revolution 2nd MIX Original Soundtrack presented by Dancemania
Release Date: 11/9/11 ? 11/30/11
Price: 3619 yen (2 CD+DVD Version) or 3048 yen (2 CD Only Version)

Update (9/15/11): It’s only been a few days since this was announced and it’s already been delayed to the end of November. The price for the CD+DVD set has also been reduced from 3790 yen to 3619 yen.

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As reported on Bemanistyle, the next release in the Dance Dance Revolution series, DDR X3, will feature a Dance Dance Revolution 2nd MIX mode. Rather than simply emulating 2nd MIX, the game will feature 2nd MIX on the X3 engine so you can enjoy it for the first time in HD. Obviously it wouldn’t be 2nd MIX without the licensed tracks, so Konami have teamed up with EMI for the first time since 2006 to include Dancemania tracks on DDR. Presumably all 2nd MIX tracks will be present so we can once again relive the glory of the 90s.

Why 2nd MIX? Without a doubt, 2nd MIX represented the height of popularity for both DDR and Dancemania. The soundtrack, which is scheduled to be re-released by EMI this November, sold an astounding 550,000+ copies. By comparison, 3rd MIX sold less than half that at only 200,000 sold.

Meanwhile, Dancemania Sparkle has been selling relatively well, reaching as high as 16 on the Oricon daily charts. There’s definitely an appetite for 90s music out there, so let’s hope we see more Dancemania and DDR releases in the future.

Dancemania Sparkle – Best of 90s Dance Pop
Release Date: 8/3/11 ? 8/24/11
Price: 2381 yen

Update (9/23/11): Relatively slow week for CD sales in general, so Sparkle finished at #14 its fourth week out with roughly 4,800 copies sold.

For those that missed EMI’s Twitter contest, they’re doing another round with another 3 winners winning a 5,000 yen gift card. Just tweet about your favorite Dancemania memory and include the hashtag “#?????? http://emij.jp/idance/” Deadline is September 25, but again, it’s only open to Japanese residents.

In other Dancemania news, Japanese radio station 81.3 FM, J-WAVE will be doing a special broadcast commemorating the 15th anniversary of Dancemania. The broadcast will be on Thursday, September 27 at 22:00 local Japan time. You may or may not be able to view the broadcast live or archived on J-WAVE’s Ustream. It looks like they’ll also spend some time on DDR, so make sure to tune in.

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Dancemania Sparkle – Best of 90s Dance Pop
Release Date: 8/3/11 ? 8/24/11
Price: 2381 yen

Track list has been updated. Same tracks as before, but rearranged positions. Kinda funny how most of the non-Dancemania tracks ended up grouped together.

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Dancemania Sparkle – Best of 90s Dance Pop
Release Date: 8/3/11 ? 8/24/11
Price: 2381 yen

Delayed to August 24th from its original August 3rd release date. In the meantime, EMI have released the cover art and what appears to be the final track list. The cover isn’t quite as nice as Treasure’s; I particularly don’t care for the font used for “Sparkle.”

The tracklist is mostly predictable, with Me & My, Smile.dk, Captain Jack and E-Rotic all making an appearance. There’s also representation from Almighty and AATW, two of the most prolific Dancemania labels. A handful of tracks licensed from other companies round out the list, with Los del Rio, Mr. President, and T-Spoon making their Dancemania debuts. Notable exclusions include Bus Stop and DJ Miko. In fact, it’s disappointing that there’s nothing from Saifam at all. :/

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Dancemania Sparkle – Best of 90s Dance Pop
Release Date: 8/3/11
Price: 2381 yen

Dancemania lives!!! This past April 10 marked the 15th anniversary of the release of the very first Dancemania and I was beginning to wonder if EMI would do anything to commemorate the historic milestone. Of course, I should know better than to question EMI’s love of repeats 😛 Unlike Dancemania Treasure, which was released during the 10th anniversary of the series, this release will only be a single disc. The early track list is populated by the repeats you know and love. “Dub-I-Dub,” “Butterfly,” “Captain Jack,” and “Willy…” are all present and accounted for. EMI are also licensing some classic 90s tracks from other labels, so expect some songs that have never appeared on Dancemania before. Actual new tracks seem doubtful, unless they license a new Saifam cover or something. Regardless, I’m just glad EMI haven’t completely abandoned the Dancemania brand.

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